If we will only find the courage to admit the truth that the NEP had no chance of succeeding; because the NEP was a programme of exclusion; and those who held the power of implementing the policy had a vested interest to keep the benefits of such a crazy scheme to themselves. The Chinese was never at any point to blame for the lack of progress of the Malay race. The blame should sit squarely on the shoulders of UMNO leaders. If those in UMNO who held the power of dispensing government largess had any care to improve the fortunes of the Malays, they should have manage the programme in a more responsible and honest manner, but instead they restricted the benefits to their own small clique; hence government largess were given to only connected families. This restricted the programme to too few candidates and the quality of recipients were very low. Malaysian scholarships went to recipients who chose the easy courses of study that had no practical value in the job market, resulting in a colossal waste of scarce resources and it produced a culture of indifference; and it also produced graduates who could not find jobs and had to be absorbed into government service of pen pushers, a total waste of money.

The election of 2008 is a defining moment. For the first time in 50 years history a crucial section of the Malays had come to realize that change had to come to save Malaysia from UMNO. This turn of events at this moment is a mere illusion because UMNO is still the Federal Government and in the next election UMNO will massively stuff the ballot boxes. If I may say so, the most important institution for a coup d’tat is well placed and entrenched by UMNO judges and my namesis is that fat woman judge Zainon binti Mohd. Ali and from my own experience with Judge Zainon binti Mohd. Ali, either through ignorance of the law or sheer disrespect of the law will dare to decide my wife’s petition in breach of the penal code and hence had herself committed several crimes. This piece of comedy is unprecedented in all of legal history anywhere in the Commonwealth.

This morning I read an article in Malaysians Unplugged on Dato Seri Anwar, and the author raised issues whether Dato Seri is or is not the Anwar of before his incarceration on trumped up criminal charges. I believe this line of enquiry is both futile and irrelevant. We just cannot assess a man’s character under any circumstances. I had some one who I held as a dear friend for over 65 years and I just was unable to know that he was all along one of my worst enemy. However, the point that I want to put across is that in politics and the choice that we ordinary man in the street has to make to vote in a good government does not require that we know Dato Seri or not.; ALL THAT IS REQUIRED OF US IS TO ACCEPT OR DENY WHAT HE SAYS HE WANTS FOR MALAYSIA. If what Dato Seri wants for us is what we as voter wants, then it is Dato Seri who we will vote for as our government. Is Dato Seri a truly a good man ? That question is to me, not relevant. I have never ever met Dato Seri but what he wants for Malaysia is what to my mind what I want and to all Malaysians I can only say that UMNO’s policy of race, with emphasis for Malays as the superior race is WRONG AND WILL BE NON PRODUCTIVE FOR MALAYSIA.

I dare say that our Malaysian founding fathers like the Tengku even as he kicked out Singapore from the Federation realized that what Lee Kuan Yew said made sense and yet he felt that the Malays wanted a race based Malaysia and he acceded to their demands; and now after 50 years of independence both the Tengku and lee Kuan Yew are both right, and to say the least Malaysia took the wrong path. To this point in time (50 bloody years) Malaysia will have a “window of opportunity to get back on the ‘rail”. Contrary to UMNO’s and the Malays misled by UMNO Malaysia has not progressed at all and if I may say so myself, Malaysia had regressed because Malaysia has a 3rd world education system and Malaysia has descended into a spiral of LAWLESSNESS. You will disagree but ask yourself if you had any laudable achievements in these 50 years ? Singapore had nothing but dirt and of course a predominantly Chinese and Indian population; and they have gone into such tremendous race into the front ranks of developed nations BECAUSE SINGAPORE HAD A MODEL THAT IS INCLUSIVE, NOT EXCLUSIVE.

I had said earlier that after this 2008 election Malaysia merely has a WINDOW FOR CHANGE and we all are hanging our hopes on an Anwar led coalition to bring about change, This change is merely a hope because it can still de-rail. Affirmative action is an illusion that is difficult to wean off and may still return to de-rail our hopes. THE MAIN AND No ! priority is to restore a first world judiciary so that the laws will be respected and strictly enforced. What is the use for the government to legislate when the courts will not respect the laws ? To entrench an ethical, honest and corruption free judiciary, the PKR led government must totally dismantle the UMNO machinery that has been put in place to hold an iron grip on retention of power and government.

My the No. 1 issue in my list of priority is to remove the number of UMNO judges on the bench of the High Court and for that purpose, I recommend my wife’s petition and the abuse of power that was perpetrated by Judge Zainon binti Mohd. Ali will be the first act to restore independence of the judiciary on the saying, “kill a chicken to scare a monkey”.

The Chinese have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the opposition DAP or PKR and it was only in constituencies where the predominance of Malay voters caused the return of MCA candidates. This voting pattern demonstrated the community support of the Chinese for the opposition and therefore if those MCA Chinese Members of Parliament have any ethical and moral sense, they have a duty to cross the floor of Parliament and join with the opposition. That is the right thing to do since if the MCA claims to represent the Chinese community, then the voting pattern shows that they are on the wrong side of Chinese preference. If on the other hand such members of Parliament would rationalize their stay with UMNO on the argument that since it was the Malay votes that got them elected then they are morally committed to stay with UMNO in Parliament; but that argument will be turned on its head because the MCA claims to represent the Chinese not the Malays. That being the case they are morally obligated to either resign their seat or cross the floor of Parliament because the Chinese supports the opposition.

The Malaysian general election of 2008 is the first election in Malaysian history that makes any sense at all because in all past elections the voting was rigged to return the UMNO led alliance to form government and consequently does not represent the true will of the minority voters. In the first election previously in 1967 the voting pattern of the minority races demonstrated that they would prefer to return an opposition to government and that was the election that prompted UMNO to organize a pogrom of minority races; and this time around all the indications point to a preference by the minority races to vote OPPOSITION, hence the childish symbolic actions of Hishamuddin wielding of that bloody Malay keris that instead of frightening the minority races provoked them to vote en bloc for the opposition. The keris scared no one, it only helped the opposition to really win support and the smell of possible success and to put UMNO out of government for the first time in Malaysian history. The general election for 2008 spell the end of race based politics and it is this if not for anything else that MCA must take heed that they bear a special and heavy responsibility to cross the floor of Parliament because it has always been the betrayal by the MCA & the MIC that has given UMNO the pretext to pervert the Malaysian Constitution to ENTRENCH MALAY SPECIAL PRIVILEGES FOR AS LONG AS UMNO IS IN POWER. This election marks the end of that distortion of our Malaysian democratic rights. We the Chinese & Indians have for the first time in history put our rights as Malaysians in proper context; we have the last chance to be what we really are, MALAYSIAN CHINESE OR MALAYSIAN INDIANS OR MALAYSIAN MALAYS; we are truly for the first time CITIZENS OF A MALAYSIAN MALAYSIA; and it took us 50 years of hard slough to get there AND FUCKING MCA OR MIC OUGHT NOT AGAIN SELL US OUT TIS TIME. The MCA is duty bound to cross the floor of Parliament to join Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim to form the GOVERNMENT of a truly Malaysian Malaysia that represents all Malaysians.

I want to further emphasize my point of view. I suggest that for those Chinese from MCA who are obligated to cross the floor of Parliament should do so in their personal capacity as Members of Parliament and not as representing MCA because they have a duty to remove RACE BASED POLITICS for the good of future generation of Chinese & Indian and Malays. Race based politics is and has been totally unacceptable and it has always been divisive and an abuse of our human rights; let MCA & MIC fade into the background of history as a failed model for good governance. I suggest that MCA should become a sports club for Chinese.

I had earlier stated that at this time in Malaysian history MCA carry a particularly heavy duty to act in the best interests of the Chinese people. This victory for the Barisan Alternative has come about due to the incompetence of PM Abdullah Badawi and to the power of the internet and the accident of history that Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim was expelled from UMNO under very treacherous and bitter circumstances.. Were it not for the power play between Mahatir Mohd., and Dato Seri Anwar, UMNO will still dominate Malaysian politics and the condition for a democratic change of government will not emerge for any fore-seeable future. I say that these circumstances will not converge again for a very long time IF MCA ACT IRRESPONSIBLY and not cross the floor of Parliament. This window of opportunity exist for only the life of this parliament and if MCA Members of Parliament REMAIN IN COALITION WITH UMNO & MIC then the UMNO government will survive until the next general election when let me guarantee you Malaysians all (of all races) that UMNO will heavily GRASP GOVERNMENT sans election or with election, no matter what BECAUSE THE HIGH COURTS ARE CONTROLLED BY UMNO JUDGES AND THE POLICE ARE CONTROLLED BY UMNO APPOINTEES. I cite a precedent in the election of the MP for Bukit Bintang, when issues relating to the legality of the elections ( I believe it was one relating to the counting of the votes ) went to the High Court for decision; and the federal court was headed by TUN Fairoz. The Court decided that there were irregularity and promptly awarded the seat to MCA candidate. This was a glaring MISCARRIAGE OF LAW AND JUSTICE, because if his decision was that there was irregularity his duty is to declare the election VOID and declare the seat vacant and call for a by-election for the same seat. THIS WAS BECAUSE TUN FAIROZ IS AN UMNO JUDGE. The present Court of Appeal have a majourity of UMNO judges as for example Dato Zainon binti Mohd. Ali and the President of the Court of Appeal Tan Seri Zaki Azmi.

In these circumstances UMNO can rigged all elections and have a parliament of all UMNO Members of Parliament and any challenge will be decided by UMNO Judges. Malaysia will revert to the Malaysia of old. I say to our running dogs of MCA members of Parliament that you cannot seal and condemn all Chinese to a fate that is as good as death. This year 2008 is the tipping point in the history of Malaysian history, will we survive as Chinese or Indians depend on our running dogs from the MCA to act honourably and responsibly ! CROSS THE FLOOR YOU MCA BASTARDS.

The sorry state of Malaysian politics has come about because the leaders of MCA & MIC were co-conspirators to the leaders UMNO to commit PLUNDER on the nation’s wealth and resources. Without exception the leaders of UMNO

Sincerely Yapchongyee

Hello Anil ! You have written a very insightful article arising from the Sub-prime mortgage problem, of which I was not too clear about. After reading your article I can see that it looks very much the 1997 problem that got Asia undone by the same people from the US and I suppose from EU.

I believe in one wise and ancient saying that nothing comes from nothing; and no matter how clever you are you just cannot pump up hot air and expect it to remain the same all the time, what goes up must eventually come down. The BN government have for the last 50 years been about shaving off a percentage of all government generated contracts and franchises for their own selfish benefit; I would go as far as to say that about 25% of all government contracts have been shaved off and pass on as waste due to corruption. Grandiose projects are thought up that are not of any urgency or requirement are implemented merely because the bigger they are the more the politicians can shave off for themselves. Looking at the second bridge project for Penang I can only say that this is another white elephant that will costs the state several billion ringgit and the shave off will make another crony very rich.

I have been back to KL and the huge highway that runs through KL to Penang must have costs several billions, and from my observation there is no urgency for such a huge project, Penang is a sea port and Penang could have a first class air-port to improve much needed infrastructure, but instead you plan to put in a billion dollar second bridge project; where is the need for such a project ?

In KL the hugely expensive FREEWAY does not merit the expenditure because it has not loosened up traffic at all, there are still very long traffic chock points that were there before the highway was put in use as it is now when it is in use. These projects were built merely to benefit those in power. To give them the opportunity to collect toll and to shave off a percentage of the contract sum. The BN government has wasted billions upon billions over the past 50 years. Compare the returns on investment between Singapore and Malaysia and you can see what they have and how they have put their investment dollars to good use. Malaysia wasted their billions upon billions of their ringgit merely to profit a few in the government. While Singapore has invested billions of dollars towards building up one of the world’s finest educational system and a world renown R & D facilities, Malaysia is still “clomping” along at bullock-cart speed; there is just no comparison, a case of cheese and chalk. Singapore has catapulted into the front ranks of a 21st century economy, while Malaysia is still chugging along at a leisurely “kampong” pace.

I have forever said that Malaysia had the good fortune to discover oil at the time that I left Malaysia, and that discovery of oil saved Malaysia from becoming a case of a SUDAN OR AFGHANISTAN. Malaysia has no manufacturing to speak off. What is passed off as manufacturing in Malaysia is nothing more than mere assembly of discarded Japanese technology as eg. The assembly of the Mitsubishi that passes for the Proton. Yes Malaysia bought the British Lotus and what profitability has it generated ? Look at the Malaysian icon of cheap flights, like Asia Airlines a success story, but it was bought by Fernandes for 1 ringgit and turned around. The Malaysian government lost billions in that project only to be turned around by a non Malay. There are hundreds of other similar examples, that proves the rule that AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS A WASTE OF SCARCE RESOURCES; it did not really benefit the Malays because all the projects that were supported by Affirmative action went into huge losses and they did not benefit Malaysia in any meaningful way.

The Malays ought to by now at least by trial and error, realize that it takes a certain type of individual to become an entrepreneur and one can say by a rule of thump that a Malay is not likely to be one.

Penang is an excellent test bed for Malaysia (and by that I mean the BN government) to find a more effective model for development than just sticking to a failed model that is hooked on affirmative action that has gone on for the last 50 years. I agree with DAP that the NEP needs to be scraped because Penang is mainly Chinese, may I guess about 75% Chinese ? Therefore, 75% of the population will not need affirmative action (are there 25% Malays in Penang ? ) In the case of Penang therefore, may I suggest that CM Lim Guan Eng need not take any step back from what he has declared, that he will scrap the NEP(I think he will scrap it too ). My suggestion is for the CM to implement a public announcement of all the good stuff eg. Government contracts up for tender and scholarships and jobs in government.
My suggestion is that if qualified Malays win any government contracts by fair tender then government assistance may be available to the successful Malay contractor to complete the project. This model is built on the foundation that merit is the basis of success and that if the Malay candidate has merit but not sufficient means to complete his project, the government will render assistance to him. This system will therefore remove the “Malay Sultan syndrome”; the Chinese dubbed this the Malai Wong system, whereby the China-man enlist a Malay as the chairman and under his name takes on a government contract and pays off the Malay chairman a percentage of the contract but the whole project is managed by the Chinese. This system has gone on ever since the first days of Merdeka and it is the greatest indictment of the failure of Malaysia’s failed affirmative action. Let us be blunt about it, if the Malay is not able or qualified to take the job then where is the common sense for taking him on ? His inadequacy only blow up the costs of the project and this has gone on forever.

I can say that I speak for most Chinese that we do not object and for that matter we had never ever objected to a fair and equitably administered affirmative action, meaning that this assistance are given justly to deserving cases of Malays who need assistances to progress. We Chinese only object to the wastage brought on by nepotism and corruption. If affirmative action only benefits an elite then the Malays will never progress to the point when they will not need any assistance. This is our objection. That being the case CM Lim can experiment with a system that will ultimately create a class of Malay entrepreneurs that will draw level with the other races. What CM Lim has said is just common sense and good thinking. We Chinese do not need any affirmative action.

On the issue of the award of scholarships and government jobs, if I remember rightly, there is provision in the original Malaysian Constitution that mandates a ratio of 3 : 1 in other words, a 25% places reserved for non-Malays; but this provision had been perverted by those administer the government to give ALL THE PLACES to the Malays. All we need do is to revert to the original Malaysian Constitution and enforce that provision according to the law. We need to name the successful candidates in the press, like the publication of the HSC results. Who are the Malays and who are the non-Malays to show transparency and just administration of the required affirmative action. I believe that transparency is the key and it applies even in the case of the Malays.

I read some of the cemments and all of them have one sentiment in common, ie THE MOST IMPORATNT ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS ELECTION IS THE DAWN OF RACE POLITICS. Therefore why does Lim Kit Siang object to PAS nominee. Having said that Lim Kit Siang has no common sense because if DAP, PAS and PKR submitted 3 candidates for the Sultan’s approval then it must also mean that DAP has agreed to accept whomsoever the Sultam chooses. I can see how that little mind of Lim Kit Siang works, HE THINKS THAT BECAUSE DAP AND PKR HAVE THE MOST REPRESENTATIVES IN THE STATE ASSEMBLY, THEREFORE EITHER HAVE A RIGHT TO THE MB SHIP. That I am afraid is not correct because the coalition submitted 3 names and of these only one can become MB and that decision belongs to the Sultan.

There is no ground upon which Lim Kit Siang can gribe about. I read quite a few of the 500 plus comments on Malaysians unplugged and I have to make one very obvious and important observation and that is the TOTAL ABSENSE of any comment on the Sultan’s choice and why he had been unfair. I WOULD LIKE TO CORRECT THIS OBVIOUS deficiency; I WANT TO CONGRATULATE HIS HIGHNESS FOR HIS OBVIOUS WISDOM FOR WHAT HE HAD ACHIEVED. Did any of you even asked yourselves why is it that His Highness did what appears to any ordinary person to be unfair ? None of you did! That shows how much you understood of the actions of His Highness. From my perspective I think it was sheer poetry. His Highness had just cast a stone into the pool and watch the ripples radiate in ever bigger circles.

I believe it was His Highness intention to expose the cracks in the rhetoric of those like Mr Lim Kit Siang and he achieved that by picking the least qualified and the one that will generate the most controversy, ie, PAS because they had the least claim to the job being the party with the least seats. It was so simple and it was so effective; it caused the UNITED FRONT TO CRUMPLE RIGHT THERE. Is that not sheer poetry ? I would like to say that Lim Kit Siang has proved himself to be too old for the job and he need to be replaced. I would like to remind Lim that wisdom is not always about how to achieve your objective by force; you need to also know what is POSSIBLE. Politics is all about perception, image and knowing what is possible. The Sultan has made his choice and no amount of force will change that.

Now that race politics is proven to be irrelevant, you Mr Lim too has become irrelevant and you should retire; 50 years as a politician is much too long, all those who went into politics like the Tengku, Tan Siew sin, Tun Sambantan etc. have gone to their makers and you Mr Lim should also go to your maker. Mr Lim you have fought for CHINESE RIGHTS for too long & now we do not want CHINESE RIGHTS, what we want today is MALAYSIAN RIGHTS OF FULL CITIZENSHIP. No more Chinese or Indian rights because there is only one RIGHT and that is the right to full Malaysian citizenship. This you have to understand is what all Malaysians what; not just Chinese rights; and by your own ignorance YOU WHO OPPOSE THE DECISION OF HIS HIGHNESS HAS BECOME A RACIST YOURSELF.

I read quite a few of the 500 plus comments on Malaysians unplugged and I have to make one very obvious and important observation and that is the TOTAL ABSENSE of any comment on the Sultan’s choice and why he had been unfair. I WOULD LIKE TO CORRECT THIS OBVIOUS deficiency; I WANT TO CONGRATULATE HIS HIGHNESS FOR HIS OBVIOUS WISDOM FOR WHAT HE HAD ACHIEVED. Did any of you even asked yourselves why is it that His Highness did what appears to any ordinary person to be unfair ? None of you did! That shows how much you understood of the actions of His Highness. From my perspective I think it was sheer poetry. His Highness had just cast a stone into the pool and watch the ripples radiate in ever bigger circles.

I believe it was His Highness intention to expose the cracks in the rhetoric of those like Mr Lim Kit Siang and he achieved that by picking the least qualified and the one that will generate the most controversy, ie, PAS because they had the least claim to the job being the party with the least seats. It was so simple and it was so effective; it caused the UNITED FRONT TO CRUMPLE RIGHT THERE. Is that not sheer poetry ? I would like to say that Lim Kit Siang has proved himself to be too old for the job and he need to be replaced. I would like to remind Lim that wisdom is not always about how to achieve your objective by force; you need to also know what is POSSIBLE. Politics is all about perception, image and knowing what is possible. The Sultan has made his choice and no amount of force will change that.

Now that race politics is proven to be irrelevant, you Mr Lim too has become irrelevant and you should retire; 50 years as a politician is much too long, all those who went into politics like the Tengku, Tan Siew sin, Tun Sambantan etc. have gone to their makers and you Mr Lim should also go to your maker. Mr Lim you have fought for CHINESE RIGHTS for too long & now we do not want CHINESE RIGHTS, what we want today is MALAYSIAN RIGHTS OF FULL CITIZENSHIP. No more Chinese or Indian rights because there is only one RIGHT and that is the right to full Malaysian citizenship. This you have to understand is what all Malaysians what; not just Chinese rights; and by your own ignorance YOU WHO OPPOSE THE DECISION OF HIS HIGHNESS HAS BECOME A RACIST YOURSELF.