Yesterday, Mahathir remarked that the Chinese had maintained their culture and way of life in Malaysia, citing the use of chopsticks instead of “adopting the Malaysian way of eating” with one’s hands.

In a statement, Lim told Mahathir that non-Malays should be integrated, not assimilated, into Malaysia, adding that the Pejuang chairman’s comments were both simplistic and offensive to the Chinese.

“Does that mean a Malay using chopsticks or fork and spoon loses his Malay-ness? In fact, many non-Chinese Malaysians and Westerners are proud of their ability to use both without any loss of their national identity.

“Mahathir should be reminded that even countries like Japan, South Korea and Vietnam use chopsticks. As a proponent of the Look East policy that encompasses these countries, he has never made eating with chopsticks an issue.

“Eating with chopsticks does not make anyone less Malaysian. Malaysians of Chinese descent born here are proud of Malaysia and have no wish to return to a China growing with wealth and prosperity, even if given an opportunity to do so,” he said.

The Bagan MP also said the contributions of the Chinese community should not come into question simply because of the different languages and customs they practice.

“Helping one or two Chinese tycoons is like helping any tycoon from other races and cannot be equated with helping the Chinese community,” he added.