15 August 2000

Press Statement:

It seems that the Barisan Nasional is running out of issues except to continue whipping up racial sentiments in the society. Yesterday the front page of the Utusan Malaysia carried a sensationalized news report which re-opened a heated debate on the special rights of the Malays. The headline of the Utusan claimed that a Chinese industrial leader called for the abolition of Malay special rights in the Second Meeting of the National Economic Consultative Council (NECC). Following the report, several BN leaders including the Deputy Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Badawi immediately seized the opportunity to unleash stern warnings against anybody who attempts to remove Malay special rights. Several other UMNO leaders and Mentri Besar also jumped in the bandwagon to condemn the ‘threat’ against Bumiputra special rights.

Apparently the target of the Utusan Malaysia and the UMNO leaders was the NECC Deputy Chairman Datuk David Chua. Unfortunately, Datuk Chua has become the scapegoat of the BN political gimmicks. His suggestions were deliberately misquoted by the Utusan Malaysia to insinuate that the Bumiputra special rights are being challenged, particularly from the Chinese community. The report by the Utusan Malaysia was irresponsible, seditious and lack of journalistic ethics.

Datuk Chua who is also the Deputy Secretary General of the Federation of Chinese Industrial and Commercial Associations, has rigorously denied such far-fetching accusations. He clarified that the Bumiputra special rights were entrenched in the Federal Constitution and these rights have long been respected by all communities in Malaysia; thus it never arisen the issue of abolition of special rights. His suggestions touched only the aspects of policies that could improve Malaysian economic competitiveness in facing globalisation.

It is regrettable that after 43 years of independence, the Barisan Nasional is still trying to use racial issues to justify its existence. The BN government has confused the people by assuming all protective economic policies equal to the Bumiputra special rights. While respecting the special rights, we must also carefully examine the policies to determine whether its implementations favour the general Bumiputra masses or only the elite. Barisan Alternatif believes that many economic privileges were designed to protect the ruling cronies and have nothing to do with affirmative action. Such policies should definitely be reviewed and replaced with programs that are more beneficial to the disadvantaged Bumiputras.

The National Economic Consultative Council should be a forum for transparent, frank and ground-breaking discussions to explore new economic solutions for our national development. It would be meaningless and unproductive if the government were not sincere in listening to ideas and criticisms. It is even more damaging if the BN government intends to manipulate the platform for political point scoring. For the sake of social harmony and economic recovery, the Barisan Nasional should immediately stop playing with racial sentiments.

Tian Chua

Vice President