AN unprecedented line of debate took place recently when former MCA vice-president Senator Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker spoke on the failure of the Bumiputera Economic Congress (BEC) that has been held since 1965.
The former deputy youth and sports minister had recently stood his ground that the demand for more Bumiputera policies and aid will result in more money and budget allocation from the state only for these monies to somehow being diverted to the rich, powerful and influential, hence repeated failures over the past 58 years.
As such, Ti expressed hope that the coming BEC will be last (from the government) as he did not wish to see the state impoverished at the expense of a selected few rich in the name of the Bumiputera agenda.
In an unprecedented development, Ti’s assertion was supported by two prominent Malay influencers in fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) and former de-factor law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim in a rare display of support by Malays on an attack on the Malay platform and agenda.
In his social media post, RPK tweeted that he agreed with what Ti had articulated in the Dewan Negara and went further to elaborate on a videoclip under “New Economic Policy (NEP) Shound be Scrapped According to MCA” (Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) Perlu Ditamatkan, kata MCA).
Despite his tendency to attack, Zaid surprisingly agreed with Ti as follows: “Mr Ti is correct to say that another Malay Economic Congress will not contribute anything useful to the country except to the members of the Congress.”
“We need a Congress that addresses the problems of the country. The economy can improve if all Malaysians work together to find solutions.”
The so-called UMNO member who has in recent times been echoing Perikatan Nasional (PN) sentiments added: “Before this govt came to power, we heard of plans to replace preferential and discriminatory policy with ‘needs-based policy’. Where is that policy now? Has the Economy Minister formulated the plan?”
MCA’s Mr Ti spoke on why NEP should be abolished. NEP, as formulated originally has long gone—nothing to abolish. What remains is the Malay Bumiputra’s first policy. That’s what is pulling the country down. Preferential treatment implemented without examination of transparent and…
— Zaid Ibrahim (@zaidibrahim) December 8, 2023
Zaid concluded his tweet as follows: “Now is the time for the races to be together again to move this country forward. New national policies are required. Old, selfish ideas need to be abandoned.”
“The leaders will continue to tell the Malays they are special and will get special treatment. So, the Malays will vote for them even if only selected Malays are given special treatment. The non-Malays will not be happy but since DAP MCA and MIC say it’s okay, they will do nothing.”
Meanwhile, RPK’s view which appeared in the ‘semi-blocked’ Malaysia Today news portal that Ti’s assertions will probably be taken out of context on the social media and used as further proof that the Malays are under attack from ungrateful or overly demanding non-Bumiputera was spot on.
True enough, UMNO Youth chief made a statement warning Ti as follows: “My warning to YB Senator (Ti) is never to play with racial issues for your political interests.” He further asserted that BEP “has never encroached upon or suppressed the rights of other communities.”
To this, Ti in his X platform (formerly Twitter) handle #ThinKer posted a reply that he did not claim that non-Bumiputera rights have been deprived but was merely highlighting the failure of the BEP and the danger of big budgets or resources being diverted or hijacked. – Dec 11, 2023
