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Formation of Chinese Perkasa: A Dangerous Way to Win General Election

by Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
11 July 2010 | Sunday

The call for the setting-up of a Chinese Perkasa to counter the Malay right-wing group’s racial attacks is one of the most outrageous things I’ve ever heard. Yet this is a call that comes from none other than Deputy Finance Minister Donald Lim Siang Chai, who is also an MCA vice-president.

How can a deputy minister suggest such a thing? Is he speaking as an individual or does he have the endorsement of the MCA – or, worse still, the Government?

That he is part of the ruling administration makes the call suspicious. It seems to corroborate what many have come to suspect – that Perkasa (Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia) is linked in an informal way to Barisan Nasional, that the NGO is actually doing the dirty work that BN cannot be seen to be doing, i.e. championing Malay rights and taking a hard line stance against perceived adversaries.

Chauvinism has been outsourced to Perkasa, observers say. In light of Lim’s statement, one might be persuaded to see a connection.

What is objectionable about Lim’s call is that it will reinforce what Umno itself has been drumming into the minds of the Malays – that the non-Malays, particularly the Chinese, are a threat to them, that the non-Malays want to take over the country. Continue reading “Formation of Chinese Perkasa: A Dangerous Way to Win General Election”

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Ex-MIER chief questions Dr M’s NEP views

By Lee Wei Lian
Malaysian Insider
July 11, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — The country’s premier economic think tank’s ex-chief questioned Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s assertion that the country grew rapidly due to the New Economic Policy (NEP), and instead said Malaysia should thank external factors.

Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff, distinguished fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research and its former executive director, also suggested that Malaysia could have grown even faster if the NEP restrictions were absent.

“Mahathir’s argument that the country had developed more rapidly under NEP is questionable,” Ariff told The Malaysian Insider.

“Yes, Malaysia under Mahathir’s leadership did post impressive growth rates, but that cannot be attributed to NEP. A counter argument would be that the economy grew rapidly — not because of, but in spite of NEP.

“The high growth rates Malaysia registered during Dr M’s premiership was largely due to very favourable external circumstances, driven mainly by strong external demand for exports.” Continue reading “Ex-MIER chief questions Dr M’s NEP views”