We all get swindled day in and day out. But it is one thing to be swindled by a road-side cheat and quite another to be swindled systematically by the Central Governments.In a bid to regain straying non-Malay support, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin said Muhyiddin said the NEM was construed in line with the Najib administration’s all-encompassing catchphrase of 1 Malaysia, a slogan designed swindled systematically to a nation frayed by communal politics. the government’s New Economic Model (NEM) will provide equal opportunities to all regardless of race.but Nazri said the status and rights of bumiputeras would not be abolished under NEM adding that action would be based on the federal constitution and the law
The Malay Consultative Council (MPM) claims that Malays and Bumiputras, who form the majority group in the country, are being marginalised and amendments need to be made to the New Economic Model (NEM) to remedy that.
Speaking to reporters outside of Parliament today, Datuk Ibrahim Ali (picture), who is the founder and steering committee member of MPM, said these amendments have been sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak earlier today.
He stated that MPM wanted to make sure that NEM was balanced and that there were “no more polemics” surrounding its introduction.
“I want to clarify something... people are thinking that MPM is racist, it’s not true. We are focusing on the distribution of the country’s wealth, based on social justice.
“MPM’s proposal is that NEM follows the UN Social Economic Charter for marginalised people,” said Ibrahim.
According to the politician, 67 per cent of the country’s population is made up of Malays and Bumiputras while 33 percent are non-Malays, which made Malays and Bumiputras the majority race in the country.
“Any country where the majority is marginalised, they should be given priority... with continual affirmative action.
“The UN charter states that the majority group is the national agenda... this is indeed the issue of national agenda, because this is the majority population.”
He added that contrary to preconceived notions, Malays have not “received much anyway, these are all misperceptions.”
According to Ibrahim, MPM had a roundtable discussion back on March 7 where 75 NGOs and 500 academics had first debated on the proposed amendments to the NEM.
He said that the proposals were designed on the constitutional laws of the country.
“The NEM should include measures that will put a stop to market dominance by a minority, and in turn make it healthier and stable. The positions and rights of the Malays have to be preserved, and distribution has to be balanced,” said Ibrahim.
He noted that the Prime Minister’s reaction had been positive thus far based on preliminary feedback.
“PM has been very receptive, and says he will look and study the proposal.”
The memorandum, titled “meletakkan agenda Melayu dalam ekonomi Melayu” had four main points to offer:
- Social justice (no marginalisation of the majority group)
- Economic justice and access to market (to stop the practice of cartel and market dominance by the Chinese so that other races can compete competitively)
- NEM be based on the spirit of the Constitution
- Simultaneous development and distribution
“It must be ensured that all races will have the same role and equal opportunities to nurture their potentials fairly in the economic sector,” Muhyiddin said at a dinner held by the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall.
“I believe that when everyone, regardless of race and religion, receives equal rights, real racial harmony can be realised. Therefore the NEM is not just an economic model but a vital instrument to tear down the walls of racism,” he added.
Enthusiasm is no substitute for clarity. The flaws are not in the laudable intention but in the clogged delivery. The desire to be politically correct has overtaken the imperative to be politically sensible. Method and order, the favourite weapons of Hercule Poirot, might be usefully employed in analysis. The New Economic Model (NEM) that will be introduced at the end of the month will not abolish bumiputera rights, but will focus on cooperation with non-bumiputeras, parliament was told today.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz (picture) said the form of cooperation would be in politics and business promotions. “We want joint-ventures where both parties, bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras, stand to gain,” he said when replying to a question by Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) in Dewan Rakyat.
Mahfuz had asked about the position of bumiputeras under NEM and measures lined-up to avoid racial problems.
Nazri said the status and rights of bumiputeras would not be abolished under NEM adding that action would be based on the federal constitution and the law.
“We just want bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras to cooperate for mutual benefit,” he said.
To a question by Datuk Billy Abit Joo (BN-Hulu Rajang), he said it was unnecessary to streamline laws to define bumiputeras particularly those in Sarawak.
This was because bumiputeras had been streamlined into three categories under the federal constitution namely the Malays, indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak and the Orang Asli.
He claimed that the 1 Malaysia concept, a brainchild of the country’s sixth premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, will not leave behind anyone based on race and religious differences.
But Najib’s 1 Malaysia is not selling well, particularly to the non-Malays, say opposition leaders.
His effort to revive the country’s once credible moderate image has been marred by ultra-nationalist sentiments from within his own party who, among others, are rejecting his NEM.
This spurred the growth of groups like Perkasa, which enjoys the backing of hawks from Najib’s own Umno.The strong anti-Chinese sentiments within groups like Perkasa and its Umno link have further alienated support from the country’s second biggest race, says the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
Najib himself has attacked the DAP’s Middle Malaysia slogan as another version of the Malaysian Malaysia concept that was first aired in the 1960s by the People Action Party’s Lee Kuan Yew, who brought Singapore to help form Malaysia and later cried when Kuala Lumpur ejected the island state.
Nazri said the federal constitution clearly states the categories of people recognised as bumiputeras and that it is indisputable.
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