Umno is a racist party that had divided and ruled Malaysia for more than 50 years by playing, albeit dangerously, the communal cards, accused a leading PKR leader.
MCPXAzmin Ali, a former Umno leader who is now PKR vice-president, said the ruling party had exploited the issue of income disparity for its own ends and generated a fear syndrome among Malaysians.
“This has split Malaysians and the country along communal lines, which Pakatan Rakyat is now trying to mend.
“All Malaysians should reject Umno’s racism and move ahead as one community, one nation,” the Gombak parliamentarian told a by-election rally in Kubang Semang, Penanti last night.
Describing the New Economy Policy (NEP) as a noble idea conceived to improve the standard of living of all poor Malaysians, he accused Umno of abusing the policy to the extend that it had even marginalised the key target group, the Malays.
“The racist implementation of NEP has not only marginalised Indian and Chinese communities, but also the majority of the Malays,” he said, accusing Umno of advocating patronage politics through NEP.
“In name of the Malays, Umno has politicised the policy to benefit a handful few who have strong links to the ruling elites.
“Umno’s racist policy has forsaken the majority of Malaysians, especially those from the lower-income group,” he told some 3,000-odd largely Malay crowd.
The by-election for the state seat of Penanti sees a four-cornered fight between PKR’s Mansor Othman and three independents – Aminah Abdullah, Kamarul Ramizu Idris and Nai Khan Ari.
Campaigning will end at midnight tonight and polling is tomorrow.
Back clean leaders, even if they’re non-Malay
Instead of helping poor Malays, Azmin alleged Umno had preferred to keep squatter colonies for its political gains.
He said Umno had used the poor living condition of Malay squatters as bait to fish votes during elections by making “empty promises of aid and development”.
“Don’t ever think that all Malays benefited from NEP. The majority of them were sidelined and neglected while only a selected few gained from it,” accused Azmin, who is also the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson.
Calling for the dismantling of the NEP, he said Pakatan would replace it with a new national economic agenda that would “manage, distribute and share the country’s wealth equally among all Malaysians”.
Azmin called on the Malays to reject Malay leaders who are corrupt, such as former Selangor menteri besar Mohd Khir Toyo, and put their trust on clean and trustworthy leaders, even if they are non-Malay.
He cited the example of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“The state government under Guan Eng did not steal any Malay land or money under the pretext of development.
“But corrupt Umno governments in other states have committed all these wrongdoings against Malays over the years,” he said.
Azmin also called on the Penang Pakatan government to carry out a thorough study to explore ways to uplift the standards of living of all marginalised segments of the populace, especially the Malays and Indians.
“This would help address the disparity in wealth among Penang people,” he said.
Malaysiakini
30/05/09
MCPXAzmin Ali, a former Umno leader who is now PKR vice-president, said the ruling party had exploited the issue of income disparity for its own ends and generated a fear syndrome among Malaysians.
“This has split Malaysians and the country along communal lines, which Pakatan Rakyat is now trying to mend.
“All Malaysians should reject Umno’s racism and move ahead as one community, one nation,” the Gombak parliamentarian told a by-election rally in Kubang Semang, Penanti last night.
Describing the New Economy Policy (NEP) as a noble idea conceived to improve the standard of living of all poor Malaysians, he accused Umno of abusing the policy to the extend that it had even marginalised the key target group, the Malays.
“The racist implementation of NEP has not only marginalised Indian and Chinese communities, but also the majority of the Malays,” he said, accusing Umno of advocating patronage politics through NEP.
“In name of the Malays, Umno has politicised the policy to benefit a handful few who have strong links to the ruling elites.
“Umno’s racist policy has forsaken the majority of Malaysians, especially those from the lower-income group,” he told some 3,000-odd largely Malay crowd.
The by-election for the state seat of Penanti sees a four-cornered fight between PKR’s Mansor Othman and three independents – Aminah Abdullah, Kamarul Ramizu Idris and Nai Khan Ari.
Campaigning will end at midnight tonight and polling is tomorrow.
Back clean leaders, even if they’re non-Malay
Instead of helping poor Malays, Azmin alleged Umno had preferred to keep squatter colonies for its political gains.
He said Umno had used the poor living condition of Malay squatters as bait to fish votes during elections by making “empty promises of aid and development”.
“Don’t ever think that all Malays benefited from NEP. The majority of them were sidelined and neglected while only a selected few gained from it,” accused Azmin, who is also the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson.
Calling for the dismantling of the NEP, he said Pakatan would replace it with a new national economic agenda that would “manage, distribute and share the country’s wealth equally among all Malaysians”.
Azmin called on the Malays to reject Malay leaders who are corrupt, such as former Selangor menteri besar Mohd Khir Toyo, and put their trust on clean and trustworthy leaders, even if they are non-Malay.
He cited the example of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“The state government under Guan Eng did not steal any Malay land or money under the pretext of development.
“But corrupt Umno governments in other states have committed all these wrongdoings against Malays over the years,” he said.
Azmin also called on the Penang Pakatan government to carry out a thorough study to explore ways to uplift the standards of living of all marginalised segments of the populace, especially the Malays and Indians.
“This would help address the disparity in wealth among Penang people,” he said.
Malaysiakini
30/05/09
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