Just Do It as Deeds Matter, Mr. Prime Minister

For Critical Discourse

Mr Prime Minister: Now it is the time to “Just Do It” as Deeds Matter

The full text of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s Speech at the Barisan Nasional Convention on December 5, 2010 is reproduced below:

Ladies & Gentlemen,

First of all, let us together give unreserved thanks because we are able to gather here this morning at the lovely Dewan San Choon, with full of togetherness, tremendous commitment and in a harmonious atmosphere.

It is without doubt that at this convention today, we demonstrate to the world that as Malaysian citizens, we stand united, indivisible with one purpose, that of building a better future. What is important for us, as we come from various races, religions and cultures, we are able to gather in a big way without any fear, worry or being despondent in terms of our personal safety.

We have proven wrong the prophets of doom and gloom who had always been predicting and forecasting that Malaysia will be destroyed because of our multi-ethnicity.

Indeed, whatever our skin colour, whatever our religious beliefs, whatever our socio-economic position and wherever we are, we remain united under the umbrella of 1Malaysia.

It is clear Malaysia has been blessed with an abundance of peace for us to come this far. In many other countries with multi-ethnic societies in this world, they had been pockmarked with crisis and conflict, and the road taken by Malaysia is indeed special. We have pioneered a long journey and had managed our diversity successfully.

Our greatest achievement had been our ability to turn the challenges of our diversity or “a potential Achilles heel” to one of “competitive advantage”. It is here that whether we are aware or not, it is not a small or ordinary achievement, but on the other hand, it is a very significant or monumental achievement in the history of the making of Malaysia.

In short, this success is impressive because we did not take the easy road by adhering to the “melting pot” approach in nation-building, where the existing differences need to be forcibly sacrificed and a single identity created. We did not attempt to wipe out any culture nor try to change the origins of anyone. Even up till today, everyone is free to strengthen one’s identity.

For example, if one’s name is Samy Vellu, there is no need to change to Suhaimi or Sazali. If it is Chua Soi Lek, there is no necessity to change it to Salleh, So’ud or Ayoub. If it is John Ambrose, John Ambrose it will be, no need to change to Johan Ambrose.

Even the Orang Asli are free to continue with their own identity. As a matter of fact, we should be proud that we are the only nation in the world that allows the establishment of national schools that continue with the use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction.

This clearly shows that Malaysian citizens are not only tolerant towards multi-ethnicity but have also moved a step forward to celebrate this diversity. We have chosen a path that is fair and equitable by applying the integration approach where the unique differences are combined in one big family, which is always mutually reinforcing and supporting one another, and not about destroying the identities of any one race.

After our last convention in 1995, we are gathered here this morning where representatives from 13 component parties from all 13 states and the federal territories, drawn from various races, are seated together with one determination, oneness of heart and oneness of objective to ensure that the well-being of the people is given priority.

In addition, the convention this time is held at Wisma MCA, as a sign that we are equal partners in serving the people. Indeed, we are committed partners in our endeavour to serve the Malaysian people.

It is said that we stand on the shoulders of giants, our forefathers had been the pioneers. They had pioneered the ultimate legacy, in this respect, a mechanism in power sharing and political cooperation among the various races which has proven to be very effective, very practical and able to stand the test of time.

It is indeed that our predecessors had been visionary political geniuses. They had succeeded in overcoming the deception and trickery of the British colonialists with their divide-and-rule policy.

Whether we are aware or not, throughout the colonial rule, our people had been subtly divided in accordance to race, by the places we lived in, the type of work we did and our education. The objective of the colonialists was that ultimately all races would have to depend on them as the so-called impartial referee.

As a result, at that time, leaders such as the late Datuk Onn (Jaffar) were aware of this fact and tried to overcome it by trying to open UMNO’s membership to various races for a start, and later, through Parti Kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu or the IMP led by him, but this too, failed.

Over time, it was realised that the people were not ready to accept a party with various races, but the leaders still recognised that this was the way forward to attain independence and build a better future. They then forged a new approach in terms of political cooperation and power- sharing through the Alliance Party concept, which was very unique and took into account the environment and realities of that time.

If we were to revisit the events of the past, the seeds of the Alliance’s establishment was through the cooperation of UMNO and MCA in the Kuala Lumpur municipal elections in 1952.

The alliance of the two parties had succeeded in their winning nine of the 12 seats contested. This cooperation was expanded to the national level through the participation of MIC in 1954 to face the federal legislative election in the following year.

The political cooperation and power-sharing approach of the various races through the three parties — UMNO, MCA and MIC — was well-received by the people when the Alliance Party won 51 of the 52 seats in the federal election of 1955.

Later, the concept and membership of the Alliance Party was improved upon after the May 13 tragedy, when its doors were opened to parties outside of it. There were even parties that were previously in the opposition and had recognised and chosen the path towards national integration.

This was because they firmly believed that the future of the nation can only be safeguarded by Barisan Nasional. Later, BN also expanded its membership to include parties from Sabah and Sarawak, and this established a new era in terms of national integration when BN became the political bridge to reach out far across the South China Sea.

When compared with the general election of 2008, in which BN had been said to be threatened with a gloomy future, Praise be to God, now we are seeing that it is recovering its strength by the day.

This can be seen from BN regaining the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat while the Galas state assembly seat saw big wins. Along with this, the success in retaining the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat with almost double the majority showed that the people’s support towards us has returned.

I congratulate all those who had helped us attain those sweet victories in the by-elections. It is clear that victory after victory of all those concerned reflected all our success.

The Iban have a famous saying, “Agi idup agi ngelaban” — if we are still alive, we will continue to strive. The Bajaus in Sabah have this saying, “Mangan niak mangan, asal kurung, kurung”. It means that whether we have food or not is immaterial, it is important that we live together. Certainly, if we go by that kind of spirit, whether in good times or otherwise, happy or sad times, we must be together in the interest of BN.

It is indeed true and often said that politics is full of changing perceptions and a game of numbers. As such, things will not happen by themselves. In politics, it is not good enough to just garner a positive perception. We also need the people to truly trust BN, and this will need to be done and nurtured through hard work and real commitment.

Therefore, I would like to always remind that our early successes need to lay the foundation for more impressive victories in time to come. In other words, let us not let our guard down or be easily stunned. The multiplying factor for BN to continue to lead in the administration of the country and states in the country is for each component party to be strengthened.

It is because of that that in the aftermath of the 2008 general election, while I was officiating at the joint assemblies of Wanita UMNO, UMNO Youth and Puteri Umno in that year, I had firmly reminded that UMNO needed to change or risk being toppled. I had sounded the clarion call because I recognised the four ailments that would afflict parties that had been in power for long.

The four ailments are delusion, amnesia, inertia and arrogance. As a matter of fact, parties that had been in power for long rarely became introspective of their own weaknesses.Firstly, delusion due to living in dreams and illusions that the support received from the people will be continuous. Secondly, amnesia due to forgetting about the original reasons and objectives of our struggle. Thirdly, inertia sets in when we refuse to reform and change. And fourthly, it’s arrogance that reflects the attitude of being unable to accept public criticism. Indeed, all these ailments, especially arrogance, will cause the people only to hate and detest BN.

So, without exception, all these four ailments should be prevented, cast far away and discarded before the feeling of love turns into hate, hope becomes anger, support turns to opposition. To rise again, we must find a recovery formula and implement such a plan consistently. We are making efforts to do all these. Only then can we hope to secure big wins that we aspire to achieve.

I thank God that we are able to see positive signs in the component parties in the last two years. The changes that take place show that we are prepared to hear the voice of the people and will continue to encompass their aspirations.

Indeed, as I have said earlier, these success stories of Malaysia were achieved undoubtedly due to the formula of political sharing between races, mooted by our forefathers, that became prominent as a most effective recipe for governing the country.

So, we shall always be mindful of the services of past top Barisan Nasional leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad(?) and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (??).

By the same token, the services of component party leaders such as Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun V.T. Sambanthan, Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun Temenggung Jugah anak Barieng, Tun Datu Mustapha, Tun Fuad Stephens and an uncountable number of other leaders of various races whose services have never been forgotten.

On this note, it is with great sadness that just recently we lost yet another true and iconic statesman, Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu. He was indeed one of the leaders who had full faith in Barisan Nasional and what its stands for and who had immensely helped Barisan Nasional in building this country.

Certainly, the services and good deeds of these leaders shall always be inscribed in gold in our nation’s history as personalities who had struggled in the interest of the civilisation of the people of Malaysia.

From the beginning till today and, God willing, till eternity, the voice of Barisan Nasional shall remain the sacred voice of the people, speaking and working in the name of the people. From Perlis to Sabah, Barisan Nasional is feeling the pulse of the people, as the bridge linking the people’s aspirations and voice.

The root of the matter is that Barisan Nasional has always placed the people’s interest on top of the list, delivered on its promises and, in the same breath, put our nation at a most enviable level.

The fact is, is it not the Alliance that had fought and attained the country’s independence? Is it not this noble consensus that today is fulfilling the independence? And is it not this coalition front that has been given the mandate by the people to govern the country?

It is obvious that others are able to trade only their dreams — these traders of dreams are printing their delusions — while it is our party that is the genuine front for the people’s struggle, the merchant of realities that are pegged to the earth and founded on solid planning and with structured implementation.

It is because of this that I would like to repeat that among the core values that have strengthened Barisan Nasional are wisdom, sincerity and our capability to lead based on the vision and interests that are far bigger.

These interests are to create a nation that is peaceful, stable, progressive and prosperous under a canopy where all can seek sanctuary and shelter, where with the bounties of nature, everyone can earn a living and where with peace, everyone can build a happy life.

Furthermore, when the time comes, each of us can rest assured that our children and grandchildren and, in turn, their children, will have a better future, a higher standard of living, a better quality of life, able to realise their dreams and their God-given potential.

As I have said, race relations and the way we manage it in Malaysia is something we can be proud of. The way we tackle the realities of our plurality is by realistic means and by upholding the universal principle that all men are created equal by God, with their inalienable rights. History has shown that we have never fanned the fires of racial sentiments or made racism the basis for managing race relations in the country.

If we observe that even the United States, reputedly a nation that sets an example for democratic diversity, has taken 87 long years from the date of the declaration of independence, which states that “all men are created equal”, to the abolition of slavery. And it took another 102 years after that to outlaw all forms of discrimination in the registration of voters.

But, in Malaysia, since independence, the government has not used racial issues and skin colour to limit the right to register as voters, let alone to determine the seating arrangement in restaurants and public transportation, as well as alienating the use of toilets, which has happened in other countries.

For this reason, let not others try to deny the role of Barisan Nasional as the truly multi-racial party that has fought for the prosperity of of the races all this while. Our membership is derived from parties of various types based on race, and there are those that are multi-racial in nature. They are united in representing the interests of all. But on the side of the opposition, it is not guaranteed that the voice of the minority can even reach the level of their top leadership, simply because they are not adequately represented.

We are a progressive party, sincerely united with the goals and values that are shared by all. We have merged through legitimate means, from the point of view of law, have a constitution, our own song and symbol as banners where we stand proudly behind it.

It has been proven that the Alliance government and later Barisan Nasional have succeeded in transforming a low-income agricultural nation into a modern middle-income industrialised one within only 50 years. We have not only succeeded to manage a multi-racial country properly but we have also succeeded in developing the socio-economic sector and ensure national security and public order.

Barisan Nasional has created prosperity through five-year plans, devised long-term plans, massive land reforms, the new economic policy, national development policy, vision development policy, waged war against poverty, and today we have outlined major initiatives such as the Government Transformation Programme, or GTP, Economic Transformation Programme, or ETP, and the latest, Political Transformation Programme, or PTP.

Among the latest example of PTP is the historic change in Barisan Nasional since its formation in terms of membership. On the principle of big heartedness, and to enable many people, non-governmental organisations, associations, supporters and the younger generation as possible to join our struggle, we have agreed to create four new types of membership. Firstly, associate membership; secondly affiliate membership, thirdly, friends of Barisan Nasional and fourthly, Barisan Nasional’s Rakan Muda Clubs.

We will continue to endeavour so that this direct Barisan Nasional membership will become a reality that brings benefits to the party and people.

As a matter of fact, we have never rested on our laurels or taken things for granted. We have toiled together with our constituency of one and many: you, the people. These are exciting times, these are interesting and challenging times. We are a nation and a people at the crossroads of history, on the verge of the promised future.

Ladies and gentlemen, the clarion call of manifest destiny is beckoning us to take this great nation, Malaysia, to its fullest potential, to take its rightful place in the community of nations with dignity and pride, holding our heads up high, thankful in the blessings of providence.

But what is puzzling is that there are opposition parties that try to depict that they are the ones that bring about change and renewal. Is this really so? And that they are the ones who claim to be the manifestation of democracy and everything that is democratic. Is this really so?

What is obvious is that the opposition tries to ape our way from the aspect of cooperation.To my mind, this will only be futile because they do not have the ingredients of sincerity, vision and shared values. Be it Gagasan Rakyat, Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah, Barisan Alternatif and Pakatan Rakyat or whatever names created, they are only attempts by the opposition who aim to be united but will not last, simply because each is behaving double-faced.

There’s a Malay proverb that depicts them as those whose index fingers are straight but their little fingers are crooked. DAP and PAS, for example, only sleep on the same pillow but have different dreams. They appear to be united simply because of the presence of a third person.

What I mean is that if previously it was Parti Melayu Semangat 46, today this role has been taken over by Parti Keadilan Rakyat. History has clearly shown that this form of cooperation will be short-lived because their goal is only to hoodwink the people.

We will continue to endeavour so that this direct Barisan Nasional membership will become a reality that brings benefits to the party and people. As a matter of fact, we have never rested on our laurels or taken things for granted. We have toiled together with our constituency of one and many: you, the people. These are exciting times, these are interesting and challenging times. We are a nation and a people at the crossroads of history, on the verge of the promised future.

Ladies and gentlemen, the clarion call of manifest destiny is beckoning us to take this great nation, Malaysia, to its fullest potential, to take its rightful place in the community of nations with dignity and pride, holding our heads up high, thankful in the blessings of providence.

But what is puzzling is that there are opposition parties that try to depict that they are the ones that bring about change and renewal. Is this really so? And that they are the ones who claim to be the manifestation of democracy and everything that is democratic. Is this really so?

What is obvious is that the opposition tries to ape our way in the aspect of cooperation. To my mind, this will only be futile because they do not have the ingredients of sincerity, vision and shared values.

Be it Gagasan Rakyat, Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah, Barisan Alternatif and Pakatan Rakyat or whatever names created, they are only attempts by the opposition who aim to be united but will not last, simply because each is behaving double-faced.

There’s a Malay proverb that depicts them as those whose index fingers are straight but their little fingers are crooked.

DAP and PAS, for example, only sleep on the same pillow but have different dreams. They appear to be united simply because of the presence of a third person. What I mean is that if previously it was Parti Melayu Semangat 46, today, this role has been taken over by Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

History has clearly shown that this form of cooperation will be short-lived because their goal is only to hoodwink the people.

They claim to be a democratic party representing all races. But the reality is far different from that. Just look at PKR. Of the seven top leaders, only one represents the Chinese. And the Indians, who are the second largest group in the party, making up one-fifth of the membership, has nobody in the highest echelons.

When UMNO introduced a new way of electing leaders, they followed suit. We understand that imitation is the best form of flattery. Apparently, when we make in-depth political reforms and renewals, they become so afraid that they rush to copy us. If there are people willing to emulate us, it must be that what we are doing is right.

Also, if only seven per cent or about 30,000 of the membership supposed to be in the hundreds of thousands feel committed enough to come out to elect their leaders, two inferences may be drawn.

First, this party does not have mass support. What I mean is that the leadership of the party , which represents only certain interests, is intent on seeking power and settling personal problems and ready to deceive the people.

Be careful everyone, beware all of you. They are very dangerous. They are prepared to sell anything and are willing to besmirch Malaysia abroad.

I wish to make clear here that they are anti-national. We must oppose them completely and ensure that the country is not ruined by their treacherous actions.

Second, the members themselves question the integrity and credibility of the party. The members have rampaged, revolted, despaired, caused havoc and thrown chairs and brought party issues to court. Apart from this, it is strange, indeed, that election results could change drastically, discrediting the process being carried out.

Furthermore, as we know and as reported by the media, many of their leaders have left the party, including deputy president, vice-president, secretary general, Youth chief, Youth vice-head, information chief, branch leaders, including the Permatang Pauh head, former deputy chief minister, five assemblymen and five members of parliament. In view of this, I think it appropriate that we refer to PKR as the “mass exit party”.

Recently, PKR was apparently so desperate to gain the sympathy of the people that its president declared that their de facto leader was God-sent. Yes, we all understand a woman’s loyalty to her husband and awe of his “greatness”. Still, Malaysians would like to know on which quotation of the Quran or Hadith did she base her view. What was the canon law that she equipped herself with to come up which such a statement?

Is this a new interpretation (of a law) or is it another deviant teaching? Enough of this deviation drama. I hope the people will not be influenced by this nonsense. Bear in mind that it is not for the people to settle or bear the burden of leaders.

On the contrary, it is the leaders who must be present in the lives of the people to solve their problems. This is the biggest and most significant difference between us and the opposition parties because Barisan Nasional feels the pulse of the people and addresses their grievances.

In truth, the three opposition parties claiming to be multiracial are each dominated by one community. The minorities in each of them are just token or cosmetic members. They are not really Pakatan Rakyat but an alliance of three or four people or heads.

It is more accurate to say that they are a party of two families and a yes-man or political pawn. This is where they differ in concept from Barisan Nasional, which is truly based on genuine partnership of the people that recognises the reality of a multiracial society.

Under the Barisan Nasional system, the parties are equally represented in the supreme council, regardless of whether they are big or small. UMNO has a representation that is the same as each of the other component parties. Most importantly, all decisions are made through consensus. This is to ensure that, although some of the parties are race-based, the interests of all will be preserved, protected, considered and forever defended.

It is a different story over there. The recent elections of an opposition party saw the de facto leader, president and vice-president all coming from one family. And they dare to accuse us of nepotism. Who is the real practitioner of nepotism here? As a legal maxim put it: justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done. Moreover, it must not only be proper, it must also be seen to be proper.

Another party is “Anak Beranak Sdn Bhd”. With the hegemony of two dynasties, one family with power and the other without, all are merely ceremonial. This is because the secretary-general, under this party system, is more powerful than the chairman. And they never cease to claim to be multiracial.

And yet when we look at their central leadership list, we find that Malays and other Bumiputeras, who account for nearly 60 per cent of the population, have only two representatives. What is worst is that the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak are not represented at all. Is this what they call a democratic and open party?

This party should practise what it preaches. It should uphold what it so sanctimoniously preaches to others with righteous indignation. Here, I would like to say, ‘Admit it, be frank’. If the true statistics on leadership and membership according to race are revealed, it will be very clear that this is a one-race party where chauvinism has been the philosophy of struggle from the beginning.

As for PAS, it is strange that a party claiming to uphold Islamic teachings can cooperate with a big liar, a forger of documents and a traitor to race and country. What we can say is that PAS should have been aware of all this and acted more wisely and held firm to what it professes to be its long-standing principles. — Bernama

courtesy of Din Merican