Dr Mahathir to contest post of divisional delegate

Dr Mahathir to contest post of divisional delegate

ALOR STAR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says he will contest the post of divisional delegate to the Umno general assembly in November.

He said at least two branches in the Kubang Pasu Umno division had nominated him to stand as a delegate.

Each division is represented by seven elected delegates chosen from ordinary Umno members.

Six more delegates to the assembly comprise the division chief, deputy chief and vice-chairman as well as the Wanita, Youth and Puteri chiefs.

“Let me reassure you that I will not withdraw from the contest to be a delegate,” he said when addressing about 1,000 members of the Kedah Malay Assembly Hall at a hotel here yesterday.

At a press conference later, Dr Mahathir said he looked forward to representing the division at the assembly and would raise several key issues during the party assembly.

“I will not reveal now what I’m going to talk about at the general assembly. You will have to wait until that moment to find out,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also said he had heard that there were some parties who would “be approaching him soon” to urge him to withdraw as a delegate.

“If I withdraw from the contest, then there will be some people who will tag me as a pengecut (coward),” he said.

“So, for that reason alone, I have to attend the assembly if I win the contest to be a delegate,” he said.

Dr Mahathir reminded Umno members that the party’s struggles were not about an individual, but about Umno.

Dr Mahathir said he was sad that he had been accused of trying to split the party.

“I love Umno more than anybody else; and when the new Umno was formed in 1988, I was member No. 1 followed by my wife (Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali) who was member No. 2,” he added.

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad forgot that he had promised not to interfere with government decisions once he stepped down. Now, it looks like he is going back on his word. A man must be true to his word. His word is his bond.

Mahathir could have stayed back in the cabinet as a senior minister or minister mentor like Singapore. In hindsight, he might be regretting for not following the Singaporean model.


Mean time MCA Youth wants Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin to personally explain his remarks concerning the Chinese community at the Barisan Nasional Youth supreme council meeting. Explain your remarks, Khairy told - Star.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said: “He (Khairy) has to be sincere and explain thoroughly via the proper Barisan Youth channel why he was misunderstood by the media, as he claimed.”

Khairy, he said, should never repeat similar remarks again, quoting a Chinese saying that “the person who started the trouble should end it.”

“If he said he was misunderstood, tell us why he was misunderstood,” the Deputy Youth and Sports Minister told reporters after chairing the MCA Youth political bureau meeting at the Parliament House here yesterday.

However, Liow said, he was happy Khairy had clarified that he had no intention of hurting the feelings of the Chinese community.

On Monday, Khairy met MCA Youth deputy chief Datuk Ling Hee Leong to explain that he had no intention of hurting the feelings of the Chinese community with his remarks.

Last week, several Chinese newspapers front-paged the remarks by MCA and Gerakan leaders over Khairy’s statement in Kedah that the Chinese would take advantage of any weakness in Umno to make demands.

Barisan Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein then met MCA, Gerakan and MIC Youth leaders, saying Khairy would explain to Barisan leaders, and adding it was a “learning process” for Khairy.

Yesterday, Liow said although he had received a comprehensive report from Ling on his meeting with Khairy, the onus was still on Khairy to resolve the issue himself.

Asked why Ling had met Khairy without his knowledge, Liow said it was not an issue.

“It did not matter if the meeting was private or not, as long as we get to resolve the issue,” he said.

Liow also told reporters that other agenda items in the political bureau meeting were the youth wing’s resolutions and the party’s annual general assembly dinner.

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拉菲達：30%土著股權絕不修改
外資不滿政策可不來

Headline appeared in Sin Chew Daily : "MALAYSIA's ruling which requires 30 per cent Bumiputera equity will not change, foreign investors who are not happy with the policy can opt not to come"(my translation)

吉隆坡訊）國際貿易及工業部長拿督斯里拉菲達說，外國投資者若無法接受大馬實行30%土著股權的政策，他們大可不來；大馬不會哀求他們前來投資。

她說，如果外資要大馬修改土著擁有30%股權的政策，大馬將先向他們說“再見”（Bye-bye）。

"If foreign investors want Malaysia to change the policy of which 30% of a firm's equity to be held by bumiputras, Malaysia will say bye bye to them."

“如果投資者認為大馬具有吸引力，他們就會前來投資；如果他們有不同的感受，沒關係，可以到其他國家，如中國投資。”

" If they think Malaysia has the potential and attration for investment, they would come. If they think otherwise, they can go to other countries like China to invest."

拉菲達今日（週三，23日）在東盟經濟部長會議後召開的新聞發佈會上受詢時說，那些認真要來大馬投資的公司，都已接受大馬的土著股權政策。

她認為，土著股權政策不應該被視為是對所有人都不利的政策。其他國家或許沒有土著政策，但它們有其他的保護政策。

她說，大馬自1997年7月起開放製造業和相關領域的股權，外資可擁有100%投權，而外國人在這個領域的投資額每年都在增加。

拉菲達說，大馬沒有隱瞞任何實情，政策是很透明的，包括甚麼領域外資可擁有100%股權及甚麼領域土著必須佔30%股權。

“大馬已闡明一切，就讓外資做出決定。其實我們已有許多領域實行績效制，土著也擁有專業知識，可成為外資有價值的伙伴。”

拉菲達說，每個負責任的政府，都會優先考量國內的情況，沒有任何國家會實施將導致政府輸了大選的措施。

她說，無論是土著或非土著政策，都需要根據人民的意願行事；1969年（五一三）事件，人民表達了他們的意願，即要政府關注各族的社會和經濟鴻溝。

她說，當人民認為土著已可以“靠自己雙腳站立”時，就讓他們這麼做。政府的決定須以本國的民意為依歸。 （星洲日報‧2006/08/23）

(Another news : Bumiputera equity ruling won't deter FDIs: Malaysia in Business Times)

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Malaysia May Keep Rate Unchanged as Inflation and Growth Ease

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's central bank may keep its key interest rate unchanged this week to avoid hurting consumer spending amid prospects of slower growth and easing inflation.

Bank Negara Malaysia will keep its overnight policy rate at 3.5 percent for a third straight meeting, according to 14 of 17 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Three economists expect the rate to increase to 3.75 percent. The central bank's monetary policy committee meets tomorrow and a statement is due after the 5 p.m. close of trading in Kuala Lumpur.

``Inflation isn't accelerating fast enough to prompt the central bank to keep raising interest rates,'' said Imran Nurginias Ibrahim, an economist at MIDF Sisma Securities in Kuala Lumpur. This gives Bank Negara ``the option to keep interest rates on hold to avoid hurting domestic spending as slowing external demand threatens to curb exports and growth.''

Malaysia's inflation rate has peaked and is expected to ease later this year, central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said this month. That may give Bank Negara room to keep borrowing costs unchanged as slowing growth in the U.S., which buys a fifth of Malaysia's exports, threatens to crimp the pace of expansion in Southeast Asia's third-largest economy. ..(full story)




Malaysia Ahmad Badawi Mahathir Khairy MCA UMNO Rafidah NEP Inflation