Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today demanded for thorough public consultation on the New National Agenda (NNA) before it becomes a national policy.

He said this in wake of Umno supreme council's decision on Thursday to implement the Umno general assembly resolution, which includes the Umno Youth resolution on the New Economic Policy's (NEP) revival as the NNA.

Lim said that before any attempts to revive the NEP as a national policy, the outcome and shortcoming of the original NEP should be meticulously examined.

"There must be a full, rational and comprehensive discussion and examination of the examination of the successes and failures of the NEP, in particular its impact on its overriding objective of achieving national unity," he stressed.

Introduced in 1970, the NEP was formulated to enrich the Malay community economically in the following 30 years.

Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussien mooted the NEP's revival during the recent Umno general assembly in hope that the original NEP targets would be achieved by the year 2020, the year Malaysia hopes to declare her self a developed country.

Consequently, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin had proposed that the government formulates the NNA for a 15-year term, beginning next year, as a means of attaining the NEP targets.

Liow's first job?

The veteran parliamentarian also took jabs at the newly installed MCA Youth chief Liow Tiong Lai, for his pledge to explain Hishammudin's brandishing of the keris during the Umno general assembly.

According to Bernama , Liow said that he would personally go to the ground and explain the issue to the grassroots.

"It would appear that this is Liow's first job as the new MCA Youth chief," quipped Lim.

The keris incident provoked negative reactions from both the Chinese media and the community.