Despite promising Malays the 'moon & stars', only small crowd turned up at over-glitzy do

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today pledged that his administration will continue to help and protect the Malays as long as "the moon and stars" still shine.

He said the Bumiputera agenda which he launched two years ago will continue to be the national agenda and policies, programmes and actions drawn up will be based on this.

"As the prime minister, I pledged that the government I lead will continue to help the Malay Bumiputeras to be successful, based on the speech in Shah Alam two years ago where I said the Bumiputera agenda is the national agenda.

"As long as there are moons and stars, as long as Malay blood still flows, we will fight for the Malay race," he said at the Malay Unity Gathering at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil tonight, attended by some 5,000 people, including Malay Cabinet members, heads of non-governmental organisations, students and community leaders.

Najib added, however, that the government wanted the community to see it as a facilitator, whereby opportunities would be given to those with merit and talent, instead of expecting contracts from the government just because they are Malays.

He said tonight's large-scale glitzy gathering was historic as it underscored the importance of unity among the Malays.

The gathering, he said, was a showcase of a great, dignified, strong, successful and blessed Malay race.

"As such, in this gathering, we have to ask ourselves, what we can do as Malays? What can we contribute?" he said, adding that the community did not want to be belittled or insulted and instead, wanted to be respected and dignified.

Some of the attendees at the Malay Unity Gathering event at the Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil today came in full traditional Malay costume, including this father and son pair.

He said the community has come a long way, with many Malays successful in their own right whether they are entrepreneurs, academicians or corporate leaders.

However, he acknowledged that more needed to be done.

As such, he came up with seven pledges that the community should adhere to.

They include: to defend Islam as the federal religion based on the Al-Quran and Al-Sunnah; defend the royal institution and the Bumiputera special rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution; and strengthen the Malay economic power so that they are competitive. – TMI