PAS wants the NEP reviewed

PAS wants the NEP reviewed

Posted by Raja Petra
Wednesday, 19 March 2008, MT

PAS wants a review of the National Economic Policy (NEP), which it claims has failed to improve the economic and social well-being of the Malays and fulfill the needs of all races.

PAS Vice-President Mohamad Sabu said the Government should discuss the affirmative action academically and professionally to formulate a new policy which would benefit the people.

"Economically and socially, the NEP has failed. It has to be reviewed and deliberated," he told reporters after calling on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng here Monday.

He said it was unfair to say that the new Penang government had ignored Malay rights as it was only one-week old.

Meanwhile, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says the soon-to-be-formalised opposition alliance will introduce the Malaysian Economic Agenda as an alternative programme to replace the New Economic Policy (NEP) to fulfil the needs of all the races in the coutnry.

He said the programme would be introduced when PKR, DAP and PAS formalised their alliance mechanism in a few days.

" I want to assure the Malays that the Malay Agenda will be retained, but we will also have to draw up a new agenda for the Chinese and the Indians," he said in an interview with the Singapore Berita Harian.

Anwar said the three-party alliance started working on the Malaysian Economic Agenda since a year ago. - DAILY EXPRESS

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written by Milo, March 19, 2008 | 14:01:11
In the excitment of the huge opposition wins in the recent election, many of us forgot there are 'TWO big picture factors' we should consider when we place our support on a political party - the current big picture and the future big picture.

The CURRENT big picture factor is obvious. We have to support PAS even if we were opposed to an Islamic state. That's why my wife's family voted PAS instead of UMNO. I would too if the option was between PAS and UMNO. The basis of the choice is obvious. UMNO has become incredibly corrupt and they are not only Islamising the country administration, they are doing it with total insentivity to the non-muslims of the country and on an increasing scale - and they are in power! On the other hand, we know PAS will not be powerful enough to change the country's law to one of an Islamic state in this election (as RPK has rightly pointed out). They have also demonstrated restraints in applying Islamic laws that affect non-muslims and their governance of Kelantan has been done almost corruption-free. In this election, they are also savvy enough to tone down their call for an Islamic State, which thus did not trigger the fear and anger of the non-muslims. For this, they deserve the support of all Malaysians - and got it.

However, there is another big picture looming in the FUTURE. With the declared objective of making Malaysia an Islamic State not officially changed, there will always be an underlying fear in the non-muslims that if ever PAS took power of the country, PAS will be turn it into an Islamic State. You have to understand that the fear is not unfounded (in fact even for many Muslims: Read Malaysia and the Club of Doom by Syed Akbar Ali) as most Islamic States in the world are failed states.

Imagine the scenario where both PAS and UMNO are non-corrupt, fair and efficient, while PAS has the stated aim of an Islamic State and UMNO takes a more secular approach, what would be the logical choice for the non-muslim on whom to vote?

One of the biggest mistakes of UMNO before the election is they thought the Islamisation process will win them more malay votes, which didn't happen because their behavior is unIslamic. On the other hand, UMNO turned off the the non-muslims who consider them blantantly corrupt and getting even more radical than PAS over religious issues.

That is why the call by people like DAP Karpal Singh for PAS to state their official stand on the matter is relevant. Perhaps, he could tone it in a more friendly manner and timing of the call may have been a little too early, if we consider things have not settled down yet. But, for considering of the FUTURE BIG PICTURE, it is not only valid, it is even necessary. Any system of governance that is perceived as interfering with another's religious beliefs in any way and expect lasting peace can never work. For the sake of the future, PAS must wake up before UMNO does!
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written by Sudahlah tu, March 19, 2008 | 15:10:02
BR harus meneliti semula DEB agar kesahihan perlaksanaannya serta keseimbangan kekayaan setiap projek betul2 dapat membantu membangunkan sosial ekonomi bangsa Melayu secara umumnya dan buat bangsa UMNO-ELITE.
Kalau segalanya mengikut peraturan perlembagaan maka tidak ada apa2 kesulitan untuk BN mengemuka untuk penilaian semula.
Kalaulah DEB cuma membawa kekayaan kepada individu2 yang berkroni dalam UMNO sahaja, maka perlanjutan DEB haruslah diberhentikan dengan serta merta.
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written by Anak Kampung, March 19, 2008 | 15:45:48
I am entirely in agreement with Milo. In these past elections, the rakyat voted not for BR but primarily against BN/UMNO. Now BR has a very small window of opportunity to prove that they can be better than BN and among the things that must be high on their to-do list is coming to a common platform that serves the interests of all Malaysians. I would go so far as to say that the MEA should make no reference to race at all, only to our common identity as Malaysians. Otherwise, BR risks being yet another 'divide and rule' BN-style party. They must resist all such temptations even if they are politically expedient in the short-term. We must all be very vigiland and write to BR leaders. I've said this before and I'll say it again: two parties does not mean two good parties; in fact it may not even mean a single good party.

Fortunately for BR, and unfortunately for Malaysia, BN is continuing to shoot themselves in the foot and to insert said foot in wide-open mouth, to mix metaphors. It seems that many in BN have not realised the extent of their defeat and are still squabbling intra-party for posts. No lessons learnt from the fall or Rome...a pity. It's entirely possible that the new cabinet will do an ven worse job than the last, if that is possible, but here is an opportunity for BR to prove their mettle and speak up in Parliament. Even if the East Malaysia BN parties cannot be persuaded to cross over (and frankly I think it is too early for a change of federal government) they can perhaps be persuaded to vote against the wishes of the party whip and for BR-proposed legislation. In this way, the BR has some opportunity of significantly impacting national policies for the first time in history.