Malaysians must be critical and analytical in their Political thinking. Which Party is more Progressive?

Jui Meng: Umno controls the minds of the Malays

FRI, 30 JUL 2010 11:59

By Fazy Sahir

FMT EXCLUSIVE PETALING JAYA: Umno, being the largest political party in the country which has ruled over the last 50 years, has poisoned the minds of the Malays, feeding them lies that their position is under threat from the non-Malays, former health minister and MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng said.

"All these years Umno has brought about this propaganda that the Malays were under threat. They try to control the hearts and minds of the Malays, telling them that the advancement of other races would make them poor. This propaganda to poison the minds of the Malays has resulted in the Malays not being able to see the true picture.

"The problem is not the other races but Umno itself. This message is important for all Malays in Malaysia. They must be aware of the truth. We have to break their mindset,” he said in an exclusive interview with FMT recently.

He was quick to add that the Malays in urban areas were realising the truth of Umno's political game plan. However, he said, the Malays in the outskirts, such as in his home state of Johor, still had the orthodox mentality that Umno was Malay and Malay is Umno.

“This kind of propaganda poisons the minds of the Malays," said the 67-year-old lawyer-turned- politician.

He added that access to the new media as well as a paradign shift in the mindset of the urban Malays would enable them to break away from the Umno mentality.

He stressed that Pakatan Rakyat should aspire to bring about the change in the mindset of rural Malays in order to see a change in the country.

"I have told (Opposition leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) that I am a Chinese leader in Pakatan wanting to help poor Malays. My heart goes out to them... we need to help these Malays.

“In Johor, there is a huge information gap. We have to narrow this gap. After 50 years in power, Umno is still spreading lies to the people through the mainstream media which is under Umno control,” he said.

Chua, however, said that Pakatan should not be only concentrating on uplifting the Malay community's economic status.

"We tend to forget other races. Like the Indians, they too have problems. Even when they are citizens of this country, their rights are denied. This is the way of Umno," said Chua, who was in MCA for 35 years before deciding to join PKR late last year.

Plans for Johor

Asked on his plans for Johor as the new state PKR chief, he said he was not a novice in politics and knows the ways of the BN from a political perspective, which uses the mainstream media to win votes.

He said since joining the opposition front, he had become more open to the alternative media.

He said on the part of the Chinese, the community had repented and now had an open mindset knowing that they could live in this country without being dependent on Umno.

"The Chinese community works hard and are smart. Their priority is education... although they only receive minimal assistance from Umno, they don't give up. When they are educated, they can be critical and analytical in the way they think," said the veteran politician.

He also revealed that there was no racial issue in Malaysia, although Umno insists on racialising each and every issue that crops up.

"The Malays are blinded by Umno. Look at the education system. It does not allow our students to be independent and become critical of things. We still have laws to control university students... all these are meant to control the mindset of the Malays.

He also slammed Umno for using Islam to further their political agenda despite indulging in immoral activities like corruption.

"Umno talks about religion. Do they really know what they are talking about? If they know what they are talking about, then why are they still doing wrong? If they hold on to the Quran, then they should also know that corruption takes them to hell... but they still go ahead and do it.

“This message should be sent to the Malays in rural areas: the rich in the country are not the Chinese but those in Umno and their cronies.”

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/pakatan-rakyat/8582-jui-meng-umno-controls-the-minds-of-the-malays

Wanted Very Badly: Malaysian Politicians with Integrity and who Love ALL fellow Malaysians

"When we take over the government, we would make Malaysia the most democratic nation in the world. We would respect human rights. No more cases like Anwar (Ibrahim) who was jailed for six years because justice was denied.

"With this democracy, we would empower the people, strengthen the economy and boost the confidence of the world in our country. Believe me, if this happens we would be better and far richer than Singapore.

Chinese voters want fairness, says PKR's Chua

THU, 29 JUL 2010 14:21

By Fazy Sahir

FMT EXCLUSIVE KUALA LUMPUR: Alleging that the Barisan Nasional-led government was similar to the rule of former Indonesian and the Philippine presidents Suharto and Ferdinand Marcos, former health minister and MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng says the rakyat, especially the Malaysian Chinese, despised the unfair race-based policies implemented by the ruling government.

He said this was one of the main reasons why the Malaysian Chinese community almost entirely turned its back against the ruling BN at the historic 2008 general election.

The BN-led government had also failed to be democratic, respect human rights, ensure a sustainable economic climate, was unable to provide equal education opportunites for all races in the country, practises selective prosecution in weeding out corruption and, above all, failed to be fair in administering the nation.

"The main point is that they (the Malaysian Chinese community) wants justice and fairness from the government. They want the government to care for the people, especially the poor. For the Chinese, they will donate money and this is their culture.

"These donations are to assist the poor. This is what they (the Malaysian Chinese) want the government to do. Is this difficult for them (BN) to do after the country's independence some 50 years ago? The government has based itself on wrong policies," he told FMT in an interview.

A good majority of the Malaysian Chinese community had traditionally supported the ruling coalition until the 2008 general election. The historic polls revealed a massive decline in the Chinese and Indian support for the ruling coalition.

This resulted in the BN losing the state governments of Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah to add to Kelantan, which was already in the hands of the opposition. The BN also lost its long-guarded two-thirds majority in Parliament.

'Forever borrowing money'
Chua, who joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat late last year after being in the MCA for 35 years, likened the country's administration to that of former Indonesian and the Philippines presidents Suharto and Ferdinand Marcos.

"We are forever borrowing money. The situation now is worse than the rule of Suharto and Marcos. The Philippines does not have any oil revenue, but the economy during Marcos' rule was bad because he stole billions from the people.

"Here everyday we have an expose like Felda. If the case is brought to court, there will be a lot more revealed. The profits reaped by Felda is a lot more than that of Sime Darby or IOI Bhd but profits per hectare had declined. It's finished...we have just made the Malays (Felda settlers) poor for another year,” he said in the interview, which covered various issues, at a modest restaurant in Damansara.

Chua said the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala that the government would go bankrupt because of the decline in taxes collected from Petronas, Sime Darby and Felda also raises questions.

"This should not be the case for a country which produces oil like Malaysia. Look at the increasing coffers of Saudi Arabia, Brunei or Norway. What about us? Has our treasury recorded an increase?" he asked.

He said while China was moving fast economically with a 30% annual growth, Malaysia was still dragging its feet in catching up.

He said all the policies formulated by the government, including the Ninth Malaysia Plan, did not produce the desired results because there was no quality in the administration of the prime minister, deputy prime minister or the Cabinet as they only thought about their cronies and not the well-being of the country.

"If we allow BN to enslave the people, we will continue to be left behind. Don't talk about South Korea or China; we would be even worse than the economies of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand," said Chua, who holds the record for being the longest-serving health minister, from 1990 to 2004.

Opposition's vision

He said the mindset of the Chinese has changed and that the community was looking forward to a brighter better future for the generations to come.

"Their mindset has changed as they have seen the light. The Chinese voters read news from the Internet for more information. They do not want to be fooled by the BN again," he said.

On the opposition coalition made up of PAS, DAP and PKR, Chua, who was stripped of his "Datuk Seri" title by the Johor Sultan more than a month ago, said the best approach would be to explain the opposition's vision to the nation.

"When we take over the government, we would make Malaysia the most democratic nation in the world. We would respect human rights. No more cases like Anwar (Ibrahim) who was jailed for six years because justice was denied.

"With this democracy, we would empower the people, strengthen the economy and boost the confidence of the world in our country. Believe me, if this happens we would be better and far richer than Singapore.

"After 53 years of BN rule, Singapore is 500% richer than us. This is because Singapore does not tolerate corruption. BN, on the other hand, likes corruption. We want to take care of the poor regardless of whether they are Malays, Indians, or Bumiputeras from Sabah and Sarawak."

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/pakatan-rakyat/8544-chinese-voters-want-fairness-says-pkrs-chua