Saturday, June 16, 2007




DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

A Kadir Jasin

[Komen menggunakan pengenalan anonymous tidak akan dilayan. Sila gunakan nama sebenar atau nama samaran yang sesuai. Ulasan yang mengandungi unsur fitnah, hasutan, perkauman dan bahasa kesat tidak akan disiarkan.]

BEBERAPA saat sebelum khatib Masjid Negara membaca khutbah Jumaat 15 Jun memuji “pemimpin negara” kerana menaikkan gaji kakitangan awam, seorang eksekutif kanan sebuah bank berbisik kepada saya.

Katanya, di dalam suatu majlis anjuran Kelab Perniagaan Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur Business Club), seorang pembesar negara yang sangat besar berkata Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) akan dihapuskan.

Mengikut cerita beliau yang disampaikan secara tergesa-gesa kerana khatib akan memulakan khutbah memuji pemerintah, seorang eksekutif asing bertanya kepada pembesar yang sangat besar itu apakah syarat pemilikan Bumiputera yang dikecualikan di Wilayah Pembangunan Iskandar (IDR) akan diperluaskan ke seluruh negara jika IDR berjaya.

Pembesar yang sangat besar itu, menurut eksekutif bank terbesar di Persekutuan Malaysia itu berkata: “Jawapan ringkasnya adalah ya.”

Saya macam tidak percaya apa yang saya dengar. Mungkin saya tidak memberi cukup perhatian kerana tidak mahu berkata-kata ketika khatib membaca khutbah atau mungkin juga kerana pendengaran saya sudah menjadi mangsa usia.

Tetapi masakan seorang yang saya kenal begitu lama dan saya nampak setiap kali saya ke Masjid Negara untuk sembahyang Jumaat sanggup berbohong dan membuat fitnah di dalam masjid?

Selepas solat Jumaat saya ke Bangsar untuk berjumpa dua orang wartawan yang tiada lagi bermajikan dan saya mengulangi apa yang dimaklumkan kepada saya di Masjid Negara.

Secara spontan kedua-dua mereka mengeluarkan telefon selular masing-masing dan menunjukkan mesej sistem pesanan ringkas (SMS) yang berbunyi:

“At a multi-racial multi-national KL business Club dinner, when asked if the IDR would be a model in the dismantling of the NEP in the whole country, the -- (I am deleting his identity) got an approving applause when he said, “The short answer is YES.”

Dalam bahasa Malaysia (ya bahasa Malaysia bukan lagi bahasa Melayu) ia bermaksud: Di majlis makan malam pelbagai kaum dan negara anjuran Kelab Perniagaan KL, apabila ditanya jika IDR akan menjadi contoh perobohan DEB di seluruh negara (pembesar paling besar yang dimaksudkan itu) mendapat tepukan persetujuan apabila dia berkata, “Jawapan ringkasnya adalah ya.”

Kalau dakwaan ini benar dan pembesar paling besar itu mengotakan apa yang dikatakannya, maka tiadalah lagi kuota pemilikan hartanah sekurang-kurangnya 30 peratus untuk Bumiputera.

Bermula dengan IDR akan wujudlah kawasan-kawasan eksklusif, mewah, kosmopolitan dan internasional di mana kepentingan kaum majoriti iaitu Bumiputera tidak lagi menjadi pertimbangan atau mendapat perlindungan.

Aneh seaneh-anehnya kerana sehari dua sebelum itu Bernama melaporkan Menteri Kewangan Kedua, Nor Mohamed Yakcop, sebagai berkata bahawa DEB terus relevan kerana matlamatnya ialah membasmi kemiskinan tanpa mengira kaum.

"The spirit of the NEP must be kept alive, as its aim, among others, is to eradicate poverty among all races," he said during a live interview over RTM1.

Walaupun tempoh DEB sudah lama berlalu, tetapi matlamat pokoknya seperti membasmi kemiskinan dan menyusun semula masyarakat tetap diteruskan sama ada di dalam Dasar Pembangunan Nasional atau Dasar Pembangunan Wawasan sekarang.

Tetapi dengan kenyataan terbaru ini, apakah bermakna bahawa ciri-ciri DEB tidak akan dilaksanakan lagi?

Atau apakah ada dua versi kepada dasar pemerintah negara kini iaitu satu versi eksklusif untuk khalayak eksklusif seperti anggota Kelab Perniagaan Kuala Lumpur dan satu lagi versi untuk rakyat totok yang dihebahkan melalui RTM?

Saya kurang pasti jika media massa arus perdana akur melaporkan ucapan dan soal jawab di majlis makan malam dan dialog Kelab Perniagaan Kuala Lumpur itu. Kalau ada pelawat dan pembahas yang terbaca laporan itu, sila maklumkan.

UPDATE, JUNE 23

BERNAMA today quoted Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak today (June 23) as expressing regret over Ambassador and Head of European Commission Delegation to Malaysia Theirry Rommel’s comments on the New Economic Policy (NEP).

“Normally, an ambassador or envoy does not comment on the affairs of the country to which they are accredited.

“This has been the practice because when we comment on the policies adopted by the country concerned, it means we are interfering in the affairs of the host country,” Najib said.

He said Rommel had contradicted the diplomatic practice and principles adopted by Malaysia.

Najib did not rule out the possibility of lodging an official protest against Rommel’s comments.

“Wait first, I will seek the opinion of Wisma Putra (Foreign Ministry),” he added.

However, Najib believed that what Rommel raised yesterday was refutable.

“What was raised can certainly be disputed in terms of the facts,” he said.

UPDATE, JUNE 22

(Associated Press) -- Europe's top envoy to Malaysia Thursday urged the government to roll back its affirmative action policy for majority Malays, saying it is discriminatory and amounts to protectionism against foreign companies.

In unusually frank comments that ignored diplomatic niceties, Thierry Rommel openly criticized Malaysia's 37-year-old New Economic Policy, or NEP, that gives a host of privileges in jobs, education, business and other areas to ethnic Malays.

"In a dominant part of the domestic economy, there is no level playing field for foreign companies," Rommel, the ambassador and head of the European Commission Delegation to Malaysia, said in a speech to local and foreign businessmen.

UPDATE, June 18

For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the NEP and to further enhance our discussion on the subject, allow me to publish a brief assessment of the policy jointly authored by three persons who are closely associated it since its inception namely (Tan Sri ) Just Faarland, Jack Parkingson and Dr Rais Saniman.

This assessment is contained in a book entitled “Growth and Ethnic Inequality – Malaysia’s New Economic Policy” first published in 1990 by C. Hurst & Company (Publishers) Ltd, London and in 2003 by Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn Bhd.

It reads:

The NEP has never been fully explained and understood. It has, therefore, been embroiled in controversy ever since its introduction after the racial riots of May 13, 1969.

The perception in some circles is that it is a policy of discrimination against the non-indigenous Malaysian population. The reality, as the evidence shows, is quite the opposite. Under the NEP regime the non-indigenous population moved forward economically a much greater distance than did the Bumiputras.

By the Social Bargain of 1957, citizenship was granted literally overnight by a stroke of a pen to a million non-citizens, while the development of an ethnically-balanced economy demanded gradual change over a long haul, running into generations.

This book, which also contains six of the original documents which formed the foundation of the NEP, for the first time ever published anywhere, attempts to put record straight to the public at large.

The NEP, a comprehensive socioeconomic policy, is intended to build Malaysian national unity in diversity following the rupture of 1969, a sad episode in the history of otherwise good ethnic relations in this country.

The underlying strategy of the NEP is to built an ethnically-balanced economy by fostering greater productivity and modernization under a free market regime and an open economy, while simultaneously engaging in social engineering to distribute more equitably the increments of the fruits of development between the Malaysian ethnic groups.

Its focus is on raising the productivity and active participation of the Bumiputras without depriving the economically advanced non-indigenous population of their economic and social rights.

Since its implementation in 1969 and despite its imperfections, but consistent with the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Malaysia has reduced poverty, achieved one of the highest rates of economic growth in the world on a sustained basis and – in periods when the NEP was firmly implemented – restructured the production and income patterns to gradually contain, even reduce, ethnic economic disparity.

The evidence shows that the two main objectives of growth and ethnic economic balance of the NEP have been mutually reinforcing, even though if pushed beyond a point, they may become competitive rather than complementary.

The NEP has proved itself to be a viable policy for Malaysia. It has maintained political stability, thereby strengthening civil society, the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the country.

The experience of the NEP in Malaysia may have relevance also for other societies worldwide with problems of multiethnic economic rivalry and competition.

89 comments:

Darren said...

Datuk, I've a question for you. In your personal view, do you think NEP is helping the country to progress?

Do you agree if I say the race-based economy policy is the exact root cause of all the incompetencies and problems we encounter now, esp with the public sector and the acedemic realm?

Do you really think Bumiputera protection under NEP should be continued?

I am not racist. I am a firm believer that poverty eradication the skin color-blind way is an oxymoron term in NEP.

Would like to hear your comments and what you think about NEP.

Anonymous said...

Surely Pak Lah

A KADIR JASIN said...

Yes Sdr Koolgeek,

The NEP worked. Not to perfection of course.But it worked better than other examples like the US Affirmative Plan.

If you have lived as long as I do and went through the periods before, during and after the May 13, 1969 bloodshed, you would have known that the NEP transformed the socio-economic landscape of the country for the better.

A small example -- Boon Siew Honda boomed because the NEP propelled the poor Malays from bicycle-ownership to motorcycle-ownership. With that, Chinese motorcycle dealerships and repair shops mushroomed everywhere.

Today, if an angry man burnt 10 cars or 10 houses in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, at least 3 or 4 belonged to the Bumiputeras. In 1969 almost all of them belonged to non-Malays.

So today, before we start burning cars and houses, we should bear in mind that some of those cars and houses could be ours. If we burn other people's houses, they can burn ours.

So the NEP, if believe, has reduced our tendency to be fire-starters.

Forget for a minute those Malay, Chinese and Indian billionaires that the NEP created and perpetuated.

Think of the millions who received good education, obtained jobs, invested in unit trust and shares, owned houses, cars and motorcycles.

If the NEP is a bad as made out to be by some people, how do we explain the fact that the highest amount of FDI and job creation took place during the NEP period?

These are just a few examples. You are free to disagree and to damn me. But you can't deny that the NEP has helped to make what Malaysia is today.

Incidentally, the NEP is not about race. It was about helping the poor.

It is a coincident that the majority of the poor in Malaysia happen to be the Bumiputeras, who also form the majority of the people.

So when the NEP targeted the poor, the bulk of them happened to be the Bumiputeras.

Thank you.

Darren said...

I agree the bulk of the poor happens to be Malay. But I disagree on the idea of attaching poverty with race.

This is the fault of NEP, despite its good intention to help the poor. It has been abused.

Instead of wanting this nation to prosper and get everyone to be a part of it, the nation is living on fear of an ignition that will burn everything down.

So, 50 years now. We are grateful that it has been peaceful. But we are racially divided.

Truly Datuk, it saddens me a bit to hear a Malaysian telling me that we don't start burning houses now ONLY because we may have a part of it.

Until the day everyone has a part of everything, we should be fearful that something of our own will be burnt.

Thanks Datuk. I'm clear on your view.

We may not always agree.. But it is better than to pretend we do.

Darren said...

FDI flowed in because, just like a new Cyberjaya back then.. everyone wanted a piece of the tax break benefit.

It's flawed. MDC is now MDEC. Cyberjaya is now an empty land with scattered buildings half occupied.

Last year, Indonesia overtook us in FDI. Factories moving out. Well, Datuk can always blame China or Vietnam for it. Proton still producing the Saga since 1985. MAS sapping up tax money for bail out every year. Government buildings with roof collapsing. Highways with tolls everywhere.

By associating poverty with race in NEP, this is what we have come to.

We are now identifying almost everything with skin-color.

Call me naive if you may. I believe we can be much better of as Malaysian, if NEP was color-blind. Lets not kid ourselves it's not. With every mention of Bumiputra in it, it is race-based.

Poverty did not choose the Malay. NEP has done the reverse.

Anonymous said...

Dato',

Tidak perlu jawab koolgeek lagi. Jelas beliau sebenarnya yang bersikap perkauman... sikap perkauman yang menebal. Ini terbukti apabila beliau tidak menyentuh pun mengenai kemakmuran boonsiew hasil sokongan orang Melayu yang agak berwang pada waktu itu selepas diperkenalkan Dasar Ekonomi Bumiputera. You are right, DEB is for all races and its just so happen that majority who are in the poverty level are MALAY. I must also admit that I am a product of DEB. Saya anak petani Cina yang fasih berbahasa Melayu dan mendapat bantuan agensi kerajaan untuk memastikan saya memperoleh pendidikan tertinggi. Kemudian bapa saya buka kedai runcit dan setiap kali Kerajaan umum kenaikan gaji saya dapat lihat orang Melayu berbelanja lebih. Jadi Kerajaan tolong semua orang dan orang Melayu tolong mengkayakan orang Cina. Terima kasih orang Melayu.

Abu Hasan Adam said...

Datuk,

Apabila menyentuh mengenai DEB ia adalah persoalan antara teori dan dinamik.

Seluruh rakyat Malaysia yang waras bersetuju dengan perlaksanaan DEB yang bertujuan untuk membasmi kemiskinan dan merupakan social reengineering.

Yang menyebabkan DEB dipersoalkan adalah dinamiknya yang diporak-perandakan oleh segelintir pemimpin yang tidak bertanggungjawab.

Namun begitu mengorbankan DEB semata-mata untuk mengambil hati segelintir masyarakat adalah tidak wajar. Perlaksanaan DEB kini harus dikeritik habis-habisan terutama melihatkan kerakusan setengah pemimpin yang mengambil kesempatan maxksima di atas dasar yang mulia ini.

Abu Hasan Adam

Darren said...

As you put it Datuk, NEP has long passed its deadline. But in your view, it should be continued.

In my view, NEP played its role in bringing the nation back on its feet after 1969. But instead of exiting the scene slowly, it has been extended, intensified and threatened with keris and blood to be continued.

To put it simply; instead of progressing to stand on its own feet, Malaysia has remained crippled.

How long do you think we should continue with this?

Instead of giving the Malays the skills and tools to earn a what they want (just like any other race in the country; with the same amount of effort and hard work), they have been given crutches and wheelchairs; and be made to feel privileged to have them.

But that's not the real important point. The thing is, in the eyes of Malays now, Chinese are by default rich business owners and they are supposed to be able to send their kids to overseas universities. If they are not, they WILL eventually find a way. In the eyes of the Chinese, the Malays are always threatening to start burning their houses and drawing keris.

Poverty does not pick a person because of his race, Datuk. If anyone is poor and deserves a chance to walk out of it, we should assist him. But we do so by telling him it's because he is Malaysian; not because he is a Malay; that he should be soon able to walk on his own just like everybody else, and feel proud of this achievement. He deserves a chance, not charity.

After 50 years of independence, we still cannot live and be proud as ONE MALAYSIA. We are a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. A nation living on hypocrisy. We tell the world we are united, but we educate our children to be suspicious of the other race.

If Datuk thinks NEP should be continued and still attributes more benefits to it than destruction, then when is the right time to stop? Where are we heading as a nation limping on NEP? Do you think it should be continued until everyone has a piece of everything just to keep them from starting fire?

Equal wealth distribution (the hand-out way) is equivalent to Communism; it's not sustainable.

The crutches has to go, for the sake of the nation.

I am not out to offend anyone. This is my opinion. We should put a full-stop to the past. Snap out of racism and progress as a nation..

I'm much younger than you are, Datuk. 1969 happened before I was born; which led to a startling revelation; "Why younger Malaysians like myself still lives in a Malaysia smack of religious and racial intolerance?"

How many more generations to come until we can truly live without being suspicious of each other?

Younger generations should be thought to respect each other and be proud as a Malaysian; not to see their seniors at assemblies shouting for blood, threatening to burn down houses and drawing swords.

Do you agree?

We should learn from history to avoid mistakes, not walking into the already messed up crisis of the world.

http://www.dismalworld.com/must_see/unforgettable_photos.php

Darren said...

I like your BoonSiew Honda story. My question is, why do you think the Malays did not open dealership and repair shops back then?

Anonymous said...

salam datuk, sekali lagi,posting yg mencambah pemikiran...terima kasih diucapkan.

ada pihak yg mempersoalkan, adakah NEP berjaya mencapai matlamat 30%? malahan pernah menteri dari MCA yg mempersoalkan kenapa kuota itu masih tidak dicapai lagi.

masalah dengan pemikiran org melayu, jika A menjadi bisnesman, maka, jika dia berjaya, "tak usahlah bantu orang lain", begitu juga dengan B, C dan D.

jika ada lesen pun, di-alibabakan, nak dpt untung atas angin, immediate income, konon kalau di-alibabakan lesen kepunyannya, maka dpt RM100K, walhal jika dia sendiri mengusahakannya, tak mustahil hasilnya jutaan RM.

berbalik dengan persoalan NEP, komen dari koolgeek memang banyak kebenarannya.tapi pokok pangkalnya, yang mesti kita fahami, dengan adanya NEP sekalipun, bangsa lain yang bukan pribumi, dapat menjadi jutawan, malahan antara orang terkaya/terkaya di Malaysia, Tan Sri Robert Kuok.

dengan adanya NEP, kaum bukan melayu terutamanya kaum cina dapat berbisnes sampai jadi jutawan, dan semua ini adalah sebab kerajinan serta usaha mereka sendiri. itu sesuatu yang orang melayu itu sendiri harus belajar dari mereka.

dan jika terhapusnya NEP, saya beranggapan, jutawan cina akan bertambah kaya kerana tiadanya kekangan, dan apa pulak jadi dengan nasib orang bumiputera? bertambah kaya? bertambah miskin?

sikap dan peel org kita sendiri yang patut kita ubah, nahh, jika benar NEP akan dihapuskan, maka ia akan menjadi "wake-up call" kepada org bumiputera. jika pun mereka tersedar, adakah sempat mereka nak melakukan sesuatu?


jangan dilupakan, Malaysia merupakan negara ketuanan Melayu, hampir hampir tiada negara yang mampu menyaingi dari segi tolak-ansur kerajaan, kemudahan yang disediakan kerajaan untuk rakyat tanpa mengira bangsa sekalipun. malahan jika dilihat, negara mana lagi di dunia ini yang memberi peluang seluas-luasnya kepada bangsa bukan dari negara asalnya, peluang berbisnes, malahan mereka menjadi menteri di kabinet malaysia ini.

bagi saya, personally, NEP harus dipertahankan, we gave u something, then we get something.

NEP lah yang kita dapat, dan kemudahan yg tersebut di ataslah yang kita beri kepada bangsa bukan melayu.

kesimpulan saya; walaupun dengan adanya NEP bangsa cina dll boleh maju malahan majority bisnes di malaysia ini dikuasai mereka,apatah lagi dengan ketiadaan NEP

fikir-fikirkan lah. jangan terhantuk baru nak terngadah

Anonymous said...

datuk,adakah terdapat dewan perniagaan melayu di malaysia ini? jika ada kenapa ramai yang tidak tahu ya? malahan saya sendiri kurang pasti ada atau tidak

kadang-kadang, melihatkan adanya dewan perniagaan cina, dan ditambah pula dengan adanya bangunan mereka sendiri yang megah cantik, saya menjadi cemburu. saya pasti dan telah mendengar ramai sahabat cina saya yang mempunyai perniagaan sendiri, ikatan antara mereka amat kuat. contohnya jika seseorang nak memulakan perniagaan, maka 10 orang kawan,masing2 beri RM50k, jika 10 orang, maka modal terkumpul dah mencapai RM500k. itulah pemikiran bangsa cina


bangsa melayu, nak mulakan perniagaan, kena gadai itu, ini, pajakkan harta, pinjam dengan along (bisnesman cina pun pinjam dr along) dan sebagainya. kena well-planned, kena serius, bukannya mengalibabakan lesen perniagaan.

risau juga dengan perkembangan terbaru NEP ini.

entahlah datuk, tawakal sajalah jawabnya.

Anonymous said...

Dato'

Saya juga buat analysis serupa dilaman blogs saya, www.bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com

Isu permulaan ketirisan perlaksanaan DEB ini amat serious. Malangnya, sebilang besar masyarakat Melayu dan UMNO tidak sedar pengumuman ini berlaku dan WPI merupakan medan permulaanya.

Kami beberapa kali memberikan tumpuan kepada isu WPI dan kepentingan Melayu ini semenjak 6 bulan dahulu lagi dilaman Portal KMU, www.mykmu.net

stevie said...

Datuk,
I do not think 2nd FM contradicted the Big Boss, I think the keyword here is "spirit".

It could mean Esprit de Corp, or it could mean Esprit de Corpse.

It is obvious to all that NEP has mutated beyond recognition, now if the Big Boss said what he said, I take it as (at least) he is working up the will to reform the NEP, which is a good thing.

Like you, Sir, I am a son of farmers, we climbed out of poverty without any help, one sibling helping another, thats the way we know.

I believe the poor should be given the opportunity to be the best they could be, that is to say they should be provided with the best education money could buy, and that, to me, is also where NEP should end.

Some might argue about access to capital, but I think thats where a good education kicks in.

Anonymous said...

Saya tak risau kalau DEB dihapuskan. Yang saya risau ialah apa yang Datuk katakan - satu vesi untuk Melayu totok, dan yang satu lagi vesi ekslusif. Di kampung-kampung, canang dipukul, UMNOlah pejuang DEB. Di PWTC,keris dihunus, airliur bersepai di tepi bibir. Tapi, di hotel-hotel maupun di pejabat-pejabat besar di KLCC,DEB di ejek-ejek oleh anak-nak Melayu sambil di api-apikan oleh anak-anak bukan Melayu.

Ini yang saya bimbangkan Datuk. Orang Melayu ditipu dan terus berkhayal.

Hantu Gigi Jarang

bakaq a.k.a ~penarik beca said...

Yang dapat saya ingati....

Tunku - Merdeka!

Tun Razak - Pembangunan Luar Bandar, DEB

Dr Mahathir - Wawasan 2020 dll.. Terus terang, saya lawan Dr M habis-habisan dulu, walaupun saya hormat dia sebagai orang tua. Yang saya hargai hanya dua, tak sembah raja dan pecat Anwar. Sekarang jadi tiga, lawan PM yang orang kata not an astute PM. Dan, saya lebih hormat dia sebagai orang tua...

Abdullah Badawi - Wilayah Smart Card untuk muqaddimah buang DEB dan menyerahkan negara ini kepada lanun-lanun yang tamak.

Selamat hari Bapa untuk Datuk dan semua! Salam.

Anonymous said...

The reason there were no Malay dealership and workshop then were that the network were closed to them. It is still happening now, it is not easy to break the close-nit chinese business network. It took earnest Proton initiative for the Malays to gain entry and experience in this sector

Anonymous said...

Whenever any one group, be it by race, creed or colour dominate any aspect of the economy or politics of a country, conflict will arise. If the deprived lot is the majority the conflict will be sooner.Malaysia's answer is the NEP. The western inspired philosophy does fully address this phenomena but if you read the European history various interpretations can be made

Anonymous said...

The late Tun Dr.Ismail thought the special privilege as a slur to the Malay race. But today some Malays wear it as a badge of honour. Who will survive in the jungle, the fittest and the smart ones.

Agree to NEP in 70s as it did help the Malays and some of the poor in the first 20 years and we can't have the Malays poor, 3% of the wealth.(Off course now the ownership , % is a mystery.)

But since then it has been hijacked by a few to get richer. The poor Malay, well the most they get is a scholarship.In fact the 5% discount for a bungalow or a semi-dee that a rich Malay should be taken from him and put into a fund that will help poor Malay.But will the rich Malay do it, help they own kind?

Time to stand on your own two feet. Or just keep the NEP forever...guess what Tun Dr.Ismail said is not valuable advise.

the 1st Rocky

cre8tif said...

salam datuk

saya rasa idea DEB dalam apa format/nama sudah tidak begitu penting pada masa kini kerana ia sudah di*hijacked* oleh segelintir politikus dan *cukong*-*cukong*nya ...

selagi *favouristime* tidak dimansuhkan, selagi itulah impian untuk membasmi kemiskinan tidak akan tercapai tidak mengira kaum-kaum cina/melayu/india/dll.

masyarakat majmuk kini hanya ada dua golongan/klasifikasi iaitu golongan miskin dan kaya-raya ... golongon diantaranya lama-kelamaan akan dipinggirkan ke arah kemiskinan kerana golongan ketengah lama-kelamaan tiada sebarang cara untuk menangani kos penyaraan hidup yang akan terus meningkat sedangkan peluang untuk menebus pie ekonomi semakin jarang kerana hanya golongan elit sahaja yang dapat menjana kekayaan mereka melalui perhubungan mereka dengan politikus berkuasa sekarang.

Sarjan low said...

Datuk,

I fully agree NEP have successfully shape up a better Malaysia society today. I also agree NEP had been wrongly seen as races policy as coincidently majority poor at that time are Malay. However if today similar NEP reintroduce in Malaysia (as officially end on 1990), I totally have no confident it could do more good than harm.

The racist sentiment in Malaysia has reached another high level under pak lah admins; thanks to Hishamudin and KJ at UMNO assembly action. The way of these pembesar who regards as ours future leader is making me sad and very uncomfortable. The latest "keris" episode is too disappointed.

The problem is the perception that these same powerful people will gain more than it should give to the right people if similar NEP continued. Who say NEP is just for Malays? Who say public; who are rational ever rejected nation policy which highlighted to eliminated poor & poverty. It is the fear and no confident of the enforcement under such pembesar that make people reject it. I want my money (if only I got..) go to the right people who need helps to stand up…not to political pocket.

Prominent businessman might reject NEP but do you think majority people regardless races that are lower middle class and below don’t need help if available to them. I will thank god if government are helping my son education in future.

Focusing NEP in races perception is totally wrong. The projected spirit of NEP is what we should appreciate. It can't be value at any money at all. It takes America few hundreds years after independence to have first ever black president candidate…yet we want our country to have “saya anak Malaysia” spirit in just 50 years of merdeka?

I believe the crutches issue is well aware and well prepare by all Malays especially intellectual Malays like datuk. As everyone knows it can't be forever. But for me Malays crutches are also current Malaysia economy crutches. When it removed, don’t proudly said we (Ali, Ah Kau, Ramasamy) are now compete in fair environment...The mat salleh or our neighbors is the one going to laugh all the way.

maer wan said...

Salam to all (esp. to Datuk, and my fellow Malaysian brother, koolgeek),

Honestly, I had been following your blog, and especially, the articles regarding NEP.

I chose to agree and disagree with both of you.


Well, from my point of view:

1. NEP is a good policy, IT WAS JUST ABUSED. What I mean is that as nothing is perfect, it is open to abuse by any involved parties, eg. the ruler

2. NEP could and should be removed SLOWLY and GRADUALLY. My suggestion is that, a public opinion poll encompassing ALL MALAYSIANS should be done, and the result should then be discussed by a 'multiracial, multiclass, multireligion, multiprofession committee' about when and how the gradual lifting/removal of NEP should be done. We need to be more open about what we want to achieve.

3. The spirit of developing Malaysia with a color-blind aim should be implemented. HOWEVER, further method of ensuring the continuity of success achieved by NEP should be outlined. Hopefully, this can make the majority public happy, and then we can move towards building a better multiracial Malaysia. (eg. Perhaps, instead of playing around the name of our national language; we should encourage more Malay kids to learn Cantonese, and Tamil, in order to reduce the suspicion caused by not understanding what your fellow Malaysian brothers and sisters are talking about)

4. Keris and torch should be used wisely. Personally, I think it's a disgrace when someone just simply brings it out to 'threaten' other people. I am not one of the sore losers.

Well, bear in mind that I am a Malay, and I do love my ethnicity. However, it is my deepest love and hope that my future generations can live happily without feeling inferior / superior and/or hatred with their fellow Malaysian brothers and sisters.

We are family.

We are one, but we are many. Strength through unity. Cooperation, not domination.

enrike said...

why do you think the Malays did not open dealership and repair shops back then

Coz during that time Malay don't have money, knowledge and business network.

Beside that business pressure, tactics and hurdle faced by Malay also one of the reasons. Do you think, Boon Siew will appoint you as a dealer if you're Malay. Please check how many Malay dealer for Boon Siew Honda?

As for repair shop, do the hardware/ spare part shop treated Malay equally. If you said yes , you could be joking. Well friend, both of my brother are car mechanic so I know this trade quite well... Most of the time price for Malay 20% -50% higher ! You can't get the real price unless you're really "ngam" with them...

Furthermore, Malay attitude toward Malay business is very bad. They always buy,purchase and support Chinese business NOT Malay business. I think this attitude is still very much exist in most Malay, they prefer to go to Chinese /non-Malay shop than Malay shop.

As for NEP, even if Malay get 70% not 30% as now. It doesn't change any thing. Say, they get 10 million contract at last they just get 1 to 10% only. Why? Please see around ... who are the supplier, contractor, architect, lawyer, consultant, etc.... most of them is Chinese, Indian, Sikh, etc..etc... and surely this Malay who got the contract will go to this group of people not Malay contractor, architect, lawyer, consultant, etc.

As conclusion, removing NEP or retaining NEP will not change their status in economic standing unless they change their attitude. They themselves must help their own race .. The Malay

Anonymous said...

Datok,
Persoalan pokoknya: Adakah DEB (selepas 50 tahun) berjaya mengagihkan sebanyak 30% daripada kekayaan negara kepada Bumiputera? Jawapannya tidak, tak sampaipun, kata statistik. Kalau ‘gitu, apa yang DEB buat? Yang ini banyak jawapan dan dimensinya.

Kesan langsungnya memang nyata – peningkatan Bumiputera dalam pendidikan, penurunan dalam kadar kemiskinan, kemunculan beberapa jutawan Bumiputera. Tetapi, hanya individu yang dangkal minda sahaja melihat ini sebagai alasan menyatakan bahawa DEB telah berjaya. Hakikat disebalik DEB menampilkan beberapa paradoks.

Pertama, semua pencapaian itu relatif. Majoriti Bumiputera keluar daripada perangkap kemiskinan. Tapi lihat sekarang – jurang pendapatan antara etnik telah membesar. Jika DEB dituduh mendiskriminasikan atau meminggirkan etnik lain, mengapa kaum etnik lain tidak terjejas kedudukan ekonomi mereka, malah melonjak mewah lagi. Kalau di negara lain, kaum minoriti lazimnya kecil dan terpinggir. Tetapi sebaliknya di Malaysia.

Kedua, sebarang pelaburan kedalam sesuatu sistem pasti akan menular kepada beberapa sub-sektor. Bila sesuatu kawasan luar bandar dibangunkan, siapa tumpang menebang pokok? Siapa bina jalan? Siapa tumpang jual baja? Siapa buka kedai runcit? Siapa tumpang jadi peniaga? Siapa tumpang untung bila pendapatan orang kampung meningkat? Siapa tumpang jual motor dan kereta? Dalam kata lain, pelaburan kepada sub-sektor yang dianggap miskin sebenarnya menggandakan kegiatan ekonomi dan pada masa yang sama mengagihkan keuntungan kepada pihak-pihak yang terlibat dalam kegiatan tersebut tanpa mengira etnik. Jadi, setiap RM1 yang dilaburkan, semua etnik dapat faedah, daripada orang kampung, taukeh jual baja, pemborong, peruncit, kontraktor dll.

Andai kata, projek untuk orang miskin tidak dilaksanakan; sebaliknya ditumpukan kepada kawasan bandar sahaja, mungkin 69 sekali lagi. Pelaburan kepada orang miskin akan membawa pembangunan dan agihan pendapatan kepada beberapa pihak. Cuma kesetaraan agihan masih menjadi persoalan.

Bermakna, polisi pertumbuhan ekonomi negara ”di luar 30%” membawa faedah kepada semua etnik.Polisi ekonomi ”30% untuk bumiputra” itupun turut membawa faedah kepada semua etnik.

Tetapi seperti yang dihujahkan oleh beberapa penulis, DEB memerlukan pembaharuan ”Kebocoran” terlalu besar disebabkan oleh perakus dan dalang dalaman. Agihan projek atau kontrak bukan berdasarkan merit – tetapi kepada kroni. Kes ini boleh dianggap kronik kerana agihan pendapatan antara Bumiputera kaya dan miskin juga telah meningkat dengan besar. Bermakna bumiputera miskin rata-rata memberi subsidi dan mengkayakan segelintir Bumiputera kaya. Contoh yang jelas – adalah kes Proton dan projek lebuhraya. Yang mengkayakan tokoh korporat Bumiputera – adalah bayaran daripada penduduk miskin yang kebanyakannya Bumiputera. Subsidi diberi terlalu banyak sehingga bocor dan juga membunuh insentif. Syarikat Bumiputera rapuh dalam mengharungi krisis 1997. Usahawan Bumiputera masih tidak mampu bersaing. Simptom-simptom ini adalah serius.

Agihan kekayaan adalah relevan dalam semua masa. Jika tidak, implikasi sosial dan politik lagi membahayakan. DEB, nyata memerlukan pembaharuan yang radikal.

cakapsiang said...

Koolgeek admits that NEP is good, note what he says: "...This is the fault of NEP, despite its good intention to help the poor. It has been abused...." So if there are abuses, we only have to rectify those areas... not abolish NEP.

Anonymous said...

Like it or not NEP was the solution to a country that had the potential of having a gap in racial divide. Some chinese here may disagree but NEP has played it's part in ensuring "an equal playing field" for all (although it is only in theory but not in practice).

chinese Malaysians complain of us Malays having crutches and wheelchairs to help us feel "special". In all honesty, the chinese too had their fair share of crutches. boon siew is just one example. There are many more who perhaps don't deserve their crutches but get it anyway: ytl Power, tan & tan (and how t&t started out during Tunku's era) etc. The list goes on and on....

People like koolgeek are in fact a disgruntled bunch. Probably because they themselves are failures in their own right. Opportunities in this country are virtually limitless for a non-Malay, it is whether one chooses to embrace the moment or not and capitalize from it. Try going elsewhere and see if you get to share a big piece in the economic pie. Many countries preach of a fair playing field but do not practice it. Singapore is a fine example. They call us racist for having NEP but they themselves are practicing discrimination too albeit in a more blatant way. chinese singaporeans seem to dominate everything there. Can you trully say that there are no capable Malays there? If you say yes then you are truly a racist. singapore even goes beyond it's borders in it's practice of racial discrimination. They award the so-called Asean scholarships to Malaysians but the Malaysians who receive them are mostly, if not all , conveniently chinese. I think the saddest bunch to be left out in the cold are our Malay brothers and sisters down in singapore. Their own government marginalizes them and their Malaysian neighbors don't care enough to help them because the Malaysian government is too busy cheating it's own people.

Do not come out and say that NEP is cause for the racial divide, corruption and decline of our nation. By making such a statement, one may view chinese Malaysians such as koolgeek as being the racist here. In not too many words, he has implied that the NEP dependent race, which is the Malays of course, are the cause of all the problems we face with the government, civil service,education, healthcare etc. since the political scene and civil service is Malay dominated.That sir is blatant discrimination and racial profiling.
So, the chinese are not to blame is it?
Would you like it if Tunku came out in public during the emergency period and started to assume as you do. Would you like it Tunku announced at that time that all chinese Malayans/Malaysians were communists because most of the communists in the country were chinese? I'm sure if he did, your parents/grandparents/ancestors would definitely fall into that category because of their race.

Not all Malays depend on NEP and not all Malays enjoy the benefits of NEP. I for one, have never enjoyed any such privilages associated with NEP. My education was self-funded (even though I had superb grades). My house was bought off the secondary market (hence no Bumi discount). I receive no such special loans, grants in running my business. Just because the 3 million or so UMNO members abuse their position by manipulating what is essentially a good policy, NEP, do not brand NEP as helping all Malays. You will be surprised to know the real number of people who actually benefit form it.

A drastic change is needed in this country, but in the form of eliminating the NEP. NEP will one day go and the Malays will eventually one day have to stand on their own two feet. NEP is not the failure here, it is the way it is implemented and the people who implement them that make NEP a disgrace. In short, it's the government's fault. They have conveniently picked and choose who the NEP benefits. The answer to the problem is having an efficient, fair and just government which delivers to all races. At the moment, the NEP is but a mere tool the politicians in the BN use to divide and conquer us. Nothing more. And we, Malays, chinese and indians are the ones stupid enough to listen to the rubbish they preach and continue voting the same corrupt government back into office. So make a statement in the next General Elections and send a signal to the ruling party that we (Malays, chinese, indians etc.) are not happy with them.

Darren said...

Mr_ABS

Quoting u:
"dengan adanya NEP, kaum bukan melayu terutamanya kaum cina dapat berbisnes sampai jadi jutawan, dan semua ini adalah sebab kerajinan serta usaha mereka sendiri. itu sesuatu yang orang melayu itu sendiri harus belajar dari mereka."

I hope I can make myself clear about my stand in the course of this discussion. To progress as a nation, we need to look beyond me being cina, you being melayu.

There should be no "melayu harus belajar dari cina" or "melayu miskin kerana cina tak kasi chance". If you are poor, you have yourself to blame; you do something about it; not cry foul and blame the government for not helping you; or start burning houses that you think you should have a part of. If this is the kinda mentality Malaysian harbouring, we havent progressed a bit since 1969. And this is exactly what NEP has failed at.

BoonSiew did not get rich by collecting money falling from the sky.. certainly he did not get rich simply because Malaya wanted him to. He saw an opportunity, went to Japan to negotiate the deal and actually labored hard for it. Success don't come easy. Certainly it ain't easier because you're a Chinese, or harder because you're Malay for that matter.

There are many Malay businessmen out there whom I admire. Their charisma and sharp mind surpasses many Chinese businessmen. But my point is again, why do we tag success with race? We should be proud of them as we should of BoonSiew. They are part of our nation's success story. Great individuals who made a mark in history.

Success in life, is all in your mindset and amount of hard work you put in. Not in other people's hand, not in your gene, certainly not because you are Cina or Melayu.

Someone mentioned the reason for Malays not being involved in dealership and repair shop businesses back then was because of the chinese businessmen's reluctance to let them to. Do you see the blaming mentality again?

More surprisingly, he said this:
"Furthermore, Malay attitude toward Malay business is very bad. They always buy,purchase and support Chinese business NOT Malay business."

Do you see what we have come to as a nation? We are evaluating everything based on race. And this is the exact reason why NEP is damaging this country.

Yes. Sometimes I wonder too.. why aren't there many hardware shops or renovation contractors or restaurant shop owners who are Malays in center commercial areas?

This kinda question can spur two very interesting responses. First, the Chinese are greedy and wicked. This is part of MCA's conspiracy to dominate the economy. Second, maybe the Malays aren't that interested to participate in these kinda businesses as they risky, require intense hardwork and lots lots lots of luck.

Try catch 10 Malays out on the streets and see what's their answer. Then ask 10 Chinese the same question. I can assure you, you'll get most of first from the Malays and second from the Chinese.

You may say I'm a dreamer. But as a kid, I grew up with my Malay and Indian friends thinking this is a multi-racial country that can live in harmony; not a nation living in fear of an ignition that will burn everything down.

If we don't set our mindset and course correct now, we will hand to our children, a broken country.

Anonymous said...

Correction to a typo error. In the first line of my last para I meant to say:

"A drastic change is needed in this country, but NOT in the form of eliminating the NEP."

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum Dato'

A blogger mentioned the waiving of the keris and strong rhetorics by certain leaders in UMNO. My view is they are merely reacting to current moods brought about by the the opposing sides - just surf the blogs or read the STAR newspaper at the point in time. Otherwise there's no reason for them to act likewise. I also feel that they are not hypocrites. Their actions had indeed stopped the movking of the Malays since then, although they bear the brunt now. Yes, Malaysia is not perfect but we have our way and it works.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Mom-of-Success,

Thank you for sending me the article, but I'll not post it as it has nothing to do with the topic we are discussing.

Your comment and plea are better addressed to Malaysia-Today or directly to RPK. Those allegations against the police are made in his website not mine.

As for "anonimous", I welcome your participation, but as repeatedly stated in this blog, I do not entertain comnments using callsign anonimous.

Thank you all. And please keep our debate well clear of sedition and racism.

Anonymous said...

Datuk,
Di negara kita ni, apa pun jika dilihat dari kacamata politik dan kaum akan menjadi keruh.

Pengalaman saya secara peribadi ialah orang Melayu, Cina atau India sama saja. Ada yang baik dan ada yang jahat. Semua ada kepentingan sendiri dalam politik.

Pun begitu, hubugan peribadi satu sama satu, antara semua kaum di Malaysia adalah baik.

Saya orang Melayu. Masa saya masuk ITM dahulu, selama satu tahun kawan saya seorang Cina menanggung kos pembelajaran saya di sana. Langsung dia tidak mintak bayar balik. Lepas saya dapat biasiswa barulah dia berhenti menghantar wang. Susah nak cari orang macam ni kerana kawan saya itu sendiri tidak dapat masuk universiti kerana orang Cina perlukan kelulusan yang baik untuk masuk universiti masa itu.

Kesimpulan saya, kalau kita semua kurangkan berpolitik, mungkin negara lebih aman. Ada DEB ke, tak ada ke, no problem!

Terima kasih.

Anonymous said...

Just a thought Datuk. Where will Kuok be without sugar monopoly, Goh Tong without Casino license, Vincent Tan without Sports Toto, YTL without Syarikat Perumahan Negara JV and IPP, Ananda without Petronas and Race Course land, Tan & Tan with Rumah Koh Kai Boh? I am a Malay. I am successful. But I did not get the NEP scholarship. I got a foreign government scholarship. I paid for my children’s foreign education. I succeeded because the NEP expanded the economy and I was able to take advantage of it. I do business with Malays, Chinese and Indians. 30 per cent of my staff are no-Malays. I was at the KLBC dinner talk. Whole else if not Pak Lah who said “The short answer is yes”. But I think Pak Lah did not realize the implications of this short answer.

Darren said...

Call me sore loser or disgruntled bunch if you like.

All man born equal. We work hard to earn a living, make an impact in this world, then we leave. How you want this world to be and how it will be for your children, it's up to you.

Malaysia is a tiny spot on the globe. If we wanna continue fighting like this, things will only be worse. If the majority think NEP must be continued, then so be it.

I know many out there think people like me are sore losers trying to get a piece of NEP's benefit. You have your right to assume that; no point in debating this.

Whatever your agenda is in making such assumption on me is irrelevant. Same for those who claim they are "anak petani", "i'm also Malay", "I'm a Chinese", "I earned my degree", "I have mechanic friends" etc... These statements have no meaning in cyberspace.

Meanwhile, do spare a minute to think about what I've said today when you're in traffic jam queuing up to the toll booth; when you get more government buildings cracking and collapsing; when you hear our public universities hit bottom of the ranking; when you see Proton keep on manufacturing Iswara until 2020; when your house got broken into and it takes 5 hours for the police to come; when you travel to the kampung and see how those people are still living in poverty; when you hear more municipal council trips abroad to study public toilet systems, garbage collection system and come back with nothing but tax payers money wasted...

... when you hear more of these news, do spare a minute to be skincolor-blind and ask yourself if NEP has played a role in all these.

If you still think all I've said today make no sense, then so be it. Lets continue with NEP.

I've said all I've got to say.

Thanks Datuk for approving all my comments. Sorry if I've offended anyone. All views are my own and I do not speak on behalf of anyone or any group. I speak as a citizen of this country.

Anonymous said...

Assalamualikum Dato'

I don't think we can just wish away race, or religion for that matter. Wars are still being fought over race and religion with the US and Europeans ( claimnant to human civilization ) using the middle east, in the balkan states and elsewhere as their proxy. Malaysia has come up with the unique NEP concept to address this conflict but along the way there will be abuse or need for readjustments. To back away will be a total disaster. Of course people like koolgeek or stevie are opportunist or idealist if you like and with the feeling of being deprived they think they have nothing to lose. we cannot just copy wholesale the western concept into our society. There is need to learn from history ( no I am not referring to 13May but to to recent European political events)if we do not want the conflict to recur.

Dr. N said...

Dear Datuk,

Mistrust and hatred were not the daughter and son of the NEP, rather the actual seeds for the conception of the NEP. Were it not for the racial tension and disharmony there would not be an NEP....

I personally think that a major player in the current state of unrest and disunity is the existence of different education systems. Lets do away with the MRSMs and the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan etc.. Put them all in ONE education system so that when we learn together, hopefully we can then learn to live together.

The Bumiputeras were promoted but NOT at the expense of the non-BUMIs. Like all uscles npt 9in use, they atrophy: the Bumis lack the competetiveness and independance, thus subjecting themselves to the scorn of the non-Bumis...

We are at crossroads; whichever path we take requires the magnamitiy and benevolence of all the races in order to succeed..

I feel wrretched as I watch the future of my children disintegrate infront of my very eyes. God save us all.

Dr. Loveless

Anonymous said...

If only all people can be smart and make full use of the resources. Unfortunately not all can and those who can't are envious of those who can.

maybe the govt should thru the education system teach some kind of skills teaching how to maximise your resources be it money or land etc etc.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Dear debaters and visitors,

Thank you for keeping your emotion in check and for continuing to debate.

Let me put it this way. If I’m thinking only of myself, I wouldn’t have bothered to start this blog. Thanks to what I believe to be good upbringing by my padi farmer-man and dad, and to the relative peace and prosperity of the country, to my Malay- and English-based education at home and a tiny bit abroad, I am doing fine.

I have seen many good and bad things about the country. But by comparison we are better off than most ex-colonies. I think I know quite a bit about politics and the economy. I started pasting election posters during the 1969 general elections and I first covered the stock market in 1972 (for Bernama).

It was then the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore Stock Exchange. Its Kuala Lumpur trading room was located at the Bangkok Bank Building. The biggest fund manager than was the Mara Unit Trust.

If you “rode” with its floor traders, you could end up making some pocket money short-selling shares of Fusan Net, Tong Meng Industries, Bukit Katil, Ayer Itam Mines or Mentakab Rubber. Those days, short-selling of shares was allowed.

Thanks to the rapid growth during the NEP, those who were prudent and market-savvy could make extra cash from the IPOs and the booming property market. I bought/built and sold houses since 1981, starting with a RM50,000- Selangor SEDC house in Bandar Baru Bangi.
You can say that I’ve done pretty okay. I can “retire” quietly and enjoy a modestly comfortable lifestyle.

I started this blog in the hope of perpetuating what I always believe to be an important element in the progress of any nation that is the ability to articulate ideas and thoughts. In fact, by being somewhat critical and allowing free-flowing debate in this blog, I suffer a little bit as a part time “capitalist.”

Not everybody in power shares our views and they can use their influence to do us some harm. My staff often told me that my critical stand on certain issues is hurting business. It may be true or it may not. But this is the risk I am willing to take, not so much for my sake, but for the sake of the less able Malaysians and the future generations. I have had it so good in the last so many decades and I want the present and future generations to enjoy the same or even better.

Thus, I’ll support any policy that creates wealth and distributes it fairly among all Malaysians. That’s what, in my humble view, has been successfully done by the NEP for the majority of Malaysians irrespective of race – creating wealth and distributing it. It might not have been perfect but certainly better than not having a policy at all.

We may or may not be less segregated than we used to be but I think common interest and survival have tied us together. To a degree, I agree with the views that the presence of Sekolah Kebangsaan, the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina and Tamil, the MRSM and now the race-based universities and colleges are keeping more young Malaysians apart.

This may not be good for the future of our attempt to create a truly Bangsa Malaysia by the year 2020 – the Malaysian Race -- if there is indeed such a thing.

But do you think the Umno, MCA, MIC politicians are willing do to away with this education system? Or for that matter the oppositions? Are they keen to make every Malaysian economically independent of government assistance? Political parties need votes and one of the ways of ensuring that is to make the voters dependent on the government either via subsidies, scholarship awards or juicy contracts.

Having said that, I beg your indulgence to state categorically that the “growth with distribution” approach of the NEP has been good for all Malaysians irrespective of race and where they live. Not every Bumiputera is a failure or that every single one of them needs crutches. And not every Chinese or Indian is Robert Kuok or Ananda Krishnan.

I sent all my three older children for university education abroad (the USA and New Zealand) with my own money. All of them were offered places at “sekolah asrama penuh” after their primary education. Except for one (who went to MRSM), I encouraged the rest to go to normal school where they learnt normal things like having normal friends and classmates of all races and not just the nerdy Melayu.

And it wasn’t that they could not get government scholarship. But I though since I could afford it, let other children whose parents could not have a go at the scholarships. And they don’t work for the government either. One is doing her own business, one settled down in Switzerland and the third works for an American aircraft engine manufacturer and is currently based in Japan. I have two other school-going children. So I have every reason to want a bright future for this beloved country of ours.

I want to tell you this because I think it becoming more and more important that we understand each other better. What I am saying is, I am willing to publish your views but not at our collective perils. So please always be thoughtful. I also believe that unless we are economically independent, we cannot be intellectually free or if we are not willing to face the consequences of freely expressing our thoughts.

I am willing to give everybody space. I do not censor or edit your comments. Very few comments were rejected. They were comments that carried no names, were out of context and about other blogs. So let’s be fair-minded Malaysians and avoid unnecessary racism and chauvinism. We can’t accuse others of racism and chauvinism if we are not free of the same tendency and mentality.

Thank You.

-thethinker- said...

Datuk..
nampak gayanya , saya sudah menemui seorang yg bersetuju dgn prinsip saya. Saya berbangga kerana terdapat orang melayu spt Datuk yg sanggup mengeluarkan duit sendiri utk menampung pendidikan peringkat universiti utk anak-anak datuk. Datuk berbuat demikian kerana datuk berasakan bahawa datuk mampu , dan apa salahnya ,diberikan peluang itu kpd melayu-melayu lain yg lebih memerlukannya. Itulah semangat DEB yg sebetul-betulnya...

Bila saya cuba mengemukakan idea agar melayu yg berkemampuan tidak mengambil kesempatan keatas dasar DEB , saya dicemuh , dikeji dan dilabel sbg seseorang yg hendak melupuskan hak istimewa melayu.

Apa salahnya , jika melayu itu berkemampuan , janganlah ambil biasiswa , diskaun beli rumah dll .. salurkan wang diskaun kpd badan amal , berikan peluang biasiswa kpd anak melayu yg lain.. nii tidak ... ambil kesempatan keatas dasar DEB yg nak tolong orang miskin yg kebetulan majoritinya melayu...
Spesis melayu spt inilah yg menghancurkan melayu itu sendiri. Tiada perasaan malu kerana mengkhianati bangsa sendiri

Pak Nujum said...

Datuk,

Sebagai rakyat yang membesar dalam DEB dan orang terlibat mempromosikan kejayaan DEB selepas mula menjadi wartawan.

Saya melihat DEB telah mencapai matlamatnya mungkin bukan dari segi ekuiti 30 peratus yang kita perdebatkan tetapi dari segi peluang untuk mendapatkan pendidikan dan meningkatkan taraf hidup.

Tanpa DEB tidak mungkin saya akan dapat berlajar di ITM (UiTM) sekarang dan tidak mungkin saya berpeluang untuk bekerja untuk mendapatkan angka gaji empat kosong (walaupun sekarang ni gaji itu tidak cukup menyara keluarga) dan dari gaji ini lah saya dapat menyokong serta membantu adik-adik saya untuk mendapatkan pendidikan di peringkat diploma di ipts - DEB memang berjaya tetapi pada peringkat ini.

Pada satu peringkat pula ia tidak berjaya membentuk usahawan Melayu berjaya kerana mereka sendiri tidak mahu berjaya, berapa banyak peluang yang diberikan dan diberikan untuk memastikan mereka berjaya, malangnya sikap mereka yang mahu hidup senang dengan cepat maka wujudkan ali baba dan pelbagai baba di Malaysia.


Pada saya DEB boleh ditalkinkan di peringkat bagi membantu usahawan melayu- biarlah mereka berjuang untuk menjadi berjaya seperti yang dilakukan oleh tiga pemilik butik levis di KLCC yang berjaya dalam perniagaan mereka ( namun kejayaan yang dibina tanpa pertolongan kerajaan itu kini diancam pula oleh jentera kerajaan yang melantik orang asing mengendalikan KLCC).

Pada saya DEB perlu diteruskan di peringkat bawahan membantu anak-anak melayu yang ketinggalan untuk mendapatkan pendidikan percuma di peringkat tinggi - (seperti yang dilakukan oleh FELDA menghantar anak-anak generasi kedua dan ketiga untuk belajar di IPTS di negara ini) itu adalah lebih baik - daripada kita menghabiskan berbilion-bilion ringgit untuk usahawan melayu (kononnya) tetapi sebenarnya di kuasai oleh pemimpin-pemimpin Melayu ( dan ini semakin teruk sekarang kerana pemimpin politik UMNO kini semakin menjadi-jadi merebut dana yang disediakan untuk usahawan melayu).

bagi koolgeek: kita sebenarnya masih hipokrit kerana sentiasa mementingkan kaum kita, ini sebenarnya bukan hasil dari DEB tetapi hasil sikap pendidikan kita yang dipecah-pecahkan kepada tiga sekolah rendah - kebangsaan, cina dan tamil - ini mencetuskan sikap perkauman - kalau kita benar-benar mahu menghapuskan rujukan kaum setiap tindakan kita atau perbuatan kita - ajarlah anak-anak kita bahawa kita rakyat Malaysia - satu susah semua akan merasa susahnya.

marn said...

Seram sejuk rasa hati bila baca komen2 di sini. bagus... bagus...

Saya anak negara merdeka. Tak pernah melalui krisis kaum 69. Tiada pengalaman tentang peristiwa hitam tu. Kalau ada pun, hanya daripada ceritera orang lama. Sampai berbunuhan sana-sini. Keris terbang melayang dengan sendirinya. Yang pasti, ada pertumpahan darah yang berlaku.

Pada saya, NEP tu bukanlah satu benda yang perlu ada sampai bila-bila. Tapi tidaklah bermakna ia perlu dihapuskan. Kalau bocor, tampunglah ia supaya bocor tu hilang. Kalau perlaksanaannya tidak betul dan sudah tersasar, perbetulkan dan kembalikan ke landasan yang sebenar. Kalau ianya benar-benar sudak tidak dapat dibetulkan lagi, maka buanglah ia ke dalam tong sampah dan humban ia jauh-jauh.

Negara kita walau macammanapun akan terus berkembang. Sama ada pesat atau tidak. Berkembang dari segi ekonominya, penduduknya, mentaliti penduduknya dan lain2 perkara.

Saya percaya kalau kita bercakap bahasa yang sama, tinggal di tanah yang sama, punya impian yang sama, kita boleh hidup saling bantu-membantu antara satu sama lain.

Allah Taala ciptakan buat kita di bumi ini tanah yang begitu luas dan sediakan peluang yang begitu banyak. Terpulang pada kita untuk cari dan gunakan kesempatan yang ada. Berhenti salahkan manusia lain dan usah mengeluh. Yang penting, usaha dahulu dan tawakkal kemudian. Banyak perkara yang selama ini kita telah berkongsi tanpa kita sedari seperti matahari yang satu dan bulan yang sama kita lihat tatkala ia mengambang.

Kemiskinan akan tetap ada. Kesusahan akan sentiasa wujud. Kesempitan hidup akan selalu hadir dalam kehidupan manusia. Sama ada kita terimanya sebagai satu elemen dalam kehidupan kita atau tidak.

Allah ciptakan manusia dalam pelbagai jenis bangsa untuk kita saling kenal-mengenal. Bukannya bermusuhan. Kita ni asalnya dari Adam a.s. Kena ingat yang tuh.

Perkara pertama yang kita kena buang daripada diri kita ialah syak-wasangka sesama kita orang kerdil, rakyat biasa tak kira usia dan bangsa. Kita yang susah dan berbalah sedangkan mereka pembesar2 kaya-raya membahagikan harta kekayaan negara sesama mereka tak kenal bangsa.

What say you?

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum Dato'

Looks like a major issue that need to be addressed is the education system. Each race wants to champion his vernacular school. This has resulted in the split from a very early age. Since we have now reverted to Bahasa Malaysia and no dissent is heard from all quarters why not adopt a common school system - taking in the best practices of the existing vernacular schools into one Sekolah Malaysia ( not a new concept I think but failed to take off?)which will be the sole pathway to further education. Through a common educational experience a deeper understanding of NEP can be forged and adjustments could be made along the way without distrust and suspicion

joeyhuang said...

As a Malaysian age 51, so happen to be born into a Chinese family, I see Malaysia going NOWHERE!
When ASEAN countries are growing globally be it Thailand, Vietnam or Singapore, we are struggling with RACE, CORRUPTIONS, INEFFICIENCIES! NEP?
After 50 years, as working parents, we brought up our 3 kids PROUDLY without even thinking of govermnent support!
My next challenge to my kids, build your future in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and China. I see they can benefit more and contribute to their host countries.
I don't want my kids to suffer the mental frustrations and racial discriminations I face in Malaysia. Simple!
As for me, take it easy and retire happily, Live longer.

Anonymous said...

mr koolgek,

quoting from u

"There should be no "melayu harus belajar dari cina" or "melayu miskin kerana cina tak kasi chance". If you are poor, you have yourself to blame; you do something about it; not cry foul and blame the government for not helping you;"

am i the one who misunderstood here, or u are the one who misunderstood my statement?

i do blame on my own race on why after years and years, NEP do not achieve its main target which. read carefully my statements.

and the other thing, why do malay can't learn something good from chinese? in term of business, chinese are undoubtly more succesfull than malays, and whats wrong with belajar from chinese?

back to the NEP issue; if there was a "start" then there should be an "end"

an "end" to NEP for me, is when "ketuanan melayu" no more exist in our country or when 50% of wealthy in our beloved country is owned by Malays.

i tend to agree that the implimentation on NEP is one of the main problem in achieving NEP's target, and i think the mind-set of the bumiputera's should be changed.




"carilah kekayaan, seolah-olah kita hidup seribu tahun lagi"

"beribadah lah, seolah-olah kita mati esok"


jika itu menjadi pegangan, maka 50% of the wealthy di Malaysia insya Allah akan tercapai.


dari segi politik, saya sebagai rakyat biasa, melihat usaha utk menghapuskan NEP, mengurangkan NEP, melonggarkan NEP, sebagai tindakan melangkah ke belakang, it's a bad political move. jika kerajaan mengumumkan perancangan ini secara rasmi, mungkin pilihanraya akan datang, kita akan melihat perubahan kuasa.

i wish i'm wrong on that matter.

Anonymous said...

Dato telah menyediakan tema perbincangan yang menarik. Perbincangan dan perdebatan di sini juga menarik. Majoriti pendebat memperlihatkan keterbukaan minda dan persepsi manakala segelintir agak emosional.

Satu soalan untuk Dato':

“At a multi-racial multi-national KL business Club dinner, when asked if the IDR would be a model in the dismantling of the NEP in the whole country, the -- (I am deleting his identity) got an approving applause when he said, “The short answer is YES."

Kenapa Dato delete perkataan the Prime Minister?

Seorang YB pembangkang dalam Dewan Rakyat (Parlimen)membangkitkan dan mempersoalkan kenapa kaum Cina sebagai penyumbang terbesar kepada cukai pendapatan negara (80%), tidak mendapat peruntukan sewajarnya untuk membangunkan beberapa sekolah cina baru dalam RMK9.

YB ini bagus, hujahnya lengkap dengan fakta. Saya baru tahu kaum Cina menyumbang 80% hasil cukai pendapatan negara! Maka secara kasarnya, saya boleh buat andaian bahawa kaum Cina menguasai 80% ekonomi negara.

Sememangnya benar, tiada yang lain melainkan benar bahawa Kaum Cina (minta maaf guna perkataan kaum)bekerja kuat,rajin,produktif dan mendapat kejayaan dan kekayaan dari HASIL USAHA mereka sendiri. Bukankah ini jelas dasar asas NEP tidak menyekat kaum Cina atau mana-mana kaum atau individu sekalipun untuk mencari dan mengaut kekayaan di bumi bertuah ini.

Dalam iklan TV, ditonjolkan kanak-kanak berbagai kaum main bersama-sama, ke sekolah bersama-sama di sekolah yang sama, mandi sungai bersama-sama, sebagai tanda perpaduan kaum. Dan sebut saja apa-apa perkara berasaskan KEBANGSAAN, maka kita dapat bayangkan ahlinya bermacam-macam wajah,bangsa dan agama. Pasukan Badminton Kebangsaan,Bola Sepak Kebangsaan, dll.

Tetapi ini tidak berlaku di SEKOLAH KEBANGSAAN - 99% Melayu! Mana perginya Ah KAow, Muthu, dan lain-lain. Mengapa Cina dan India tidak mahu ke sekolah kebangsaan? Maka sebahagian dari kita sebenarnya bersikap hipokrit dan prejudis. Suka saya bertanya kepada kaum cina india di luar sana, apakah kalian bersetuju kalau kita bubarkan sekolah cina india dan wujudkan satu sistem sekolah sahaja iaitu sekolah kebangsaan seperti hari ini. JAWAPANNYA PASTI TIDAK! KENAPA? Saya sependapat dengan yang lain, bahawa sistem persekolahan (sekolah rendah dan menengah) yang berasaskan kaum inilah penyebab kepada masalah pada hari ini. Ibarat pepatah Melayu "Melentur buluh dari rebungnya".

Maka kalau saya jadi cina india, saya berasa malu untuk mempersoalkan NEP dengan keadaan saya (sebagai cin a india) berkeras dengan isu sekolah jenis kebangsaan!

Anonymous said...

Datuk AKadirJasin,
Salaam&Sallam

Thank you very much, Datuk.
I am having fun reading the postings. I hope you are, too, Datuk.

Koolgeek vs the Others(almost)

I am having a small short laugh as a Malay-siber and bigger bloated blogger laugh as a cyber-Muslim.

Actually, I was thinking the Israelis offer to Syrian over the Golan Heights and this posting of your's is a complete beduin bore. Of course, the Syrians are laughing. The Lebanese are mad and the Isrealis - well, they are in Washington and both guys were wearing their ties smartly. The Arabs are bored as I am with whatever the Arabs are bored with.

Which does not neccessarily means another OIC Summit, does it? That would be cool, though - to introduce your newly wedded wife to the other Muslim Brudders. Comment t'allez-vous, ma cherie?

So Koolgeek are you having a great time reading the postings of your dinigrators? Or is that a rather harsh word? But they are running awawy from your point, aren't they?

Tell, you what, here my soalan suey siao puliti: how would YOU dismantle the NEP? And I tell you what: Man, it looks like a golan heights to me.(How do Jeus think, Koolgeek?). What economics model are you proposing, mister?

Now that's cool, is it, Datuk Abdul Kadir?

Do you think that Abdullah is stupid? Just a general question, Datuk and meant for you.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Melayu Hadhari bertanya:

"Do you think that Abdullah is stupid? Just a general question, Datuk and meant for you."

Certainly not. If he's how do we explain the fact that he's the number one Pembesar of the negara?

If he's, how do we explain his absolute and utter control over Umno, the BN, the government and its apparatus?

If anything, he is playing possum. Jadi manusia yang berasa mereka pandai pun kutuk dia. Just think, he could be having the last laugh.

Sdr Langit Biru bertanya:

"Kenapa Dato delete perkataan the Prime Minister?"

Sebab saya tidak berada di majlis Kelab Perniagaan Kuala Lumpur itu dan saya tidak pula terbaca di dalam akhbar arus perdana. Jadi saya tiada firsthand information. saya hanya dengar dari seorang eksekutif bank dan baca SMS orang lain.

Saya bertanya seorang rakan yang menyunting sebuah akhbar Inggeris mengenainya dan dia terperanjat.

He was not aware that such a statement was made.

As editors, we depend on our reporters in the field. If they did not report or was told not to report, we wouldn't know unless they told us.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Apa yang merepek pasal DEB ini ? Letakla apa nama pun ABC ka ... Alif Ba Ta ka .... ini namanya diskriminasi.

Siapa yang berkuasa, yang lain akan diskriminasi. Membawa keuntungan kepada pihak yang memegang kuasa. Andai kata UMNO yang berkuasa, orang Melayu yang untung.

Jika MCA ataupun Gerakan yang berkuasa, sama sahaja diskriminasi tetap terjadi.

Jangan menipu dan berdalih.

DEB ? Tanpa DEB keamanan dan kestabilan politik tidak akan wujud dalam negara Malaysia. Tiada keamanan dan kestabilan, tiada kemakmuran ekonomi.

Tak mungkin orang Cina dapat MENGAUT kekayaan sebegini tanpa bantuan DEB.

Ini adalah diskriminasi positif, yang membuktikan kemurahan orang Melayu - generousity.

Orang tamak selalu rugi. Ingat pesan ini semua cucu cucu.

Anonymous said...

I like the NEP but it has been abused. I am no racist and I try to help within my capability. I lose sleep over this Malay guy, he has a hard life, still remember him cycle tens of km just to buy his low cost flat at RM35K. Now he is totally broke, no money to pay for his electricity and water bills, staying in the flat with candles and water took from common area, to his 5 storey unit. Today his unit is being advertised for auction. What is going to happen to his family, and he has 5 kids. No one cares, it is a sad real life current story. Low cost flat, taman bukit minyak, top floor corner unit. Auction at reserved price at around RM16K, I can imagine the vultures circling him now.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Frankie,

A sad story indeed. Poverty and bad luck know neither race nor creed.

Taman Bukit Minyak in Batu Pahat?

Has he sought the assistance of his BN Wakil Rakyat or applied for assistance under Projek perumahan rakyat termiskin (PPRT)?

I still harbour the hope that an NEP-type policy will continue to be the centrepiece of our development plan.

In the last two weeks, I had been in and out of the "third Class" ward of Penang Hospital. There I saw poor Malays, Chinese, Indians being cared by over-worked Indian doctors and Malay nurses and technicians.

I was told there is only one MRI machine (located at Penang Hospital) and 4 radiologists to cover Penang, Kedah and Perlis. The waiting period runs into weeks and months.

For these people, the slogan "Malaysiaku gemilang" has little or no meaning.

Think.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Coolgeek and free market anti-NEP dudes,

Read this man. More Americans -- percentagewise -- live in powerty than us in Malaysia. So NEP did work. Not to the fullest, but worked all the same. Read this US stats:

HUNGER and
POVERTY
in the
United States
of America
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population (July 1, 2003) 290,809,777
Number of children under age 18 73,043,506
Number of children under age 6 23,637,134
Unemployment rate (FY 2004) 5.6%
Poverty rate 12.5%
Number of persons living in poverty (2003) 35,861,000
Number of children under age 18 in poverty (2001-2003) 12,244,000
Poverty rate for children under age 18 (2001-2003) 16.9%

Unknown said...

Kalau aku jadi PM, aku akan menubuhkan sebuah Kementerian Pembangunan Dan Kemajuan Bumiputera. Jadi akulah Menteri Nya jugak!! angan-angan jer.

NYPT said...

efficiency and effectiveness of the NEP are highly subjective.

At the end of the day, most arguments regarding the NEP largely depend on racial origins. You call this nation building? I wouldnt die for this country if not for its gastronomic diversity.

Bahasa Malaysia has failed to bring us together. I think Nasi Lemak has done a better job.

Anonymous said...

There we go again. people like Democratic Junkie and coolgeek hate the NEP bacause they say it is racial. Actually they are only thinking of their own stomachs. As long as they can enjoy their nasi lemak, roti canai dan noodles, hell if others don't have one square meal a day.

Junkie, nobody is asking you to die for this country. Maybe your loyalty is the price of a plate of nasi lemak which is today made by Malays, Chinese, Indian and Mamak.

The dying is done by Malay and Indian policemen and Malay and Iban soldiers. Guy like you live behind fortified doors maybe with 10 bodyguards who are former Malay and Indian policemen.

Junkie and Geek, you cant enjoy your roti canai, nasi lemak and mee hailam if the poor Malays, poor Chinese, poor Indians, poor Iban and poor Kadazans keep begging or clubbing you on the heads.

Don't blame the NEP or the poor Malays if the the BN crowd are screwing the economy of the country. Vote for change unless you are a big fan and financial backer of the BN.

D!Qgital Studio said...

Haji of "Kementerian Pembangunan Dan Kemajuan Bumiputera." ... saya ada plan yang lebih efektif.
1) get rid of all ADUNs.
2) Bagi setiap TV station 3 atau 4 negeri.
TV station boleh beri perkhidmatan yang lebih baik.Highlight today ..besuk semua turun padang !!
Jimat kos,masa dan politiking.

Anonymous said...

Sdr.frankie,

Tmn.Bukit Minyak di Batu Pahat ke atau Bukit Mertajam?

NYPT said...

cooldude,

i was merely stating the obvious. isnt it obvious?

the matter of fact is that the majority of arguments can be traced to a persons racial origin. Chinese despise the NEP, most malays welcome it. Thats not so hard to see...

i think the NEP meant good. Its just at a coterie of unscrupulous politicians take advantage of it to enrich their family and friends. Through the NEP, the distribution of wealth is inefficient. I think Tan Sri Nasimmudin can survive without any more APs.

And no, please dont associate me with BN. Its shameful. Im all for the NEP if an income threshold is stipulated. That way, the ones who need it most can benefit.

The NEP now has become more of a tool to create global malays than to eradicate poverty among them.

And food should be used as a one of the nation building tools.

Razlan said...

Datuk,

Nak beri pendapat berkenaan dengan DEB ni, amat bahaya, saya melihat dari sudut mereka yang tidak paham erti sebenar perjuangan di dalam DEB.

Apakah yang tersurat dan tersirat di dalam DEB, cuma mereka yang merangkanya dan mempunyai hijab yang jauh sahaja akan dapat mengupasnya.

Di Malaysia ni, kita amat bersyukur kerana kita sentiasa dilindungi, dan ini ternyata semua dasar yang di buat oleh PM-2 kita yang lepas sehingga sekarang releven.

Akan tetapi semua dasar ini di buat mempunyai 7 lapisan makna yang tersembunyi.

Saya cuma khuatir dengan Pemimpin-pemimpin kita sekarang yang mana, ada diantaranya hanya memikirkan logik akal tanpa rujuk kepada orang-orang tua apabila ingin mengubal dasar. Dan selalunya dasar ini apabila digubal akan merugikan kita semua, bukan sahaja bangsa melayu, tetapi ianya akan merugikan negara amnya.

Saya ingin mengucapkan tahniah kepada TPM kita yang baru-2 ini mengumumkan Bahasa Melayu ditukarkan kembali kepada Bahasa Malaysia.

Jika kita pikirkan bab bahasa ini pun ianya mempunyai makna tersurat dan tersirat. Saya telah 3 tahun memperjuangankan isu bahasa ini apabila melihat bahasa orang melayu akan dikuburkan di negara sendiri dalam masa 20-30 tahun jika kita tidak mengubahnya kembali (razlans.blogspot.com)

Jesteru itu, memberi pendapat tidak apa, mengomen tidak apa.. tetapi jika pendapat-pendapat di dalam ini akan di jadikan asas untuk mengubal, ambil lah nasihat orang-orang lama dahulu.

sekian,
wasalam.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Frankie,

Please read The Star report below. Maybe it's not too late to help your poor Malay neighbour whose flat is being auctioned by the bank for RM16k.

"Local authority members asked to help identify people living below poverty line

KUALA LUMPUR: Local authority members should go to the ground and meet with people in order to identify families with household incomes below the poverty line, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said.

Ong said the families would receive financial assistance under the poverty assistance programme, which was introduced by his ministry at the end of last year.

“You should carry out house-to-house visits in your area, such as the low-cost flats. You should knock on their doors and find out the people’s needs,” he said in his opening speech at the consultative meeting of the woman local authority members at Hotel Seri Pacific here on Thursday.

Ong, who is MCA president, said he found out families with household incomes below the poverty line during his house-to-house visits to various villages nationwide.

He said the local authority members should have a good networking so that they could carry out their work more effectively.

He said local authority members should bring the cases of families or single mothers who are in need of financial assistance to the ministry as the ministry had the programme to help them.

He said the financial assistance included monthly house rental aid, transport allowance for the school-going children and working mothers.

“The ministry gives out school allowance for students in preparation of their new term every year. We also provide a one-off assistance to those who are being accepted to public universities,” he said.

He added that the ministry has been allocated RM20mil for the programme this year and more allocations would be given if there was a need."

I am nostalgic. When I was a boy in my ulu kampung in Kedah, my mom had an earthen jar filled with rice at our doorstep. Her instruction to us -- "give a can full to each begger who came calling."

God bless her. She successfully raised 8 children and she's nearly 80 now. My dad is 83 and is as alert and political as ever.

I also remember the visits by welfare officers who sought my dad's assistance to locate poor people. That was because my dad was active in community work and for decades the ketua of the local Umno brach.

I wonder if there is such a post as pegawai kebajikan now and if such officers still go for a walkabout to locate poor people.

Judging by the number of beggers and destitutes in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere in the country today, I am doubtful.

ahm said...

what's wrong even if nep is for the malays.. let it be, the malay deserved it... sdr. koolgeek you've problem with it?

have the malays ever questioned what the other have gained ever. learn to be satisfied with what you've got, rather than envied with what the other had.
i see your comments as 'racist-jelously syndrom'

affendi hussain said...

Salam Dato'..
budak setahun jagung tak sampai suku abad nak bagi pendapat sket..Salah silap harap maafkan & perbetulkan..edit pun x kisah
NEP??
Before we starts blaming each other, lets us go back to our country history. The British came here and introduced the “divide & rule” policy in order to keep them in power by eliminating the threat of the majority (people power) by making them “minority” in the sense of socio-economy & thinking...systematically discriminated & culturally preserved in kampung2... easy to control when people in this state. If they cannot control the majority since the population is so massive..give them opium instead..succeed in getting a piece of golden fortune land is good already for this Penjajah..see how dirty these white people were.. tu pun ada yg tak habis-habis kagum & taksub dgn depa lagi (especially the pembesar type)..there is no such things as gentlemen in them..hipokrit & putar alam kuat...sbb tu depa berjaya..history speaks for itself..
In parallel, they keep pampering the royalty & pembesar tribe to make it look not so obvious since majority Malay blindly devote loyalty to their leader & ruler..an inherited feudal culture! (yet still practice today by the modern Pembesar... I don't see any different except that now many already equipped with the brain of their own to analyze before “buta2 ikut macam lembu” like their ancestors.) .How many Malay kill their King?? In the history there's only one!
.. See ..who was the culprit that mould the problem in the first place?? The NEP was design to rectify the 100over years of mess left by the British! If not perfect , it has managed to certain extent improved & resolving the core problem otherwise things won't be as what it is today...maybe we end up like Indonesia instead.

The other races especially the Chinese at that time are brought by the Pembesar and British to explore the fortune of the tin ore..While the Indians work in the estates..At that time ,the tin ore migrator embraced the British ruling since it economically benefits & favour them, and even its result in opportunity to venture & even monopolized new businesses when the mining area eventually evolved into big city such as Kuala Lumpur & Ipoh. The matter of sovereignty did not come into concern compared to their brothers in the mainland fighting over dirty British opium tactics, At that time this land belong to the Malay – nothing to the immigrator concern at all...only after immigrator population grow the political concern arised to take care the welfare of each races. So bare in mind that it was not because the majority people at that time were damn lazy, not mentally capable and don't want to explore the business world as a result of their having small piece of the economy pie today.
It was the British who secluded them from the business world..No such things as fair play and the business monopoly don't grow on their own naturally...
the different things now the pembesar nowdays are created via cronism not genetically inherited.. the new breed of these keris type pembesar emerged as tiger preying every single living cows in the country..not all but most of them!

Economy is like the natural ecosystem..like the relationship between the tiger, cows & grass..To many greedy tiger who want to prey to the last calf thinking they are the supreme predator will caused starvation to their kind insted due to extinction of the cows! Furthermore, they indirecly kill the grass also since no more nitrate return to the soil from the cow's dung as fertilizer (no bullshit ok)..turning the land into deserts, change of moisture..affecting the climate..global warming etc.! If no tiger at all, the cows wil continue grazing the green to the last straw . Eventually, all the cows will die also similar to the 1st cases.. The worst is when the so called "human" who park their brain at home come mendling with this critical ecosystem affairs..

The world is enough to fullfill the NEED of everyone..BUT NOT to satisfy the GREED of someone!
If the NEP is the only remedy..well we just have to improvise the "drug" until the day we are really cured & no longer need it. Hope the notorious pembesar wouldn't add any poison in its blend.. :P

DDL said...

Datuk,

Pada saya, adalah tidak wajar sesuatu dasar yang telah diputus & dilaksanakan suatu ketika dahulu dihapuskan. Apa yang saya lihat dalam DEB, mempunyai kelebihan & keunikan, cuma dalam perlaksanaannya mempunyai kelemahan yang harus diperbaiki. Kenapa perlu dihapuskan? Mengapa tidak diperbaiki sahaja? Adalah sesuatu yang membuang masa, menghapuskan yang lama, dan menggubal dasar baru yang hasilnya belum menentu.

Melalu DEB juga, saya tidak melihat ianya meminggirkan kaum-kaum yang lain.. kaum cina & india masih boleh menambah kekayaan & ketawa.

Anonymous said...

Datuk AKadirjasin
Salaam&Salam

Ya-Le Ya-Le - Ya-Le
DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

Ya-le ya-le ya-le ya-le ya-le

"The spirit of the NEP must be kept alive, as its aim, among others, is to eradicate poverty among all races," he said during a live interview over RTM1.

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the NEP and to further enhance our discussion on the subject...

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

Its focus is on raising the productivity and active participation of the Bumiputras without depriving the economically advanced non-indigenous population of their economic and social rights.

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

Since its implementation in 1969 and despite its imperfections..., Malaysia has reduced poverty,... – restructured the production and income patterns to gradually contain, even reduce, ethnic economic disparity.

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

The evidence shows that the two main objectives of growth and ethnic economic balance of the NEP have been mutually reinforcing, even though if pushed beyond a point, they may become competitive rather than complementary.

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

The NEP has proved itself to be a viable policy for Malaysia. It has maintained political stability, thereby strengthening civil society, the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the country.

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

three persons who are closely associated it since its inception namely (Tan Sri ) Just Faarland, Jack Parkingson and Dr Rais Saniman????????!

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

Pembesar yang sangat besar itu, menurut eksekutif bank terbesar di Persekutuan Malaysia itu berkata: “Jawapan ringkasnya adalah ya.”

DEB Sedang Tenat Atau Sudah Ditalkinkan?

Saya macam tidak percaya apa yang saya dengar...

Apa, Latuk, lu taal-ak peach-caya sama e-tu talikin aa?
Apa e-tu talikin, Latuk Bisaa Abdul Kadir Jasin aa?

ya-lay ya-lay ya-lay ya-lay

cre8tif said...

salam dato'

about an interesting point drawn on the viability of SRJKC and etc; there are equally a growing number of non-chinese that are enrolling into such schools such as the daily examples given previously in the NST many years ago where I have read that growing number of malay parents are sending them to such schools.

i am schooled in the national co-ed schools from young till the age of joining a local college.

ppl may say that the schools in such a way is an embarrassment to national integration.

but if you ask these malay chaps and most contemporary ppl whom may have schooled in the national language previously and are now sending them to such schools - they are no longer just looking at the preservation of the culture / language.

i have no qualms about non-malays taking up the opportunity to join such school and to be schooled in non-malay medium.

it is just that globalisation has taken a different twist altogether in the 21st century.

it is not the medium of communication that is better.

I for myself think the malay language is not a difficult language to learn and nothing to be ashamed of.

It is just that if you ask even yourself as to why you send your own children overseas when they could pursue better opportunities in your own local/mother tongue - why not ?

it is because of appalling standards of national schools that is driving away parents of non-malays and even malays as well; the professionalism as well as relevance of what ppl have been taught that is being in issue.

non-national syllabuses like those in those chinese school especially during secondary are geared more towards international syllabuses. Look at the last time when the ministry has actually bothered to include new things into the books in our national school.

when i went into college and out into the working world and got to engage ppl from all around the globe; it just struck me that those in power are not really keen to upgrade their standard of learning.

Our national system does not encourage us to think or to be critical.

It is just that as we were previously debating whether we do fear GLOBALISATION and we all almost unanimously agree that we are afraid.

The sleeping economic power hse such as China [Mandarin] and India [English] have taken a lot of jabs on Malaysia - my only fear is that the decision makers are too complacent to change anything since it is not their children that are going to these schools.

Better to learn new languages and to prepare yourself in the wake of globalisation to be either assimilated by it or to be swept way.

Anonymous said...

koolgeek dont bother to argue la. come study hard we'll offer you a scholarship. we dont care if you're black white brown yellow or purple.

Anonymous said...

so many ppl living in denial. if i havent seen it i wldnt have believed it

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdra/Sdri para pembahas dan pelawat yang dihormati,

DEB adalah tonggak kepada legasi Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak. Nama Bank Bumiputra juga legasi beliau. Begitu jugalah halnya dengan UKM dan banyak lagi. Sekarang nama Bank Bumiputra tiada lagi. Sudah jadi CIMB Bank.

But Sang Kelembai Zaharin has another interesting take on The Man. The twice-sacked outspoken Umno member in his blog Sang Kelembai wrote:

“Bagi orang yang berfikiran waras, mereka akan bertanya, bukankah Tun Razak Hussein anak seorang pembesar Pahang yang bergelar Orang Kaya Indra Shahbandar, antara orang berempat Keluarga Diraja Pahang? Kenapa dia begitu miskin dan tak mampu membeli kasut?

”Di sinilah sepatutnya kita ambil kira sikap politik Tun Razak Hussein. Beliau bukan sahaja idola, mentor atau sumber inspirasi kalangan orang politik tetapi juga kepada anak-anak yang terbiar.”

He concluded that Abdul Razak was a neglected child.

Tahniah kepada Pemuda Umno, khasnya naib ketua Khairy Jamaluddin, kerana mengadakan sidang khas mengingati legasi Abdul Razak.

Saya berharap selain political milage (kerana Abdul Razak bapa kepada Mohd Najib TPM), sidang itu tidak bertujuan mengatakan bahawa Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman, Allahyarham Tun Hussein Onn dan Tun Dr Mahathir tiada legasi.

Mungkin selepas ini diadakan pula sidang mengenai peninggalan Hussein kerana dia bapa kepada Hishammuddin yang berupa Ketua Pemuda Umno.

An astute politician knows which side of the bread to butter. Often he butters both sides and the edges too.

Tetapi siapa akan mengadakan sidang untuk mengingati legasi Tunku Abdul Rahman?

Tiada seperti Abdul Razak, Hussein dan Mahathir, Tunku tiada waris politik. Malah Tunku mangkat sebagai “orang miskin” walaupun dia anak raja dan kawan-kawannya tauke-tauke besar.

Harap-harap janganlah generasi muda kita membelakangkan, mempersendakan atau memilih-milih peninggalan sejarah semata-mata untuk kepentingan politik mereka yang sempit.

DEB adalah legasi kolektif Abdul Razak, Hussein dan Mahathir.

Apakah ia juga akan menjadi legasi Abdullah Ahmad Badawi atau ia akan dikubur dan ditalkinkan tanpa batu nisan atas nama globalisasi, IDR dan mantera-mantera semasa yang mengasyikkan?

Malaysia Boleh! said...

Siapa sebenarnya yang paling untung dgn DEB (NEP).

Bumiputrakah atau UMNOputrakah?
Dalam DEB ada diberi peluang orang PAS atau orang yang bukan UMNO?

Dasar DEB memang mulia - Untuk memajukan dan menyamaratakan kemakmuran negara.

Tapi siapa yang bolot semuanya..

Mr. Smith said...

No one will deny that the NEP had indeed contributed towards social stability and advancement of the Malays.
However, along the way it has been hijacked from a poverty based instrument into a race based one.
It has been hijacked further into an UMNO's survival tool.
It has been hijacked by UMNO putras to creating overnight millionaires.
If it is a poverty based policy, how many Indians have benefited from it?
How many non-Malay Bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak have benefited from it?
I know of filthy rich Malays who have several children on Government scholarship.
Tell me, why should a rich Malay (even if he is a millionaire) be given 15% discount for a house purchased in Johor.
Please do not disregard the fact that this 15% is borne by the non Bumiputra buyers, some of whom are Indians and poor Chinese.
I does not bother me a wee bit if this policy goes on for another 100 years.
All I can say is, hold on to it and be damned.

Anonymous said...

Hello,
At all times growth with equity is the ideal an economy should strive for.No mankind should be deprived of rights and access to basic human needs.It is in fact a moral duty to everyone, firms and government. Inequity (a serious one) spells disaster - socially and politically.69 is a case at hand and history has repeatedly said so; worldwide.The means to correct inequity may differ between countries, but Malaysia chose NEP.The justification for equitable distribution is solid as a rock.

The crux of the matter now is - after 50 years of DEB - it has created the very thing it aims to rectify, i.e., inequity; particularly among the Bumis - beyond what one can imagine really. The gap between the ultra "haves" and the "have nots" belies dirty politics and distribution governs by greeds and not merit.The rent seeking behaviour among the cronies are extremely chronic at the expense of the rakyat/masses/taxpayers. Shoddy government contracts to selected chronies led to shoddy work as too much leakages and leeches sucking out bloods along the way.

All these costly inefficiencies have to go in the name of equitable distribution.This time round, the new NEP is for the poor, the deprived, the marginalised lots of the society and not for those who are at the helm of power or hungry leeches who have no eyes and soul.

Salam mesra Dato.

Anonymous said...

Dato' dan sekalian Perayap,
Yang benar...saya juga tertanya-tanya mengapa satu-satunya menantu lelaki tunggal Pak Lah itu (buat masa ini la...)memilih untuk membicarakan legasi Tun Abd. Razak. Saya juga seperti Dato' terfikir-fikir apakah motif di sebaliknya. Mengapa tidak diambil legasi Tunku Abdul Rahman terlebih dahulu sebelum legasi Tun Abdul Razak? Sungguh saya buntu.

KJ sepertinya mahu cepat mengejar sesuatu. Tanpa segan dan silu menjaja kewibawaan, ketokohan dan karisma yang ada dalam dirinya.

Anak muda ini ternyata bijak menyusun strategi walau terkadang terlupa gerak strategi itu lebih mudah dibaca berbanding papan dam aji.

Terima kasih

Anonymous said...

Melayu nusantara & consultan2k rightly pointed out the difficulties in Malay starting workshop & dealership. Are you sure Malays want to do this difficult work of starting such a business? I know of Tan & Khoo who both own successful dealership started off as workshop-hand when they 1st came to KL as penniless primary school dropout in 1963. Their starting pay was just 20 dollar a month and working hours were long, it is really a boring job. They learn the hard way, they see how demanding are the customers and never return if they are not satisfy. Tan recall a Datin from the Kampung Baru who shouted at him for touching her new bike. Tan & Khoo have no choice and they know they are the under privilege for lack of education but today looking at their success they remind me the hardship they have to endure for 15 years before starting out as a one man show workshop to a successful dealership of today. Please do not go into this business if one is not able to make the sacrifices for the customer will really suffer for poor service and delays.

Anonymous said...

Dato,
apa kata kalau Tanah Melayu kita ini mengikut jejak langkah UAE dimana kalau cina atau india atau mat salleh nak berniaga, sekurang2nya 51% di peruntukkan pada anak watan, dan sekurag2nya seorang anak watan mesti diambil bekerja dgn syarikat mereka? apa kata kawan2 cina kita?
Yang nyata, mereka ni adalah tetamu yang dah nak jadi tuan.

Anonymous said...

Dato,
sambung sikit lagi. Tak payahlah kita nak berselindung dan berkias2 dgn mereka yang sengaja memcucuk sarang tebuan tu. Katakan saja kita lakukan semua ini demi anak watan melayu yang menuntut hak nenek moyang mereka. Bukannya kita malas, Dato lihat sahaja berapa ramai anak muda melayu yang bekerja bertungkus lumus dan mereka yang berkemahiran tinggi mungkin lebih ramai dari kaum2 lain di malaysia, tapi ditewaskan/dikecewakan oleh bangsa sendiri. Bukan bangsa lain.

affendi hussain said...

teori ekosistem ekonomi yang gagal:

org berniaga jadi kaya raya kerana ada pembeli..kayanya dia bergantung kpd ekonomi pembelinya juga (berapa ramai yang ambil peduli??) "don't bite the hand that give the food & don't kill all the cows..savour the good milk & breed the calf"..
Senangnya berniaga disini.. kesedaran hak pengguna di sini kurang benbanding negara maju & dikalangan 66% tu banyak lagi yg leka hanyut dalam sogokan dunia hiburan realiti (lembu)..cuma nak berniaga sekali sekala kena elak acahan tikaman keris..sama2 lah berpencak bunga silat, bukan buahnya, petua nak berjaya..

tetapi selalunya majoriti peniaga ni lupa diri bila di atas roda dan merasakan kekayaannya datang atas usahanya semata-mata tanpa perlu bantuan sesiapa..yelah..dia sorang yang bayar cukai..jadi buat apa nak kongsi dengan majoriti yg lain..Well bear in mind -Profit is not something that can be pluck from the sky (even aeroplane takeoff from the ground..cuba kasi jangan landing sampai habis minyak..??)..No business without market and consumer..Kena loteri..that's luck!

kalo para pembeli di sini pun nk cari sesuap nasik pun susah..maka peniaga2 kaya lupa diri ni akan transfer perniagaannya ke seberang..(kalo kat negara komunis pasti dah kena tembak agaknya..bersyukurlah ini Malaysia)..

rakyat marhain nak keluar negara pun mimpi saja..lainlah kalo naik kapal terbang berulang alik keluar negara macam naik bas rasanya..kampung halaman kedua..
kalau garuda melanggar bumi ini nescaya ghaiblah semua org2 ini dikala baru terasa sambaran angin..maka rakyat marhainlah yg tinggal berjuang habis-habisan sebelum diratah garuda..bila garuda dan pergi maka kembalilah orang2 kayangan ini turun ke bumi...

tetapi itulah nampaknya trend di zaman pembesar2 keris sekarang yg dah lupa diri...jauh nk menghayati intipati perjuangan zaman dulu --entahlah.. hebat berpencak bunga2 silat saja..mengasyikkan..

kalo Allahyarham PM-2 hidup balik nescaya tersangat lah sedihnya melihat apa yg berlaku dgn dasar yg diperjuangkannya dulu..agaknya sedih lg tgk keadaan anaknya sendiri ..

Nak tunggu bulan jatuh ke riba? bulan pun masih di awang-awangan..kitarannya gerhana jugak..

roket macam peluru berpandu nak meletupkan bulan..cuma belum letak nuclear warhead je lagi takut tempias radiasi terkena semua..

Letak pokok hijau dalam segitiga bermuda pun dah cukup misteri..rasanya lagi bahaya daripada misil..kapal layar pun boleh hilang misteri dalam segitiga bermuda..

mata biru pun tak dapat ku lihat mata hatinya, macam mat salleh pulak mata biru..dah sepet sikit lepas bertumbuk..biru mata hitamku..

Neraca kati memang dah senget sebelah..haram dalam hukum Islam kalau tipu dalam timbangan jual beli..tapi sekarang modern pakai penimbang spring..kalo tipu adjust spring org tak nampak sangat macam neraca..

hai negaraku..lama lagi aku nak hidup disini..generasi Dato' lain lah..generasi2 ku lagi?..bagaimanalah nasib mereka..

sedih sekarang lembu kena sembelih dengan keris luk 7..keris tak bersarung..ada dua bilah lagi..berlekuk-lekuk..seksanya nak mati!

Anonymous said...

Dato', Tmn Bukit Minyak is in Bukit Mertajam. I will try to bring this story to the wakil rakyat. Still I want to point out, DEB failed to reach the average poor rakyat. I cannot justify why the rich bumiputera is entitle to 5-10% rebate when they hardly need the discount but the average poor being ignored. Something is not right. Only the bumiputeras in the country can rectify it, the non bumi can't say much as we are not supposed to touch on this issue.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Frankie,

Thank you for the info. BM is in the PM's state. PM and Umno have repeatedly pledged that the welfare of the Melayu would not be neglected although Penang is ruled by a Chinese CM.

I have no problem with that. Koh Tsu Koon is a good chap.

When I bought a semi-D house in subang Jaya soon after the 1985/86 recession, I lost quite a bit of money when Sime UEP decided to lower the price of similar units that were unsold. But over the years, the value more than doubled. The moral is, invest long term.

Before Sime UEP bought Subang Jaya from Paremba, it was the policy that low cost flats we also built to accommodate the lower income groups. The buyers of the costly units were in fact subsidizing the buyers of the low cost flats.

It was a good system. In return many affluent households could hire day amahs, drivers and gardeners who lived in thes flats.

The amahs, drivers and gardeners did not have to travel far to be employed. But with the new crop of developers becoming greedy and thinking only of profits, very few low cost flats are being build in these "exclusive" projects.

n fact, many developers look upon low cost flats and poor people as a liability as they supposedly bring down the value of their properties.

So poor people are banished to the fringes where jobs are few and they have to travel long distances to find employment.

Sdr, do bring the plight of your Melayu neighbour to the attention of the Wakil Rakyat.

You are welcomed to use this space to discuss the progress of your good work.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Salaam, Dato'

On an unrelated matter, I am amazed at the lack of intellectual rigour exhibited by the minister in the PM's Dept (who is also the de facto Law Minister) when he stated in Parliament that Spore and Malaysia cannot be compared on the issue of corruption.

His take is that Msia should not be compared with Spore because the latter is only a tiny island, and that if an island of only 4 million people like Spore was unable to control graft, then it would have a real problem on its hands.

The Minister was of course referring to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2006 which ranked Spore in 5th place and Msia in 44th place.

Of course, the Minister conveniently chose to ignore the fact that fairly large countries did well in the CPI 2006 rankings - like Finland, Iceland, New Zealand and Denmark in the top 4 positions, Sweden 6th, Switzerland 7th, Norway 8th, Australia 9th, UK 11th, Canada 14th, Japan 17th and Chile 20th.

Nope, the Minister has not been doing his homework. Naughty, naughty! Unfortunately, both Kak Wan Azizah and Sdr Lim Kit Siang didn't call him on this - the poor guy would have been hard-pressed to justify his argument.

Simon Wee said...

The objective of NEP is to be lauded. However its implementation has left much to be desired. Instead of benefiting the privileged few with the connections the share should be given to Malay cooperatives where all Malay employees should belong. This way the benefit would be spread to benefit as many Malays as possible. At the moment the privileged few would have to resort to Ali Baba arrangements in which only the few non-Malays with connections benefit. So the many non-Malays complain unfairly blaming the many Malays who have only their jobs to cling to. With a shrinking economic cake the country is now experiencing as more and more foreign investments bypass Malaysia for other Asian countries such as China, Vietnam and Singapore, the dissatisfaction and frustration are growing at the expense of the many non-Malays and Malays. Thus a more equitable economic policy and formula is imperative for the continued wellbeing of the country.

Anonymous said...

Datuk AKadirJasin
Salaam&Sallam

New Order - Listen Up!

"In a dominant part of the domestic economy, there is no level playing field for foreign companies," Rommel, the ambassador and head of the European Commission Delegation to Malaysia, said in a speech to local and foreign businessmen.

New order of the day, ladies and gentlemans are...(please read my lips. Please, please, please)


EU Leaders Agree On Reform Treaty

European Union leaders have reached agreement in Brussels on an outline of new rules to govern the 27-member bloc.

At dawn on Saturday they announced a compromise to delay until 2014 a new voting system that reduces Poland's influence - the main stumbling block.

Other proposals envisage a long-term president and a foreign affairs head.

The new treaty, expected to be finalised later this year, preserves much of the planned EU constitution, which was rejected by voters in 2005.

The treaty will need to be ratified by each of the EU's member states, before entering into force in mid-2009.


EU DEAL: MAIN ISSUES
Double majority voting delayed until 2014
Long-term EU president
High Representative for foreign affairs
Fewer national veto powers
More powers for the European Parliament


Devil in detail
After two years of uncertainty, the road for EU reforms is clear, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels.

And following marathon discussions which were at times on the brink of failure, EU leaders emerged smiling at dawn on Saturday to announce the results.

Having led the negotiations and brokered the compromise, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the current EU president, said: "We are very, very satisfied with what we have been able to conclude."

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, paid tribute to Ms Merkel and handed her a bunch of flowers.

"This shows that Europe is on the move, and on the move in the right direction."

Mrs Merkel conceded the talks had been hard - with Poland, the UK and the Netherlands each staunchly defending their interests.

The main obstacle had been Poland's demand to keep its voting power, which is currently almost equal to that of Germany's, even though its population is only half as large.

The new system - known as a "double majority" - will now be phased-in beginning in 2014 and fully implemented three years later.

Under this system, a 55% majority of EU countries with at least 65% of the bloc's population will be required for a change to be approved.

The treaty is also set to include most of the main points of the failed constitution, such as:

- a full-time president of the European Council - the regular gatherings of prime ministers and presidents

- a new foreign affairs chief, with the profile and the budget to give the EU more clout on the world stage

- fewer national veto powers

- more powers for the European Parliament

- a slimmed-down European Commission (from 2014)

Britain and the Netherlands also got what they wanted from the summit.

(Tony Blair was more perky than anyone has a right to be at five in the morning - BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell)

"The four essential things that we in the UK required in order to protect our position have all been obtained," said Tony Blair at the end of his last EU summit as British prime minister.

"Those were first of all to make it absolutely clear that the charter on fundamental rights was not going to be justiciable in British courts or alter British law."

Mr Blair also wanted to maintain national control over foreign policy, justice and home affairs.

The Netherlands, too, was satisfied that the role of national parliaments in Europe is to be strengthened and the criteria for new members joining the EU are included in the treaty.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6232540.stm

Published: 2007/06/23 07:53:34 GMT

What would you expect
from a Rommel when he is stuck not in a desert but in the equitorials
and Angela is angry?

Give a little speech
of course on self-righteousness just to let off steam
where the Natives won't mind a bit.

Just testing -
testing 1, 2, 3
before having to face the folks
back home. Now, that is
the devil in detail.

Anonymous said...

"Msia should not be compared with Spore because the latter is only a tiny island, and that if an island of only 4 million people like Spore was unable to control graft, then it would have a real problem on its hands".

I truly support this minister and gave him my full support if he can advise his boss to break up M'sia into 13 countries and doesn't that make us having 13 Singapore?

Unknown said...

Having read through the postings up to this point, I believe there are some mis-understanding of the term NEP.

In principle everybody would agree that NEP is necessary. However, some assume that it is based on ethnicity and other thinks it is based on classes (poor/rich).

One can find implementation examples of NEP based on ethnicity (Govt contracts, housing, education ) and limited cases based on class.

The general stated aim is to help narrow the gap between the poor and the rich regardless of ethnicity. However, we know the aim has been hijacked to benefit a few (both Bumi and non-Bumi).

The way NEP is implemented, it is perceived as ethnicity based, even foreigners can tell you that.

In other countries affirmative actions or policies to help the poor do not depend on skin colour.

In Malaysia context, NEP is a convenient political tool enforced with religion to hold on to power. Where else in the world can one relate a race as a follower of one particular religion?

NEP need to be revised and implemented transparently with checks and balances. Unless we accept the concept of equal rights to all citizens we will never fulfill our potential as a nation.

Fortunately, the abuses thus far have been cushioned by our natural resources.

Why is Malaysia lagging behind Singapore in most fields when we started off with equal footing?

Some think that NEP is a success story and therefore demand it to continue. I thought the success of NEP is to do without it!

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum Dato'

I am made aware that 80% of taxes are received from non Bumiputra which comprised some 30% of the population. In other word the Bumiputra contributed 20% of the taxes. To abolish the NEP could mean a further shrinkage of the 20% Bumiputra. To abandon the NEP altogether without seeking a better alternative is irreponsible.

Anonymous said...

Datuk Abdul Kadir
Peace


UTUSAN REPORTS

I find the Utusan report of the strong-worded statements by a three star Bulan Sabit general rather an eye opener. He looked both angry and funny, that's why he is so lovable: he looked so cute with the hat and the stars on his shoulder.

Is he coming to the rescue and was there an emergency that needed this Bulan Sabit general? And Reezal Merican but no statements from Khairy Jamaluddin, Dato'

Politik

Gengster: Timbalan menteri, taikun disiasat
KUALA LUMPUR 24 Jun – Seorang timbalan menteri dan seorang tokoh politik kanan yang juga taikun di Sarawak sedang disiasat polis kerana dikatakan terlibat dalam kegiatan gengster, pembalakan haram dan percubaan merasuah pegawai-pegawai kanan polis.

Kedua-dua lelaki itu, dalam usia lewat 50-an dan 60-an, bergelar “Datuk”.

Bernama difahamkan satu pasukan dari ibu pejabat polis Persekutuan di Bukit Aman ditugaskan menyiasat.

Taikun itu, pemimpin peringkat cawangan sebuah parti komponen Barisan Nasional (BN) negeri disyaki cuba merasuah polis bagi mendapatkan pembebasan seorang ketua samseng dalam tahanan polis di Sarawak.

Ketua itu dikenali di kalangan dunia jenayah sebagai Le Long, dikatakan ada kaitan dengan penculikan seorang musuh perniagaan.

Lelaki berusia 43 tahun itu ditahan ketika polis menyerbu rumahnya di Oya Road di Sibu kira-kira 3 pagi 27 Februari.

Penangkapannya adalah hasil siasatan polis ke atas penculikan itu, dalam mana enam orang kuatnya diberkas tiga hari lebih awal.

Siasatan awal menunjukkan enam orang itu ada kaitan dengan penculikan seorang bernama Kueh Chion Huat yang dikurung dalam sebuah rumah antara 6 dan 23 Februari.

Mangsa yang disiksa semasa ditawan, dibebaskan bila bapanya dilaporkan membayar tebusan RM100,000, kira-kira RM20,000 kurang dari apa yang dituntut oleh penculik.

Ketua itu, disifatkan oleh polis Sarawak sebagai mempunyai hubungan dengan kongsi gelap “Wah Kee” yang berpangkalan di Semenanjung, kini ditahan di penjara Sibu, menunggu kes penculikannya didengar di Mahkamah Tinggi.

Pengarah CID Persekutuan Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee, ketika diminta mengulas mengenai laporan penglibatan beberapa orang ahli politik Sarawak dalam kongsi gelap, berkata: “Pasukan khas kami sedang memerhatikan perkara itu dan melakukan siasatan menyeluruh.

“Ini hal rumit, jadi kami tidak dapat mendedahkan banyak mengenainya.

“Kami mempunyai strategi dan jaringan untuk mengendali hal tersebut,” ujarnya.

Wan juga berkata, “Ops Cantas Kenyalang,” operasi khas untuk menghapus gengsterisme di Sarawak, masih berjalan.

“Kami mahu pastikan Sarawak bebas dari gangsterisme dan kami yakin operasi ini akan berjaya,” kata beliau.

Polis berjaya melumpuhkan 17 kongsi gelap yang aktif di Sarawak, dengan penangkapan 84 ketua dan anggota geng, sejak “Ops Cantas Kenyalang” dilancarkan pada April.
– Bernama
http://utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2007&dt=0625&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Politik&pg=po_01.htm


Politik

Duta EU kritik DEB akan dipanggil – Syed Hamid
ROM 24 Jun – Kritikan Duta Kesatuan Eropah (EU) di Malaysia, Thierry Rommel terhadap dasar negara jelas menunjukkan beliau tidak bertanggungjawab dan tidak sedar tentang peranannya sebagai seorang diplomat, kata Menteri Luar, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

Menurutnya, pandangan Rommel merupakan pandangan persendirian dan bukan pandangan EU yang selama ini menjalinkan hubungan dan kerjasama yang baik dengan Malaysia.

‘‘Ini bukanlah kali pertama beliau bertindak demikian, malah kami (Wisma Putra) pernah memanggil beliau untuk mendapatkan penjelasan tentang tindak-tanduknya sebelum ini,” katanya kepada para wartawan Malaysia, di sini hari ini.

Rommel dalam ucapannya pada ahli-ahli perniagaan di Kuala Lumpur baru-baru ini mendakwa dasar-dasar yang dijalankan oleh Malaysia termasuk Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) hanya menguntungkan golongan tertentu.

Menurut Syed Hamid, pihak beliau akan memanggil duta itu untuk mendapatkan penjelasan dan melahirkan bantahan terhadap kenyataannya yang tidak berasas itu kepada EU di Brussel.

‘‘Kita akan menghantar bantahan kerana Malaysia tidak mempunyai sebarang masalah dengan EU.

‘‘Dari segi fakta, pelaburan EU di Malay- sia adalah tinggi dan ini tidak mencerminkan kurangnya keyakinan mereka terhadap dasar negara ini,” katanya.
– Utusan
http://utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2007&dt=0625&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Politik&pg=po_02.htm


Politik
Kenyataan Rommel angkuh, keterlaluan – Hishammuddin
KUALA LUMPUR 24 Jun – Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO menyifatkan Duta dan Ketua Perwakilan Suruhanjaya Eropah ke Malaysia, Thierry Rommel sebagai angkuh dan keterlaluan apabila bertindak di luar bidang kuasanya mencampuri urusan dalaman Malaysia.

Ketuanya, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein menegaskan, pihaknya menolak kritikan Rommel terhadap Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) kerana beliau tidak memahami latar belakang sejarah menyebabkan dasar itu diperkenalkan.

‘‘Kita hendak memberi amaran dan juga mengingatkan beliau supaya jangan sekali-kali cuba mencampuri urusan dan dasar kerajaan Malaysia.

‘‘Saya percaya ramai rakyat Malaysia sudah bosan dengan orang seperti ini kerana siapalah dia untuk mengajar kita cara-cara membangun negara majmuk selepas 50 tahun merdeka,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Mesyuarat Majlis Kebangsaan Persatuan Bulan Sabit Merah Malaysia (PBSMM) Ke-117, di sini hari ini.

Hishammuddin mengulas ingatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak semalam supaya diplomat asing yang bertugas di negara ini terutama duta tidak mencampuri urusan atau dasar yang dilaksanakan oleh Malaysia.

Khamis lalu, sebuah agensi berita asing memetik kenyataan Rommel bahawa DEB yang berusia 37 tahun itu tidak lagi sesuai diguna pakai di negara ini kerana ia tidak membantu kaum lain dan syarikat asing yang melabur di negara ini.

Hishammuddin memberitahu, pihaknya menyokong kenyataan Timbalan Perdana Menteri kerana Rommel bertindak di luar bidang kuasa dan tugasnya.

Pergerakan itu, juga jelas beliau, meragui keikhlasan diplomat terbabit kerana terdapat kemungkinan Rommel mempunyai agenda tersendiri.

‘‘Saya bagi pihak Pemuda bersetuju sangat dengan Datuk Seri Najib dan saya menerima banyak panggilan daripada kepimpinan pergerakan di semua peringkat dalam satu dua hari ini supaya kita terus membuat bantahan supaya mereka sedar,” katanya.

Ditanya adakah pergerakan itu akan menyerahkan memorandum bantahan rasmi kepada Suruhanjaya Eropah, Hishammuddin berkata, pihaknya tidak bercadang berbuat demikian kerana meragui keberkesanannya.

‘‘Saya sudah berapa tahun dalam Pemuda, tiap-tiap kali kita hantar memorandum, saya tidak tahu ia sampai ke mana, jadi lebih baik rakyat Malaysia sendiri menyampaikan mesej yang sejelas-jelasnya kepada manusia seperti ini,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Pengerusi Biro Hubungan Antarabangsa dan Pertubuhan Bukan Kerajaan, Datuk Muhkriz Mahathir dukacita dan membantah sekeras-kerasnya kenyataan Rommel yang mahu kerajaan menghapuskan DEB.

Menurutnya, tiada yang lebih mendukacitakan selain daripada orang asing yang mengkritik dasar negara terutamanya dasar yang telah membawa kestabilan kepada Malaysia dan menjadi platform pembangunan ekonomi yang sama rata untuk semua kaum.

“Memang lebih mudah untuk negara-negara membangun, lebih-lebih lagi Kesatuan Eropah (EU) yang mempunyai kedudukan ekonomi yang kukuh untuk mengkritik DEB kerana mereka sendiri sudah mula menghapuskan dasar-dasar yang selama ini melindungi mereka.

‘‘Malah dasar-dasar itu dieksploitasi sepenuhnya untuk kepentingan ekonomi mereka. Kini, mereka pula yang membidas negara-negara yang mengikuti jejak langkah mereka supaya boleh menekan kita untuk membuka pasaran,’’ katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Menurut Mukhriz, pertumbuhan ekonomi yang seiring dengan pengagihan yang adil adalah teras utama serta diterima pakai oleh banyak negara terutamanya negara-negara yang mempunyai pelbagai kaum atau kumpulan sosial serta perbezaan taraf ekonomi di antara kumpulan-kumpulan tersebut.

‘‘DEB telah diiktiraf oleh pelbagai pertubuhan antarabangsa antaranya Program Pembangunan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNDP), Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa (IMF) dan juga Bank Dunia sebagai satu dasar yang telah membawa impak positif dalam mengimbangi fabrik sosial di Malaysia,’’ ujarnya.

Beliau berkata, DEB telah diguna pakai oleh banyak negara-negara dunia ketiga maka dasar itu perlu diteruskan.

‘‘Rommel perlu mengambil kira sensitiviti kepelbagaian kaum di Malaysia dan mempunyai fakta yang tepat sebelum mengeluarkan kenyataan yang membabi buta ini,’’ katanya.

Beliau juga meminta Wisma Putra untuk mengambil tindakan sewajarnya terhadap kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh Rommel itu.

Dalam pada itu, Pengerusi Biro Ekonomi Pemuda, Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican menyelar kenyataan dangkal dan cetek Rommel yang mendakwa pelaksanaan DEB tidak selari dengan arus globalisasi dan keterbukaan pasaran.

Beliau berkata, kenyataan tersebut dikeluarkan tanpa ada rasa apresiasi yang menyeluruh terhadap sumbangan besar DEB kepada Malaysia dan masyarakat dunia.

Menurutnya, DEB adalah dasar yang berpandangan jauh dan tidak sesekali menjadi hambatan kepada usaha memperkasakan ekonomi antara negara maju dan membangun.

‘‘Misalnya kalaulah DEB telah menjadi hambatan kepada keterbukaan pasaran yang bersifat menang-menang, Malaysia pastinya tidak mampu berada di tangga ke-26 dalam Laporan Persaingan Global (laporan yang diguna pakai dalam Forum Ekonomi Dunia).

‘‘Tetapi hakikatnya Malaysia tampil sebagai negara paling kompetitif walaupun semangat DEB masih menjadi asas kepada pembangunan ekonomi negara,’’ katanya.

Menurut Reezal Merican, walaupun pada awal pelaksanaan DEB, banyak syarikat minyak dunia yang mengkritik Malaysia namun ia tidak menghalang syarikat petroleum asing untuk membuat pelaburan di negara ini.

Beliau berkata, Rommel sepatutnya membuat kajian yang lebih mendalam sebelum mengeluarkan sebarang kenyataan yang tidak bertanggungjawab mengenai dasar itu.

Tambahnya, Biro Ekonomi Pemuda UMNO akan terus mempertahankan DEB dan berpendapat ia tidak harus menjadi perkara utama dalam sebarang perjanjian perdagangan yang sedang dan akan diusahakan pada masa depan.

http://utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2007&dt=0625&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Politik&pg=po_03.htm

Anonymous said...

Salaam, Dato'

I don't know if you are a student of Greek mythology, but if you are, you must be familiar with the myth of Sisyphus.

For those of us who are not familiar with the Greek classics, Sisyphus, in Greek mythology, was a king of Corinth who was punished in Hades (the Greek mythology's equivalent of Hell) for his misdeeds by eternally having to roll a heavy stone up a hill: every time he approached the top, the stone escaped his grasp and rolled to the bottom.

If we were to apply Greek mythology to modern-day Malaysia, could we venture to say that the NEP appears to be Sisyphean - a seemingly endless and futile task? :-(

I note that the Deputy PM, the Foreign Minister and the Education Minister have all jumped on the bandwagon to condemn Rommel's remarks. Is this another case of "shooting the messenger while carefully ignoring the message syndrome" that Malaysian politicians and their camp followers are so fond of indulging in?

Wisma Putra is going to call up Rommel for a face-to-face dressing-down. If he refuses to back down, retract his remarks or apologise, then, what's next? Demand that the EU recall him?

Given the preponderance of right-leaning governments in the EU, I don't think that the EU will be in any mood to back down on this issue. And here, they will be supported by the US which has voiced its own frustrations over the moribund FTA negotiations with Malaysia. Just 2 of Malaysia's largest trading partners and sources of investment.

I wonder who will blink first?

Anonymous said...

Dato'
Salaam&Sallam

"If we were to apply Greek mythology to modern-day Malaysia, could we venture to say that the NEP appears to be Sisyphean - a seemingly endless and futile task? :-( "

}:)- what an excellent idea, don't you think?

"I wonder who will blink first?"

(I guess, the one who is less tired than two of them after a nite of Bronco Billy)

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping
brother john? Is this a futile task, Docktor Abdullah?

fikri said...

Dato'
Acctually i like to express my opinion regarding this topic.But i do believe all the debaters here has express their point.For all the debaters shoul more matured when discussing something emotional topic like .Do not blaming other races or other people.Lets grow up take the chances in this blog to discuss and to gain knowledge.

keep up a good work Dato'

affendi hussain said...

The greek mythology always associated with their gods envy & paranoid over mortal human...Is it applicable to associate such myth on the model of the economy when one party are deprived from freedom to gain opportunity in the gods dominant world..?? Why the gods must monopolized everything to the extend of basic necessity??

What happen to Prometheus when he steal fire & give it to mankind? Doing good deed to mankind he end up tortured by Zeus..

Why Zeus create Pandora?? as a result of his envy & paranoid to mankind..(the majority class)??

Anonymous said...

Dato',
Selamat!

fikri said...
Dato'
Acctually i like to express my opinion regarding this topic.But...Do not blaming other races or other people.Lets grow up take the chances in this blog to discuss and to gain knowledge...
keep up a good work Dato'

Why are you quiet on that, Dato'?

In the Greek mambo jambo I did not have the chance to read about how the humans were created. It was just there. Mount Olympus and Hera!
Strange story but very entertaining very much like the Malay Hikayats and even the Celts'.

Have you read Aesop?
Hans Christian Anderson?

Why did Jason wanted the Golden Fleece? Why could he not just ask the owner for it?

Have you read 'Dante'?
Have you read the Al-Qur'anul-Kariim?

liverpool_21 said...

I am a SPM leaver and as such I can simply hide and run with the excuse that I am still immature and lack the knowledge if I do unintentionally make and seditious comment.

NEP. MALAYS.

Well, I am of mixed races. Malay and indian and yet not given a bumi status.

Boon Siew made it on his own two feet. Did he get on his knees or waited for the government to spoon feed him? I suppose not.

I'm amazed that all "you so called educated well to do adults" are unable to get out of your shell... use a tiny bit of that brain and figure out, racism is a thing of the past. Let it be. Get rid of it.

Most "kids" my age, go to school with no such thing as racism. Never would I choose a friend just because he is of the same colour, or the same accent or slang. In school, there is no such things. But once you graduate with this SPM certificate and go on into UNI, the brunt on NEP becomes clear.

I have grown to dislike MANY people for their opinions of race as it becomes a prejudice.

In my uni, of a batch of 400 students, 300 are malays.

Now tell me do these people mix around? no! simple as that. They probably think that since one is dark coloured, he is dirty and malignant. Well, NEP is pathetically stupid and the act of kissing the keris on National Tv just shows what kind of people we have allowed to rule the country.

Get rid of racism, NEP and this so called WE OWN THE COUNTRY.

Where did malays come from??? Most likely from china/india...

And koolgeek, I'm thankful there are some forward thinking ppl... who see every as one.... everybody as one.

liverpool_21 said...

And I do forward my comments to talent scouter... I achieved good results for SPM last year... and with admirable co-cu... but did I even get shortlisted for any interviews? nope... why, because I couldn't tick the bumi collumn... Well, forgive me for being bitter... but don't I have a right to be??

About Me

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I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).