(Petaling Jaya, Monday): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is wrong to say that there is no government policy that specified that government contracts must only be given to Malays at the MCA General Assembly yesterday when the reality is that 96% of government contracts is given to bumi contractors. Abdullah will only convince Malaysians that his policies will be fair and equitable to all communities by ending the New Economic Policy(NEP) and open up government procurement to all Malaysian contractors. 

Works Minister Datuk Samy Vellu revealed in May 2007 that 96% of these projects are given to bumis. DAP hopes that Abdullah will immediately announce measures to lift the ban on non-bumi contractors so that RM 46.8 billion of infrastructure  works under the Ninth Malaysian Plan(9MP) is available to all. The miserable RM 1.8% or 4% over 5 years given to non-bumis or is far below the 35% non-bumi population in the country and demonstrates how the NEP continues to exclude and divide Malaysians based on race. 

Similarly in the private sector, preference must be given to bumi companies, as shown by the internal memo on procurement policy on 7 December 2006 issued by the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd(MIDF). MIDF, listed in Bursa Malaysia with RM 12 billion in assets, requires that such a bumi supplier must have at least 51% bumi in: -

1.    equity stake;

2.    shareholding that is not associated directly or indirectly with any non-bumis;

3.    voting power;

4.    members in the Board of Directors, including the Chairman;

5.    at the management, professional and supervisory staff. 

Worse such discrimination has been even extended to those bumi contractors of government department buy only from bumi manufacturers. For instance, Ministry of Finance has directed that suppliers of toy landscaping materials to government departments get only their materials from bumi manufacturers. In the past bumi contractors get most of their supplies from non-bumi manufacturers. As there is only one bumi manufacturer, this effectively creates a monopoly whereby it can capture the entire RM 40 million market. 

DAP considers it unfair, unjust and discriminatory that non-bumi contractors can get neither government projects nor private sector jobs. What are non-bumi contractors supposed to survive on? It is sheer hypocrisy and double-standards for Cabinet, when they made the correct decision in disapproving Maybank’s ruling requiring their panel lawyers must be 51% bumi, and yet at the same time Cabinet approves 96% of government projects to bumis.  

Malaysia would never achieve the National Mission of excellence if Abdullah does not end the discriminatory NEP or open up government procurement to the best and most qualified. Abdullah’s refusal to do so has resulted in systematic failure and breakdown of the delivery system as shown by expensive buildings which are defective upon immediate completion. The latest evidence this year of such defective work and poor delivery were:

1.    On April 11, a burst pipe at the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya caused widespread damage and brought daily operations to a halt. Operations resumed at 9am the next day;

2.    On April 28, part of the ceiling of a multi-purpose hall at the Entrepreneurial Development and Co-operative Ministry in Putrajaya collapsed, causing a water pipe to drop and burst;

3.    On April 30, two parts of a ceiling panel collapsed and there were deep cracks on the walls the new RM 270 million Jalan Duta Court Complex, the second largest complex in the world;

4.    The Sultan Mahmud Airport in Terengganu was closed for night landings on two nights on 5 & 6 May 2007 because of a malfunction of the runway navigation lights;

5.    On 7  and 9 May 2007 hearings in the same Jalan Duta courts ended early when the air-conditioning malfunctioned and there was a electricity blackout respectively; and

6.    The shameful leaking roof in Parliament on April 2005 in the Dewan Rakyat Chambers that disrupted proceedings and in the media center on 9 May 2007 despite the nearly RM 100 million spent on renovation works. 

Abdullah’s intentions to be fair will not be realized as long as the NEP is continued and there is no open and public tender where mediocre or worse, unqualified contractors continue to be appointed. 

Secondly if Abdullah says that those who tires to discriminate any race, he is not fit to be a leader in this country, then why does he still appoint leaders such as UMNO Youth President Datuk Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn or reprimand his own son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin.

MCA’s failures to defend Malaysians in BN can not be covered up by threatening the Chinese community with dire consequences for voting for DAP when supporting MCA has been rewarded with insults and threats by UMNO

BN’s formula for nation-building has failed based MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting’s four principles to ensure continuous cooperation in the future.

1.       uphold sincerity, honesty and respect between the component parties, protect the rights of all races fairly and effectively through moderation and eliminate racial and religious extremism;

2.       uphold the social contract and Federal Constitution as agreed upon by the parties' founding fathers when independence was achieved to guarantee the rights of all races;

3.       all component parties must practise a healthy philosophy and culture in politics and cultivate a culture of integrity to earn the people's confidence; and

4.       party leaders must be wise, visionary, progressive, innovative and competitive and together, have the capability to overcome the challenges of globalisation. 

How can there racial and religious discrimination when UMNO Youth leaders brandish the keris threatening to harm non-Malays or reject Bangs Malaysia by upholding ketuanan Melayu? How can MCA talk about social contract when Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak declares Malaysia to be an Islamic state. How can there be integrity when instead of action taken against the Inspector-General of Police over corruption allegations, his term is extended by a further two years and corruption cases against Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Johari Baharom and a former ACA Director-General is closed. And finally how can we overcome the challenges of globalization by clinging on to the NEP and refusing to abandon the political burdens of race and religion? 

MCA’s failure to defend Malaysians can not be covered up with threats to the Chinese community of dire consequences for supporting DAP when the reward for supporting MCA is insults and threats by UMNO to harm and kill them.  Ong must be naïve to think that the Chinese community are so gullible as to believe that they will benefit by continuing to support BN. 

Despite MCA achieving record-breaking victories, MCA has still not been given the Finance Minister post or have additional Ministerial posts. Worse the NEP continues indefinitely without any deadline. By continuing support for BN, Malaysians will be seen as endorsing corruption, police inefficiency, quotas, mediocrity and discrimination that only results in rampant crime that threatens public safety, their bright children not able to get places or scholarships into universities, and employment opportunities based on race instead of merit as well as being classified as second-class citizens. 

Ong may claim that the non-Malays are not second-class citizens. But he must admit that even though he is a Minister, his status is worse off than an Indonesian Malay who has just been given his citizenship. That is why there is MCA Deputy Minister who even applied to be a Permanent Resident in Australia to ensure education opportunities for her children not available in Malaysia. 

Clearly the only alternative is to vote for the DAP not to create  “racial tension” by putting the “Malays in the ruling coalition and Chinese in opposition”, but to strengthen democracy, establish democratic institutions of rule of law and good governance so that the rights of all Malaysians regardless of race and religion can be protected.