KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's prime minister denied Saturday that his Malay Muslim ruling party is a "bully" that tramples on the rights of ethnic minorities, despite growing accusations that the government practices racial discrimination.
Tensions have risen between Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's dominant United Malays National Organization and other parties representing minorities in the ruling coalition, amid complaints that government policies unfairly favor Malays, particularly involving economic benefits and religion.
Abdullah insisted even though "people say UMNO likes to bully, there is no such thing as bullying."
"It is a strategy of the opposition parties" to spread such claims to smear the government's image, Abdullah said in a speech at the annual congress of the Malaysian Chinese Association, the second largest party in the National Front ruling coalition.
Ethnic Malays comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people. Minorities include large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, who are mainly Buddhists, Christians and Hindus.
The National Front suffered a stinging blow in March general elections when a multiracial opposition alliance made unprecedented gains, winning 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament by promising to treat all ethnic communities equally.
Some officials in ethnic minority parties in the National Front have alleged that they are sidelined in key decisions by Abdullah's Malay party.
Abdullah stressed that if such allegations were true, "the other component parties would have left the (National Front) a long time ago."
Nevertheless, Ong Ka Ting, the Malaysian Chinese Association's outgoing president, said in a separate speech the National Front should try to regain public confidence through measures such as revamping affirmative action policies that benefit Malays.
Associated Press
18/10/08
PEOPLE'S POWER
There is a difference between UMNO and Barisan Nasional. I want to make it clear that it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, but the UMNO government. It is not the government, but UMNO. Barisan Nasional is a coalition of unequals, not equals. UMNO is the big brother in BN. Therefore UMNO must be held responsible; and more importantly, UMNO must not be allowed to hide behind the BN banner. UMNO is the enemy, not BN. UMNO is a racist party which has perfected the art of divide and rule. If moderate Malays, the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Chinese and Indians unite, then they can vote UMNO out of office.
ReplyDeleteFor decades UMNO has strengthened her position by destroying the independence of the judiciary. So much so that high officials and the Police can almost act with impunity.
I have come to the conclusion that the easy solution is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections. We have to vote racist UMNO out of office. UMNO is bent on divide and rule, which has affected Malaysia badly. It is for the next generation of Malaysians to undo the damage done to Malaysia by UMNO. There is a dire need for moderate Malays at the political level. There is also a need for the natives of Sabah and Sarawak to form a third force to protect their own interests. Imagine how UMNO had dealt with Sabah; from a rich state, Sabah has been reduced to a poor state subservient to UMNO. There has to be an explanation. The only way is UMNO has to be voted out of office. The younger generation of Malaysians do not like racist politics and UMNO must be taught a lesson by the younger generation by voting UMNO out of office. Please vote for any party but UMNO/BN.
To my Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters I tell you that historically UMNO has always avoided a Royal Commission of Inquiry as much as possible many times. Historically, UMNO has misused the Internal Security Act numerous times. Any political party that is an accomplice to UMNO is also the enemy. Any political party that is a co-conspirator to UMNO is also the enemy. To my Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters I say that you should form a third force. A third force would require unity among Sabahans and Sarawakians.
We have to get into the habit of putting people in office through votes, and removing people from office through votes. Nobody should be allowed to topple the government. We have to institutionalize the multi-party political system, one person one vote, and an independent judiciary.
In the 2004 elections (11th General Election), the voters gave good support to Mr.Abdullah Badawi. But reforms did not come. Why? Probably because UMNO had done well in the elections. If UMNO had done well in the elections, then the election results tell UMNO that the voters are satisfied with the status quo. If the voters are satisfied with UMNO, then no reforms are necessary. In the 2008 elections (12th General Elections), UMNO did not do well, but she managed to win. UMNO did lose the 2/3 majority in the Parliament, but she did win, nevertheless. Will UMNO undertake reforms now? I would not be surprised if she did not. Why should she? UMNO is still the winner in the elections; and she can plan to rise and may even succeed to rise again. So, as long as she wins, she will never undertake the reforms. So, how do the voters get the reforms that they need? The voters will get the reforms when UMNO is completely defeated in the 13th General Elections. If UMNO wins zero seats in the next elections (13th General Elections), then some other party would have to rule Malaysia. Let us call it Party B. If UMNO is completely defeated in the next elections (13th General Elections), then Party B would rule Malaysia. Would Party B undertake reforms? If Party B does not undertake reforms, then voters would know what to do.
There is no doubt that UMNO has used gerrymandering to strengthen herself. If we removed gerrymandering from UMNO, then there would be a reduced UMNO. So the non-UMNO voters of Malaysia have good reasons to vote against UMNO.
It is possible that UMNO has used the Police Force to strengthen herself. The Police Force is required to be neutral. But is the Police Force neutral? I appeal to the Police Force to be neutral.
UMNO is a race based political party and also the big brother of BN. So, the complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get reforms. The complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get a new beginning.
UMNO is inclined to believe that Malaysians cannot do anything if they are in any way dissatisfied. The voters, however, have to send a strong message to UMNO that the voters can do something: the voters can vote.
So, the next step for Malaysians is to completely defeat UMNO/BN in the next elections.