Can we trust PM AAB to keep his promise on the limit placed on NEP continuation?


Letter
by Loh Meng Kow

PM AAB said the New Economic Policy (NEP) was being continued to help develop professional classes among the Malays and eradicate poverty among Malaysians regardless of race, and it was never intended to make Malays rich by seizing the wealth of non-Malays. (The Sun, 9 November 2007)

If PM AAB is sincere that he wanted only to implement what he has stated in the paragraph above, through the extension of NEP, then he should declare that two new programmes, namely one, Development of Malay Professional Class, and two, Eradication of Poverty for Malaysians are hereby established, and NEP is abolished forthwith. Indeed a policy which was established 37 years ago can hardly be known as New.

PM AAB will not be truthful if he does not accept the fact that implementations of NEP until now, beginning especially from the reign of TDM 26 years ago have deviated from the stated objectives. By retaining the name NEP, PM AAB will not be able to stop government departments continuing with what they have been wrongly doing in the name of NEP. It is not unlike a mouse carrying an elephant through the gate of NEP. If he retains NEP, then PM AAB shows his intention of speaking with a fork tongue, and of utilizing skillfully the boiling frog syndrome.

PM AAB might have his subordinate BN component parties believed that for the sake of political expediency, he had to retain the term NEP. If he does not have the political will to remove NEP, then he would not have the political guts to stop UMNO continue with the old practices in the name of two programmes he has identified.

PM AAB should realize the true meaning of the words ‘develop professional classes among the Malays’. It should mean that those among the Malays who wish to take up professions as a means of living should excel in the knowledge and skills expected of their professions. It would not mean dishing out professional degrees and certificates to Malays so that the number of Malays can increase, and also in terms of percentage against other races. Hence, the number of professionals among other races has no relationship at all with regards to the success in the development of professional classes among the Malays. Consequently admission to local universities for professional courses should be based purely on merits. Indeed, the old policy of NEP in creating quantity rather than quality of Malay professionals runs counter to the objective of developing Malay professionals.

Eradication of poverty has been an important role of any government which claims to be a government for the people. In a multi racial country, it is only natural that assistance to eradicate poverty should be for all races. It is only the governments which provide assistance limited to a particular sector of the population are seen to be involved in large scale corruption, in terms of creating captive votes from electorates. There is no need to name a policy when it was the intention of the government to help the poor of all races. Much less to specify that NEP would help eradicate all of the poor when it spells out races in policy actions, and it has been misused since its inception.

PM AAB was playing with words in saying that it was never intended (by the government) to make Malays rich by seizing the wealth of the non-Malays. Yes, the laws of the land guaranteed that people have protection of their wealth. But private agricultural land had been forcibly acquired so that Bumiputra companies can make use of them for business ventures. This was in the name of developing Bumiputra entrepreneurship. In terms of semantic, the wealth of non-Malays was not seized. It was only the potential value of the plot of land that had been terminated.

Do you think PM AAB is sincere and able to use NEP only for the two programmes? If he is, then NEP should cease forthwith.

  1. #1 by k1980 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:13 pm

    How to trust umno when it means U-Must-Never-Oppose?

  2. #2 by wits0 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:22 pm

    Trust a fox in a hen house?

  3. #3 by wtf2 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:26 pm

    the motto is talk cock like sing song

  4. #4 by wits0 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:32 pm

    Like tuna sing.

  5. #5 by Libra2 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:35 pm

    This fox speaks with forked tongues and changes his skin colour all the time like a chameleon. To put it crudely, he is a compulsive liar. And he can lie without twitching his lips.
    In Johor a multi-millionaire Bumiputra can but a house at a 15% discount. Where does this discount come from. Surely, not from the developer. It is from from the poor Non Bumis who pay exorbitant price to absorb that 15% discount given to the parasites.
    Ask Southern bank and all the other non Bumi controlled banks how they lost out to Bumi interests. Ask the transport operators? Ask the non Bumi school leavers why they could not get places in the universitites.
    In his simple Enlish, This PM likes to talk cock.

  6. #6 by democrate on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:43 pm

    Pak Lah feels proud to hv our astronut but never feel ashamed of the spoon feed tongkat and wheel chair policy . if feel so proud of the astronut then show the world by giving up the free 45% share and go for open door tender. NEP has nothing to do with the Malay Rights ok it is only a short term agreement for narrowing the gap of the poor and the rich . Tapi, 38 yrs already. ta cukup ke? malu betul lah as a Malaysian!

  7. #7 by Godfather on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:51 pm

    Would you trust a guy who said this in 2005 ?

    “We are not in the business of cheating the people.”

    They will need the NEP to carry on stealing. They will not stop until there is nothing left to steal.

  8. #8 by lbn on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 1:58 pm

    Don’t waste time with him. He’s getting worse everyday. Can only talk!

  9. #9 by bennylohstocks on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:06 pm

  10. #10 by k1980 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:26 pm

    Who would you support?

    Dolah: “Tapi saya mesti kata saya pantang dicabar”

    Rakyat: “Tapi kami mesti kata kami pantang dianiaya!”

  11. #11 by politicalopinions on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:26 pm

    Many of us can condemn the country with words, but how many of us actually take action? Since we know how corrupted and useless the current government is, why not make it a point to talk about it in coffeeshop talks etc, to influence other people not to vote for the current government?

    General election is coming soon and I hope everyone would vote for the oppositions. Things wouldn’t change overnight, but if the current government felt threaten politically, I have a feeling they will start making policy to win back the support of the non-malays.

    What we need is a competitive government, not a goverment who likes to threaten other people whenever their political and economical monopoly is threatened.

    This country should be fair for everyone. Stop the racism and introduce the policy whereby only the best would be recognised. We don’t need someone to be a Malay to be in the top position. We need someone who is brilliant and smart and have good characteristics to be at the top.

    I can tell you, history will repeat itself. Riots, mass protests or even guerillas would occur if the country continues pressing on non-malays. Everyone has a limit. Don’t go over the limit.

  12. #12 by pulau_sibu on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:31 pm

    if according to laws, professors should not get involved in politics. so this guy should now be fired
    ———
    Prof Datuk Dr Abd Latif Abu Bakar of the UM’s media studies department had allegedly said during a national Parent-Teacher Associations convention in Malacca that Dr Mahathir was a traitor to the Malay language.

    Mukhriz said the idea of teaching Science and Mathematics in English is to enable young Malaysians to master the two fields, as most books and materials on the two subjects are written in English.

  13. #13 by year of snake on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:39 pm

    What he is promising will never happen. Even the expatraites are saying this. I was on a bus tour overseas when I introduce myself to a fellow passenger that I am from Malaysia. This orang puteh ask me whether I am a Malay or Chinese as I have a dark complexion. When I answered that I am a chinese, he told me that I am a 4th class citizen of Malaysia. I was taken back by his remark and ask him why he said that and he told me that he worked in Malaysia for 3 years and came to this conclusion due to his observation and mixing around. He said the 1st class citizen are the Malays, 2nd class citizen are the bumiputras from Sabah and Sarawak, 3rd class are the Muslim converts and 4th class are other non-malays. I never thought of this as I always read about 1st and 2nd class citizens.

  14. #14 by satchi on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:40 pm

    And good work Kit Siang!You are hero and not zero like teh astraunauts!!Good Job Mate!God Bless!

  15. #15 by boh-liao on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 2:49 pm

    Just like one would trust a monkey to guard a bunch of pisang tanduk or pisang Turki!

  16. #16 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 3:00 pm

    Yes we need to bury the NEP and make sure any replacement therapy is transparent and “needs-based.”

    http://malaysiawatch3.blogspot.com/2007/11/another-nep-justification.html

  17. #17 by boh-liao on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 3:10 pm

    How many of us know that Umno now fully owns Universiti Tun Abdul Razak?

    Najib will chair the board of trustees to focus on creating more Malay entrepreneurs.

  18. #18 by shaolin on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 3:28 pm

    In POTICS, we cannot trust anyone in PROMISES but in
    Written DOCUMENTS in black and white!!! Can we trust
    AAB, the Fox in the den of thieves??!! The answer is ‘NO’!

    It is time to bury New NEP Policy in Malaysia. Otherwise
    we as Minority Groups MUST continue to spoonfeed the
    MAJORITY Group(The Malays), put them on wheelchairs
    and finally put them bed-ridden too!!

    38 years of New NEP for Malays is long enough for them
    to turn into a new leaf.

    We as Monority Groups have helped the Rich Malays long
    enough to make them enjoy lives and it is time for the
    Rich Malays to help the poor Malays now!!!

    Tak malu ke sentiasa minta tolong dari Kegauman Kechil??
    Sepatutnya, Gaum Besar-Besaran yang mesti jaga Gaum
    Kechil saperti Negara Cina!! Kami semua rasa MALU…!!!

  19. #19 by bra888 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 3:33 pm

    k1980 Says:
    November 11th, 2007 at 13: 13.47

    How to trust umno when it means U-Must-Never-Oppose?

    Haha. Very nice…

  20. #20 by teaumikael on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 3:39 pm

    It was very sad that Malaysia has become something I myself our even the Non Malays are used to. Eversince, Mahathir leaved the post of PM, many malays politician has built up the guts or in other words AAB is incapable of managing them. Many of the malays politician used the racial or religion to manage their own kind. To me, I still have a little bit hope that the NEP AAB mentioned was sincere. The main questioned is that whether AAB can stand up against so many hipocrites. Let’s see!

  21. #21 by malaysiatoday.com on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 4:31 pm

    Malay politicians got sincere in their words? UMNO ppl refrained themselves from making racist remarks in this year’s general assembly is a hypocrisy to fool non-bumis voting them in next GE.

    Do you believe sun rise is from the west?

  22. #22 by bystander on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 5:50 pm

    yeah, PM is a compulsive liar and a cheat. period.

  23. #23 by bystander on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 6:32 pm

    UMNO is the malaysian equivalent of KKK or NAZI.

  24. #24 by borrring on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 6:44 pm

    How can u trust him? Have u seen other than UMNO Malays getting anything out of NEP? All he’s been doing all this while is “cheap talk”….anyone can claim NEP will be benificial for everyone…tell that to the orang asli, tell that to the non malay bumis….tell that the poor….all I see is these “big shots” trampling all over these poor rakyat

  25. #25 by LittleBird on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 6:53 pm

    When he came in to power he formed IPMC which till today dunno what happened. Then after Moorty’s case he said he will look into it which resulted the Memo being deemed “kurang ajar” but until now nothing but when there’s one more problem he talk they are looking into it.

    Patutlah..so many police reports also we get the same “masih dalam siasatan”

    Then Iskandar corridor and then corridor and corridor.

    Promised to wipe of corruption but the 18 big names remain a mystery.

    The only thing he said came to reality was jangan bekerja untuk saya but kerja bersama saya in its own way.

  26. #26 by k1980 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 7:21 pm

    To cling to power, some people would do anything
    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/310893/1/.html
    “No newspaper dared to publish photographs of the mammoth peaceful gathering, which was a tribute to Malaysians for their love of peace and commitment to democracy…Abdullah should honour his pledge when he became prime minister four years ago to listen to the truth from the people, however unpleasant, and to introduce institutional reforms for justice and democracy,”

    “Seven people were injured by the police and one suffered a severe injury…One person said he was handcuffed and had already fallen to the ground when he was kicked in the head.”

  27. #27 by motai on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 8:03 pm

    [deleted]

  28. #28 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 8:40 pm

    wits0 Says:
    November 11th, 2007 at 13: 22.08
    Trust a fox in a hen house?

    boh-liao Says:
    November 11th, 2007 at 14: 49.54
    “…trust a monkey to guard a bunch of pisang tanduk..!

    shaolin Says:
    November 11th, 2007 at 15: 28.41
    “…trust AAB, the Fox in the den of thieves??!!

    ENDANGERED HORNBILL SAYS:
    “…or a pack of rats with cheese?”

    This is why BN in power is untenable. The cancer will only get deeper.

    Malaysia will neveer ever be the dream we want for our children and our children’s children without cutting BN by its roots and replacing the utterly diseased plant with a new seedling, PKR/DAP coalition.

  29. #29 by cancan on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 8:46 pm

    The Umnoputras are living in a state of constant fear.

    They fear the decline in number of their race,so they want to bring the Javanese in our place.

    They fear of losing the NEP,so by hook or by crook,they will make sure it will not be displaced.

    They fear the progress of the other race,so they change the rule of law to suit their taste.

    They fear of losing their controlling power,so they threatened the people with race,race,race!

    They want some face,so they send a passenger to space.

    At the end of the day,these Umnoputras,mahu jadi hantu pun tidak boleh!

  30. #30 by Cinapek on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 9:41 pm

    AAB would not have the guts to do away with the NEP. The type of weak leader he is, he would be out of office in no time.

    ” PM AAB was playing with words in saying that it was never intended (by the government) to make Malays rich by seizing the wealth of the non-Malays.” True, there is no overt seizing of the wealth of the non Malays. UMNO is not that stupid. They need the non Malays to do the hard work and pay the taxes for them to squander and buy luxury jets. No less than Dr M himself has acknowledged that most of the taxes in Bolehland are paid by the non Malays when he replied to extremist elements who demanded that he get rid of the non Malays.

    Not every non Malay has wealth. Yet what they have are being taken away in an indirect manner. Take the 15% housing discount for bumis. The developer is not going to absorb the shortfall. They add it to the prices paid by the non Malays. When deserving non Malay students are deprived of places in public universities and forced to send their children overseas or to private institutions of higher learning, this is indirectly taking away their hard earned money. They not only do not get to receive the benefits of the taxes they have paid , they have to dig into their hard earned savings to pay for their children’s education.

    By awarding mega contracts without tenders to preferred bumis are also taking away money from non bumis. Inflating the cost of projects funded by public money and financed by taxes which are largely paid by non Malays is the same as taking away their wealth or money.

    The list goes on. And it will go on because not just AAB but every politician after him knows they have mounted on the tiger’s back and will never be able to get down or they are finished.

  31. #31 by wits0 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 9:48 pm

    “they have to dig into their hard earned savings to pay for their children’s education.”

    In such a process, the none too rich have to quietly spend their old age alone in near destitute without even the comfort of their children near them. Who has ever documented these? Not only the country loses quality ppl through such hidden ugliness and cruelty there are private sufferings involved.

  32. #32 by bra888 on Sunday, 11 November 2007 - 9:55 pm

    “Police responded by firing water cannons and tear gas at the protesters, but only at the Masjid Jamek meeting point.[6] [7] 245 people were arrested, but were released after their statements were recorded.”

    This was taken from
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Bersih_Rally

    I never knew that there were 245 people arrested.

  33. #33 by Bigjoe on Monday, 12 November 2007 - 8:32 am

    In my view, its highly important to raise the issue of the NEP now because of the soon reduction in energy subsidy. Why? How?

    Make no mistake, removal of the subsidies is equivalent to a TAX INCREASE especially so in this country. Increase in Petronas revenue goes to the government OR UMNOputras hand. It is a TAX increase.

    The issue really is if the government is allowed to increase tax, then should they not be MORE accountable, the biggest thing being the NEP. What happens if after the tax increase, the economy slows down and the NEP misses the target? Who answers for that?

    As it is, we will miss 2020 target already (anybody fooled about talk of 2057???). Raising taxes has a big likelihood of slowing the economy down even further and missing the target by a very big amount especially given that all the ills like dependency on gov and corruption is still huge.

    Here is something to consider, what if the government has a huge tax windfall AND the NEP is removed? Any economist worth his salt will tell you that it has a better chance of uplifting the poor bumiputras AS WELL AS grow the economy faster and more competitively. Increase spending that is spread out competitively through the economy will not only fund more productive project for EVERYONE and more importantly more than under the NEP for the poor and average bumiputras…

    Don’t get it. Think of when Dr. M was the most successfull. Not when he was protective of local industries and interventionist in the beginning of his career but in the middle of his career when he opened up the economy, privatization with non-bumis AND increase government spending.

    However, a increase spending and removal of NEP is an optimal solution that BN especially this PM is incapable of doing. BN/UMNO failure is greatest when the opportunities is greatest and the challenge is highest – that is the real cost of our ‘compromise’ and ‘moderate’ system.

  34. #34 by Godfather on Monday, 12 November 2007 - 11:43 am

    These idiots can’t manage a piss-up in a brewery, much less run a country.

    They talk about taxing the rich and place a lesser burden on the poor. We have heard that before. They don’t understand the implications. OK, so we raise road taxes for cars in excess of 2,000 cc. Those proton and perodua car owners don’t get affected. But the tycoons, the towkays all get affected, but many of them are on company cars anyway, and have their petrol bills paid for. These people don’t care if you raise the petrol prices tomorrow or increase the road taxes tomorrow. The costs are passed through to their companies, which in turn gets the tax deductions and pay less corporate tax. So government revenues go down. Worse, these companies raise their prices if they operate on a cost-plus basis (like logistics companies) and the effect ripples through the entire population, rich and poor.

    People like Badawi and KJ don’t know what they are talking about. They fish for votes, and in truth they don’t care because they travel in luxury, they move all over the place in government jets and cars.

    The solution is plain for all to see – stop stealing, and establish funds for the poor irrespective of race. There will be plenty of funds if you stop stealing. Of course you can’t because your mind is on your own pocket, and not on the pockets of the poor.

  35. #35 by grace on Monday, 12 November 2007 - 12:17 pm

    Can I trust Pak Lah?
    The answer is NO!NO!NO!

  36. #36 by k1980 on Monday, 12 November 2007 - 1:00 pm

    If I have the means, I would like to shoot the fools who elected an old, bumbling incompetent asehole of a so-called ‘pemimpin’ who raises taxes and cuts subsidies SO AS to obtain the money to continue buying seats in foreign spacecraft for space tourists

  37. #37 by Godfather on Monday, 12 November 2007 - 2:14 pm

    They run the country like they are running their own kampung business. Style mesti mahu, rugi tak apa. Eventually they will go broke, and then blame everybody else but themselves. The NEP allows them to steal with impunity, but eventually the country’s coffers will simply dry up. Then…..

  38. #38 by ktteokt on Monday, 12 November 2007 - 10:00 pm

    These guys not only have a tongkat each, they have “baby walkers” which allow them to “fly”

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