Never-ending bumi policy dashes hope for ‘New Malaysia’

December 31, 2019

by Dr.Kua Kia Soong 

Never-ending bumi policy dashes hope for ‘New Malaysia’

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/458326

COMMENT | We will be starting the New Year with our hopes for a New Malaysia dashed by the announcement of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mahathir that the bumiputera agenda (expiry date 1990) will continue.

The NEP stays for as long as The Malays have political power. Let us not kid ourselves. It is non-negotiable, although I believe it is a major obstacle to Malay economic advancement. Discrimination on the basis of race is a fact.–Din Merican. 

As in 1970 when the New Economic Policy started, and again in 1990 when the New Economic Policy was replaced by the National Development Policy which then morphed into the New Economic Model in 2010, we are treated to the same ludicrous doublespeak.

Doublespeak has been defined by some as “the ability to accept two conflicting beliefs, opinions, or facts as valid and correct, simultaneously. Doublespeak may happen because of someone being willfully perverse or as a result of faulty logic.” It is of course a word coined by George Orwell in the novel 1984.

Consider this. In the process of announcing the continuation of this Never-ending Bumiputera Policy, the Prime Minister tells Malays to stand without the ‘tongkat’ that the government is going to continue to provide them.

Even more doublespeak was the Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin’s pious wish that the implementation of the new bumiputera agenda as part of the Pakatan Harapan government’s core policy “must contribute towards economic growth with benefits enjoyed by all Malaysians”.

Why is it not possible to have an Affirmative Action Policy for the B40?

I find it remarkable that after more than 60 years of affirmative action for the bumiputera, we still cannot find intellectuals who can devise a race-free affirmative action policy! Our scholars and intellectuals have been schooled in the best universities overseas but they still cannot come up with a policy that does not discriminate on the basis of race.

An exception is economist Dr. Mohamed Ariff, who spoke out against such racially discriminatory policies in 2013:

“The NEP had outlived its usefulness and the government must move affirmative action policies from race-based to needs-based. This policy shift will ultimately benefit the Malays as they form the bulk of 40 percent of households in the lower-income bracket… The government’s policies seem to be populist in nature and not focused… hand-outs should only be given in crises, such as famine, as they remove the incentive to work hard. The Malays would not be able to compete in a globalised environment if they continued to depend on hand-outs.”

 

Prof Terence Gomez has often questioned the race-based criteria for wealth distribution:

“Why the continuing fixation with numbers when many Malaysians, among them even members of BN component parties, have questioned the veracity of these government-released ownership figures? Even if bumiputera equity ownership is increased to 30 percent, would this mean that wealth has been more equitably distributed among members of this community or between them and other Malaysians? And, most importantly, should we continue to perpetuate a discourse on equitable wealth distribution among Malaysians along racial lines?”

At the Bersatu general assembly, the Prime Minister has justified the continuation of this racially discriminatory policy on the grounds that more than 70 percent of the B40 are bumiputera. If that is so, why not have an affirmative action policy for the B40, which would be race-free and would be agreeable with our Icerd obligations? Why practise racial discrimination and be noted as one of the few pariah nations in the world community that do not ratify Icerd?

What happened to the slogans for ‘New Malaysia’, ‘Asian Renaissance’, ‘Malaysian Malaysia’? Have these all been empty slogans? The other leaders of Pakatan Harapan – Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Mohamad Sabu, P Waythmoorthy, who have condemned racial discrimination in the past – have not said a word about the continuation of the bumiputera agenda announced by the prime minister. Does silence signify consent or indifference?

Litany of crony capitalists

Given the Pakatan Harapan manifesto, it was shocking, though sadly not surprising, to hear Bersatu vice-president Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman (photo above) supporting delegates at its general assembly by calling for government resources to help the party. The former Election Commission chief said Bersatu must do all it could to win elections “by hook or by crook”. He said, “Looking at the situation now, we cannot defend our position as the governing party because the division chiefs are being left out of contracts.” Right, so contracts for the boys!

And was it surprising that throughout the years of the bumiputera agenda, Malaysia has featured high on The Economist’s crony capitalism index. Uncontrolled rent-seeking has allowed politically well-connected billionaires to double their wealth, thereby posing a threat to the free market, The Economist said. These rent-seeking industries include those easily monopolised, and that involve licensing or heavy state involvement, which it said was “prone to graft”.

This skewed bumiputera agenda is at the heart of the kleptocracy problem the Harapan government claims it wants to fix after the GE14.

From the 80s on, Mahathir’s privatisation of state assets ensured the divestment of state capital into the hands of favoured Malay crony capitalists. The success of the NEP in restructuring capital has, in the process, increased class differentiation within the Malay community. Thus, instead of targeting and providing strategic aid to the poor of all ethnic communities, the Umno ruling elite has continued to use the tried and trusted strategies of race-based cash aid and uplift plans aimed at bumiputeras.

Authoritarian populism of the Malaysian state

The truth is, as Anne Munro-Kua has analysed in her book, the Malay ruling elite in Malaysia has relied on an authoritarian populist style of rule to stem the possibility of the peoples from different ethnic communities uniting into a class-based political force and to simultaneously ensure the continued political domination of the Malay-led coalition.

• A communal populist approach continues to be used to deflect the economic grievances of the Malay labouring classes against capitalist exploitation into a race-based ideological allegiance to the Malay ruling elite. The results from the GE14 will further ensure Harapan rely on such populist policies to try to capture the Malay rural votes.

While bumiputera policies are intended to benefit all bumiputera, the reality is that these policies have been usurped by the privileged Malay elite whose weak enterprise culture and expertise has had damaging consequences for the economic health of the nation. The bureaucracy has grown in tandem with the populist measures by the state capitalist class to carve out bigger and bigger slices of the rural and urban economic pie.

Institutional obstacles to attaining high-income status

According to an IMF working paper, Malaysia, as compared to other Asian countries, faces a larger risk of slowdown stemming from institutional and macroeconomic factors. A recent Asia Foundation Report also points to a compelling need for Malaysia to shift from a race-based to a needs-based policy in order to address imbalances in society and improve the democratic process to ensure good governance and that the rule of law prevails. It points out that poor institutions could deter innovation, hamper the efficiency of resource allocation and reduce the returns to entrepreneurship.

The report goes on to reason that despite the numerous bold policy measures and long-term plans introduced by the government over the years, Malaysia’s economic progress continues to be plagued by a lack of innovation and skills, a low level of investments in technology, declining standards in education, relatively high labour cost and sluggish growth in productivity. These lagging factors can be traced to the continuation of a backward racial discriminatory policy.

Thus far, Malaysia’s education system has failed to produce the skills and talent required to take the country’s economy to the next level. A key obstacle lies in the government’s failure to promote a fair and open economy. The bumiputera policy and insufficient checks and balances continue to hamper the country’s economy, leading to poor practices in governance. Reforms, especially the replacement of racial discriminatory policies with race-free inclusive policies are critically needed to rally the nation to achieve its economic objectives.

Affirmative action based on need, not race

In Malaysia, since the passing of the deadline for the NEP in 1990, it makes developmental sense to implement a new socially just affirmative action policy based on need or class or sector. Thus, if Malays are predominantly in the rural agricultural sector, the poor Malay farmers would be eligible to benefit from such a needs-based policy while the rich Malay land-owning class would not. Only such a race-free policy can convince the people that the government is socially just, fair and democratic.

The cost and consequences of the racially discriminatory policy in Malaysia have been immense especially since the NEP in 1971. It has caused a crippling polarisation of Malaysian society and a costly brain drain.

While the Chinese middle and working classes in Malaysia have largely adapted to this public sector discrimination by finding ways to make a living in the private sector, this has not been so easy for working class Indians.

Many Malaysian Indians have found themselves marginalised, much like the African Americans in the US were, especially after the destruction of the traditional plantation economy. The cost of preferential treatment has also seen greater intra-community inequality, with higher class members creaming off the benefits and opportunities.

More potentially dangerous and insidious is the effect this widespread racial discrimination has had on ethnic relations in this country. Unity can only be promoted through an affirmative action policy based on need, sector or class, never on race.

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KUA KIA SOONG is adviser to human rights NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram)..

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

A neo-BN New Year

December 31, 2018 Opinion  |  S Thayaparan

https://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/458280

Opinion  |  S Thayaparan

Published: Today 3:48 pm  |

 

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language

And next year’s words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.” (Little Gidding)

– TS Eliot

COMMENT | Another new year is upon us. I know some people feel as if Pakatan Harapan is the new BN. I have pushed this narrative in nearly all my writings. I desperately sound the alarm bells that Harapan is becoming neo BN – but I do not do this out of spite.

I do this because I come from a generation that saw how BN evolved. A generation that witnessed alliance politics morph into something ugly but more importantly, saw how the public supported a corrupt system out of pragmatism or fear or just plain self-interest.

I remember when Lim Kit Siang and the opposition were decimated in one election, and how those of us who were rooting for him were shocked that people did not vote for at least the DAP, which offered something else to the politics that were tearing us apart. However, this is the past. Admittedly, things have changed.

These days I see articulate young leaders toe the party line. I see young leaders more interested in maintaining party discipline, egged on by the base who assume that they speak for all Malaysians.

I see a kind of fascistic patina slowly forming around young leaders more interested in inter-party ascendance than inspiring people – young people especially – that things can change if only you worked hard enough for it. Hate to break it to you but playing the political party game works well on social media but it doesn’t inspire people – especially young people – to vote for the change they want.

It is pointless chronicling the whys and hows of the fall of Najib Abdul Razak. When the old maverick claims that Bersatu was needed in the removal of Najib, I think it is more complicated than that. I think he was needed for the removal of Najib.

 

UMNO Kataks have morphed into  Neo-Bersatus  

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad always knew how to play the political game better than his comrades in UMNO. If Najib had just listened to him, I doubt we would be having this conversation.

.

However, the removal of Najib is more than just the legacy of the old maverick. It demonstrated that a ruling coalition could fall. I want young people to take note of this. From what I gather, young people are infatuated with the old maverick and while I understand this, I hope the young people who were standing in the sidelines in the 14th general election now understand the future of this country – and more importantly, the power they could wield in determining this future.

Going through my files, I reread an article in the BBC earlier this year about the power young Malaysians have but do not wield. It is an interesting article, not only because it neatly condensed many of the data points that I have put forward concerning the youth vote in this country but it also reminds us that young people have the power to change things.

“If this is genuine lack of interest, it is reflected in one poll by Merdeka Center, an independent Malaysian polling organisation which last year looked at how young people in West Malaysia felt about politics. Merdeka Center found that as many as 70 percent of them do not believe that their vote will bring about tangible changes in the government and don’t think their elected representatives really care about people like them.”

Young voters are the key, even if they do not care. Look, while I think that DAP, PKR, and Amanah are making an effort, I also think that there are many young people in Bersatu who know that things need to change. I mean, look at someone like Wan Saiful Wan Jan. Smart guy, but he has to conform to the politics of Bersatu, which is an early UMNO pastiche.

Honestly, I tried to give Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (photo) the benefit of the doubt but if someone like Wan Saiful had brought the kind of American-inspired conservatism to Bersatu, which is what he did when he was in Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), this would have been a good thing. Bersatu, whether we like it or not, has the best chance to lead the way but if it continues down this path, we are going down the crapper.

Jostling for power, contracts

Change does not take time. Political will stalls for time. We can move forward slowly or you could convince people that you are moving, but walking slowly on the same spot. I keep getting these clips of the old maverick saying that the education policy needs to change. I keep seeing young and old political operatives in Bersatu talking about how the Malays cannot rely on the tongkat and Bersatu needs to lead the way.

I have heard all this before. Maybe you have too. Take education for instance. Firstly, why doesn’t someone give Azly Rahman a job sorting this mess out, but more importantly, if Bersatu and Harapan have the political will to slowly remove the tongkat and change the education system, they would make some good faith gestures.

First, they would recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC). Then they would do away with Malay-only institutions. They would recognise the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) for instance, and not in various political ways, propagate the “do not spook the Malays” meme.

What we are hearing from the supposedly closed-door Bersatu AGM is the same game of federal control, of power, through proxies. This is why people are jostling for power, contracts and positions. Decentralise power, which would allow state-level affirmative action programmes for all races. I bet my last ringgit that more Malays would benefit from these programmes than non-Malays, if that is the fear of Malay and non-Malay political operatives.

This way you could name the new agenda the Best Ultra Malay Initiative – BUMI – and nobody would care if everyone was getting the help they need, regardless of race. But everyone knows what separates Bersatu and the far right of Umno and PAS – polemics not policy.

And while I am bitching about policy, this 1am closing time for nightspots in the Federal Territory is the dumbest and I would say a mendacious policy of the Harapan regime. Interfering in business – the price of KFC too high, really? Is it mendacious when you claim we have a trillion ringgit debt?

There is a whole host of small businesses attached to nightclubs, not to mention the traders who service the after-hours crowd in local fare, that would be affected by this malicious rule.

What Harapan is doing is destroying part of the culture of this country. Big City culture and what they want to do is to turn it into what some parts of this country are. Remember this day, because no matter what some people say about closing hours in the West, what we have here are sub rosa moves by the Islamist to slowly impose hegemony, Harapan style. This is just the beginning.

Who knows what the following year will bring in the permutations of Malay power. Frogs jumping, political opponents having lunch, internecine conflicts among Malay brokers in the major parties.

In this climate, do you blame people for feeling jaded and thinking that nothing changes?

I have two hopes for the new year. The first that young people discover the power they wield. And the second that the people who supported Harapan pressure the government so it does not become another BN.

Have a productive new year, Malaysia, whoever you are.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

 

Trump vs. the Economy

 

December 30, 2018  by Nouriel Roubini

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-behavior-causes-stock-market-drop-by-nouriel-roubini-2018-12

Between publicly chastising US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and escalating his trade war with China, US President Donald Trump has finally rattled the markets. While investors were happy to look the other way during the first half of Trump’s term, the dangerous spectacle unfolding in the White House can no longer be ignored.

NEW YORK – Financial markets have finally awoken to the fact that Donald Trump is US president. Given that the world has endured two years of reckless tweets and public statements by the world’s most powerful man, the obvious question is, What took so long?

For one thing, until now, investors had bought into the argument that Trump is all bark and no bite. They were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as long as he pursued tax cuts, deregulation, and other policies beneficial to the corporate sector and shareholders. And many trusted that, at the end of the day, the “adults in the room” would restrain Trump and ensure that the administration’s policies didn’t jump the guardrails of orthodoxy.

These assumptions were more or less vindicated during Trump’s first year in office, when economic growth and an expected increase in corporate profits – owing to forthcoming tax cuts and deregulation – resulted in strong stock-market performance. In 2017, US stock indices rose more than 20%.

But things changed radically in 2018, and especially in the last few months. Despite corporate earnings growing by over 20% (thanks to the tax cuts), US equity markets moved sideways for most of the year, and have now taken a sharp turn south. At this point, broad indices are in correction territory (meaning a 10% drop from the recent peak), and indices of tech stocks, such as the Nasdaq, are in bear-market territory (a drop of 20% or more).

Though financial markets’ higher volatility reflects concerns about China, Italy and other eurozone economies, and key emerging economies, most of the recent turmoil is due to Trump. The year started with the enactment of a reckless tax cut that pushed up long-term interest rates and created a sugar high in an economy already close to full employment. As early as February, growing concerns about inflation rising above the US Federal Reserve’s 2% target led to the year’s first risk-off.

Then came Trump’s trade wars with China and other key US trade partners. Market worries about the administration’s protectionist policies have waxed and waned throughout the year, but they are now reaching a new peak. The latest US actions against China seem to augur a broader trade, economic, and geopolitical cold war.

An additional worry is that Trump’s other policies will have stagflationary effects (reduced growth alongside higher inflation). After all, Trump is planning to limit inward foreign direct investment, and has already implemented broad restrictions on immigration, which will reduce labor-supply growth at a time when workforce aging and skills mismatches are already a growing problem.

Moreover, the administration has yet to propose an infrastructure plan to spur private-sector productivity or hasten the transition to a green economy. And on Twitter and elsewhere, Trump has continued to bash corporations for their hiring, production, investment, and pricing practices, singling out tech firms just when they are already facing a wider backlash and increased competition from their Chinese counterparts.

Emerging markets have also been shaken by US policies. Fiscal stimulus and monetary-policy tightening have pushed up short- and long-term interest rates and strengthened the US dollar. As a result, emerging economies have experienced capital flight and rising dollar-denominated debt. Those that rely heavily on exports have suffered the effects of lower commodity prices, and all that trade even indirectly with China have felt the effects of the trade war.

Even Trump’s oil policies have created volatility. After the resumption of US sanctions against Iran pushed up oil prices, the administration’s efforts to carve out exemptions and bully Saudi Arabia into increasing its own production led to a sharp price drop. Though US consumers benefit from lower oil prices, US energy firms’ stock prices do not. Besides, excessive oil-price volatility is bad for producers and consumers alike, because it hinders sensible investment and consumption decisions.

Making matters worse, it is now clear that the benefits of last year’s tax cuts have accrued almost entirely to the corporate sector, rather than to households in the form of higher real (inflation-adjusted) wages. That means household consumption could soon slow down, further undercutting the economy.

More than anything else, though, the sharp fall in US and global equities during the last quarter is a response to Trump’s own utterances and actions. Even worse than the heightened risk of a full-scale trade war with China (despite the recent “truce” agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping) are Trump’s public attacks on the Fed, which began as early as the spring of 2018, when the US economy was growing at more than 4%.

Given these earlier attacks, markets were spooked this month when the Fed correctly decided to hike interest rates while also signaling a more gradual pace of rate increases in 2019. Most likely, the Fed’s relative hawkishness is a reaction to Trump’s threats against it. In the face of hostile presidential tweets, Fed Chair Jerome Powell needed to signal that the central bank remains politically independent.

But then came Trump’s decision to shut down large segments of the federal government over Congress’s refusal to fund his useless Mexican border wall. That sent markets into a near-panic, and the government shutdown was soon followed by reports that Trump wants to fire Powell – a move that could turn a correction into a crash. Just before the Christmas holiday, US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin was forced to issue a public statement to placate the markets. He announced that Trump was not planning to fire Powell after all, and that US banks’ finances are sound, effectively highlighting the question of whether they really are.

Recent changes within the administration that do not necessarily affect economic policy making are also rattling the markets. The impending departure of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will leave the room devoid of adults. The coterie of economic nationalists and foreign-policy hawks who remain will cater to Trump’s every whim.

As matters stand, the risk of a full-scale geopolitical conflagration with China cannot be ruled out. A new cold war would effectively lead to de-globalization, disrupting supply chains everywhere, but particularly in the tech sector, as the recent ZTE and Huawei cases signal. At the same time, Trump seems to be hell-bent on undermining the cohesion of the European Union and NATO at a time when Europe is economically and politically fragile. And Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s 2016 election campaign’s ties to Russia hangs like a Sword of Damocles over his presidency.

Trump is now the Dr. Strangelove of financial markets. Like the paranoid madman in Stanley Kubrick’s classic film, he is flirting with mutually assured economic destruction. Now that markets see the danger, the risk of a financial crisis and global recession has grown.

Nouriel Roubini, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, was Senior Economist for International Affairs in the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration. He has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, and the World Bank.

 

 

Full term for Dr M? Talk to our partners first, say Bersatu leaders

December 29, 2018

by Malaysiakini Team  |  Published: 29 Dec 2018, 11:54 pm  |  Modified: 29 Dec 2018, 11:54 pm

 

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/458226

BERSATU AGM | Suggestions by Bersatu grassroots for Dr Mahathir Mohamad to serve a full term as Prime Minister should be discussed at the Pakatan Harapan presidential council, say senior party leaders.

Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said such proposals were not new and this was what the grassroots wanted.

However, he said Mahathir’s opinions on the matter should also be taken into consideration.

“Bersatu Youth will fully support Mahathir and his wishes. We will listen to him and support him,” he said when met at the sidelines of the Bersatu annual general assembly in Putrajaya today.

Mahathir has repeatedly stated that he will honour the agreement to hand over reins of the country and the Harapan coalition to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim mid-term.

‘Ask Harapan partners’

Negeri Sembilan Bersatu leader Rais Yatim, meanwhile, said that while there is merit in the proposal for Mahathir to serve as prime minister until the 15th general election, the party has to consider the feelings of its Harapan partners.

“Accepting Mahathir (as prime minister) has basis… But what was said (by the delegates) may not go down well with other component parties.

“How Anwar, his wife and their supporters feel about this should be assessed as well,” he said.

A similar sentiment was expressed by Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir, who said that the decision would be up to the Harapan presidential council, despite personally supporting the proposal.

“Personally, I think it is a good proposal because we have inherited a government that is in bad condition.

“Trying to revive it is not easy,” he said.

When asked if any of the Bersatu delegates tabled motions during the debates to prevent Anwar from being Prime Minister, Mukhriz replied in the negative.

 

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UMNO, PAS can’t stand in the way of progressive Malay politics

December 29, 2019

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/458191

by  Dr. Rais Hussin

 

COMMENT | A train will eventually carry less and less cargo when the single track on which it operates begins to sag. But this is not a problem with a double-track system.

UMNO and PAS have erred by using such a single-track system( Money Politics). The mechanisms which they have used or intend to use to take Malays, Muslims and Malaysians forward will falter – either before they can reinvent themselves as parties that put the people’s welfare first, or before they perish from hauling too much for too long while struggling for their survival.

Similarly, if Bersatu sticks to the mentality of old, it too will fail. By privileging cash, connections, contracts and concessions, UMNO has become nothing but a cabal – a party defined and driven by the politics of what political scientists call kaumiyah or tribes.

These tribes may align themselves to current, former or prospective presidents of UMNO, but they will all sink as Umno is now officially a party associated with thieving and thuggery.

Even when the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) was not ratified, UMNO still insisted on a street rally. By urging its remaining war horses to take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the party has become a throbbing and bleeding sore.

And as the above was done, another elite group of UMNO putera and puteri, also working for their own benefit, are hard at work trying to upstage their elders in the party – making UMNOo Youth into a spear against the shield of the old aristocracy.

With such internal warfare, UMNOo can no longer vouch for bangsa, agama dan negara (race, religion and country). It is now hollowed out, with its only legacy the attempted misuse of every GLC and GLIC under its watch, from Permodalan Nasional Bhd to Lembaga Tabung Haji to Ministry of Finance Inc.

PAS, having formed a quasi-pact with UMNO that seeks to salvage what remains of the former’s vote bank, has either directly and indirectly tried to sanitise the soiled legacy of the former ruling party.

Instead of speaking out against the excesses of 1MDB, and the many ‘mini 1MDBs’, PAS has chosen to remain solemnly quiet on all fronts. Such connivance is done in order to benefit PAS, both as the future kingmakers and spoilers of parliamentary democracy of Malaysia.

Bersatu cannot claim to be a white knight. As a new party, it is bound to have many chinks in its armour. Nor can it claim to be invincible and undefeatable. If May 9 demonstrated anything, it is the power of the people to get rid of the old and tiresome kleptocrats.

But as a Malay party – whose associate members can be non-Malays – Bersatu understands the importance of creating a ‘New Malay’ mindset to steer Malays, Muslims and Malaysia forward. This is where Bersatu has a double-track system in every single endeavour.

In the public sector, Bersatu is not obsessed with dominating every branch and twig of the government. No Malay cronies have sprung up in Bersatu. Indeed, Bersatu believes a strong and stable government that is also smart. As and when needed, a government led by Bersatu, with the blessing of Pakatan Harapan, will be pro-private sector.

In the private sector, Bersatu does not want to dominate the entire business landscape. Bersatu wants Malay entrepreneurs of all stripes to flourish together with people of other races in Malaysia.

The fact that Bersatu can work with the Finance Minister from DAP is a case in point. Whatever pro-Malay agenda Bersatu may have, it has the option to stick by its allies that are also pro-Malaysia.

Insofar as Islam is concerned, Bersatu has also worked closely with Amanah, a party that believes in rahmatan lil alamin (Islam as a blessing for all). Neither Bersatu nor Amanah believes in any ideas that are racially chauvinistic: both parties believe in working closely with people of all faiths, not just ‘other’ faiths.

Thus, when the unrest in Seafield erupted, Home Minister and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was quick to condemn the incident, indeed to contain it as a non-racial issue stemming from a land dispute that was politicised by Umno and PAS as an affront to Malayness.

The only thing Malay in the riots was the heroism of the late Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim and his colleagues to rush in to douse the fire of the burning cars where none dared to tread.

If Bersatu in the post-May 9 landscape has any specific inspiration, it is the courage and bravery of Muhammad Adib. Unsurprisingly, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali even dedicated a violin recital to him. Why? Precisely because of his selflessness to live up to the creed of New Malaysia.

Prime Minister and Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad hasn’t said much, for he too believes that mere words would have tarnished Adib’s deeds, and how he led by example just weeks prior to the second annual general assembly of Bersatu.

‘Berani kerana benar’ (in truth we find courage) the old Malay proverb goes. And ‘Bersatu kerana benar‘, as the New Malaysia and all Malays must be.

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RAIS HUSSIN is a supreme council member of Bersatu. He also heads its policy and strategy bureau.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

 

 

 

Call me racist but Malays are in decline and it’s our fault – Dr M

December 29, 2018

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/458169

Malays were lagging behind economically but that this was their own fault . “Don’t find fault in others. “–Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

 

ERSATU AGM | Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s policy speech at the party’s general assembly tonight was full of introspection on the fate of the Malays and their need to be uplifted.

Mahathir said Malays were lagging behind economically but that this was their own fault.

“Yes, I will be accused as a racist for exposing the fate of the Malays and bumiputera. But for 70 years I have seen the decline happening to my people.

 

This Jamal Fella is a parasite

Malaysian Taxpayer-funded New Economic Policy( NEP ) was introduced in 1970. Now it is 2019. When will it end? We are running  out of excuses. And soon we will be out of oil revenues too.

“It is okay if they tarnish my name as long as my race realises the ill fate which will befall them in the future. Realise that this is our own fault. Don’t find fault in others,” Mahathir said in his closing remarks.

He said the Malays must reject their old culture and create a new culture to save themselves. This includes not relying on a tongkat (walking aid), his decades-old term for affirmative action.

Bersatu’s positioning as a Malay party has often been criticised by Pakatan Harapan supporters who want the party to be a multiracial one, similar to their allies.

However, the prime minister said in his speech that it was neither racist nor wrong to fight for the Malays who are separated from the other races by a wealth gap.

He said this was because economic disparity with a racial context was a dangerous combination which must be avoided.

“Race can’t be changed but the gap between the poor and the rich can be narrowed if not eliminated.

“It would be irresponsible of us if we do not try to avert racial riots (due to economic inequality) by at least narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor,” he said.

Standing tall

Earlier in his speech, however, Mahathir said the tongkat can’t be used for the long term. “For the week, a tongkat can help. But aid such as this can’t be maintained. When strength has returned the tongkat must be dropped.

“The idea that the tongkat is a sign of honour is wrong. Maintaining it for self-honour is unfounded,” he said.

Instead, the 93-year-old said those who had honour were those who stood tall on their own.

Bersatu, he said, would act as guardians of the Malays but only temporarily as the Malays must learn to be their own guardians.

This he added, could be achieved if they were no longer poor and successful economically, not politically.

“(We join politics) not to become prime minister, minister, menteri besar, or chief minister. We join politics so that one day we will no longer need to rely on politics.

“We join politics to save and free ourselves and achieve success as a race that is capable of competing with anyone with each and every one of us is capable of standing without a tongkat,” he said.

The three-day Bersatu annual general assembly will end tomorrow.