Three vital states for Pakatan

The voters in the three key states - Sabah, Sarawak and Johor - will determine whether there is change after GE13.

COMMENT

By Chua Jui Meng

The Umno-led Barisan Nasional will be even more corrupt, greedier and bolder if they win the coming 13th general election.

We are already seeing the blatant abuses of power and corruption by BN leaders who have little disregard or fear for the law.

Extending BN’s rule this time is suicidal for Malaysians and Malaysia because the economy would not be able to feed the mega corruption that we are seeing today.

Moreover, the federal debt of RM620 billion (inclusive of off-budget liabilities or sovereign guarantees for private corporations like the Port Klang Free Zone and government-linked company loans ending 2011) or 74% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) puts us in the corridors of bankruptcy. The legislated federal debt ceiling is 55% of GDP.

The next general election is perhaps the best and only chance in this century for Malaysians to change the federal and state governments to save the country from financial collapse.

The voters in the three key states – Sabah, Sarawak and Johor – will determine whether there is change after GE13.

It is these three key states that withstood the March 2008 political tsunami and kept BN-Umno in power.

I have just returned from Sabah with Pakatan Rakyat’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and we felt Sabahans’ powerful sense of wanting change.

Everywhere we went, they turned up in thousands to welcome us and they would shout ‘Ini Kalilah Kita Ubah!’ (This Time We Will Change!).

The reception is multi-racial and multi-religious and this is a healthy sign of unity.

Wake up Johoreans

We most certainly hope Johoreans are also clear about their political responsibility to reject a corrupt and evil racist regime that is bent on dividing us to enable them to remain in power at all cost.

Johor is said to be an Umno and MCA political fortress. However, a Merdeka Centre survey on the popularity of the morally tainted MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek is comforting to Pakatan.

The poll showed only 9% of the Chinese community liked Soi Lek.

According to statistics some two million Chinese have migrated over the years because they were upset with the discrimination and lack of meritocracy. They are unlikely to return.

However, Malaysia is a beautiful country and those who remain must strive for political influence to better the country for our future generations.

I had since 2005 objected to the extension of the New Economic Policy (NEP) that was implemented in 1971 for a 20-year period to help lift the Malays economically.

That is fine but, after 42 years surely it is clear who is really benefitting from the NEP.

Only a small group comprising the Umno elite and their families and cronies are in control of the bulk of the country’s wealth. The majority rural and urban Malays remain poor or are in the lower and middle income brackets.

Free water, annual financial aid for the poor, needy and the aged are some of the people-centric measures of Pakatan-controlled states of Selangor and Penang.

What do you have in Johor which is supposedly one of the richer states in the peninsula?

Pakatan has already outlined a long list of long-term people-centric measures in its Buku Jingga (Orange Book) and alternative Budget 2013 for the rakyat if it is given the mandate to rule.

Has BN-Umno revealed any long-term policies for the rakyat and country? It has only been giving out one-time cash handouts in a bid to win your votes. There is no policy measure to forward socio-economic progress.

Please think very carefully and see the light at the end of the tunnel when you cast your ballots in the next general election.

Chua Jui Meng is PKR vice-president and Johor state chief. He is also a former MCA vice-president and an ex-Cabinet member.