There is no love lost between Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali and two of his latest detractors, as he spared nothing in attacking former US ambassador to Malaysia John R Malott and National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) member Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusof today.

In his trademark fiery rhetoric, Ibrahim called both men “sick” - Malott for undermining Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration and Zainal Aznam for accusing Perkasa of forcing the government to water down the New Economic Model (NEM).

The Pasir Mas MP first trained his guns on Malott, saying that the former US envoy should go and have his head checked with a psychiatrist.

“I think there are Malaysians who have asked for his help. There must be people behind him, asking him to give negative views of our prime minister,” he said at a press conference at the Perkasa office in Kuala Lumpur.

azlan “I believe Malott is backed by a Malaysian who is facing a political death, but I will not name names.”

Continuing his tirade against Malott, Ibrahim said the fact that Perkasa is pushing its bumiputera economic agenda does not make the organisation racist.

He stressed that their economic agenda is strongly supported by the federal constitution, which provides special privileges to the Malays and bumiputeras.

“There is article 153 (of the federal constitution), because the Malays and bumiputeras are important. What I am talking about is equitable economic share for all races, and 30 percent is just a threshold that we would like to at least achieve,” he said, referring to the 30 percent bumiputera quota provided under the 40-year-old New Economic Policy.

‘FDI was good under the NEP’

Shifting his attention to Zainal Aznam, Ibrahim said the economist is talking “nonsense” in blaming the NEP’s bumiputera quota for flagging foreign direct investments (FDI) into Malaysia.

NONE Calling Zainal Adnam ( right ) an academic with “no experience” in business, Ibrahim argued that the dip in FDI is a global phenomenon that has nothing to do with the country’s affirmative action policy.

“During the time of the NEP, there was so much FDI coming in. Now the dip in FDI is a global issue... even the US has been asking its businesses to invest in their own country. It is not because of affirmative action,” he said.

Ibrahim pointed out that foreign investors have been “very happy” to do business in Malaysia under the current system as it has been easy for them to get projects by simply engaging local partners.

“There have been investors, such as from Japan and Britain, who are more than happy to partner with locals. What’s wrong with direct nego(tiations)? If a local company gets a project, all the foreign investors need to do is team up with the local and they have a project.

“Any businessman comes to the country to make money. There are foreigners who are very happy because it is easier for them to get projects,” he said.

‘Malays sufffered for hundreds of years’

Ibrahim also pointed out that it is unrealistic to expect the Malays to catch up with the rest of the country under the NEP, claiming that the Malay economy had been under siege for a few centuries.

“The Malays were marginalised for over 400 years. In 1511 we were colonised, and we only got back (economic empowerment) on May 13 (1969) after how many hundreds of years,” he said, referring to the date of a bloody racial affray.

Ibrahim acknowledged that while there have been Malays who have abused the privileges afforded them under the NEP, he stressed that the many economic opportunities under the policy were thrust on the Malays who were largely unprepared.

“How do you expect the Malays, after hundreds of years being marginalised, to now compete at a level playing field? The community would need another 10 to 20 years, or at least until after 2020 when the country becomes developed.”

Ibrahim meanwhile announced that Perkasa will organise a bumiputera economic transformation summit sometime in the middle of next month to present and discuss several proposals that they have developed with academics and economic experts.

He added that they will also hold a Perhimpunan Melayu Perkasa Perak this Feb 26 in Pasir Salak, and a similar event in Kedah on April 30.

Ibrahim said they expect between 10,000 to 15,000 people to attend the Perak function, which will be graced by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the keynote speaker.

VIDEO | 14.21 mins

And now, expect Perkasa to protest