by Richard Teo
This govt would be foolish to ignore the pleas of the silent miniority. Any ill-conceived policies that benefit only one segment of the population cannot prevail over a length of time.
First and foremost the govt must realise that every right-minded Malaysians would still want the NEP to continue but not in its present form.
The NEP must adhere to its stated goals of eradicating poverty irrespective of race. It must be need-based and not race-based.There are still many pockets of poverty that exist across every racial divide.
I have seen poor Malays, poor Indians, poor Chinese families living only on two scanty meals a day. I have also seen poor Indian children, poor Chinese children and poor Malay children struggling to have money to attend school. This only serves to reinforce the perception that poverty does not respect race or
creed. It is a common thread among many of our fellow Malaysians irrespective of race who sadly still live on this poverty line.
Yes, thess are the classes of people who deserve to enjoy the fruits of NEP and not the well-heeled, rich Malays who are least deserving.
How can the govt despite numerous protest from the housing fraternity justify a policy of giving discount to rich Bumis to buy high-end houses at a discount when a more appropriate policy would be to extend a housing discount for all races for houses
costing $100,000 and below?
To continue with such a racist, discriminatory policy would in effect means that the non-Malays would have to subsidies the rich Malays for every purchase they made. Such a policy defies logic and is an abuse of the NEP.It was never intended for the NEP to help the rich Malays getting richer. If the govt cannot even see the fallacy of such a policy then we can only conclude that it has simply lost its moral right to govern.
The non Malays have never, ever objected to the govt building mosques for their Muslim subjects. We accept that Islam is the official religion of our country but in return we only ask for a little space for non-Muslims to practise their faiths.
For every 10 mosques that you build give the Hindus one shrine , the Christians one church and the Buddhists one temple. Is that not a reasonable request? If you give space for these faiths to worship then there would not be any need to have illegal places of worship.
If our leaders are true Muslims they will never allow their religion to suppress the followers of other religions. Islam has always allowed other religions to exist and flourish. History is resplendent with many examples and modern Turkey is a living proof that Islam, Christainity and Judaism can exist side by
side without any antagonism.
This govt must review and reflect on their discriminatory polices which have marginalised a large section of their miniority population. It is still not too late for them to realise that not only are there poor Malays but also by the same token there are poor Indians and poor Chinese who also need help.
Let us not forget they are also Malaysians. A govt that ignores
this realty is doing so at their own peril. The signs are already there. Dont let it reach a point of no redemption.
Intriguing analogy to the NEP mentality in the US of A
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2007/08/why_dont_hispan.html
Many Hispanics were born and/or grew up outside the US, so they don’t feel entitled to financial support from the American society. Many blacks, on the other hand, not only are born in the country, for the most part, but still grow up and live in the belief that America has treated them and their ancestors unfairly (which, by the way, is probably true). From that belief, plus the fact that they are American, comes the feeling of entitlement to a favor from society. And perhaps that’s why they are more likely to become beggars, which is, essentially, asking for society’s support and compassion….
Syed Hamid is a stupid minister. What kind of statements was he making? He implied that Malaysian citizens could be different from others. Does he know that citizens of any country are human being and all human beings are to be treated equal. Foreign countries raised conerns when they found that in Malaysia, human beings are being treated inhumanly. May be countries like Indian should put forward some kind of resolution to the UN about the inhuman treatment of people in Malaysia.
——————————————-
Syed Hamid: We’ll handle our citizens our own way
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Government will deal with citizens according to its laws and no other country should interfere with how Kuala Lumpur handles its domestic affairs.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said all Malaysian citizens, no matter their origin, had to abide by the law.
“If they break any law, it is our right to deal with them in accordance with Malaysian laws,†he told The Star when asked to comment on a report in which Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed New Delhi’s concerns over the treatment of Indians in Malaysia.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh echoed similar sentiments. When asked by reporters in the Indian capital, he said: “Whenever Indian citizens abroad or people of Indian origin living abroad are adversely affected, that naturally is a source of concern to us.â€Â
Syed Hamid said if any foreign government starts to question ethnicity in the country, Malaysia would eventually face a break-up.
“I hope there is no misunderstanding of what is happening here. If they are talking about Indian citizens, we would understand the concern, but what happened involves Malaysian citizens.â€Â
Is there any country in the world that has a constitution that classify its citizens into two classes, one having more rights than the other?
I am amazed that many Sabah BN politians have come out saying how proud they are of Australian Minister Penny Wong; how a Malaysian can achieve great things. Penny is not a Malaysian, she is a Australian Chinese girl who happened to be born in Malaysia; her mother had decided that there is no future for her in Malaysia, so emigrated to Australia. She was nurtured, not by the Malaysian environment, but by Australia, where she went to school right from first grade.
Her adopted country do not look at her as a pendatang, nor by her race. She has the same citizenship rights as the PM. She is a member of an Australian political party, not a white man’s party, or an Asian party. She does not belong to a “wanita” wing of the Labour party; she enjoys the same rights as the men and competes with men on an equal footing. She was appointed a minister not because she is head of “wanita Labour”.
In Malaysia, it is all about race, religion and gender. How to divide the goodies.
Ai yah! Tuan Syed Ham.. Msia already begin to break up lah, cos govt want to ! Bumi, Non bumi, ketuanan etc, NEP, kris waving, Some can talk A to Z, even ZZZ, some cannot talk even A ! How not to BREAK UP lah??
“The Malaysian Government will deal with citizens according to its laws and no other country should interfere with how Kuala Lumpur handles its domestic affairs.”
Spoken like a true spudhead hypocrite. What about Bodohland’s involvement with Fiji since the eighties? The self-serving vocal support for (only) Fiji’s indigenous people?
its about time for the GOVT to wake up and hear the cries of their citizens and not bluntly and arrogantly past remarks
I always have the wrong impression that Australia is a racist country. But look, the foreign born chinese, Penny Wong, is now one of the cabinet ministers in Australia.
Even USA gives a chance to Obama to become history by being a Black presidential canditate.
Here, we have racial discrimination policy or so called NEP…only Malay race would allow to become DPM or PM…..I wonder whether our country is more racist than Australia and USA?
‘Penny is not a Malaysian,she is Chinese Australian who happened to be born in Malaysia; her mother had decided that there was no future for her in Malaysia, so emigrated to Australia. She was nurtured not by the Malaysian environment, but by Australia,where she went to school right from first grade.’. madmix.
You hit it right on the head of the nail.The funny thing about this group of UMNOPuTRAS is that as far as they are concerned the other groups of Malaysians are pendatangs because this country is ‘aku punya negeri’.But as soon as they find somebody (who is born in Malaysia) out there on the international scene who has achieved great status they will quickly claim that person to be Malaysian without bothering to check that person’s nationality.
Don’t worry they will be more former Malaysians out there who could be achieving great heights in various fields in due cause and many of them are most properly malaysians of other ethnicities who also could have achieve the same feat here in Malaysia if not for the race-based policy of this country.
This ‘aku punya negeri’ which has come about when the British formed the Malayan Union whish gave equal citizenship to immigrants of other ethnicities ( they protested vehemently not only because of race and religion but also their fear of economic threat from the other groups) most go If anybody should have that ‘aku punya negeri’ attitude it should be the Orang Asli for they are rightly the First People of Malaysia, the Malays are also pendatang! Yet look at the Orang Aslis, they are even more marginalised than the Indians from the estates!
Correction–‘Don’t worry there will be………………………….
…………………………………..in variuos fields in due course …………………………….race-based policy of this country.’.
It is disappointing to see that a poll of Malaysian youths conducted by Merdeka Centre showed that 34% of Chinese youths and 41% of Indian youths agreed that they have been treated equally by the government. With so many people complaining about the NEP, I wonder whether these Chinese and Indian youths are living in the same country. How are their views so different from others or are we the ones that are abnormal? What do these 34% Chinese and 41% Indian youths see that we don’t?
Mr Richard Teo.
Abolish NEP, replace with …?
NEP has not helped the poor is undeniable. NEP is ligimate plundering by the well-connected is also undeniable. NEP is largely responsible for poor delivery and quality of government contracts is also a fact.
But what was the NEP objective? Has that objective been met? That is a crucial question because if NEP is terminated without meeting the objective, we Malaysians would face another racial dissatisfaction. However, if NEP has been abused, that is another question; it is no longer a policy, but the question of corruption, nepotism and favouritism. If it is the latter, we are barking at a different tree.
Mr Teo, okay, assuming NEP is a thing of the past, would treatment of individuals, groups and races be on equal footing? You admitted that there are poor Malays, Indians, Chinese, Ibans, Kadazans etc, isn’t it somethng else that is responsible for their state of their economy? And I would say that something else is nothing other than corruption. That is the shield preventing NEP raching to the poor. That is the shield preventing the needy receiving help.
The auditor general’s report revealed all to us. And if I am to audit PKFTZ, I would come out with another 600 pages too. Similarly corruption occurs in any project issued by the government – even the small minute projects of a surau, a bridge, a retaining wall.
If NEP had been properly implemented, we won’t see powerful and connected people jostling each other for contracts in Putra Jaya. NEP would be prominent is the rural areas of Kelantan, Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang etc. Schools there would be painted, children would be educated, the roads, bridges and public amenities built.
Yet in the name of NEP, we witnessed officers asking for 2 Perdana, waiting at the airport for Ikan Trobuk and Brunei Pinapples from Sarawak, trips to Southern Thailand and Lake Toba. Is this NEP or corruption? (Note: Mr Teo, I saw the ikan trobuk and pineapples federal offcers with my own eyes).
The present government has been there for too long. They feel they are untouchable. That breeds corruption. The only way to bring sanity nack into our country is to put forward a credible opposition. Now there is also another option opened; an alternative government. Let just hope PKR and DAP form an alliance together with PAS.
Just hope, Teo.
The Umnoputras will defend their rights to have the NEP as if it is god given.
They will stir the anger of the malays if it is remove and threaten the other races.Typical of the Umnoputras behaviour which is no different from the gangsters.
Election is coming.
The oppositions and all races must unite to kick these gangsters out before the country goes bankrupt.
Can somebody compile all the wrongdoings as proof of this corrupted government into VCD and distribute it to the people just before election.
This is one way to convey the message as the mainstream medias are control by them.
The compilation of the VCD should focus on corruptions,police brutality,rising crime rates,religion intolerance and any others you may like to add.
And please design the cover of the VCD as an effective trademark for this corrupted government,just like the big M for Mcdonald.
Think about it Uncle Lim.
“It is disappointing….” Traveller
I suppose it depends on the design of the questions asked. We can always get what we want by designing the questions to suit our aim.
Similarly, that might also apply to the parameters set regard to the “judiciary tape.”
traveller, don’t get disappointed, u believe this survey?? designed questions, survey youth group? what age group? below 20? what these young boys or girls know. If NEP continue at present form for another 5 or 6 years, then by 2020, many countries in Asia will overtake us in economy, by 2030, Msia could have a new export—-house maids, unskilled labourers, etc to our neighbours
The NEP can continue albeit it must be based on household income and not by race. Social objectives of wealth distribution must be balanced with economic objectives of efficiency so as not to affect the overall well-being of the nation
To ignore the plight of any marginalized section of the population is a serious peril to the nation as it could lead to a more serious strife as seen in many countries as in Sri Lanka. This scenario might appear far-fetched for now but it is a real possibility if we look at the world’s history.
Sad to say, rather than looking at the poor Malaysian statistics, our leaders prefer to compare the rich guys..Remember when our PM said our top 10 richest man, where most of them are still chinese biz man. This means NEP is only achieve when they have at least half of them is bumiptra…Potential candidates like Raja Zakaria, KJ,..his cronies..
The Malaysia Government thinks only The Malays are
having the Dilemma and Poor People that need HELP??
Other Non Malays and Minorities are so RICH that it is
the duty of Minority Groups’ to help the POOR MALAYS!!!
Who is to help All Those Poor Chinese, Indians and All
Other Minority Groups..??? Mind you if You ever study
ECONOMICS, the RICH population ONLY contributes to
NEP is still alive because MCA Chinese is supporting it.
(deleted??)
There is only ONE solution to the NEP. THROW IT OUT.
Do not waste time reviewing, or modifying it. The government can give you another 100 Chinese and Tamil schools. Will it make you equal as Malaysians??? Or you want another 100 temples or churches??? Where will your children fit in later? China ? India ? Where ? It is not going to change and all Malaysians equal. Face the facts. Be BRAVE. Vote out the MCA and MIC. Vote for EQUALITY !
“… we only ask for a little space for non-Muslims to practise their faiths. For every 10 mosques that you build give the Hindus one shrine , the Christians one church and the Buddhists one temple. Is that not a reasonable request? ” Richard Teo
What of the rights of landowners on whose land shrines were built without their permission – growing from something small to give thanks to the Godess of Mercy, of Money etc to a full size temple? What of the constitutional rights of the other citizens – the landowners? They too do have rights, don’t they??
So let’s not be carried away. Temples and churces are not now being bulldozed simply because they are temples and churches and not mosques. Some of these temples have been illegally set up by worshippers on land that don’t belong to them – call that a case of illegal squatting in the name of God. When it comes to getting rid of squatters on your land who have been there for many years, have built their homes etc what of their equitable rights?? It is a simple case of compensating these folks. There is the Land Acquisition Act and your right of due process.
When Richard Teo frames the issue that way he is pandering to those who believe that the constitutional right of freedom of religion is trodden because they are not Muslims without more. Well, he is right! But he needs to address the other issues involved and not conveniently ignore them – like issues of law and order, like the right to compensation, and not mislead readers into thinking that there is recently a policy and widespread practice of demolishing non-Muslim places of worship simply because they are non-Muslim.
In all these cases there are competing public interests, and in some cases competing public and private interests and in others issues of law and order. There is of course the ever present danger of over zealous public officials whose judgment has been clouded by their political affiliations and in the process have ignored the religious sensitivities of those affected.
Such actions of public officials are a natural consequence of the breach of the doctrine of civil service neutrality. This too has to be addressed and addressed urgently by the Chief Secretary to the government.
NEP per se is not wrong in some ways. The key point is for uplifting the poor irrespective of race ! Who in his right mind would want challenge that ?
We simply cannot allow this govn with so many corrupted ministers to continue governing us. They have no more sense left in them.
Not only are these ppl seeking more privileges each coming year, they are even bold enough to push through parliament to change certain constitution to benefit themselves just because they have the majority.
Let’s not be cowed by them and show it clearly in the coming election. Save our next generation by voting wisely in order to contain their arrogance.
Do it well and do it right by sharing what you have had learned from YB Kit blog with friends and relatives. As for me personally, I have been telling all the people that I know to vote ” wisely ” and not let the corrupted continues to ” rob and rape ” this beautiful nation of ours.
To migrate is to fall into their trap ! Stand up and be counted. Do not let their cronies counterpart fools you by the pat on your shoulder. For a ” pat on the shoulder is just two feet away from a kick in the butt.” So be wise and spread the words around as many ppl are still in the dark and listen to the government of the day via the daily news, which you and I know are all lop sided.
Vote for righteous leaders who are not afraid to stand up for truth !
Let not the corrupted continues to fool us. Have a nice day !
“…//…So let’s not be carried away…//..†Undergrad2
Although what you said is reasonable, I sense that, increasingly, more and more members of marginalized or, if you will, oppressed group (whether in this Blog or out in the streets demonstrating – are not in the mood to or for reason anymore.
They have reached that point – point of no return.
It is as if the situation is so hopeless – and all avenues of redress and for the state of affairs to take a turn for the better – are closed, the time for reason is no more, and all efforts to do so and dialogue are a complete waste of the time.
The reason for this is apparently that other side (Powers-that-be) is not bona fide. If they were otherwise, reasoning could at least help rectify the mistakes. But no, the prevailing sentiment is that they are male fide, where considerations of race and religion triumph over every other reason.
With this feeling, the need to look at issues from balanced perspectives also fly out of the window.
The rule of law is also not respected because the feeling is the law is stacked by majority against them and the referee – the judiciary – is not an impartial avenue for any redress based on reasons and law.
Members of such marginalised/oppressed group are of one prevailing sentiment : everything the government or its ministers say or do is and has to be wrong, has to be opposed, and opposed by action not words or any more dialogue. Everyone else is either with this Cause – or against. All issues are framed in stark black and white terms.
If our leaders are true Muslims………..?
Ha, corruption, khalwat, C4, arrogance, lying … ha, true Muslims.
I think the true Muslims are in PAS. Surely not in UMNO.
Those Never Enough Parasites will not bother about the future of the country.
NEP is their legal license to rob the non-Malays.
NEP should be long buried.
We need a non-racist policy called the
NBP for Needs Based Program where all citizens are helped to do better.
It should be a policy that empowers the poor to do better and not a program of perpetual handouts.
For instance, a poor family will be helped untill one or two children are assisted through a U education and also taught to help their younger siblings progress.
oops….
missed out a qualifying term
“all citizens” shd be “all POOR citizens”
It is the only policy that
1. protect the majority and discriminate against the minority.
2. doesnt differentiate between rich and poor.
3. promote corruption for the rich
4. Never ending and outdated
5. Discourage meritocracy
6. Fail indefinitely
Hj Angus,
Malaysia needs more people like you…being open-
minded and possess fair judgement.
The consequences of NEP:
1.counter-productive
2.not conducive to carry on business in Malaysia
3.generates dissatisfaction among the rakyats
4.If you are become ‘artificially successful’ by riding on NEP, shame on you!!! …..and you’ll be damned by God!!
5.NEP s a time-bomb….defuse it before it is too late…
No way the current crop of UMNO politicians will abandon or modify NEP in this very form. Any shortcomings in the current state does not rob the Malay but only the Non-Malays. So I am not going to hold my breath for it to change.
Remember how TDM and former Selangor MB created the May13 riots and forced the then PM TAR to create the current NEP.
On the comments in today’s paper that Malaysia wanted an ‘Honest Broker’ for peace in the Middle East, I wish he sees the marginalized Indians in the same light as he sees the Palestinians. I hope he makes as much effort to speak for the rights of the marginalized Indians as for the Palestinians.
I think he has lost all his morality for what he is doing for the Indians. Also by making sure no MCA and MIC Ministers will have the balls to speak out. They will always be warned of the Whip that I view it as the Rottweiler or anjing jaga for UMNO.
If UMNO had supported the marginalized Indians in this very country as they have supported the cause of Palestinians, Hindraf is an non-issue so is NEP.
Don’t hope for it, take your own initiative to remove these UMNO Zionist of the East from the map of Malaysia.
Jeffrey,
You sound like President Bush who has been strongly criticized for it, when you say “Everyone else is either with this Cause – or against. All issues are framed in stark black and white terms.”
“You are either for us or against us” – this type of exclusive approach to an issue would shut out many who are sympathetic and are not suffering from the effects of marginalization, like the middle class of any race and that includes the Indian professionals who are non-Hindus many of whom are not among the “marginalized” lot by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t think we need to ask where was Ananda Krishnan and where was V.K. Lingam to name but a few.
Nobody could support even tacitly the marginalization of ethnic minorities anywhere in the world and still be seen to be fair and just (except perhaps polticians with vested interests to protect) but when you hold up signs like “Indians are on the March. Ignore at your own Peril” the mood changes to one of confrontation rather than non-confrontational, from one of passive resistance to one of aggressive opposition.
I thought demonstrators were heard shouting “Daulat Tuanku” in reference to the Agong. Public speakers among the demonstrators should be speaking more in the national language to dispel doubts of their loyalty to King and Country. The appeal to the constitutional monarch of a former colonial power is embarassing enough for Malaysians and not just their government. On this issue of embarassment to Malaysians, Mahathir (of Indian ancestry himself) has done a good job and we don’t need others to follow in his footsteps. But that is an issue for another day.
As for the NEP – notwithstanding what it meant originally, how it was conceived and what it sought to eradicate etc – has been couched in racial terms from day one. I think it was a policy to help the economically disadvantaged among the Malays then, with state benefits – accessibility given to both the poor as well as the less poor or the non-poor. Period.
If it started as a policy primarily to address the causes of the race riots in 1969 (and here the issues get blurred as there are some among us who are convinced what happened was a coup against the then Prime Minister, staged to look like a call by the Malays to stop their own ‘marginalization’ by their own Tunku-led government) it is time to move rather than have anything replaced, into a second phase which is to treat poor Malaysians of all races fairly and given equal access to its benefits.
Read what Bangkok Post columnist said of the Hindraf and racial discord in Malaysia.
http://2hard2lie.blogspot.com
“…//…Jeffrey,You sound like President Bush who has been strongly criticized for it, when you say “Everyone else is either with this Cause – or against. All issues are framed in stark black and white terms….//…†– Undergrad2
Not me. I don’t frame or see issues in stark black and white terms….though I stated that I sensed many others were beginning to do so for which I was accused of ‘talkcock’ in evaluating the grey areas. :)
“Review NEP before its too late” or else watch Malaysia slide into the bogs surely and inexorably like Zimbabwe.
In fact, almost 40 years after NEP’s inception, this slide is now more evident than ever!
The time will come when it will be Zimalaysia.
The tale is tale of 2 families where I lived.
Let’s call them uncle Tun and uncle Lee. In the early days, Uncle Lee combined his plantation with Uncle’s Tun much much larger rubber plantation, as they hope to improve and capture more business. Uncle Lee is the ‘kapala’ of the southern plantation.
The merged plantation prospered and there were discussions on what could be done to make it even more succesful. Unfortunately there were serious disagreements and they went split the plantation back into it’s orginal boundaries.
Interestingly some of Uncle Tun’s workers decided to work in Uncle’s Lee plantation and vice versa.
Uncle Tun is a very gentle person and he has a few favourite workers. These he protected and gave them some special incentives.
Uncle Lee is a very pragmatic person. As his plantation is small and he had much less workers, he worked them real hard but in most cases, he is fair in rewarding them. Fair as fair can be in the real world.
40+ years past.
Uncle Tun’s plantation is still surviving but it has now change to producing palm oil and some rubber. A few of his favourites workers are quite successful now but the thousands of many others are still very much remain the same.
Uncle Lee meanwhile had got out the rubber business and he had started building machines that are used to refine palm oil. A lot of his workers are now VERY rich, even those who initially came from Uncle Tun. Everyone of his workers owns a house, a car and reasonable amount of savings.
By this time, Uncle Lee’s business had surpassed Uncle Tun’s business in the palm oil market.
Also in between the 40+ years, attracted by the success of Uncle Lee’s plantation, many of Uncle Tun’s non-favourite workers changed jobs to work with Uncle Lee and today they share in Uncle Lee’s success.
Now tell me which would be the model going forward? Uncle Tun or Uncle Lee.
NEP, NEP, NEP. We must keep the NEP and it needs to be fairly executed irrespective of race, colour or religion.
“The time will come when it (Malaysia) will be Zimalaysia.” ENDANGERED HORNBILL
Do you think it matters to these gooks??
The NEP drafted 37 years ago and it should have been redrafted time to time to suite all races need. The irony is, it becomes Never Ending Policy where it’s been catergorised as a part of privilage of malays and now Governement(UMNO) warning other races to do not raising any issues related to NEP. So funny..isnt it.
Balance should be priority in any cases. Unbalance system will only stand for short period of time (yielding period) then colapse; universal law says it.
There will no happiness will be permanent by supressing others. Even islam too says it. Any gainings form it is non-halal. Better make it halal in thinkings and doings and policies; then go for eateries for make sure it halal.
What’s this NEP stuff? Is it a new drug? Man I need some badly.
shaolin
thanks for the compliment.
Please note I am no Haji!
As a Eurasian I guess I should be more sidelined than an Indian but luckily I managed to get a private scholarship in 1966 and that has made a lot of difference.
But even so, I should be a millionaire now if I had drunk from all the NEP money streams. So I owe the government nothing but for free schooling up to HSC.
Ask these “dungduts” to vet through their infamous “essay”, the Rukunegara and see if they agree to each and every word written in it? If they do, then why didn’t they implement what they have written? And if they don’t, why then did they started writing this “essay” way back in the seventies and make each and every citizen swear under the hot sun then??
When a few leaders in my community, which many people including historians have acknowledged as having settled in Malaya a lot longer than most others, approached the government to consider our unique status in Malaysia, all they received as a reply was ‘Apply for membership to UMNO first’. My ‘chin nang’ who were proud leaders of not only our community but also the Chinese in general and who have helped negotiate for independence would be ‘turning in their graves’ at such an expression of bigotry.
It is not my intention here to gloat, but merely to accentuate the contrasting treatments certain groups of people in Malaysia and perhaps in Australia are receiving, as have been brought up by madmix, ngahc, AhPek and several others above.
I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, trying to compare my situation with many other noted Malaysians or rather ex-Malaysians living here in Australia. My family and I have lived a modest and almost anonymous life here. But that is not saying I have not participated in the debate of issues prevalent before the recent federal election. In fact, I can say that I feel satisfied in having done my part in helping put aside a government of 11 years that has been out of touch in recent years.
It was against the backdrop of Ops Lalang in the late 80’s that, as a young family, we felt there will not be much left around for our children and theirs in Malaysia. We agonised for months over deciding between keeping our relatively cushy jobs in Malaysia and the sacrifice we ‘ought’ to make for the sake of our children. Top in our minds then were concerns which are best described by Jeffrey eloquently in his post in the other thread ‘Crime – increase by leaps…’ . viz
“…that is a structural problem and increasing day by day due to misgovernment and political and economic mismanagement. There is direct relationship between crime rise and ill performing economy in which more and more are unemployed, not equipped with English or employable skills or whose income is insufficient for keeping up, exacerbated by the drift from rural to urban centres. Compounding this problem is inundation by “legal “semi skilled foreign labour and illegal immigrants, a problem that cannot be ameliorated when many in enforcement agencies are on the take and view these vulnerable group of people without rights ……â€Â
My children, who are now young adults, often wonder what their daddy is doing on the Internet, day in day out staring at this white screen with endless text in it. But when they read what bloggers have written here they stare with open mouths shocked that such ‘unspeakables’ can still occur. I don’t blame them as their upbringing and nurturing here in Australia have always emphasised on giving everyone a ‘fair go’.
My daughter earned a place for tertiary education in University of Melbourne (a humble number 27 on the QS-THES university ranking) on the merits of her academic achievements alone. No questions were asked of her race, ethnic origin, religion or political affiliation. Compare this to my struggle to get a place in Universiti Malaya in the 1970’s after the quota system was introduced. Despite doing far far far (intentional three times) better than any other student in the privileged group I eventually managed, after desperate appealing and pleading, to get a place on the 2nd round entrance. Unlike other privileged students who received scholarship from the government, I only managed to get an FAM scholarship (father and mother, that is).
But here in Australia, my daughter need not pay for tertiary studies at least until she has started work and earning beyond a certain level; even then in small instalments through the tax and interest free too.
Some bloggers here have mentioned, perhaps ill-informed due to gagged MSM, of racism. Well even if it is true, it is my choice to be in this environment. Unlike in Malaysia, the law can punish those guilty of it.
///First and foremost the govt must realise that every right minded Malaysians would still want the NEP to continue but not in its present form. ///
I beg to differ, and to me NEP must stop.
It is no point reminding ourselves what NEP was meant to do. Since its inception, NEP has been used to discriminate only against non-Malays.
The ills of NEP are not just the unequal opportunities accorded to people of different races. It provides civil servants with the cover that so long as their actions are in the name of benefiting people of the right religion and race, they will get away scot-free even if they acted against the law. Conversely, when their actions are against non-Malays, by the rule of zero-sum game, they have accorded to the benefits of Malay race and religion, and hence can do no wrong. Consequently, civil servants can become overzealous; and some would take the opportunity to build their reputation as the warrior of their race. Thus, the institutions of the government have become the extended arms of UMNO. The weak UMNO leader, PM AAB cannot even control civil servants. We see the tearing down of Indian temples, and UMNO leaders making seditious statement as they please.
It is the duty of any modern government to provide assistance to the poor and downtrodden without having to resort to any specific NEP. NEP provides a convenient excuse for the government servants to choose their beneficiaries. Whereas, without a policy linked to race, the persons who implement government regulations will have to make objective assessments, not influenced by race and religion.
It is because of NEP that appointment of leaders to the institutions such as in the judiciary need not be transparent, and consequently, the selection could be based on the wishes of the powers-that-be, so long as the candidate belong to the correct race and religion. The same is true about the appointment of academic staff in universities. When meritocracy is not used between people of different races, it need not be used among people of the same race too. Hence, it is not what you know rather than who you know in getting promotion. There is then no wonder that government institutions do not perform as expected. So NEP is not just a curse to the non-Malays, some deserving Malays suffer at NEP too.
NEP has lost it’s purpose. It’s main hidden agenda now is to gain political mileage. Nothing more.
Yes, it may have very little effect as records show. Only the few selected close families or selected to be billionaires will prosper a billion times over. Wll if the government wants to give Mr. ABC 1 billion ringgit worth of project. But he should give 40% back to this political individual, and then 10% back to the public.
Well, to Mr. ABC. He would think, WHY NOT! It’s still a definate WIN situation on a silver platter. I will have more than hundreds of millions left. Mr. ABC just have to stay loyal to this party so it does not change in the future. Else, business for Mr. ABC will not be handed over in a silver platter.
Where did this country’s money come from then? Tax payers money over the years of cause!
Again the untouchables will rule while the ignorant majority thinks these are called “progress”.
i wonder how to end never ending policy?70% supported it!
i give an example,in the southern part of the phillipines,there was a very small island,with a tiny population of 2255,100 years ago,their ancestors were majority fishermen,but everytime 12 boats went out,only 1 will return,gradually,they just crewing near the beach,became pirates!
ofcourse there were some family opposed what their kampung folks do,but majority of them are pirates,so they just keep their mouth shut!
now,like it or not,Malaysian Ship with the umno captain,raising a flag with two kris,is heading to that direction too!
Saya harap sebagai yang mengaku sebagai rakyat Malaysia menggunakan Bahasa Melayu dengan baik sama seperti seorang yang bahasa ibundanya Bahasa Melayu. Jadi apa yang saya lihat di Malaysia ialah terdapat ramai kaum keturunan Cina tidak fasih berbahasa Melayu dan ada juga yang langsung tidak tahu. Ada juga yang tidak mahu menggunakannya. Kecuali Kelantan, masyarakat keturunan Cina di sana memang bagus. Mereka fasih berbahasa Melayu dan ini menunjukkan mereka sayang dan cintakan Malaysia dalam ertikata sebenar. Bahkan mereka dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan masyarakat Melayu di sana dengan baik. Bukan seperti di tempat lain di mana terdapat orang keturunan Cina yang lahir di Malaysia, tinggal di Malaysia lebih 50 tahun tidak boleh berbahasa Malaysia. Di mana cintanya anda kepada Malaysia? Bahkan terdapat kalangan rakan saya yang menghina Bahasa Melayu secara terang-terangan. Ini jelas menunjukkan dia tidak sayangkan negara. Dan jika DAP menguasainya maka akan hilanglah terus Bahasa Melayu dari bumi Malaysia seperti berlaku di Singapura dan kemungkinan umat Islam disekat mengamalkan amalan agama.
Keturunan India di Malaysia secara amnya atau kebanyakannya fasih berbahasa Melayu sehinggakan kita tidak dapat membezakan samada dia Melayu atau India.
Di Malaysia Timur hampir kesemua dapat bercakap Bahasa Malaysia dengan fasih walaupun ada loghat mereka dan mereka lebih suka menggunakan Bahasa Melayu. Ini lah yang kita mahu.
Jadi jangan lah mengatakan yang anda sayangkan negara selagi anda mengabaikan Bahasa Melayu.
Lagi satu siapakah yang menetapkan syarat2 kemerdekaan ketika itu apakah syarat kemerdekaan dan siapakah yang menerima syarat tersebut.. Kalau pengganas british yang tetapkan, kenapa dia pulak yang tetapkan sedangkan dia pengganas ketika itu?