Ismail Sabri’s Low Yat 2 proposal a red herring
YOURSAY ‘Let’s not allow ourselves to be distracted with this nonsense.’
Ismail Sabri: Low Yat 2 nothing to do with racism
Tholu: Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, you are admitting that Umno, despite being the government for 58 years, had failed to develop the entrepreneurial skills and raising the economic standing of the Malays. 58 years!
If someone born 58 years ago had been trained on a particular art such as playing a musical instrument or taught a skill such as repairing aircraft engines, he would be a maestro in his field by now.
What happened to your scores of Malay empowerment programmes and policies aged 58 years? So why are you telling the Malays that they need Umno to protect their interest - whatever that means - and to assist them in lifting up their political, social and economic status?
Umno is obviously "kenching-ing" (cheating) the Malays. The only Malays Umno is protecting and making wealthy are themselves and their cronies.
Anonymous 731691434514996: So Ismail Sabri says a mono-ethnic commercial institution is not racist.
Can we now apply this logic from this Umno minister to other communities and propose the setting up of a Chinese-owned university that is only open to Chinese students?
To be eligible, one key requirement is that at least one parent has to be of 'Chinese ethnicity' which is defined further as either offspring of ancestors from China or belonging to the Han race which includes Chinese nationals regardless of what stock they may be, for example, Uighurs from China (who are Muslims).
Neither Malays nor Umno should object since the same principle mooted by Ismail Sabri that it is not racist to promote mono-ethnic institutions applies. Moreover, it is privately funded by Chinese only and charges all students equally on a local/foreign fee scale.
Oxymoronictendencies: If suggesting setting up a "Malay only" IT centre (or any other type of Malay only centre for that matter) is not racist or divisive as the minister claims, then he is using a radically different dictionary to the rest of us mere mortals.
Regardless it's a red herring. Ignore it. Focus on the real issues - 1MDB, corruption and misuse of public funds. These people can't be as stupid as they make themselves seem.
It's surely all a strategy to distract attention from the core issues. Let’s not allow ourselves to be distracted with this nonsense.
Magnus: “They have to understand that Mara is established to develop Malay entrepreneurs and Malay human capital," said Ismail Sabri.
Well, in that case, Mara too is clearly a racist organ/concept and so has to change and become a non-racist Malaysian organ/concept like so: "They have to understand that Mara is established to develop Malaysian entrepreneurs, including Malay entrepreneurs."
Now isn't it better to say it in that way, Ismail Sabri, and be diplomatic and non-confrontational? It's not hard to do, is it?
Anonymous_1421806811: I am not sure why anyone should be worried about Ismail Sabri's plans. He has a perfect record for failures. I don't expect this project to succeed after one year.
What has he achieved when he was the agriculture minister? Did the prices of our local produce become cheaper? We know the only reason he is still minister is because of his undying support for Najib.
He has never shown, as a federal minister, that he has the interest of all Malaysians in his heart. He is a typical by-product of 60 years of Umno's indoctrination - we against them mentality.
Hopefully Umno members will open their eyes and see for themselves whether these people are really helping them.
Factnot Fiction: It is about time for all Malaysians to work together irrespective of racial or religious background.
Traders at Low Yat can take in genuine Malay partners and teach them the skills on trading in IT products.
They must however be genuine partners and not Umnoputera. We have to break the myth that Chinese are not willing to help Malays or that only Umno can help them.
Gordon Gecko: Let's be realistic. Retailing is tough business. You need high volume and the margins are thin.
How many Malays can truly hack a 10am to 10pm retailing job, seven days a week, with minimum holiday breaks compare with the comfort of being employed as a government servant?
Entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Jack Ma and Sam Walton do not have a Mara in their home countries to give them a head start. All they have is sheer hard work, determination and passion in whatever they are doing.
Turvy: Don’t take the rest of the population to be as stupid as the ministers who have conned their way into power. Ismail Sabri’s proposal is overt racism in anyone's definition.
The toxic effects of official racist policies and institutions are now forcibly spread into the private space of commerce and trade. This is evil and those behind it are evil.
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