Najib: Back Pak Lah
Malaysiakini
Nov 13, 2006
Bede Hong

Umno Deputy President and the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today reminded Umno members to show utmost loyalty to their chief Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Speaking at the opening of the Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri Umno general assembly tonight, Najib said it was the tradition of Umno to be completely loyal to their leaders.

“We must be united behind our party president and prime minister,” he said.

His reminder comes at a time when Abdullah is under severe criticism from his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the latter’s leadership. Mahathir has accused Abdullah of economic-mismanagement, corruption and nepotism.

Najib said that quarrels amongst themselves will only lead to disunity and took a slight aim at Mahathir for his attacks without naming him.

“The contributions of our past leaders are invaluable, our respect for them cannot be described by mere words,” he said.

“But there is great apprehension when the leaders we cherish begin to squabble. And the worry increases when the opposition tries to take advantage,” he added.

He said that Abdullah should be given the chance and opportunity to lead the nation in achieving Vision 2020.

“How much of a relief it would be if we could be given the opportunity to build this nation without having to face such challenges,” he said to a loud chorus of claps.

Najib was giving the traditional deputy president’s speech given at the opening of the general assemblies of the three wings at 9pm this evening.

The party’s assembly proper begins on Wednesday. Mahathir will not be attending the assembly as he is presently recuperating from a mild heart attack.

Previously his presence was expected to cause some discomfort for Abdullah but Umno leaders had rallied behind the prime minister, saying that they will not allow Mahathir to continue with his criticisms.

Chinese not marginalised

In his speech, Najib also briefly touched on a recent controversial remark made by Singapore Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew that the Chinese here were marginalised.

The deputy Umno leader said that the government had never neglected the Chinese community.

“Statistics show that the average monthly household income of the Chinese community rose from RM796 in 1976 to RM4,437 in 2004,” said the defence minister.

“The bumiputera meanwhile saw their average monthly household income rise from RM339 to only RM2,711 during the same period.

“Just on that fact alone, the allegation of Kuan Yew is completely rejected.”

He added that fairness and tolerance has always been practised in the country.

He said that the government’s recently unveiled Ninth Malaysian Plan - with a RM220 billion allocation - took into consideration the larger interest of all Malaysians.

This is so that no one is kept away from the mainstream of the country’s development, added Najib.

The Malay agenda

However, he admitted that within the plan, the continuity of the Malay agenda was evident.

“Umno continues its effort to strengthen the Malays. We cannot be satisfied with what we have accomplished so far, simply because that success is still not complete.

“In this struggle for the Malays, it must be firmly said that there is no time limit within which we must achieve our targets.

“For as long as our goals are not achieved, we will continue the struggle, deploying every available resources... what we struggle for are our right, without denying the rights of others.

He also rubbished claims that the equity bumiputera holdings had exceeded that 30 percent target set under the National Economy Policy.

He said that the 45 percent equity holdings of bumiputera as claimed in a study by a local think-tank recently was “skewed” and “unrealistic”. He said the actual figure was only 18.9 percent.

“This 45 percent figure is most unrealistic simply because of the inaccurate assessment and conclusion that the study makes.”

“The study considers government-linked companies like Petronas, Telekom Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional as bumiputera owned whereas in actual fact they are owned by the government,” he added.

No to Interfaith Council

Najib also warned all irresponsible parties from creating racial incitement in the country.

“Lately we have been faced with various issues that have threatened the position of Islam.

“We have seen the rise in wrongful teachings, apostasy cases and we have seen groups protesting constitutional provisions relating to Islam.”

“Umno strongly opposes the formation of the so-called Interfaith Council which can threaten the harmony of this country,” he said to loud cheers from the delegates.