PM NAJIB: MALAYSIA WITHOUT CHINESE HAS NO FUTURE

I came across a very interesting headline on the Nov 3rd edition of Sin Chew Daily. Its front page flashed the catchy “Najib: Malaysia without Chinese has no future”. A very bold statement and direct recognition of the role played by the Chinese community by the prime minister. Being well aware of UMNO-BN’s divide-and-conquer tactics in the last five decades, I decided to translate it into English and Malay.

Interestingly, the bold statement was read by Najib’s deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin. Usually when a UMNO president (Najib in this case) affirms the position of the non-Malay, its deputy will use it back in the Malay community to backstab his boss. Unfortunately, in this case Muhyiddin had to read Najib’s speech because the latter was ill. It would be weird for the former to perform the backstabbing.

The following is the full English translation from Sin Chew’s report in Mandarin:

The Chinese make significant contribution to the country where they belong. They are always well known for their entrepreneurship, adaptability and drive for progress – Najib

Serdang, Nov 2nd – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak confessed that Malaysia would not be what it is today if not because of the Chinese’s enterprises, professionals and dedication, and the goal of Vision 2020 will not be achievable.

He praised the Chinese for their significant contribution to the economy. Being the backbone of the economy, without the support of the Chinese, Malaysia’s future will be bleak.

He pointed out that the Chinese live across all continents of the world. Many of them are successful entrepreneurs, professionals, public officers and academicians in their respective home countries. Obviously, the Chinese make significant contribution to the country where they belong. They are always well known for their entrepreneurship, adaptability and drive for progress, said Najib.

“The Chinese in Malaysia is the best example. The community forms the backbone of our economy through the many small and medium enterprises. Some of the well known enterprises are Chinese,” said Najib when opening the Second World Chinese Economic Forum. Due to illness, his speech was read by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin.

He believed the day would come when three of the five largest economic regions will be from Asia, namely China, Japan and India. “We can learn from China and Asia on free trade, open market and foreign investment as the way forward for prosperity,” said Najib.

He pointed out that while Asia has emerged as the economic locomotive of the world, it remains behind the West technologically. However through multilateral cooperation and investments between the West and Asia, it will stimulate the new thinking in Asia so that it can be more competitive globally.

Interestingly, The Star carried a report on the same event and speech but its angle is significantly different from Sin Chew’s. I have not checked on Utusan, but I seriously doubt it would cover such “Chinese-biased” event.

courtesy of AirKosong