Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email “NEP did little for the Indians,” he told Malaysiakini today. “The community achieved successes due to its own effort.”
Well, Sivakumar did not mince his words. Straight to the point!
Miba: Give multiracial politics a chance
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/80172
RK Anand | Mar 20, 08 6:06pm
The Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) has appealed to all Malaysians to give multiracial politics a chance to grow in this country. Miba president P Sivakumar said this brand of politics is good for Malaysia and the economy. “We live in the age of globalisation. At the end of the day, we are all human beings and citizens of the world,” he stressed.
Sivakumar also said it is wrong to claim that the New Economic Policy (NEP) has benefitted all the races. “NEP did little for the Indians,” he told Malaysiakini today. “The community achieved successes due to its own effort.”
“Otherwise, why would 30,000 Indians take to the streets despite the police warning that it is an illegal gathering?” he asked in reference to the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
Sivakumar said the abuses, weaknesses and implementation of the NEP were never monitored or debated in the Parliament or mass media. “For instance, take the Indian community’s issues pertaining to rights and equal opportunities in government jobs, education, training and business…these were swept under the carpet,” he said.
The Miba president said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had lent credence to this assertion when he stated just before the 12th general election that MIC president S Samy Vellu never raised such issues during his administration.
“However, it will be a total lie to say that Samy Vellu did not raise any issues at all. But the serious and sensitive issues which have been growing over time were sidelined. “This drove the Indian community to demonstrate against their faithful friend – Barisan Nasional – and bring about Samy Vellu’s defeat in Sungai Siput as well as demanding his resignation as MIC president,” he said.
Voted for change
Sivakumar said the electorate gave their verdict on March 8. “The majority signalled that multiracial politics is the way forward. So why should some minority groups protest against this. Are they questioning the majority’s decision?” he asked. He urged these groups to take a moment to reflect and visualise how Malaysia should be over the next 20 years or so. “Do they wish to see a communalism-riddled society without an identity or a beautiful single Malaysian race? “If you love Malaysia, love Malaysians,” he said.
Calling on these groups to look at past Umno presidents, Sivakumar said Tun Abdul Razak introduced the NEP in the 1970s to restructure society and eradicate poverty regardless of race. “His successor Hussein Onn resigned because he did not want to accept communal politics and Mahathir, a real champion of the Malays, in his final years as Umno president had also advised the Malays to shed the ‘crutches’ mentality. “What about the founder of Umno? The venerable Onn Jaffar who called on Umno, MCA and MIC to form a non-communal party, to unite all races under one roof for the common good of all and to avoid communal bickering and racial tension,” he added.
On that note, Sivakumar said there is nothing wrong if PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim comes out with a new affirmative policy to help the poor of all races. “A policy which protects the interest of the poor from cronyism,” he added. PKR has rejected the NEP in favour of what it calls the Malaysian Economic Agenda (MEA) to help the poor regardless of colour or creed. However, Anwar has come under fire from Umno over this and protests have been held in the wake of the March 8 polls which saw an additional four states falling into opposition control.
The NEP, when it was formulated by Tun Abd. Razak to uplift the economic position of the Malays, it was not meant to marginalize the other races. It was not an attempt to increase the stake of the Malays in the economy of the country at the expence of the Chinese, Indians and other minority races.
The fault in the NEP lies in the way it was hijacked by the racist Malays in the Alliance and later in the BN to enrich themselves and promote a pro Malay policy. They failed even in this because the implementation of the NEP only benefitted the rich UMNOputras and their lackeys in the MCA, MIC and the GERAKAN. The poor and the hardcore poor Malays, Chinese, Indians and the Orang Asli were completely left out of the NEP.
Even after achieving their stated goal of 30% equity in the economy of the country way back in the 90s, they manipulated the statastics to paint a totally different picture. Then they came up with some wierd ideas such as ‘special privileges in perpetuity’, ‘the Malay Agenda’ and the ‘ketuanan Melayu’.
Some deranged souls even went to the extent of brandishing the keris to show the audience that he is more Malay than the others and took on the mantle of the guardian of the race and religion. Such absurd ‘sandiwara’ does not speak well of a leader in a multi-racial and multi-religious country.
When national leaders forget that they are elected representatives of the people and fail to address their genuine grievences, and become arrogant and malicious in their actions, then their days in power are numbered as shown in the recent general elections.
Affirmative action should be for ALL races, not just for UMNOputras. Mend your ways if you want to stay relevant. Reinvent and restructure your ideas and goals if you do not want to lose the confidence of Malaysians in the next general election. The BN might as well become an extinct animal if it persists in its rotten ways.
Najib asked the MIC to rebrand and reinvent itself prior to the election. Now is the time for him and his cohorts to listen to that apt advice.