another proof – umno still think they are the gov’t

from malaysiakin, ‘UMNO must steet gov’t policies’:

Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam once again reiterated that the party must take control of the government to ensure Umno policies, especially the New Economic Policy (NEP), are being implemented effectively at all levels across the nation.

whoaa!! "umno MUST take CONTROL of the government to ensure UMNO POLICIES"!!!
nice one, ali rustam, nice one.

yes, i know. as according to malaysiakini, this was not the first time he made such remarks but i specially pointed it out now after i read about MCA info chief lashing out at him.

ok, here i CnP both reports from malaysiakini for you to read. read, esp. on what the umno vice president had said.. and fume! actually i do have lots to comment on his say esp. about NEP but as it is my bed-time soon, i’d better not as i know i’ll get very geram if i do and that won’t give me my beauty sleep.

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Malaysiakini
‘Umno must steer gov’t policies’
Athi Veeranggan
Nov 17, 08 12:24pm

Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam once again reiterated that the party must take control of the government to ensure Umno policies, especially the New Economic Policy (NEP), are being implemented effectively at all levels across the nation.

Mohd Ali said currently many Umno approved policies and plans could not be implemented with desired results due to lack of conviction at the federal government level.

He said the current political landscape in which the government acting freely from the party control does not augur well for Umno and the Barisan Nasional.

"The people voted for the party to form the government, not the other way around.

"So it’s only proper for the party to control the government to implement policies, action plans and reforms desired by the masses.

"Otherwise Umno and BN would face serious political repercussions in the next general election," he warned when officiating the 6th annual delegates’ conference of the Koperasi Kontraktor Melayu Malaysia Berhad (KKMMB) in Penang yesterday.

This is not the first time the Malacca Chief Minister has expressed his views on the matter in this manner.

Previously in an interview with Malaysiakini in October, he similarly said that Umno must dictate government policy in order for the party to regain lost support.

He had added that grassroots members were disappointed that a lot of their suggestions and wishes have not been fulfilled by the party. As such, many felt they cannot influence government policy, he had said then.

Malays still lagging

Speaking at the KKMMB conference yesterday, Mohd Ali cited the problems in implementing the NEP as an example.

He said that while the NEP action plans were noble and were to benefit all Malaysians, things had gone wrong at management and implementation level due to government’s lethargy.

"Thus, NEP objectives to eliminate economic disparities among various communities in the country could not be achieved.

"Once the party controls the government, Umno then can firmly implement all policies and action plans for benefit of all, especially the Malays," Mohd Ali explained to journalists later.

He also lamented that many Umno-led federal government policies, which have been agreed upon and accepted by all, faced difficulties in implementation due to lack of dedication and determination.

He said that if the government was firm and unyielding, Malaysians would not be still making a hue and cry about NEP and other policies.

The Umno deputy president hopeful also said non-Malays were understandably offended when Umno leaders continued to harp on the NEP.

The NEP was introduced in 1970, to assist the Malays to secure a 30 percent share of the country’s wealth across the board.

"Truth is the NEP has yet to achieve its goals," he said, pointing out that Malays still lagged behind others in professional jobs, business and property ownership.

He said non-Malays were unhappy when Umno stressed their desire to help the Malays, while Malays were upset that the government assistance failed to reach them.

"Something has to be done for NEP to benefit all," he said, adding that changing the current landscape to party-control-government system would be the right solution.

Single supply network

Mohd Ali also called on Malay contractors’ cooperatives and associations to form a construction material supply network to forge close working ties with government agencies to assist their industrial ventures.

The government, he said, could assist the contractors by providing professional guidance and auditing system to improve their management and work quality.

"Currently many contractors could not complete their construction works due to financial difficulties and rising cost.

"I believe a government-assisted single supply network can help them," said Mohd Ali.

Mohd Ali is one of three candidates vying for the Umno deputy presidency. He has received enough nominations to contest, ahead of Umno information chief Muhammad Mohd Taib but behind Umno vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin.

By convention the Umno deputy president also assumes the position of deputy prime minister.

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Malaysiakini
MCA info chief lashes out at ‘irresponsible’ Ali Rustam
Nov 19, 08 2:23pm

MCA today took offence with a remark made by Malacca Chief Minister and Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam over the need for Umno to take charge of the government in order to better implement policies, especially the National Economic Policy.

MCA Information and Communication Bureau chief Lee Wei Kiat criticised Mohd Ali over the latter’s "irresponsible and myopic" remarks that it was only proper for Umno to control the government.

"Mohd Ali must bear in mind that Umno is not the sole party in the Barisan Nasional coalition government. All other BN component parties also contributed to BN’s success in forming the federal government after each of the 12 general elections," said Lee in a statement.

"It is irresponsible and myopic of Mohd Ali to deny the efforts of all other BN component parties in successively forming the cabinet since 1957," he added.

He further said that all cabinet decisions on government policies were reached through consensus after consultation.

"It is never a case of any one party making unilateral decisions on behalf of BN for the whole nation.

"Living in the democratic country, such talk of a single political party determining the country’s policies which could lead to despotic rule is unfeasible and illogical," he said.

Lee, newly appointed as the party’s information chief by the new president Ong Tee Keat, also noted that Mohd Ali’s remarks ran contrary to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s speech in the recently held MCA general meeting that Umno was not a party that bullied its coalition partners.

Mohd Ali’s speech in Penang

Lee’s exasperation was over Mohd Ali’s speech made at the 6th annual delegates’ conference of the Koperasi Kontraktor Melayu Malaysia Berhad in Penang last Sunday.

There, Mohd Ali repeated his stand that Umno must take control of the government to ensure Umno policies, especially the NEP.

Mohd Ali had said that currently many Umno approved policies and plans could not be implemented with desired results due to lack of conviction at the federal government level.

Talking specifically about the NEP, the deputy president aspirant said that NEP action plans were noble and were to benefit all Malaysians, things had gone wrong at management and implementation level due to government’s lethargy.

"Once the party controls the government, Umno then can firmly implement all policies and action plans for benefit of all, especially the Malays," he added.

He had also said the current political landscape in which the government acting freely from the party control did not augur well for Umno and the BN.

"So it’s only proper for the party to control the government to implement policies, action plans and reforms desired by the masses.

"Otherwise Umno and BN would face serious political repercussions in the next general election," he had warned.

Political posturing by Umno politicians

Lee also touched on the need to be prepared for the next general election but warned that it would be wise to reflect on the political tsunami of the last general election.

"It was the vitriol and behaviour of superiority of one race above others that caused consternation among the multiracial Malaysian general public resulting with the backlash of votes against BN during the March 8 polls," he said.

He also said that Mohd Ali’s remarks contravened the spirit of the NEP.

"Mohd Ali has painted a misrepresentation of the NEP’s objectives. It should always be remembered that the NEP was formulated to eradicate poverty irrespective of race, and to remove economic identity with race.

"The NEP was never intended to be misused as a zero-sum game where in order for one race to move forward, it may only be done so at the expense of another," he added.

He added that the BN government should move towards eliminating all forms of urban and rural poverty among all Malaysians including the orang asli, natives from Sabah and Sarawak, Chinese, Indians and Sikhs.

He ended his statement by expressing his disappointment that some Umno politicians have resorted to political posturing to trump up support in the run up to the Umno party polls next March.