I refer to the Malaysiakini report Mahathir to Najib: Listen to Perkasa.

When Dr Mahathir Mohamad took the trouble to launch Perkasa, it gave the NGO an air of respectability which it otherwise had to work hard to gain as a fledgling start up.

Like it or not, Mahathir is still an influential figure to many Malays.

It is hard to believe that this is the same man that came up with ‘Vision 2020' to unite the country with a common purpose and shared values. Surely Perkasa flies against this idealism that Mahathir felt was necessary then to take our country forward. Instead Perkasa is taking us backwards with rehashed and parochial old ideas.

So why did Mahathir do it?

The answer is simple and it is in the politics. In the past, Mahathir had been most effective when championing Malay rights and he milked it for what its worth and got away with most of it until he tried to pin the sodomy charge on Anwar Inrahim.

Thinking the Malays would abhor a sodomite and thank him for exposing Anwar as one, he miscalculated and failed to allow for the sensitivities of the typical Malay and so it backfired on him.

So, now, he is playing his favourite card again to tell the Malays to be unhappy with Umno for not fighting enough for their rights. Umno therefore needs a change in emphasis and even leadership, and the person that can bring that is none other than his son who was also present at the launch!

Yes, all this in all probability for his son, Mukhriz who is struggling to assert himself in Umno and being overshadowed easily by the likes of Khairy Jamaluddin. After all, this was Mahathir’s forte and he knows not other ways to get Malay support.

Mahathir is not a racist - he is a Malay champion waiting to strike only when things are not going the way he wants them to go.