I am continuing what I was writing yesterday about the issue of bastardizing the NEP that was raised by Nazir Razak the brother–in-law of Rosmah Mansor. Nazir sounded very thankful being the product of the NEP and that policy made him where he is today.
Resulting from Nazir’s strong statement Ibrahim Ali of PERKASA reacted muscularly against Nazir and called Nazir as inexperience and Ibrahim was just short of saying ‘you shut up’ to Nazir.
I appreciate Ibrahim for speaking on the Malay gallery and that is fine with me and everybody. The Malay issues that PERKASA is resting its laurel on are fitting to some extent. The Malays are certainly in need of a ‘shoulder’ to lean on as the party which is supposed to care for them is flirting around with others leaving their members without lead and pointer. Hence the NGO Ibrahim is leading becomes an expedient premise for the disgruntled UMNO members and Malays to get associated with.
PERKASA has been overt and explicitly doing the tetchy job for what the Malays is at today. Ibrahim has been wailing and has been putting the government leadership on trial for negating from the original role of observing the Malay rights and protecting other races as provided by the Federal Constitutions.
I must say it loudly that in effect what Nazir has said concurs with the struggles of PERKASA. Both are not happy with the Malay’s progress. The difference between these two personalities is the position or angle they look the issue from.
Nazir was talking about the contributory factors that made the NEP a failure and he chose to blame the successors to the NEP inventors for bastardizing the well thought policy. Ibrahim on the other hand is looking from the angle of ill fated Malays who have been the victim of bastardizing the NEP done by the successors of NEP founder.
Ibrahim is no more young and if he cares to recollect history which is still recent, he must remember how the prostituting the NEP started and he must also admit that what he (Ibrahim) is complaining today is the result of dismantling the NEP which Nazir has rightly said.
The introduction of direct negotiations on the gigantic fast tract projects was the killer for the NEP. Development projects with the tune of big billions destroyed the basic fabric of the NEP. Bumiputra was not able to participate as the recipients of those projects were already predetermined and more often than not, the same faces within the cronies secured the jobs.
Let us be reminded that the ‘Unit Penyertaan Bumiputra’ which was set up in every bank and government department was unceremoniously set aside and not many people remember it any more.
The government went on with express project and was very proud of GDP growth of almost double digit so on and so forth. The late Tun Dr Ismail told the last General Assembly he attended in 1972 that we were able to grow with double digit growth but the slowing down of the growth was for national purpose; that Bumiputra was not yet ready and if the economic development growth was too fast it might leave the Malays and other indigenous far behind. Hence that would bring political instability. BUT that caution was not remembered and appreciated. Our leaders wanted what they wanted to do very quickly.
Hence the marginal growth of Malay and Bumiputra equity holding was so insignificant. A day before Dr Mahathir stepped down from power he mentioned the official figure of Malay equity as at 2002 as 19 percent.
It simply means that during the period of 1984 until 2002 there was only an increase of 0.8 percent Bumiputra equity. For this I don’t know what to say about Daim Zainuddin who took the mantle of the nation’s economy. BUT he was and still is appreciated by the exclusive cronies who were able to secure project by billion of ringgit then.
1990s were the period when all the special ‘Bumiputras’ with big names were flying in personal executive jets, some of them even had 2 jets, one of which to be used to fly PM, DPM and Senior Ministers and exclusive heads of GLCs and related personality within the corridors of power.
The spirit of NEP was swiftly forgotten. Our corporate guys within PM and Daim’s circle were spending the ill gotten money more than the expenses of the CEOs of world’s big corporation like Toyota, Honda and other gigantic names in the world class corporations.
BUT of late we don’t see the jets anymore. I am told that all those were repossessed and many are back to flying commercial flights. If that is true, then what a close friend of mine said has been proven right. “Owning a jet is only two-time happiness; one is when we get the delivery and the other is when we are able to sell it”. So that is the reason why we only see Dr Mahathir who flies in and out of the nation in a white Global Express.
The operative Malay businessmen were slowly thinning in numbers as almost big opportunities were taken away by the ‘special bumiputras’ who worked hand-in--glove with the powerful power house for negotiated tenders where prices and costs of the development projects were determined by a ‘cartel like’ apparatus. They were not worried because the forgiving ralyat and in particular the Malays continued on supporting them.
They took the Malays and others as donkeys with one responsibility, i.e just support them. They would be telling the people, we have Putrajaya, we have KLCC, we have the tallest flagpole in the world so on and on.
So Nazir is very close to telling the truth but may be he is the wrong person to talk about the issue. He is certainly together with some others who enjoyed being within the corridors of power right from his infant age until now.
I never had the opportunity like Nazir has, as my father was a policeman, not the PM of this nation. Like many others I have no capacity to be a social climber.
17 August 2010
16 August 2010
NEP bastardized? - Nazir, you may have said the truth. (part 1)
I have been watching from the sideline on the heavy issue on Nazir Razak who believes that the NEP was ‘bastardized’ for the advantage of a few privileged. I am saddened that everyone is talking on issue which is non-existence. NEP was totally disbanded in 1990 20 years after it was launched.
We are witnessing a vicious quarrel between Ibrahim Ali (PERKASA) and Nazir and the quarrel between Chua Soi Lek and Ibrahim Ali. If everyone reads and follows their articulations on the issue debated one will be totally confused as the NEP does not exist any longer.
I am not sure what Nazir was trying to say, but if he was saying that the NEP was bastardized during the tail end of its existence, than there are some relevance and logic to his comment. Since mid-1984 until the end of NEP in 1990, the policy was ruthlessly bastardized.
Let us recollect from the start of the NEP until it was disbanded by Dr Mahathir in 1990. In practice Mahathir was quite allergic to the NEP and he called on the Malays and that Bumis to throw away their ‘tongkat’.
NEP was well thought policy where it benefited everyone directly or indirectly. NEP had spelt a clear intention of its formulation and the intention was only one; that was National Unity.
This holistic intention was agreeable by all races when Tun Razak was able to convince every race in this country that National Unity was the only way to ensure the nation’s security and the people’s well being be taken care of, and live in togetherness in civil and harmonious nation.
To achieve this ultimate (National Unity) the nation had to go through an affirmative action, that was via the following;
Firstly was to eradicate poverty irrespective of races. This was the main agenda actually. Tun Razak and friends believed that poverty can ruin a nation. The Malays were poor, the Indian were trapped in a poor living environment in the estates and rubber plantations while there were also poor Chinese in the sub urban areas even though the nation’s economy was controlled by them.
In reality the economic ownership of the Chinese was less than 25 percent during that period. The main chunk of the economy was in the hands of the foreigners. So there was nothing racial about the policy.
Tun Razak or anyone would believe that if most of the people were poor than that could be a very serious political destabilizing factor that could lead the country into political anarchy and the 13 May incidence was the living example where economic disparity could cause chaos.
Secondly in order to achieve the National Unity the country and the government had to reduce the income disparity between the haves and the have not’s and the diparity between the incomes of the urban and the rural population. The rural people were too far behind in income and opportunities and the government felt that this issue must be addressed holistically without affecting any other race or quarter.
In order to reduce the disparity of incomes the government wanted to do away with recognizing races by their economic functions. We didn’t want to recognize Malay as farmers in the padi fields and small holders. We wanted to do away recognizing the Indians as plantation or as workers of gigantic estates that were mostly owned by foreigners, like Harrison and Crossfields, Sime Darby, Guthries, London Tin (now MMC), Tradewinds and many others.
That was why Tun Razak instructed Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to bring back all these companies back to Malaysia from their head quarters in London. All these companies were finally brought back to the nation and to implement the exercise it needed a person with nationalistic sensitivity and had a strong political will.
The last of the big corporation that was brought back was Guthries and that happened on Monday the 7th of September 1981 after a lengthy and tedious preparation years before that date.
The brief narration above needed to be actualized and the government were very serious of uplifting the wealth of the Bumiputra to the 30 percent equity by 1990 without taking away the ones owned by the other races.
Hence within the sphere of NEP they holistic goals where the Bumiputra were given the target of 30 percent wealth and equity holdings, the Non Bumi was given the target of 40 percent and the rest for the foreigners who were looking at this country as the potential centre of economic vibrancy.
As the NEP was to increase the Malay capitalization and equity, it was agreed that the Bumiputra should not take away the portions that were already owned by other races. The formula to the plan was to enlarge the nation economic cake. So the 30 percent allocated for the Bumis were through the enlarged cake of the nation’s economy.
Everyone was happy to implement the policy. As far as I remember every economic development project both the Bumi and Non Bumi worked things out in a very cordial and cooperative atmosphere.
The non Malays were most of the time enjoying the early fruits of any social engineering projects. For example the Felda, then Called LKTP (lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan) which was then busy opening up lands for plantations in the scheme made the Non Bumi the first group to enjoy clearing the land and the supply of fertilizers and other needs of the scheme.
The Bumi had the land the non Bumi had earlier enjoyed the clearing jobs that were worth in hundreds of million of ringgit. Everybody was happy and the busiest department in co-coordinating all NEP projects was the Implementation and Co-Ordination Unit of the PM Department (ICU).
Those days everything was transparent and could visually saw the focus of the implementers were at the peak without thinking of making personal gain and greed.
The Non Malays respected both the Malay politicians and the government implementers as they witnessed the most outstanding episode of nation building was implemented with pride by everybody.
Even the Non Bumi were happy to assist the Bumi to prosper together with them as they accept the fact that prosperous Bumi will make them more enjoyable undertaking businesses in the vibrant economy.
In short the real economic impetus for the country was the NEP. BUMI and Non Bumi enjoyed living in the most cordial as far as history can reminisce.
Bumiputra’s stake in commerce and Industry and the equity ownership increased tremendously from 2.7 in 1970 to 18.2 in 1984.
But when the change of guard in the Ministry of Finance happened in June 1984 anything surrounding the NEP was slowly neglected. Daim made many changes that was detrimental to NEP.
From then on we saw leaders in power were also interested to become rich themselves. From then on the leaders in power were competing with the ordinary Malay businessmen and that was the time when the Bumi special rights shifted to a very small and exclusive members who surrounded the PM and our great Daim.
The Bumi special rights which were meant for Malay and other indigenous were transferred to names like Vincent Tan, YTL, Halim Saat and many other names that were familiar to everyone in the country.
All these new Malay Bumiputra exclusive cronies were actually the Bumis, not for people like you and me anymore.
This was the period when the whole NEP was ill treated and pitilessly bastardized and I agree with Nazir Razak at this point.
To be continued……………..
We are witnessing a vicious quarrel between Ibrahim Ali (PERKASA) and Nazir and the quarrel between Chua Soi Lek and Ibrahim Ali. If everyone reads and follows their articulations on the issue debated one will be totally confused as the NEP does not exist any longer.
I am not sure what Nazir was trying to say, but if he was saying that the NEP was bastardized during the tail end of its existence, than there are some relevance and logic to his comment. Since mid-1984 until the end of NEP in 1990, the policy was ruthlessly bastardized.
Let us recollect from the start of the NEP until it was disbanded by Dr Mahathir in 1990. In practice Mahathir was quite allergic to the NEP and he called on the Malays and that Bumis to throw away their ‘tongkat’.
NEP was well thought policy where it benefited everyone directly or indirectly. NEP had spelt a clear intention of its formulation and the intention was only one; that was National Unity.
This holistic intention was agreeable by all races when Tun Razak was able to convince every race in this country that National Unity was the only way to ensure the nation’s security and the people’s well being be taken care of, and live in togetherness in civil and harmonious nation.
To achieve this ultimate (National Unity) the nation had to go through an affirmative action, that was via the following;
Firstly was to eradicate poverty irrespective of races. This was the main agenda actually. Tun Razak and friends believed that poverty can ruin a nation. The Malays were poor, the Indian were trapped in a poor living environment in the estates and rubber plantations while there were also poor Chinese in the sub urban areas even though the nation’s economy was controlled by them.
In reality the economic ownership of the Chinese was less than 25 percent during that period. The main chunk of the economy was in the hands of the foreigners. So there was nothing racial about the policy.
Tun Razak or anyone would believe that if most of the people were poor than that could be a very serious political destabilizing factor that could lead the country into political anarchy and the 13 May incidence was the living example where economic disparity could cause chaos.
Secondly in order to achieve the National Unity the country and the government had to reduce the income disparity between the haves and the have not’s and the diparity between the incomes of the urban and the rural population. The rural people were too far behind in income and opportunities and the government felt that this issue must be addressed holistically without affecting any other race or quarter.
In order to reduce the disparity of incomes the government wanted to do away with recognizing races by their economic functions. We didn’t want to recognize Malay as farmers in the padi fields and small holders. We wanted to do away recognizing the Indians as plantation or as workers of gigantic estates that were mostly owned by foreigners, like Harrison and Crossfields, Sime Darby, Guthries, London Tin (now MMC), Tradewinds and many others.
That was why Tun Razak instructed Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to bring back all these companies back to Malaysia from their head quarters in London. All these companies were finally brought back to the nation and to implement the exercise it needed a person with nationalistic sensitivity and had a strong political will.
The last of the big corporation that was brought back was Guthries and that happened on Monday the 7th of September 1981 after a lengthy and tedious preparation years before that date.
The brief narration above needed to be actualized and the government were very serious of uplifting the wealth of the Bumiputra to the 30 percent equity by 1990 without taking away the ones owned by the other races.
Hence within the sphere of NEP they holistic goals where the Bumiputra were given the target of 30 percent wealth and equity holdings, the Non Bumi was given the target of 40 percent and the rest for the foreigners who were looking at this country as the potential centre of economic vibrancy.
As the NEP was to increase the Malay capitalization and equity, it was agreed that the Bumiputra should not take away the portions that were already owned by other races. The formula to the plan was to enlarge the nation economic cake. So the 30 percent allocated for the Bumis were through the enlarged cake of the nation’s economy.
Everyone was happy to implement the policy. As far as I remember every economic development project both the Bumi and Non Bumi worked things out in a very cordial and cooperative atmosphere.
The non Malays were most of the time enjoying the early fruits of any social engineering projects. For example the Felda, then Called LKTP (lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan) which was then busy opening up lands for plantations in the scheme made the Non Bumi the first group to enjoy clearing the land and the supply of fertilizers and other needs of the scheme.
The Bumi had the land the non Bumi had earlier enjoyed the clearing jobs that were worth in hundreds of million of ringgit. Everybody was happy and the busiest department in co-coordinating all NEP projects was the Implementation and Co-Ordination Unit of the PM Department (ICU).
Those days everything was transparent and could visually saw the focus of the implementers were at the peak without thinking of making personal gain and greed.
The Non Malays respected both the Malay politicians and the government implementers as they witnessed the most outstanding episode of nation building was implemented with pride by everybody.
Even the Non Bumi were happy to assist the Bumi to prosper together with them as they accept the fact that prosperous Bumi will make them more enjoyable undertaking businesses in the vibrant economy.
In short the real economic impetus for the country was the NEP. BUMI and Non Bumi enjoyed living in the most cordial as far as history can reminisce.
Bumiputra’s stake in commerce and Industry and the equity ownership increased tremendously from 2.7 in 1970 to 18.2 in 1984.
But when the change of guard in the Ministry of Finance happened in June 1984 anything surrounding the NEP was slowly neglected. Daim made many changes that was detrimental to NEP.
From then on we saw leaders in power were also interested to become rich themselves. From then on the leaders in power were competing with the ordinary Malay businessmen and that was the time when the Bumi special rights shifted to a very small and exclusive members who surrounded the PM and our great Daim.
The Bumi special rights which were meant for Malay and other indigenous were transferred to names like Vincent Tan, YTL, Halim Saat and many other names that were familiar to everyone in the country.
All these new Malay Bumiputra exclusive cronies were actually the Bumis, not for people like you and me anymore.
This was the period when the whole NEP was ill treated and pitilessly bastardized and I agree with Nazir Razak at this point.
To be continued……………..
15 August 2010
MCA or DAP - which is more relevant?
There is another issue hotly debated by the political community lately. It’s the issue of DAP and MCA, both are Chinese dominated party even though DAP is actually meant for multiracial members and participation.
Both are legally registered political parties under the Act of Law and there is nothing illegal or immoral to be a member and supporter of any of those parties.
Historically the only Chinese dominated party which could work with the Malays (though UMNO)has been MCA the party which has been the strongest partner in the BN coalition. DAP is the party formed in late sixties and its multiracial party which is dominated by Chinese.
It’s only the politicking part of the politics that suggest each other as bad party and leaders. Historically MCA was made to contest in Chinese dominated constituencies during the PERIKATAN rule, but when the Chinese withdrew support from PERIKATAN in the 1969 GE, MCA was thought to be a defunct.
The Chinese went in the open in support of DAP and a newly registered Gerakkan formed by Syed Hussein Al-Atas.The Malays in the hinterland supported PAS and many UMNO stalwarts were defeated including Dr Mahathir Mohammad who lost in Kota Setar to the PAS spiritual leader Yusuf Rawa by around 1000 votes.
But after the MAGERAN administration in 1974, the birth of BN gave MCA another lease of strength. From then on MCA top leaders were sent out to be candidates since 1974 GE in Malay dominated constituencies as they were not confident of regaining the Chinese support.
From then on we saw MCA leaders contesting in Labis, Segamat, Bakri, Hulu Selangor,Alor Setar and many other constituencies. The idea of sending senior MCA leaders to contest in the Malay dominated areas was to ensure that there would be Chinese participation in the government. All the solid Chinese dominated constituencies were subjugated over by DAP.
In essence MCA was and is still depending on the Malay votes in order to keep the party to be seen as of consequence within the BN coalition.
Now let us see which party; MCA or DAP that is going to secure the support of the voters. MCA lost many seats in the last GE and was left with only 15 in Parliament. It is too telling that MCA is suffering the same fate with its senior brother UMNO.
The idea of MCA of pulling the support of the Malays goes flat as the Malays who massively voted against UMNO are also turning their back from MCA. The issue of moral and corruption against MCA is as serious as UMNO is facing. The PKFZ issue was the main issue that got MCA into trouble, and that is the issue which surrounds MCA of late.
The massiveness of corruption committed by MCA leaders in just one project is calculated as 12 billion ringgit and to complete the project would easily top up the cost to 16 billion ringgit.
MCA is now not supported by the Chinese any longer and it has ceased to be the party representing their struggles. DAP appeals the Chinese and with the stronger support of the Malays to PAS and a bit for PKR, DAP also appeals the Malays to some extend.
UMNO and BN will not be able to caste hatred feelings towards the party anymore since the pattern of political thinking of the Malays is changing swiftly. DAP is a better party than MCA to the complaining Malays in any GE as from now on.
To the Malays DAP is more suitable for them to support as the party is multi-racial and the idea of DAP fielding some Malay candidates will attract more Malays to believe in DAP more than MCA.
MCA is now playing racist issue in order to rally the Chinese support and openly showing the Chinese that the party is giving strong pressure all for the benefit of the Chinese.
MCA says, “Give me certain billion and MCA will bring back the Chinese support”. This is the melody that Soi Lek and his team sing day in and night out.
Just weeks ago MCA hit Perkasa, PERKASA chauvinistic, racist, credulous and many other superlatives labeled on Ibrahim Ali and PERKASA. MCA is now burning feeling of hatred towards it own UMNO big brothers.
MCA is blaming UMNO for the dismal performance of BN in the last GE and many quarters in MCA are thinking to detach the party from BN is order to retake the support of the Chinese from DAP.
I personally foresee that there will be some kind of shift of political equation with the current political ambiance. The ‘hijrah’ or change is seemingly eminent and that is natural phenomenon in any nation that desires a change in its political outlook.
Politics is management of human psychology and building of acceptable perception of the public is of prime significance. Nobody can tell how UMNO and BN is going to take position.
When UMNO was facing the same experience just after 1969, the party was still impregnated with dignified leaders who could call any leader, both from the opposition and the government bench to sit on negotiating tables and subsequently gave birth to BN. Two main opposition parties, PAS and Gerakkan were brought in the coalition and went through the 1974 GE with one symbol.
The strength of BN was untouchable and the strength was evidently captivated around the dignity and stateliness of leaders of all races in the coalition.
But all those glories are already oblivious as the succeeding leaders of BN especially MCA and UMNO did not handle and keep the mantle well. Some top leaders were starting to build up wealth for themselves and that culture slowly but surely became cancerous and the aches are now felt by concerned citizen.
UMNO was set up with nationalistic flavor but leaders of those periods until today have change the party to ‘taukeh’ flavor like MCA and the Chinese. There is no more nationalistic element in UMNO and the party slowly became exclusive club of the rich and the famous.
UMNO and MCA are rapidly deteriorating in support. Malays are looking at PAS as the main alternative party to support. Many professionals are joining or at least support the party purely for the survival of their generation.
The Chinese are looking at DAP as their political survival and they have no qualms of dumping MCA for their good own sake. Realizing the situation they (MCA) are very jittery and in their effort to gain the Chinese support MCA came out with statements and calls that irritate the Malays and UMNO. Some sounded chauvinistic and that is the actual attribute of MCA and this was only known by insiders among leaders of the components.
DAP is in convenient position as the Chinese are with them. The party is slowly gaining the Malay support as the tolerance of the Malays on the have evaporated.
DAP is also gaining the Malays to support as they intend to field in quite a number of Malay candidate in the coming GE. Fielding Malay candidates is not new. Fadzlan Yahya won the Pasir Badamar state constituency in Perak for 3 terms. Haji Asri is a pensioner with the Perak State Assembly when he was a 2-term State Assemblyman in Perak too.
The late Ahmad Nor won a parliamentary seat from Penang with DAP ticket. Hence putting up Malay candidates in the coming GE can actualize the party’s struggle for multi-racial participation of DAP. This move would certainly add up a reasonable percentage of support from the Malays for the party. AND it is not politically immoral for the Malays to support DAP with the latest intended arrangement. AND that is more 1Malaysia in actuality.
Apart from direct Malay support for DAP the party will also gain the support from the Malays via PAS and PKR, the other party members of PR. AND there will be a huge numbers of votes which will come from the disgruntled UMNO Malays in the ballot boxes.
Look at what has MCA decided in its just concluded Economic Congress. Just read the report on it which is widely debated and reported. It is nauseating.
Both are legally registered political parties under the Act of Law and there is nothing illegal or immoral to be a member and supporter of any of those parties.
Historically the only Chinese dominated party which could work with the Malays (though UMNO)has been MCA the party which has been the strongest partner in the BN coalition. DAP is the party formed in late sixties and its multiracial party which is dominated by Chinese.
It’s only the politicking part of the politics that suggest each other as bad party and leaders. Historically MCA was made to contest in Chinese dominated constituencies during the PERIKATAN rule, but when the Chinese withdrew support from PERIKATAN in the 1969 GE, MCA was thought to be a defunct.
The Chinese went in the open in support of DAP and a newly registered Gerakkan formed by Syed Hussein Al-Atas.The Malays in the hinterland supported PAS and many UMNO stalwarts were defeated including Dr Mahathir Mohammad who lost in Kota Setar to the PAS spiritual leader Yusuf Rawa by around 1000 votes.
But after the MAGERAN administration in 1974, the birth of BN gave MCA another lease of strength. From then on MCA top leaders were sent out to be candidates since 1974 GE in Malay dominated constituencies as they were not confident of regaining the Chinese support.
From then on we saw MCA leaders contesting in Labis, Segamat, Bakri, Hulu Selangor,Alor Setar and many other constituencies. The idea of sending senior MCA leaders to contest in the Malay dominated areas was to ensure that there would be Chinese participation in the government. All the solid Chinese dominated constituencies were subjugated over by DAP.
In essence MCA was and is still depending on the Malay votes in order to keep the party to be seen as of consequence within the BN coalition.
Now let us see which party; MCA or DAP that is going to secure the support of the voters. MCA lost many seats in the last GE and was left with only 15 in Parliament. It is too telling that MCA is suffering the same fate with its senior brother UMNO.
The idea of MCA of pulling the support of the Malays goes flat as the Malays who massively voted against UMNO are also turning their back from MCA. The issue of moral and corruption against MCA is as serious as UMNO is facing. The PKFZ issue was the main issue that got MCA into trouble, and that is the issue which surrounds MCA of late.
The massiveness of corruption committed by MCA leaders in just one project is calculated as 12 billion ringgit and to complete the project would easily top up the cost to 16 billion ringgit.
MCA is now not supported by the Chinese any longer and it has ceased to be the party representing their struggles. DAP appeals the Chinese and with the stronger support of the Malays to PAS and a bit for PKR, DAP also appeals the Malays to some extend.
UMNO and BN will not be able to caste hatred feelings towards the party anymore since the pattern of political thinking of the Malays is changing swiftly. DAP is a better party than MCA to the complaining Malays in any GE as from now on.
To the Malays DAP is more suitable for them to support as the party is multi-racial and the idea of DAP fielding some Malay candidates will attract more Malays to believe in DAP more than MCA.
MCA is now playing racist issue in order to rally the Chinese support and openly showing the Chinese that the party is giving strong pressure all for the benefit of the Chinese.
MCA says, “Give me certain billion and MCA will bring back the Chinese support”. This is the melody that Soi Lek and his team sing day in and night out.
Just weeks ago MCA hit Perkasa, PERKASA chauvinistic, racist, credulous and many other superlatives labeled on Ibrahim Ali and PERKASA. MCA is now burning feeling of hatred towards it own UMNO big brothers.
MCA is blaming UMNO for the dismal performance of BN in the last GE and many quarters in MCA are thinking to detach the party from BN is order to retake the support of the Chinese from DAP.
I personally foresee that there will be some kind of shift of political equation with the current political ambiance. The ‘hijrah’ or change is seemingly eminent and that is natural phenomenon in any nation that desires a change in its political outlook.
Politics is management of human psychology and building of acceptable perception of the public is of prime significance. Nobody can tell how UMNO and BN is going to take position.
When UMNO was facing the same experience just after 1969, the party was still impregnated with dignified leaders who could call any leader, both from the opposition and the government bench to sit on negotiating tables and subsequently gave birth to BN. Two main opposition parties, PAS and Gerakkan were brought in the coalition and went through the 1974 GE with one symbol.
The strength of BN was untouchable and the strength was evidently captivated around the dignity and stateliness of leaders of all races in the coalition.
But all those glories are already oblivious as the succeeding leaders of BN especially MCA and UMNO did not handle and keep the mantle well. Some top leaders were starting to build up wealth for themselves and that culture slowly but surely became cancerous and the aches are now felt by concerned citizen.
UMNO was set up with nationalistic flavor but leaders of those periods until today have change the party to ‘taukeh’ flavor like MCA and the Chinese. There is no more nationalistic element in UMNO and the party slowly became exclusive club of the rich and the famous.
UMNO and MCA are rapidly deteriorating in support. Malays are looking at PAS as the main alternative party to support. Many professionals are joining or at least support the party purely for the survival of their generation.
The Chinese are looking at DAP as their political survival and they have no qualms of dumping MCA for their good own sake. Realizing the situation they (MCA) are very jittery and in their effort to gain the Chinese support MCA came out with statements and calls that irritate the Malays and UMNO. Some sounded chauvinistic and that is the actual attribute of MCA and this was only known by insiders among leaders of the components.
DAP is in convenient position as the Chinese are with them. The party is slowly gaining the Malay support as the tolerance of the Malays on the have evaporated.
DAP is also gaining the Malays to support as they intend to field in quite a number of Malay candidate in the coming GE. Fielding Malay candidates is not new. Fadzlan Yahya won the Pasir Badamar state constituency in Perak for 3 terms. Haji Asri is a pensioner with the Perak State Assembly when he was a 2-term State Assemblyman in Perak too.
The late Ahmad Nor won a parliamentary seat from Penang with DAP ticket. Hence putting up Malay candidates in the coming GE can actualize the party’s struggle for multi-racial participation of DAP. This move would certainly add up a reasonable percentage of support from the Malays for the party. AND it is not politically immoral for the Malays to support DAP with the latest intended arrangement. AND that is more 1Malaysia in actuality.
Apart from direct Malay support for DAP the party will also gain the support from the Malays via PAS and PKR, the other party members of PR. AND there will be a huge numbers of votes which will come from the disgruntled UMNO Malays in the ballot boxes.
Look at what has MCA decided in its just concluded Economic Congress. Just read the report on it which is widely debated and reported. It is nauseating.
14 August 2010
Am I an UMNO member?
Quite a number of my readers are openly asking me whether I am an UMNO member or a member of any party outside BN. They are quite irritated by my opinion that UMNO is the best party to play an opposition role both in the state and Federal Legislatives.
Before going further I wish to impress everyone that I have been a member of the party since 1970 a lot longer than many who talk about UMNO more than even the party stalwarts who have left us decades ago.
I never attempted to rise in the party as I was and still vocal about many issues and I never participate in ‘personal politicking’ for self interest. Some say I am silly, a member who was active but I gained nothing out of my active participation in UMNO since then until the year 2001.
I never regretted being what I am and I don’t have the appetite to amuse leaders and I don’t have any apprehension of saying what I feel should be said. I used to bein the Divisional Committee for more than 2 decades and to some I was among the few casualties and did not have the privilege of securing personal gains. Most leaders didn't feel comfortable with me because of my independent mind which is not acceptable in UMNO culture. Saying right things are forbidden at times.
I could take it as I am leading a simple live, which many can’t do. I don’t crave for big houses and big cars and I don’t have the urge to have 2 or 3 young and beautiful wives as I don’t have the money and the look for those interests to develop in me. Some say that I ‘takut bini’ but that is not true at all. It’s just that my ‘bini selalu menakut-nakutkan aku’.
I chose just to share the feeling of successes of UMNO and live within the border of a civil nation like ours. I enjoyed fully witnessing the successes of UMNO fighting for Malay survival in particular fighting for Malay participation in commerce and industry and putting up unending effort to increase Malay participation in management teams of big corporations and multinationals.
I was joyful witnessing that Malay wealth including that was in custody of government agencies shot up from 2.7 percent in 1970 to 18.4 percent in 1984. That figure was mentioned in almost every Divisional Committee meeting those days by economic bureau and that is already an ancient history. No UMNO leaders talk about Malay equity any longer as they are more concerned about their own gains and greed.
In the early 70s I was among the inconsequential figures moving around at young age to big corporations to importune the companies to employ Malay executives in commerce and industry, and that of course was part of the organic moves by the UMNO youth under the stewardship of Dato Harun Idris.
That was the period when many big public companies owned by the non Malays and foreigners initiated ‘management trainee’ programs to bring in equitable number of Malay professionals and semi professionals to fill in their management teams.
Through the comments that I had gathered through this blog I am too certain that what I am saying now is Greek if not French to them. Many may think that I am speaking different language.
In those days the youth were on the field doing practical exercise in getting as many Malays as possible to be in the middle management level in big public companies and corporations. Youth of those days didn’t deliver high charged speeches and kissed the ‘kris’ but worked practically with organic result. Youths of today are more of sycophants to leaders to trade for personal positions and glory.
As a young member I enjoyed witnessing everybody in the party had strong appetite to ceaselessly fight for the race with too little number among them struggled for personal gain and greed.
I myself spent years and years working with nominal pay packet combing every JKKK in the country to educate the people on the ground on any big government projects that had everything to do with them. The idea was to ensure that every government move was understood by the ordinary public and jotting down their grievances if there was any.
By doing so the people felt that they were part of decision making of the government. So the people were at all cost stood behind the party and government as they felt that they were part of the government decision making and took accountability together with what the party and the government decided to implement.
I am still a member but I missed the past glories. I admit the fact that past is past but my anticipation that the magnificence to follow through is not happening and that make people like me exceedingly disenchanted.
UMNO members of today do not have the spirit of party any longer and bear in mind that a body without spirit is nothing more and nothing less a corpse. A corpse deserves a ceremonious funeral.
BUT can we find a few who can do the restoration job for the party? I don’t know who and where they are but if every member cares to do the search I am sure we can find one or two at least.
With that hope in me, I still stick as a member of this sickly party. I think I shall be the last to desert the party if it’s forsaken by the people. Experience tells that the current individuals who talk big about their love for UMNO will be the first to raise the white flag if UMNO looses all the votes from the people in the coming GE. They will be the ones who would bark at UMNO if that situation arises.
They will also be the first to hoist the PR flags if that coalition wins the general election. When Mahathir felt that he would loose if he were to go for another round of party election as instructed by Harun Hashim's court, he disbanded UMNO and set up another party called UMNO baru. I have been trying to forget this dark incidence but to no avail until to this second.
That's how much my love for UMNO and I despise anyone questioning my loyalty to the spirit of UMNO. Many around us are just having the physics of UMNO but I own the soul and its spirit.
Personally I have gone through this kind of mill ever since joining this party in 1970, and joining a new party without its soul called New UMNO in 1997. With that lengthy experience I understand the UMNO behavioral character of most UMNO members and its leaders.
Allow me to quote a Malay proverb, ‘rasa-rasanya saya sudah boleh menyelam air didalam tunggak’. That’s how much my understanding of UMNO members and their basic behavioral attributes.
Before going further I wish to impress everyone that I have been a member of the party since 1970 a lot longer than many who talk about UMNO more than even the party stalwarts who have left us decades ago.
I never attempted to rise in the party as I was and still vocal about many issues and I never participate in ‘personal politicking’ for self interest. Some say I am silly, a member who was active but I gained nothing out of my active participation in UMNO since then until the year 2001.
I never regretted being what I am and I don’t have the appetite to amuse leaders and I don’t have any apprehension of saying what I feel should be said. I used to bein the Divisional Committee for more than 2 decades and to some I was among the few casualties and did not have the privilege of securing personal gains. Most leaders didn't feel comfortable with me because of my independent mind which is not acceptable in UMNO culture. Saying right things are forbidden at times.
I could take it as I am leading a simple live, which many can’t do. I don’t crave for big houses and big cars and I don’t have the urge to have 2 or 3 young and beautiful wives as I don’t have the money and the look for those interests to develop in me. Some say that I ‘takut bini’ but that is not true at all. It’s just that my ‘bini selalu menakut-nakutkan aku’.
I chose just to share the feeling of successes of UMNO and live within the border of a civil nation like ours. I enjoyed fully witnessing the successes of UMNO fighting for Malay survival in particular fighting for Malay participation in commerce and industry and putting up unending effort to increase Malay participation in management teams of big corporations and multinationals.
I was joyful witnessing that Malay wealth including that was in custody of government agencies shot up from 2.7 percent in 1970 to 18.4 percent in 1984. That figure was mentioned in almost every Divisional Committee meeting those days by economic bureau and that is already an ancient history. No UMNO leaders talk about Malay equity any longer as they are more concerned about their own gains and greed.
In the early 70s I was among the inconsequential figures moving around at young age to big corporations to importune the companies to employ Malay executives in commerce and industry, and that of course was part of the organic moves by the UMNO youth under the stewardship of Dato Harun Idris.
That was the period when many big public companies owned by the non Malays and foreigners initiated ‘management trainee’ programs to bring in equitable number of Malay professionals and semi professionals to fill in their management teams.
Through the comments that I had gathered through this blog I am too certain that what I am saying now is Greek if not French to them. Many may think that I am speaking different language.
In those days the youth were on the field doing practical exercise in getting as many Malays as possible to be in the middle management level in big public companies and corporations. Youth of those days didn’t deliver high charged speeches and kissed the ‘kris’ but worked practically with organic result. Youths of today are more of sycophants to leaders to trade for personal positions and glory.
As a young member I enjoyed witnessing everybody in the party had strong appetite to ceaselessly fight for the race with too little number among them struggled for personal gain and greed.
I myself spent years and years working with nominal pay packet combing every JKKK in the country to educate the people on the ground on any big government projects that had everything to do with them. The idea was to ensure that every government move was understood by the ordinary public and jotting down their grievances if there was any.
By doing so the people felt that they were part of decision making of the government. So the people were at all cost stood behind the party and government as they felt that they were part of the government decision making and took accountability together with what the party and the government decided to implement.
I am still a member but I missed the past glories. I admit the fact that past is past but my anticipation that the magnificence to follow through is not happening and that make people like me exceedingly disenchanted.
UMNO members of today do not have the spirit of party any longer and bear in mind that a body without spirit is nothing more and nothing less a corpse. A corpse deserves a ceremonious funeral.
BUT can we find a few who can do the restoration job for the party? I don’t know who and where they are but if every member cares to do the search I am sure we can find one or two at least.
With that hope in me, I still stick as a member of this sickly party. I think I shall be the last to desert the party if it’s forsaken by the people. Experience tells that the current individuals who talk big about their love for UMNO will be the first to raise the white flag if UMNO looses all the votes from the people in the coming GE. They will be the ones who would bark at UMNO if that situation arises.
They will also be the first to hoist the PR flags if that coalition wins the general election. When Mahathir felt that he would loose if he were to go for another round of party election as instructed by Harun Hashim's court, he disbanded UMNO and set up another party called UMNO baru. I have been trying to forget this dark incidence but to no avail until to this second.
That's how much my love for UMNO and I despise anyone questioning my loyalty to the spirit of UMNO. Many around us are just having the physics of UMNO but I own the soul and its spirit.
Personally I have gone through this kind of mill ever since joining this party in 1970, and joining a new party without its soul called New UMNO in 1997. With that lengthy experience I understand the UMNO behavioral character of most UMNO members and its leaders.
Allow me to quote a Malay proverb, ‘rasa-rasanya saya sudah boleh menyelam air didalam tunggak’. That’s how much my understanding of UMNO members and their basic behavioral attributes.
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