Press Statement at the Opening of The DAP Selangor State Ordinary Convention
by Lim Guan Eng

(Klang, Sunday):  After 48 years of Merdeka, we still see ourselves as Chinese, Indians, Malays, Kadazans, Ibans, Orang Aslis or Muslim and non-Muslim first instead of being Malaysian first and last. There is no common identity and a singular existence of what it means to be a Malaysian. By failing to let Malaysians know what it means to be Malaysian, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has missed the opportunity to unify and instead allowed the voice of division and fear to rule. Talk of reviving the New Economic Policy and brandishing the keris during the UMNO Youth Assembly has only forced Malaysians back into our respective racial or religious shells.

Malaysians continue to express sympathy to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is grieving over the loss of his beloved wife of 40 years. The Prime Minister has admitted to the human sorrow of loneliness after his wife’s passing. There has been concern by many Malaysians whether he can continue to soldier on in his onerous duties after such a devastating loss.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said he would not take a break but continue to work. DAP expresses confidence that despite his grief, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi is a resolute and resourceful leader ready to put personal sentiments aside to soldier on for the benefit of the nation. Datuk Seri Abdullah can assert his leadership by first recognizing his weaknesses and taking the following 10 steps that can create a bangsa Malaysia:-

1.   Abide with the constitutional separation of powers by making Parliament supreme and respecting judicial independence. The attempt to make Parliament a mere department under Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Nazri Aziz is a sad reflection of how diminished Parliament has become. The leaking roof despite RM 100 million spent on renovations and special appointment of Head Of Administration to look after toilets, food and claims does not inspire confidence that Parliament can look after the welfare of the nation if it is unable to take care of its toilet problems;

2.   Forge national unity with a Malaysian identity based on a national consciousness of togetherness centered not on race but values of democracy, justice, freedom, moral values, human dignity and peace;

3.   Strengthen democracy at all levels, particularly restoring local government elections, to give form and substance to people empowerment and participation in decision-making based on the principles of equality, free, fair and independent electoral process as well as freedom of the press;

4.   Implement the 125 recommendations of the Royal Commission of Police made in May 2005 to secure justice and security for all by upholding the rule of law, establishment and protection of safe neighbourhoods and secure communities with more enforcement personnel;

5.   Grant equal opportunity and spread economic prosperity for all premised on a competitive market and an economic order that places equal emphasis on wealth creation and an equitable wealth distribution; a framework that gives the right to work and education including mother tongue education based on merits and needs; 

6.    Eliminate all forms of gender bias against women in employment, education and health;

7.    Empower youths by giving them choice and access to power by imposing an age limit to youth organizations at all levels;

8.   Democratize education by making it accessible, affordable and available for all without sacrificing excellence and merit AND ensuring adequate funding for vernacular education in proportion to the number of students to avoid poor funding causing the death of a teacher from repeating again.

9.   Institutionalise accountability and transparency by sacking Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz as International Trade and Industry Minister who is totally discredited after the National Automotive Policy abolished franchise APs that created AP Kings. The ACA must be made independent with powers of prosecution and answerable only to Parliament;

10. Reject the revival of the New Economic Policy that relies on quotas, subsidies and natural resources in favour of a New Malaysian Agenda relying on individual success, hard work and competitiveness and maximizing human potential that enables Malaysia to achieve developed status that is results-driven, technologically and knowledge-based, ethically-centred and with corporate social responsibility.

The imbalances and distortions of the NEP is reflected by the high number of Indians professionals in proportion to their population but hides the large number of Indian poor. Indians hold only 1.5% of equity ownership or RM 3.2 billion. By stressing on race, the government also ignored the plight of non-bumi lower class and poor, in particular the Indians who were completely marginalized. Such neglect breeds resentment as shown by the violence and high incidence of crime involving the poor Indians.

There is no substitute for excellence and meritocracy. If we continue to deny deserving students of their university places because of the colour of their skin, then not only will innocent young Malaysians be victimized but the country’s international standards and economy will lose out. The government should learn that as far as allocative efficiency is concerned, competition and merit rather than ownership is the crucial issue in ensuring wealth creation and a fair distribution of wealth.

South Korea and Taiwan are very good examples of making the correct choice on allocative efficiency relying on human capital and not natural resources. In 1966 South Korea and Taiwan’s annual per capita GNP was US$ 130 and US$ 237 respectively as compared to Malaysia’s US$350.

By 2003 GNP per capita in Korea and Taiwan had far exceeded Malaysia at US$12,033 and US$13,139 as compared to Malaysia’s US$3,880 in 2003 according to the World Bank. Both Korea and Taiwan did not have a NEP full of quotas, subsidies and corruption. From a situation where Malaysia was more prosperous than Korea and Taiwan in 1966, both of them are now more than 3 times more prosperous than Malaysia. The Prime Minister should not make the same mistakes by resorting to the NEP that failed us in 1970 which will only set us even further back.

(23/10/2005)