Mahathir destroyed the NEP through privatisation, cronyism, nepotism and corruption in the 22 years he was PM. Instead of reaching the Bumiputera equity participation target of 30%, it declined from 3% in 1981 to 2% by the time Mahathir retired in 2003. And now, in collaboration with DAP, Mahathir wants to destroy Umno and Malay political dominance just because his son cannot become PM.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Joceline Tan made a very interesting observation in her article in The Star said today, Former enemies now frenemies, which you can read below. Basically she said what many of us, especially the Malays, have been saying over the last two years since December 2014.
The Pakatan Harapan supporters, in particular the DAP supporters, look at history starting from 2008. In other words, pre-2008 there is no history. From 1946 to 2008 it is a period of a vacuum like a tape that has been erased. Malays, however, look at history starting from 1946. The Malaysia that we see today would not exist if not because of what happened in 1946. And when we talk about 1946 it is unavoidable that we also talk about Umno.
In short, life for the Malays really began in 1946, which is the year when Umno was born as well. And that would mean Umno is synonymous with the Malays. In other words, as the Umno leaders and supporters of the Merdeka era used to say, Umno dan Melayu tidak boleh dipisah (you cannot separate Umno from the Malays).
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to have conveniently forgotten that he himself said this same thing so many times during his 2006-2008 anti-Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi campaign throughout Malaysia. Everywhere that Mahathir went he would start his speech with the history of the founding of Umno in 1946. Then he would take the audience to the story of Merdeka, the story of the 13 May 1969 race riots, the story of the New Economic Policy (NEP), and then the story about how Abdullah was destroying everything that Umno built up from 1946 up to the time Abdullah took over as Prime Minister in 2003.
And now that same story which Mahathir used against Abdullah during his 2006-2008 campaign to oust the Prime Minister can be used against Mahathir himself. It is like Mahathir looking into a mirror and criticising the man in the mirror. Is this not ironical or is this what one would call karma?
Sometimes is is easier to just skip history or avoid talking about it when it painfully reminds us about the truth. The truth, as they say, hurts. And Joceline Tan has just reminded us about the truth regarding the relationship between Mahathir and DAP that many would like to pretend does not exist — because it is less painful to pretend than to accept the bitter truth regarding the Mahathir-DAP relationship then, and the Mahathir-DAP relationship now.
When Mahathir made his move against Abdullah in 2006 he gained the support of Umno because he used Umno to oust the Prime Minister. However, in his attempt to oust Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Mahathir is using DAP. And that is where the Malays draw the line. It would be like Saudi Arabia forming an alliance with Israel and paying Israeli soldiers to invade and exterminate Iran. The entire Muslim world would unite against Saudi Arabia.
Sometimes one wonders whether Mahathir has just gone raving senile or whether, in his desperation to oust Najib, the old man has taken leave of his senses. Malays can fight Malays. That is no problem. This has happened many times in the past, even 100 years ago in Kelantan when Tok Janggut led a rebellion against the British-backed Sultan. But Malays do not use Chinese, in particular DAP, to fight fellow Malays. That tantamount to heresy.
And Mahathir has broken the golden rule in what NOT to do when Malays fight Malays. And that is why Mahathir can never oust Najib and instead will be remembered by history the same way that many Muslims remember Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (not as the ‘Father of Modern Turkey’ but as a traitor to Islam).
The irony of the whole thing is, what I am about to say, Mahathir himself said so many times from 2006 to 2008 when he campaigned against Abdullah. Has Mahathir forgotten this because all he needs to do is search YouTube to see what he said ten years ago?
Umno saw birth in 1946 after the British created the Malayan Union, which would see the end of Ketuanan Melayu — even though that was the hidden rather than the stated agenda of the Malayan Union.
The Malays came out to protest the British decision and a demonstration was held in front of the Majestic Hotel near the Kuala Lumpur railway station. And to unite the Malays and the various groups from all over Malaya, they formed Umno, an umbrella organisation for hundreds of other smaller organisations, societies, movements, associations, etc.
As Umno became stronger and more vocal, the British relented and two years later, in 1948, the Malayan Union was abandoned in favour of the Federation of Malaya or Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. In short, the Malays won and the British lost and it was all because the Malays united under Umno. So the Malaysia that you see today is because of Umno. If not it would not exist.
The British realised that all over the world colonies were getting their independence from colonial rule so, like it or not, Malaya, too, would have to be given its independence. But then 30% of the British post-war economy depended on Malaya so it has to be a peaceful independence without bloodshed and especially with no nationalising of British interests in Malaya. Britain was prepared to allow Malaya self-rule as long as British economic interests in Malaya are protected.
So the British sat down with Umno to discuss independence. But it has to be a Malayan and not a Malay independence. So the Chinese and Indians were invited to join the new alliance that will be formed to be called, simply, the Alliance Party. In the first elections in 1955, the Alliance Party won 51 of the 52 seats it contested. Umno alone won almost 59% of the votes and more than 65% of the seats. This convinced the British that the Alliance Party had the peoples’ support and were the right group to talk to regarding independence. In 1957 independence was granted to Malaya.
When the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein mooted the idea of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1970, Bumiputera corporate ownership stood at just 1% wth 99% under the non-Malays and foreigners. Over ten years from 1971 to 1981, Bumiputera corporate ownership tripled to 3% while the holdings of non-Bumiputeras doubled from 30% to 60%.
Hence, when Mahathir took over as Prime Minister in 1981, Bumiputera corporate ownership was already 3%. However, when Mahathir retired in 2003, Bumiputera corporate ownership had dropped to 2% instead of reaching 30% like what the original plan was. And Mahathir lied to us and told us it was 20% when it was actually just 2% because he included the 18% that was owned by the nation such as Pernas, Petronas, MAS, the SEDCs, etc.
Tun Razak’s plan in 1970 was simple. Reduce poverty. Reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Reduce the economic disparity between the different races. Give everyone an education. Come out with a power-sharing concept where all parties and all races can participate in the government.
Over 22 years from 1981 to 2003, Malaysia’s economy grew. For example, in 1971, at the start of the NEP, Malaysia’s GDP was just US$4 billion. Ten years later, by 1981, it grew to US$25 billion. In 2003, when Mahathir retired, it was US$110 billion. But in that same period the Bumiputera share grew from 1% to 3% and then dropped to 2% by the time Mahathir retired.
So what happened? The country was getting richer but the Malays were not. The answer is very simple and Mahathir told us about it but we were not listening. MCA, however, knew about it and Ling Liong Sik personally told us what the new game-plan was.
Mahathir said trying to make ten million Malays rich was ludicrous. It will never be possible. So instead of trying to make ten million Malays rich it is better to make just 100 Malays rich and let these 100 Malays help the other ten million Malays under konsep payung (umbrella concept).
And Mahathir personally selected these 100 Malays he is going to make rich. But then he made sure that for every one Malay he made rich he also made one non-Malay rich as well. And these people are supposed to be the people who will hold the wealth for the rest of the ten million Malays. But in reality they were Mahathir’s proxies who acted as his trustees but using the NEP as the excuse to camouflage what he was doing.
Another example of how Mahathir transferred wealth to himself is through the so-called privatisation program, which, in the 1980s, we used to call piratisation — rompak harta negara. According to Barry Wain, under the name of privatisation an estimated RM100 billion was transferred from the public kitty into private pockets.
Mahathir literally destroyed Tun Razak’s legacy. Mahathir exploited the NEP and abused it as a camouflage to enrich what he claims were 100 ‘chosen people’ who will be turned into billionaires to act as a ‘payung’ for ten million (now 20 million) Malays. Tun Razak believed in the fair distribution of wealth. Mahathir, however, believes in the concentration of wealth. You cannot turn ten million Malays into millionaires so you might as well turn 100 Malaysians into super-billionaires.
Tun Razak was Prime Minister for just six years (followed by Tun Hussein Onn for five years). But they increased the Bumiputera wealth from just 1% to 3%. In 22 years, instead of increasing it from 3% to 30%, as was the plan, Mahathir reduced it to 2%. But Mahathir claims it is 20% if you include the 100 people who he turned into super-billionaires.
There is not a single Malaysian — Malays, Chinese, Indians or ‘others’ — who will not declare that the NEP has failed. There is no doubt as to the failure of the NEP, but many do not really know the reason for its failure — and they say it is because Malays are just too stupid to succeed. What they refuse to acknowledge is that the failure is due to one man. And this man is named Mahathir. And because of Mahathir the NEP Is now a four-letter word.
After destroying the NEP, Mahathir now wants to destroy Umno and Barisan Nasional. He says Umno and Barisan National need to be destroyed to save Malaysia. Actually Malaysia does need to be saved, but it needs to be saved from Mahathir. To destroy Umno and Barisan Nasional, Mahathir is working with DAP. So he collaborates with DAP to destroy Umno and Barisan Nasional, kononnya to save Malaysia.
Malays may be stupid but they are not that stupid. They can see that you cannot save Malaysia by working with DAP to destroy Umno and Barisan Nasional. And this is why Mahathir is finished, as are all his family, friends and cronies. In 1946 the Malays came out to oppose their British colonial masters in the name of Ketuanan Melayu. Seventy years later, in 2016, the Malays now oppose Mahathir to defend Ketuanan Melayu. So Mahathir now has no choice but to go running to the Chinese DAP for refuge.
I want you to remember 2016 — 70 years after the Malayan Union and the creation of Umno in 1946. This is the year that Mahathir ended his political life by committing murtad or apostasy, the greatest crime any Muslim can ever commit and who will be denied burial in a Muslim cemetery. Yes, even the earth is haram to a murtad. And that is what Mahathir became when, after destroying the NEP, he walks over to DAP to destroy Umno and Barisan Nasional, he became a murtad.
What Mahathir is doing, if he succeeds, will mean the end of Malay political dominance or Ketuanan Melayu. They tried this once in 1969 and it resulted in bloodshed. This time around it is going to be ten times worse than in 1969. So Mahathir is playing a very dangerous game with the lives of tens of thousands of Malaysians. The police and the military are very worried. They know if not contained Malaysia is going to be next hot spot. The Malays would never allow Mahathir to transfer political power into the hands of the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan. So consider this a warning.
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Former enemies now frenemies
Joceline Tan, The Star
Dr Mahathir has gone from arch enemy to friend of DAP. Leaders of DAP have taken to closing an eye on his past excesses and some of them even pretend that they never said all those awful things about him.
All the things they used to throw at Dr Mahathir have been conveniently transferred to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. According to Kapar Umno division chief Datuk Faizal Abdullah, the biggest turn-off for many in Umno is the new alliance between Dr Mahathir and DAP.
“They cannot accept Dr Mahathir holding hands with Lim Kit Siang and DAP. Throughout his career, he told us how destructive and racist DAP was. He used to talk about DAP as though it was ‘haram’ (forbidden), we should not even touch or go near them. And now everything is okay for him,” said Faizal.
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