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| Has Najib’s New Economic Model been hijacked by Neo-NEP Umnoputras like Perkasa forcing another delay in its announcement? The assurance by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that no Malaysian would be sidelined in the New Economic Model (NEM) is not convincing when from all indications, the NEM has been hijacked by Neo-NEP Umnoputras like Perkasa, forcing another delay in its announcement. When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister last April, he announced that the government would introduce a new economic model for the country to ensure that Malaysia makes a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country through greater emphasis on innovation, creativity and competitiveness. In May last year, the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the new economic model would be announced in the second half of the year. Time is clearly of the critical essence to launch a new economic model as Husni subsequently admitted in a very frank speech in December that the country had lost a decade in economic stagnation. In actual fact, Malaysia had lost not only one decade in economic stagnation but four decades in failing to fully realize the economic potential of the rich natural and human resources of the country, resulting in Malaysia losing out not only to other countries including Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea but at risk of being overtaken by an increasing list of other countries like Vietnam, Thailand and even Indonesia. However, the time-line for the announcement of the new economic model has been repeatedly deferred, from last year to the beginning of this year, then to this month to coincide with the completion of Najib as Prime Minister and now to June when the 10th Malaysia Plan will be presented to Parliament. The disruption of the plan to announce the new economic model to commemorate Najib’s first year as Prime Minister is a setback for Najib’s 1Malaysia as well as a competitive and innovative new economic model and a success for the plethora of Neo-NEP Umnoputra NGOs and NGIs to whom have been outsourced the agenda of Umno’s NEP-putras. Malaysians and the world are wondering what new economic model of greater innovation, creativity and competitiveness could be formulated by Najib against the backdrop of reactionary and extremist pressures with irresponsible and baseless alarms like “the Chinese community will take over the country in the next general elections” and that Article 153 of the Constitution would be trampled upon with Malay interests (when they mean Neo-NEP Umnoputra interests) sidelined. I call on the Cabinet tomorrow to make a bold policy decision to make public the draft New Economic Model and invite public consultation and input and not to allow irresponsible interest groups inimical to the 1Malaysia concept and vision to hijack and monopolise the formulation of the New Economic Model. |
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| CALL FOR AN OPEN DEBATE ON THE NEW ECONOMIC MODEL AS IT IS A POLICY THAT WILL IMPACT ON THE ECONOMIC WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE, AND AS SUCH THEY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO DISCUSS AND DEBATE ON THE NEW ECONOMIC MODEL BEFORE IT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED. This is absolutely necessary as the New Economic Policy was pushed through parliament in 1971 without a full discussion by the people. Only the cabinet and government under the then prime minister were privy to the details, and it was rushed through parliament. Implemented from 1971 until today, the aim was to restructure society, to rescue the Malays from poverty and to give them access to all strata of the economy. Today, admittedly there are more middle class Malays, but the vast majority of them still live in grinding poverty, and many others still live below the poverty line where families subsist on RM1,500 a month. The wealth which was supposed to be transferred to the Malay poor was hijacked midway by Umno cronies. They have become rich beyond their wildest dreams. THE NEP OBSTRUCTED AND DESTROYED THE ENTREPRENEUR SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE. FOREIGNERS AVOIDED INVESTING IN MALAYSIA. MANY SKILLED AND TALENTED MALAYSIANS MIGRATED TO GREENER PASTURES LIKE SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA, CANADA AND THE STATES. THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE THE PUBLIC ADMISSION THAT 300,000 MALAYSIANS LEFT THE SHORES OF THE COUNTRY IN 2008. THE GOVERNMENT ALSO ADMITTED THAT ONE DECADE OF ECONOMIC PROGRESS WAS LOST AFTER THE ASIA FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1998. PAKATAN RAKYAT HAS OPENLY CALLED FOR THE NEP TO BE SCRAPPED AND IN ITS PLACE IMPLEMENT THEIR MALAYSIAN ECONOMIC POLICY WHICH WILL PROVIDE THE PUSH FOR THE ECONOMY TO PROGRESS AND PROSPER. Unfortunately there are signs that PM Najib Razak is weakening and submitting to pressure by UMNO and PERKASA (extreme Malay pressure group) to retain the racial concepts of the NEP. PM Najib is vacillating and hence he is postponing the launch of the New Economic Model. Pakatan Rakyat urges the prime minister to stand firm and scrap the NEP policies, which has been shown with facts and figures to have caused the Malaysian economy to fall behind that of S Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore At independence, Malaya had the second highest per capita income in Asia, after Japan. After 1971, with the NEP, the GDP of Malaysia began falling behind that of the four Asian tigers Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore). In 2009, while GDP of Malaysia stood at US$8,000, S Korea and Taiwan rose to US$19,000, Hong Kong to $32,000 while Singapore to US$34,000. The NEP caused Malaysia to lose four decades of economic progress and inflicted economic pain and loss on two generations of young Malaysians. Prime Minister Najib Razak must wake up to the dangerous and retrogressive policies of Umno and Perkasa. Which will condemn Malaysians to a life of hardship due to low income and poverty. PRIME MINISTER NAJIB SHOULD CALL FOR A NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ECONOMISTS, ENTREPRENEURS, BUSINNESSMEN, BANKERS, SMALL AND MEDICUM ENTREPRENEURS, NGOS AND POLITICAL PARTIES TO DISCUSS AND AGREE ON A NEW BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEW ECONOMIC MODEL FOR MALAYSIA. |
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| Malaysian Insider By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani May 29, 2010 KOTA BARU, May 29 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders used dire forecasts of a gloomy future if there are no subsidy cuts to warn that voting for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election would lead the country to bankruptcy. A government minister this week had predicted Malaysia could be bankrupt by 2019 if it does not begin to cut subsidies for petrol, electricity, food and other staples, which cost RM74 billion last year. But the Najib administration is waiting for public feedback before deciding on actual cuts. DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said it was not subsidies but BN’s corruption and abuse of power that has led the country to current financial crisis. “I cannot imagine if DAP, PKR or PAS had made the announcement that country will be bankrupt by 2019. If we did, Umno would have labelled us as anti-nationalist and traitors. We probably would have been locked up in ISA and given free food. “Remember Vision 2020? We were supposed to become a developed nation by 2020 but unfortunately one year before 2020, we are already bankrupt,” he told a crowd last night in Tanah Merah, a two-hour drive from the Kelantan state capital. Lim was one of many PR leaders in the state speaking at ceramahs ahead of the PKR convention this weekend. Thousands of people had slowly filled the football field in Tanah Merah to hear the PR leaders, with supporters of all ages coming with families and straw mats sitting in between the two goal posts across the field. Surrounding the field were stalls bustling with people buying goods, from traditional medicine to perfume. There were also children zigzagging through the crowd selling peanuts and refreshments. The bustling night bazaar proved to be an ironic backdrop to arguments that the country’s economy is broken and needs reforms. Lim declared that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s New Economic Model (NEM) is an admission that the country has been in an economic stagnation for the past 10 years. “Yes, we do believe that we must gradually reduce the country’s subsidies but how can we be certain that the proposed formula will solve the problem because these are only the symptoms. The core problem is the years of corruption practised by the Barsian Nasional government. “Therefore, the first step is not to abolish subsidies but abolish all forms of corruption!” he said. The government also announced that slashing subsidies for petrol, diesel, gas, electricity, sugar and flour, among other staples, would save the government RM103 billion over the next five years. Lim also dared Najib to a “dollar to dollar” challenge. “I challenge the prime minister and BN government that the country can save RM103 billion if the government abolishes all forms of corruption and misuse of powers. This is because a study has shown that the country has been losing RM10 billion to RM28 billion every year through corruption. So does Najib have the political will?” asked Lim. PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Umno’s misuse of state funds has forced the government to legalise gambling. “Back then, they said that they cannot legalise gambling because it was against but today they are legalising because Umno has no money. Their excuse is that they need to legalise betting to help curb illegal gambling. Something must be wrong with their heads. “The world today is upside down, we have a Muslim government that wants to legalise betting but we have Chinese who are against it. They don’t understand that the poor people will suffer. This is why we are against Barisan Nasional. They have no principles,” he said. Anwar also ridiculed Najib, saying that his political foe is misleading the public. “Now they want to take back our subsidies because the country is heading towards bankruptcy. The prime minister had earlier announced that the economy was making a strong recovery but now our country is near bankrupt? “They should fight against corruption but not take away the subsidies. They only know how to take. They take away land and seize oil away from Kelantan. They are just thieves,” he said. He said the government must remove commissions and not subsidies. “Every year the country loses RM20 billion from what? From commissions made from building houses, stadiums and buying submarines. Whose money is this? That is our money! We should eliminate commissions and not subsidies because subsidies affect the poor and not the rich,” he said. PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat condemned the government for sanctioning betting because it was against Islam. “They say that they want to legalise betting so they can monitor gambling. How you can expect a man to supervise another man? It is like asking a cow to supervise another cow. Who can control man? Only Allah,” said the Kelantan mentri besar. |
