Telling Tiong Hua

Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak challenged MCA to re-invent themselves and gain the prominence that they once commanded amongst the Chinese, so that they could continue to be the champion of prosperity in this land of plenty.

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21 December 2013| last updated at 11:57AM

MCA 2013 : MCA must reunite, re-strategise to revive fortune says Najib

By Carisma Kapoor

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said MCA must reunite, restrategise, reinvigorate and reestablish to revive its fortune.

In his speech officiating MCA’s 60th annual general meeting, Najib in labeling the AGM as a “watershed moment” for the party, said MCA had to reunite after this and strive to be cohesive and united party.

He warned MCA that this was the last call for the party, and was no longer a wake-up call.

“It is too late for that,” he said.

Najib said the party had to restrategise and follow the BN formula to succeed in the future general elections.

He said the relationship between the Bumiputera, the Chinese and other communities was the basis of the BN approach and should be continued.

“The strength of MCA equates to the strength of the coalition.

“A divided house will fall, only a united house will succeed”, he said.

MCA must therefore also reestablish itself so that it is the party of choice for the Chinese community.

“These four steps depend on hard work. Nothing comes easy.”

In his speech, Najib also advised MCA to be “magnanimous and gracious”.

“Don’t be like the opposition,” he said, referring to the way the alliance had constructed lies about a blackout and some 40,000 Bangladeshis voting in the 13th general election.

Najib said this challenging the opposition who have said that they have a better vision than BN and do not lie to the public.

Read more: MCA 2013 : MCA must reunite, re-strategise to revive fortune says Najib – Latest – New Straits Timeshttp://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-mca-2013-font-mca-must-reunite-re-strategise-to-revive-fortune-says-najib-1.440757#ixzz2o5XEMTzz

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MCA President Dato’ Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek’s message in his Presidential Speech that reckless handouts is not the strategic solution to alleviate Bumiputera socio-economic position and play catch up with the dynamism of the bullish economy.

Published: Saturday December 21, 2013 MYT 10:45:00 AM
Updated: Saturday December 21, 2013 MYT 1:48:39 PM

MCA polls: Handouts won’t solve problems of poor bumiputras, says Soi Lek

BY FOONG PEK YEE

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

KUALA LUMPUR: The continued handouts will not help solve the problems of poorbumiputras in Malaysia, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

He said the affirmative policies should be reviewed to find out how it had worked, and where it had failed to uplift the socio economic status of the bumiputras after four decades.

Bumiputras, he said, comprised about 67.9% of the population, and majority of the lower income group were still Malays.

Majority of the households earning less than RM2,000 a month were also mostly Malays, he added.

Because of the composition, any affirmative action to help the poor would look as if it would benefit the bumiputras only, he said.

With that, Dr Chua proposed that the policy of helping bumiputras should be more target based.

“The question we should ponder is whether the New Economic Policy should be race based or need based to end poverty regardless of ethnicity,” he said at the opening of the MCA 60th annual general meeting by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at Wisma MCA here Saturday.

Dr Chua pointed out the need to recognise the fact that bumiputras should not be treated as a homogeneous group because of the glaring intra disparity among the educated, rich and poor bumiputras, including bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak.

“All right thinking Malaysians will not grudge the Government for helping the socially and economically disadvantaged group, but there will be strong resentment if handouts are given to the rich,” Dr Chua stressed.

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It is a strong statement for the leader representing the Chinese in the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition to stress the point of “There will be strong resentment if handouts are given to the rich”.

The Malaysian Government does not and have not been giving handouts to the rich.

Unless he was echoing those amongst the Chinese who perpetuate taking pot shots against those who have been selected to get contracts and/or concessions for specific projects initiated by the Government. Whilst taking these pot shots, the people intentionally connote with a tinge of racial over tone that these are examples of ‘cronyism’ practiced by Malaysia Government, particularly UMNO leaders in power.

The fact is that contracts, concessions and projects  are awarded to those who the Malaysian Government think are able to undertake and deliver.

YTL Comms’ 1Bestari.Net

Many of these projects and concessions are awarded to Chinese entrepreneurs. An immediate example is 1Bestari.Net, a project to get all 10,000 schools be connected with 4G connectivity was awarded to YTL Communications. Amongst the losers in the bid were Telekom Malaysia and Celcom, which are GLCs.

Many believed that whatever YTL Communications could offer, TM and/or Celcom could do equally good if not for lesser cost. Yet, Prime Minister Najib as the final decision maker awarded the project to the current beholder.

It is an indisputable fact that more Malay professionals in ICT would have benefited laterally and horizontally had the project was awarded to TM and/or Celcom instead of YTL Communications, where most of the professionals and technical personnel are Non Malays. So are solution partners to the project, such as Bitara.com.

Prime Minister Najib endorsement of MDEC-YTL Comms project

Another good example is when FGV wanted to expand their brown field plantations, they acquired Pontian United Plantations Bhd.  Pontian is a Chinese owned and controlled plantation company and an enormous sum of premium was paid for the acquisition.

An interesting fact about it is that not even one Chinese politician, activist and/or corporate and market analyst made a tiny toot about the acquisition of RM1.204 billion which was realised fully in cash.

Why? Chinese entrepreneurs gain extraordinarily handsomely from the cash sale to a plantation giant which is controlled and incorporated for the Malays, as an extension to the NEP.

Dr Chua must openly admit as the controller of the Malaysian business environment and eco-system, it is the Chinese entrepreneurs who benefitted the most from any projects, contracts and/or concessions awarded by the Malaysian Government. The Chinese business community control almost all upstream supply line of nearly all segments.

Ajib Gor with Dr Chua at Chinese Chauvinist Dong Zhong’s CNY celebration

Their integrated and well networked business associations provided a lot of synergy to many Chinese entrepreneurs, even several layers down the line. As such, they have the advantage of procuring materials and services at better prices, terms and even the whole chain of the delivery system.

The Malays had never been envious of this nor tried to take it away from them. What the Malays wanted is an opportunity for them to be alleviated and eventually emancipated from the ‘rural trap’ derived from the state of rural dwelling, under privileged, uneducated and lesser opportunities.

Hence, the New Economic Policy was formed and rolled out over 40 years ago.

No doubt that many Malays benefitted from this and move upwards on the socio-economic status. However, despite the implementation of this policy the economic gap between the Malays and Chinese is actually getting wider even though twenty years ago it had to narrow.

One of the factor of the widening gap is that Chinese entrepreneurs entrenched in the integrated and well networked business communities have strategic advantage when the Malaysian economy was very bullish (early to end 90s and again early 2000 to 2007). They are able to provide competitive if not lesser cost of production and distribute their products and services much better compared to Malay entrepreneurs.

This is the realism of the history of the Malaysian  process to nationhood.

84% of the eligible voters in the 1955 Federal Consultative Council general election are the Malays, who were ‘Subjects of HRH Rulers’.

It is a cross road for MCA leaders and members should take stock. They have benefitted from the ‘kongsi kuasa’ power sharing formula since the days where only 14% of the eligible voters are Chinese ethnic. The Malays, made concession to ‘kongsi kuasa’ with MCA (also with MIC) for the sake of if they are serious in building this nation together, then the must work together as a team.

That was 58 years ago. Attempting to veer away from the formula which worked for more than half a century is to deny the ‘sacrifice’ that the Malays made such as allowing 980,000 ‘stateless persons’ to be admitted as citizens even when no proper due process were done and in actual fact majority of them do not qualify, as per stated in the previous constitution inked 21 January 1948.

*Updated 1630hrs