YOURSAY ‘If I were the tycoons, I'd think not just of my financial needs, but also to ensure the generations after me have truly equal opportunities.'
Najib woos Chinese tycoons to help BN regain S'gor
Quigonbond: I find the article amusing. What's there to woo when it comes to Chinese tycoons? Most of them get government contracts anyway, and they are well aware of the implications if BN loses - they have to compete again on even ground.
They may be rich but not all their relatives are. So my question to them is; do they prefer a dynamic society where everyone has a chance under the Malaysian sun, or they want to continue supporting a corrupt regime bent on racial and religious segregation to maintain power at all costs to enrich themselves and their cronies?
If I were the tycoons, I'd think long and hard not just of my immediate financial needs, but also to ensure that the generations that come after me have truly equal opportunities, and are actually proud to be Malaysians.
Onyourtoes: PM Najib Razak, the advice you gave is best served on yourself. When it comes to lavish spending, wasteful spending and spending that leads to unsustainability, it is you and Umno-BN that are the masters of it all.
By the way, you are soliciting the wrong guys. The Chinese in this country are longer beholden to the business tycoons anymore.
Precisely it was the dependence on this group of self-serving and corrupted business leaders that has led to the gradual demise of Chinese influence and interest in this country.
KiaSi-SiamSai: I would like to tell all the Chinese businessmen: Today you might be well off. But do you know where you children will be the next 20 years?
Current education sucks! Corruption sucks! Equal business opportunities none! So you tell me, how to keep voting BN?
Anonymous #21828131: Najib, before you ask for help to scratch your back, please tackle corruption. Ask any of the wealthy businessmen present if they had to fight tooth and nail to establish themselves.
You never helped them get to where they are today. Their success was through sheer hard work, without favouritism and cronyism, just their determination to succeed.
Nothing was handed to them on a silver platter, unlike the BN cronies. When the playing field is not level, there is discontent.
When it comes down to the crunch, they would want to rid a government that has no integrity, is biased, not transparent and one that has showed poor governance overall.
Anonymous_5fb: Many Malaysian tycoons have shifted their base from Malaysia to elsewhere such as Hong Kong and Singapore, like the Robert Kuok and the Quek Leng Chan families.
Even not-so-genuine Malaysian tycoons, who are ‘gham' (on good terms) with former PM Mahathir Mohamad, like Lim Kok Thye (Genting), Francis Yeoh (YTL), Tony Fernandez (AirAsia) have steadily moved their money away.
Take for example, Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, AirAsia X in Jakarta and the Senoko power station in Singapore. So, if you think existing Chinese tycoons you met are fools to do what you begged them, I say, no way.
Timothy: The tycoons know how Robert Kuok was treated. The Chinese and Indian businessmen (not cronies) will tell you how it is to deal with the various government agencies all these years.
'Frustration' is the word. They will vent it at the ballot box.
Mushiro: For 48 years with two-thirds majority, BN did not take Malaysia to greater heights but to greater debt, highest outflow of money and highest inflation.
In Najib's time, few scholarships were given to Chinese, very few seats in universities, no government jobs and Chinese were all called ‘pendatang' (immigrants).
If you vote for Najib again, you are assured of worse conditions as most of the money has been looted and Najib has to tax us higher for the money he needs.
Hplooi: The tycoons do not represent the people, Chinese or otherwise. In fact, in some historical instances (some will aver in most instances), the 'tycoons' are the very reasons that worsen a country's Gini Coefficient (which measures the difference between the poor and the rich).
The most dangerous is an alliance between the 'tycoons' and a reactionary ruling class.
Adaotak: I plead with all these Chinese tycoons, please listen to us, the rakyat, for once. Do not again be selfish and fooled by the liars. It is us - the rakyat - whom your actual business gains come from, not from the government of the day.
A good, clean, fair and democratic government will ensure the future of our generations to come, be it ours or yours.
Swipenter: The Chinese must not forget how Mahathir and Umno betrayed them. When he was in danger of being abandoned by the Malays, he turned to the Chinese asking for their support and when he won the election he turned against the Suqui movement, branding them as communists even though he had earlier agreed with their demands for universal suffrage.
He then pitted the Malays against the Chinese to in order "reunite" the Malays by demonising the latter as the cause for the poor economic performance of the Malays. Najib is trying to do the same.
Anonymous_5fb: This is the time for these Chinese tycoons and businessmen to tell Najib that we want meritocracy back into our system instead of the 'Ali Baba' practices (which somehow became a culture) forced by Umno since the Razak era and exemplified by the infamous Mahathir.
This 'Ali Baba' system has produced many lazy businessmen who got contracts by way of 'you-know-who' instead of 'know-how'. Of course, not forgetting, corruption, inefficiency and complacency in the people's mindsets.
This is the opportune time for us to teach these devils-we-know an expensive lesson.
Fair Play: The writing is on the wall. These tycoons are astute businessmen and know how to pick the winners.
Rakyat Malaysia: Chinese tycoons can support both sides or the side that gives them the most profit and it may be BN because BN can give them lots of money and crony projects.
But how many Chinese tycoons are there in Malaysia? Can they control everyone in their entities and subsidiaries to vote for BN?
Thump Down To Syabas: I think those towkays must be smiling deep in their heart. Why? Because there will be no more cronies and Ali Babas to feed and they can now play on an even field.
Progress is on the way. I am looking forward to 2014 when Pakatan will be in Putrajaya.
Lionking: The most interesting thing about the speeches of politicians from BN is that nothing is said about the concern of the rakyat on corruption.
What are BN's plans to deal with corruption, poor education standards and other issues that affect the rakyat like salaries, transportation, housing, etc.
Yet they want the rakyat to give them the two-thirds majority.
AbrahamnotCecil: The Chinese businessmen are smart. Otherwise they will not be where they are. They know who is the hindrance in the Selangor water issue. They know who is bankrupting the country.
And Najib, you better realise that from now on, many states will be held by the opposition. The federal government will have to learn to live with that. This is another notch in the system of checks and balances needed in this country.
Home: True, all the Chinese tycoons are definitely on your side because they are your cronies, they are also afraid that Pakatan will take over Pakatan, and then there goes all their projects.
NewMalaysia: A kind reminder to all Chinese business tycoons, just take a look at Robert Kuok's sugar empire and how it was taken over by a crony of BN. So continue to vote BN if you wish to suffer the same fate.
Please bear in mind, the role of Chinese is not just to do business and make money. The Chinese, like other communities, would also want to contribute in public service, orderly economic development, public policy formulation and implementation.
Aishah: Chinese and Indian votes are not for BN. The battlefield is for the Malay votes.
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