Malays Have No Choice But To Move Forward By 2020, Says PM
Bernama – 11/5/2006
JOHOR BAHARU - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Thursday reminded the Malays that they had no choice but to move forward and emerge as a developed race by 2020.

Speaking at a gathering of 60,000 Umno members in conjunction with the party's 60th anniversary celebration here, the Umno President said, the Malays should not waste the available opportunities to realise this objective.

"Failure is not an option, it is an initiative (Vision 2020) which needs to be achieved as the Vision 2020 is another gift to the Malays, to show that our people (Malays) have developed.

"Don't miss this opportunity (to develop by 2020)," he said at the celebration at Istana Besar, Umno's birthplace. It was at this historical place in 1946 that Umno founder, the late Datuk Onn Jaafar announced the party's formation. Also present at the event, being touted as the single biggest gathering of Umno supporters ever, were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also Deputy Party President, chairman of the Johor Umno Liaison body, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and other Umno party leaders.

The former prime minister and Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife also attended the ceremony. The Prime Minister who is in Johor Baharu since yesterday to celebrate the historic event, said it would be very auspicious indeed if in the year 2020, Umno leaders then would come forward and announce that the Malays had achieved their developed race status.

"We hope that on this date (2020), Umno leaders then would rise and proclaim that our race, the Malays have emerged as a developed race," he said, drawing loud shouts of 'Hidup Melayu' (Long Live the Malays), from the crowd.

"If on the contrary, the Malays fail to achieve the status of a developed race by that period, Abdullah said, it would be most unfortunate.

If they fail, Umno leaders at that time would have to rise and think of various excuses and reasons why we (Malays) fail to achieve our aspiration of becoming a developed race," said the Prime Minister.

Efforts to describe the Malays as a developed race, he said, must be carried out as the period to realise the objective of a developed race and nation by 2020 were 14 years away.
Source: www.bernama.com