Premier Najib needs an economic policy that unfortunately will offend a major part of his constituency

The country has also been afflicted by both a problem with capital flight and a brain drain as reported by Asia Sentinel, with Najib acknowledging that anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 professionals are working abroad, about 40 percent of them in Singapore, which actively recruits ethnic Chinese students in Malaysia.

Asia Sentinel

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak apparently has decided that taking the wraps off his long-awaited New Economic Model, as he calls it, is politically too dangerous for now. According to local media, although Najib who doubles as Malaysia's finance minister, had been scheduled to introduce his new policy at the end of March, it is apparently off til June and he may not even introduce it himself, letting someone else take the heat.

Najib appears to be caught in a trap of his own, with a widening gap between what he would like to do as an economist and what a major chunk of his United Malays National Organization constituency wants. What they want is not only to not forward but to repeal the limited reforms he has already put in place, and they are increasingly angry about it. That is playing havoc with his so-called 1Malaysia campaign, designed to bring the country's fractious ethnic groups together and rebuild the flailing national ruling coalition.

One pessimistic aide to a prominent UMNO politician told Asia Sentinel it is even possible that UMNO could be superseded by a growing organization of 80-odd Malay superiority non-governmental organizations cobbled together in recent weeks under the title Malay Consultative Council, which is seeking to push the government to maintain so-called ketuanan Melayu, or Malays first, a slogan embraced by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who remains active at age 84 and despite his endorsement of Najib is a growing thorn in the prime minister's side, as he was with his predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whom he helped to drive from power.

Mahathir appears to be shifting to the right to make an alliance with the righists, according to longtime political observers in Kuala Lumpur.

In order to modernize, Malaysia, a country of 28 million people, needs to do away with a wide variety of subsidies and perks to ethnic Malays that are enshrined in the New Economic Policy, an affirmative action plan for ethnic Malays that was put in place in 1971 in the wake of disastrous 1969 ethnic riots that took the lives of hundreds of people on both side of the racial divide. The NEP supposedly ended in 1991 and a new National Development Policy was put in its place. It was largely the NEP under a different name. The NDP initials never took off. It is still called the NEP.

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Comments (12)

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written by justice seeker, March 09, 2010 15:00:10

The country has also been afflicted by both a problem with capital flight and a brain drain as reported by Asia Sentinel, with Najib acknowledging that anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 professionals are working abroad, about 40 percent of them in Singapore, which actively recruits ethnic Chinese students in Malaysia.

ISNT THAT PERKASA'S MAIN OBJECTIVE??? TO REMOVE ALL THREATS???
ONLY THEIR KIND WILL BE LEFT TO SELL/TRADE IN KACANG PUTIH AND NASI LEMAK.
THE ECONOMY WILL BE EASILY MANAGEABLE.

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written by popuri, March 09, 2010 11:43:04

Is there a dilemma the first place? Or is it just paranoia?

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written by Better My, March 09, 2010 11:41:47

Re: written by bluefire, March 09, 2010 10:33:28
And to non-Malays, please throw away your credit cards. Credit cards contribute to a false economy. Use cash as this will circulate in this country only

If i read you correctly, your deeper secondary meaning is pretty smart indeed. I agree - use cash as much as possible. Should be added to what the public can do.

Abolish ISA. We have stopped listening to you. For malaysia.

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written by greenpeas, March 09, 2010 11:28:39

In my opinion, the brain drain is on two fronts, both irreversibly damaging to our country in these trying times. The first, of course, is the exodus of the professionals and the skilled/qualified Malaysians to countries beyond our shores. The second, and equally serious, is draining of the brain among the Cabinet Ministers, leaving them either brain dead or in severe dementia. No wonder our nation is sinking into oblivion. We don't need quick fixes; merely a change of government with a long term strategy to nurse Malaysia back to health.

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written by bluefire, March 09, 2010 10:33:28

Have I lost the plot over here? Please note that not all Malays are like the pokasa Malays. I have many Malay friends who do not agree with pokasa. Exactly what do these special pokasa Malays really want? I mean, is it more money, bigger housing, better roads, more land, their own township, their own fountain, free university, ample scholarships that don't need to be paid back, guaranteed university placement, big screen lcd tv's, high speed internet, taller skyscrapers, more shopping malls, etc. I mean there's only so much taxes the non-Malays can pay so that these pokasa Malays can enjoy a better life. How much more taxes do these pokasa Malays need from the non-Malays?

All races in Malaysia want a better life but the question is does one race destroy another race to get what they want? That is apartheid.

Pokasa Malays, be honest, determine what the weakness of the Malay race first and work towards removing the weakness. Surely laying the blame on others is already a weakness.

And to non-Malays, please throw away your credit cards. Credit cards contribute to a false economy. Use cash as this will circulate in this country only.

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written by NSTPravda, March 09, 2010 10:25:31

The New Najib Malay Dilemma happened because of two fundamental thingies:
1. Na$1b put the wrong head in the wrong holes resulting him having to C4 some of his dicky results. He may yet turn out to be the weakest PM yet.
2. Madhatter is just another opportunistic anjing clamouring for whatever shet he can eat before he meets his maker, even if he has to drag the whole nation of innocent rakyats into hell with him. That's just the nature of Mad-hating and there are enough stupid UMNOyus who would support him out of personal aggrandisement and pure greed. Al-UMNOdollarlah!

$emua-nya OK if only one has a lifeboat for the storm that is sure to come. Mad-hater is already on the way, are you ready to go with him?

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written by Pegasus, March 09, 2010 09:48:27

If they ...don't go with the flow... they will back track into medieval ages... or stone age... mentality

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written by Fart Fart Wah, March 09, 2010 08:53:48

The dilemma is that the Malay society very soon will adopt the very name they give the disabled...and OKU Malays society...and also they will soon have to legislate another bill whereby they have to be called "protected species" the untouchables...for fear of extinction. As a society we have to preserve this "species" for history to learn the effects of the Moolayus from facing with modern civilization refused to compete and finally settled down to being protected for sometime until the very systems of existence rebelled against them making them completely a non-entitiy on the wold stage.. So maybe 200 years down the road the Moolayus will be missing...a group homo sapiens MOOOlayuiens..closely associated with Neanthedal man..having a brain that was highly undeveloped.

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written by educationist, March 09, 2010 05:59:21

Perhaps the term New Malay Dilemma is appropriate, but I believe it is so as far as the UMNOputras are concerned!!
Enlightened individuals like Dr Azly, Bakri & polticians of stature like DSAI have all pointed on the need for a new economic model for our country to move ahead.
At the end, the best hope is for the PR to be so empowered by the rakyat to move to Putrajaya & implement those much needed reforms to take our nation to greater heights!!

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written by DPG, March 08, 2010 21:10:59

Najib's power depends on the warlords, just like all the past UMNO Presidents. And if the warlords say no, then Najib will back down. Just like in the case of AAB who, when first taking over as PM, said he will come down hard on corruption, but he himself gave others the perception that he is corrupted. And he dared not touch the mother of all corruption, 'negotiated tenders'. So much for his "coming down hard on corruption".

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written by AtanSian, March 08, 2010 19:11:28

For fear of a minority of bawling babies who refuse to be weaned,
Najib regrettably does not have the moral integrity to stand up for his beliefs and speak to all Malaysians of his plans for all Malaysian Citizens.

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written by Angela Ooi, March 08, 2010 18:28:39

Using crutches over prolonged periods will cripple one FOREVER; even babies outgrow their milk bottles. dUMNOPUTRAS are a special breed because they insist they are 'KETUA', but with no special talent, these laggards, dullards become menacing liability to their own race. Nothing beats getting off your asses and putting your shoulders to the grind like what normal people do, to get ahead or at least keep up with the pack.

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