Soi Lek disappointed in Muhyiddin, says no need for war drums

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

August 17, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said today that he was disappointed with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for using the May 13 incident to warn the MCA against undermining Barisan Nasional (BN) when fighting for the Chinese community.

He added that there was no need to beat the “racial war drum” because Malaysians were now more mature, adding that what MCA was asking for was not at the expense of other communities.

On Saturday, the MCA’s Chinese Economic Congress called for economic liberalisation and a merit-based and needs-based system to contribute to the path for Malaysia to be globally competitive.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin reminded MCA however that the unfair distribution of wealth had resulted in the 1969 racial riot, the worst in the multi-racial country.

The MCA president (picture) pointed out today that Malaysians had matured since 1969 and were able to engage in rational discussions.

“The socio-economic condition in Malaysia today is totally different from that in 1969 as Malaysians are capable of having rational discussions without beating the racial war drum.

“All we ask for is fair share. Rest assured the MCA has no plans or interest to deprive other communities of what is rightfully theirs,” he said in a press statement.

The Umno deputy president also warned the MCA to not undermine the BN when fighting for the Chinese community and reminded Dr Chua to be sensitive to the needs of other races in the country.

Muhyiddin dismissed a recent resolution by MCA’s Chinese Economic Congress for the 30 per cent Bumiputera quota to be abolished and said the Malays’ share of the economy was still low.

“This has to be looked in a larger context, without a fair distribution, we saw what happened in 1969, I hope it won’t happen again,” said Muhyiddin.

Dr Chua said today that MCA had always been loyal to BN but needed to remain relevant by catering to the needs of the Chinese community.

“MCA is sensitive of its role within the Barisan Nasional but we have a role to play as Chinese-based party so that we can continue to be relevant.

“The loyalty of the MCA towards Barisan Nasional should not be questioned as it has gone through good and bad times when Umno suffered setbacks. Back then MCA had delivered support to ensure its victory in the general elections,” he said.

Dr Chua said that the party never questioned the special position of the Malay community and reiterated that affirmative action must be based on needs, merits and be market-friendly.

“In a multi-racial country, growth should not be a zero-sum game as there are reasons to worry that we will continue to be trapped as a middle-income country if we do not liberalise our economy and boost investment.

“We advocate that Bumiputeras should be given price preference in certain economic sectors when the economy is liberalised for open tender,” he said.

He added that the congress proposed a gradual reduction of the 30 per cent Bumiputera quota and the introduction of price preference to allow the community to compete on a equitable basis.

Dr Chua said Malaysia could only achieve its target in the 10th Malaysia Plan and New Economic Model (NEM) if it was able to attract domestic and foreign investment worth RM115 billion.

“In order to attract RM115 billion of private investment per annum under the 10th Malaysia Plan, we must ensure that our economy is competitive and vibrant.

“We can only achieve the target by liberalizing sectors such as oil and gas as well as telecommunication; rationalising subsidy and opening tender with price preference to Bumiputras,” he said.

An all-out war appeared to have broken out between MCA and Umno yesterday when Dr Chua Soi Lek accusing “some BN leaders” of failing to recognise past failures after Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s blunt reminder to the MCA to stick with BN’s struggles.

The MCA president said that the party was not afraid to side with its opposition foe DAP in issues that benefited the community and would not run away from making its stand known.