YOURSAY ‘Malays will continue to live by the lies inculcated into them.’

Trade group: Dr M made life good for all M'sians

Vijay47: After decades of guidance and governance by a benevolent Umno, it is distressing to note that the Malays are still chained to the yoke of misery, poverty, and economic backwardness. All this obviously caused by the evil, cunning, bribe-giving,pork-eating Chinese.

And what do the Malays have? About 100 person control of the police and armed forces, close to 96 percent of the government service, every decision-making authority in town, and that ever-trusty New Economic Policy (NEP).

I am sure the wretched of the Malays must be so grateful that fellow Malays speak out for them, brothers who unfailingly mention Islam with every breath and inevitably live in humble palatial homes with lifestyles that only slightly hint of sinful opulence.

Thus, Malay Trade and Entrepreneur Association (Perdasama) president Moehamad Izat Emir, your gratitude is not misplaced as your success was only through dint of hard work and astute use of opportunities former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave the Malays.

Mushiro: Who is Izat to accuse the Malays of having a culture of being unable to withstand the temptation of giving and receiving bribes for their own self-interest. Izat is not even a Malay and he wants everyone to support another non-Malay, Mahathir. The Malays who are corrupted only demand bribes and they do not give bribes. And these are Umno Malays and cronies who were nurtured by Umno and Mahathir.

Mahathir has destroyed the Malays during his 22 years and in all fields including trade, industry, education and entrepreneurship. He has groomed two handfuls of Malay crony billionaires including his sons with special government handouts. The welfare, opportunities, and progress of the rest of the Malays were not planned or cared for.

Prudent: I quote: “Malays under the name of Islam must protect their own dignity and must not split among each other.” This is a statement that is putting an albatross on the necks of Muslims unless it is clarified further.

What if some Malays are wrong as in Perkasa and Isma? Do Malays still accept their views and maintain 'dignity and not split’? If so, then truth is subjugated on the need to 'maintain dignity and not split'! And if so, the Malays will continue to live by the lies that have been inculcated into them since British times. And lives lived by lies will inevitably culminate in oblivion!

Sabahan: When some Malays talk about Malay unity only (and not unity of all races) , we know such people have pea brains. No other developed country ever talks about such a racist ideology. After 50 years of independence with Malays now in control of the government, police and civil service, such idiots think they can fool the people, including their own race. We are now more educated, informed and liberal.

As a Christian, I have taken to task more severely those Christians who were wrong by the clear light of the Bible - our Holy Book. The issue is to establish the truth by the Bible so that they will not lead others astray, Christian unity regardless. For no one can live on lies and no unity or dignity can be built on lies without inevitably collapsing to the disaster of all concerned.

Kingfisher: While it is amusing to spit over one's own face and receive the fallout on the face it is surely not amusing to categorically state in a generic sense that "..Malays have a culture of being unable to withstand the temptation of giving and receiving bribes for their own self interests". There are so many good Malays who clamour for the eradication of corruption in this country.

On another point one is left wandering as to whether the Malays really cultivated the development of economic power during the last 57 years of Umno's pre-eminent political position or instead mortgaged it to others due their gutter corruption.

Or for the matter did they really have any economic power on the verge of independence considering that the was hardly a significant if not a negligible middle class in colonial times? Was it not a historical situation then that there were the raja-raja and the rakyat jelata with a semblance of clergy. Imagine the prosperous if not preposterous classification now.

GMK: Malays are really not short of business opportunity, in fact there are plenty of them. But the real problem was that these opportunities come too easy so far so they did not appreciate it.

In addition, during opaque processes in the awarding of contracts to the bumiputera, and the contract sums was always much, much more than the market sum. This enable them took an easy way to sold the contract rights out right mainly to the Chinese partners, and being lazy they just take ways the portion with out doing any thing.

Then after finishing the money on cars and some luxuries, they will tender for some more contracts and do the same. Thus the system will not making any progress in the furtherance of making bumiputera entrepreneur. Unfortunate policy makers and those bumiputera will not admit and accept it. They refuse to change at least in the foreseeable future.

Hplooi: Mahathir's statement including his supporters ("evil Chinese short-changing the Malays", "Malays are beholden to the evil Chinese economically", "Chinese dominate/control the economy", "Chinese (or their proxy the DAP) aims to seize political control" etc) are ALL downright lies aimed at creating animosity amongst races.

If he has issued statements which are factual to buttress his agenda of "supporting the Malays", then I (and I am sure many readers) will have no issue and will decide based on the quality and truthfulness of Mahathir's statements.

Mahathir plundered Malaysia's vast resources (natural, human and legal-structural) to fund the Malaysian industrialisation of the 1990s. Based on classical macroeconomic theory (GDP = TPF x Capital x Labour) even a semi-illiterate will succeed just by pumping in "capital" (plundered from resources aforesaid) and freeing up labour (institute liberal labour policies).

However ramping capital and labour will reach a limit, if TPF (total productivity factor) is NOT ramped up. What will be left will be a middle-income-trap but with gutted resources (natural, and statutory) and stunted labour resources. So to ascribe too much credit to Mahathir is simplistic.

Negarawan: "Moehamad Izat Emir described the former premier as someone whose endeavours have made life comfortable for all Malaysians." This description could only be made be one who is oblivion to what is going on in Malaysia, or by an Umno apologist seeking for more lucrative contracts.

The truth is that the country is spiraling down into political, social and economic disaster. On a daily basis, we have racist and extremist venom being spewed by Umno-linked NGOs like Perkasa and Isma, tearing apart our social fabric at its seams.

We have an education system that has been damaged badly by Umno politics and an incompetent ministry. Students and teachers are suffering with unstable and unclear education policies with very poor implementation. We have racial and religious injustices where minorities are literally bullied and oppressed.

Our ringgit and economy are at their lowest, with the worst yet to come. The crime rate is increasing at an alarming rate. What comfort do these bring to any Malaysian?

ACR: I suppose if Mahathir tells you to jump off the Twin Towers you would. Mahathir served as PM for 22 years but he took a short term view to this country's future trajectory. He rode roughshod, especially over issues of social justice and markedly altered the very basis of our federal constitution.

Someone with genuine concern for his race would not have allowed the NEP's abuses to go on unabated. He was concerned primarily about being in office for another five years like all typical politicians.

Anonymous #81257759: Please bear in mind that, during Dr M's days as PM, the whole South-East Asia was flooded with foreign investment fund, He is just one of the leaders and followers who were subsequently trapped by those hot money without awareness that our own economic system has a very big loop hole and so loose and fragile to the financial crisis.

He is responsible for the failure and the crisis. He and his counterparts in other South-East Asia countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines are categorised in "Third World ignorant and naive" type of mentality leaders, they had been played out due to lack of knowledge and without precautious measures, a typical third world low tech leaders quality! Only attracted and grabbed the candy that come easily in front of them.

888: But there are Malays in other countries who live a hard working and honest life, without handicap. See the Malays living in Singapore. They speak good English and compete on merit. Only here with NEP are they crippling their minds to earn an honest living. Umno cronies take the most.

The Analyser: What he really means that during Mahathir's reign, the world economy was so buoyant that an economically illiterate, racist and religiously bigoted fool could govern reasonably well.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.