Wan Azizah's 'Ketuanan Rakyat'

PKR president Wan Azizah

Chen Man Hin

Wan Azizah policy speech at the recent PKR congress was a breath of fresh air into politics in the country. She did not introduce some policy of the nature of 1 Malaysia. What she gave was a dream of building a united and progressive Malaysia with a policy designed to change the political landscape.

Wan Azizah has a dream for Malaysia where all Malaysians whether Malays, Chinese, Indians or Kadazanas are considered as masters and equals in their own country. Her dream is to spread the concept of KETUANAN RAKYAT which means that all Malaysians have the same status and equal opportunities in all the fields of human endeavour.

This is a bold step by Wan Azizah, and just as Martin Luther King had a dream which unleashed a new era for the blacks of America, so will Azizah’s dream open up a new world for Malaysia to be as progressive, compeitive and a high income economy as the tigers of Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong, S Korea and Taiwan.

Wan Azizah does not believe in ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) as espoused by Umno and Perkasa. A policy which has divided the people and imprisoned the poor whether Malays, Chinese or Indians in the world of poverty and backwardness.

Four decades of Malay supremacy and the New Economic Policy have caused the economy to stagnate compared to the tiger economies whose per capita income range from US$18,000 for Taiwan to US$34,000 for Singapore compare to a per capita income of US$8,000 for Malaysia.

40 years of Malay supremacy have kept kampong Malays poor, uneducated, uncompetitive and their youths ill prepared for the competitive era of a global world. Admittedly, the ones who benefitted from Malay supremacy were Umno cronies, rent seekers who made millions from negotiated tenders, APs and land concessions.

It is cruel for Umnoputras to insist on Malay supremacy and corrupt practices just to make cronies into millionaires while the poor in the kampong stay poor, uneducated and not adaptable to the modern world.

All these have to change, and it is up to leaders like Wan Azizah who will make the change with her dream of ketuanan rakyat where opportunties are given to all, and by their own initiative, dedication and hard work, they will become rich and prosperous in a high income economy on the same level as the Asian tiger economies.

The three partners of PR have given full support to article 153 of the constitution which gives guarantees to uplift the economic status of Malays and natives. PR have our plans that they will receive the best education and financial asistance to top education, acquisition of technoloy and the know how to be successful professionals, entreprenurs and successful businessmen.

Chen Man Hin is the DAP life advisor