The Star Online: MCA chief: Each BN component party should have equal voice

Comment from sender:
DSDr CSL was rather bold and direct with his speech at the BN Convention.

This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/5/nation/20101205190957&sec=nation

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Speech of MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek at the 1 Barisan Nasional convention is below

KUALA LUMPUR: Each Barisan Nasional component party should have an equal voice in raising issues affecting the people in order for it to be a coalition of choice by the rakyat, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said.

He said the people always came first and Barisan had to articulate the hopes, fears, expectations and frustrations of the various communities in the country.

As such, he said each component party must accord full respect to this basis of power sharing.

"There should not be any big brother or small brother within the coalition. We are working towards the same cause and purpose. We are equal partners," said Dr Chua at the Barisan convention here Sunday.

Describing the convention as "most crucial" particularly with the buzz of an impending general election getting louder, Dr Chua also noted that the Barisan must not be seen as merely collaborating during elections but must be genuine about power sharing at all times.

He said there was a need for Barisan component parties to work as equal partners and that decisions pertaining to policies should not be announced at the Umno general assembly or at its supreme council meetings that did not have an equivalent status to the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Dr Chua also expressed concern over the public delivery system that very often did not reflect the thinking of the Barisan government.

He urged the Government to seriously act on addressing such weaknesses.

"We have to accept the reality and weaknesses in our system and act accordingly so as to improve on it. We can no longer live in a denial mode," he stressed.

Apart from that, he said there should also be a clear-cut management mechanism made available to punish civil servants who acted against the 1Malaysia concept.

"There should be no compromise on this," he added.

Urging all Barisan comrades to take heed of the Prime Minister's initiative in taking the lead to "turun padang" to be with the people and feel the nation's pulse, Dr Chua said this was the way to get to know the people's grouses, anger and pain, gather feedback and suggestions and see whether the government policies were implemented in tandem with the expectations and aspirations of the people.

For the nation to flourish, he said the Barisan must draw strength from the humility of moderation and inter-racial harmony founded on justice, democracy, mutual consultation and diversity.

Dr Chua said Barisan had to change to reflect the 1Malaysia agenda, which was inclusive, multi-racial and put people first.

The young people in particular were not satisfied with mere development, he said, adding that they expected the Barisan to be fair and democratic in its decision making.

"They do not want the government to be all talk and no action. It must be accountable in what it preaches and not allow promises to turn out to be mere rhetoric."

Dr Chua also reiterated the party's commitment to achieving the Prime Minister's vision of 1Malaysia, and high income nation by 2020.

He said MCA believed that Barisan under Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's leadership gave hope to all Malaysians that a better and dynamic Malaysia could be realised.

Dr Chua also called on all Barisan component parties to join forces to make the coalition a choice of the rakyat, defend Putrajaya from the Pakatan Rakyat and turn the Pakatan Rakyat's march to Putrajaya an unrealised dream.

Speech of MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek at the 1 Barisan Nasional convention

5th December 2010

YAB Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abd Razak, Prime Minister Malaysia cum Chairman of BN

YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister Malaysia cum Deputy Chairman of BN

A very good morning everyone. It is an honour that the Barisan Nasional convention is held in Wisma MCA this time around.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to our beautiful party headquarters.

Ladies & Gentleman,

1. This convention is most crucial especially with the buzz of an impending general election getting louder. At the end of the convention, it is hoped that we can derive at how best we can synergise our resources and further enhance our coalition machinery to the fullest.

2. The March 2008 election has sent a clear signal that Barisan Nasional must change and revamp itself for it to win votes and public support to stay in government.

3. It can't be business as usual for Barisan Nasional.

4. We have to change to reflect the 1Malaysia agenda which is inclusive, multiracial and people first.

5. MCA fully supports the government's 1Malaysia policy of inclusiveness where the people come first. We are for a social contract to better serve the people in all fairness and in realising the wishes of the rakyat.

6. The rebranding process should take into account the mutli-racial framework of co-operation. It should not be just UMNO.

7. The basis of power sharing within the coalition should be fully respected with each component party enjoying equal voice in bringing up issues of the rakyat.

8. There should not be any big brother or small brother within the coalition. We are all working towards the same cause and purpose. We are equal partners.

9. On this note, Barisan National must pursue the middle path of moderation and at the same time we need to strengthen the public delivery system which is a sore point by the voters.

10. We have to accept the reality and weaknesses in our system and act accordingly so as to improve on it. We can no longer be living in denial mode.

11. Fellow comrades, today's young people are not satisfied with merely development. They expect Barisan Nasional to be fair and democratic in its decision making.

12. They do not want the government to be all talk but no action. It must be accountable with what it preaches and not allow promises to turn out to be rhetorics.

13. Barisan National must not be seen as merely collaborating during the elections but must be genuine in power sharing at all times.

14. We must work as equal partners, hence decisions pertaining to policies should not be announced at the Umno general assembly or at its supreme council meetings, which is not equivalent to Cabinet status.

15. Very often the public delivery system does not reflect on the thinking of the BN government. The government should therefore seriously act on addressing those weaknesses.

16. If there are perceptions that the system is deviating, then we certainly will be confronted with problems.

17. We can ill afford to be besieged with such problems and the Public Services Department (JPA) is responsible to ensure the smooth functioning of the civil service and its effectiveness as well.

18. However I believe that the JPA has been given too much power to hire and fire.

19. How can this be the situation? There should be a reward and punishment system in place so that action can be meted out against the wrong doers and incentives or rewards be given to those who excel in their work.

20 A clear cut management mechanism should be made available to punish civil servants who act against the concept of 1Malaysia. There should be no compromise on this.

21. There is an urgent need to review the JPA General Order/1933 on its powers to hire and fire. This is to check abuses and weaknesses, to ensure that the powers of Ministers would not be usurped.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

22. Distinguished comrades, we should also take heed from the Prime Minister's initiative in taking the lead to "turun padang" to be with the people and to feel the pulse of the nation.

23. When we "turun padang", we will be able to feel the people's pulse and get to know their grouses, anger, pain and at the same time gather feedback and suggestion.

24. Only then we will know whether government policies are implemented in tandem with the expectations and aspiration of the people.

25 And when we go down to the ground, we should in all humility be humble. Without humility, there can be no humanity. We must always be friendly and humble and not flaunt our wealth or power.

26. We should also do away with the unofficial protocol of sirens blaring away to signal the arrival of a VIP in some functions. There is no need for such unfounded ceremonial formality. We are supposed to serve the people, not to be served all the time.

27. While we have to address the concerns of the various communities, as leaders we should also be sensitive towards the choice of words used.

28. Certain words should be considered taboo. Some of the examples are Pendatang, Penumpang, terutang budi, kurang patriotic and ketuanan Melayu.

29. We should not shoot ourselves in the foot. Youngsters don't like to hear such remarks which are not only distasteful but considered outrageously derogatory.

30. Leaders must also be reminded that they are expected to not only say the right things but also in doing the right thing. Pledges must be translated into actions. We must practice what we preach.

31. And when it comes to organising Barisan Nasional events or functions, it must reflect that we are working as a team from the State and Federal level.

32. When putting up campaign posters, it must also have the multi-racial ingredients to reflect the 1Malaysia agenda. The posters should feature that of all BN leaders, other than the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

33. For instance, in the Galas by-election, the Pakatan Raykat put up posters of Nik Aziz, Guan Eng and Anwar Ibrahim.

34. On addressing outdated approaches, the "Undilah Barisan Nasional untuk Kestabilan" slogan has outlived its time and is timely that it be changed to Vote BN = 1Malaysia = High Income for All. Barisan National may not be perfect but we are the better choice.

35. Hence all the BN wakil rakyat should not only serve its own ethnic group but that of all races.

36. In the same way, the allocations given for resources such as publicity materials should also be distributed fairly and all activities organised by Barisan Nasional should involve all component parties as well.

37. Of equal importance are the food served at BN organised functions – it should be taken into consideration the sensitivity of the Hindus who do not eat beef and we should also cater to the vegetarians.

38. Such considerations, although may seem petty are important to the people. No one should be left out in our quest to reach out to the people.

39. Of concern by the people is the crime rate. Although statistics show that it has gone down, the perception of the man in the street has not changed. This is one area we should not neglect.

40. I would like to reinforce the need to make it clear that vernacular schools are part of the educational landscape. The existence of SJKC and SJKT should in no terms be considered as a "political compromise"

41. Vernacular schools should always co exist with other schools such as Sekolah Agama Rakyat, sekolah Arab, international schools and mission schools. Such a feature in our educational landscape is in line with our 1Malaysia agenda of promoting diversity.

42. Mandarin or Chinese education should not be viewed along the racial lines. The emergence of China as the second economic power in the world has made Mandarin language to be of great economic and significant value.

43. The PM decision to offer scholarship to all students regardless of race who scored 9As in the SPM Examination has gone down well. The government should continue with similar initiatives pertaining to education. There should be equal accessibility and fair treatment for all Malaysians.

44. Another area of concern is to ensure that we uphold our judiciary system in high esteem, one which is not tainted and impartial.

45. And when we give aid to the people, all those who deserved assistance shall not be deprived or overlooked. "Rakyat mesti di dahulukan".

46. For the nation to flourish, we must draw strength from the humility of moderation and inter-racial harmony founded on justice, democracy, mutual consultation and diversity.

47. I believe that all Malaysians will want a country that is fully developed with the realization of 2020 whereby all citizens would be a part of the process of nation building and high-income society.

48. Rakyat is the Nation stakeholder. If the country achieves respectable growth every year, the rakyat will benefit and they will trust the government and continue to support the government.

49.To be a party of choice by the rakyat, Barisan Nasional has to articulate the hopes, fears, expectations and frustrations of the various communities in Malaysia. It is always people first.

50. Hence, government must continue its liberalization and economic transformation program to achieve high income status.

51. Since the transformation program is private sector driven, it must inspire confidence in them. Hence, government policy must be transparent, fair and do not flip flop.

52. The way of doing business in Malaysia should also be simplified and be business friendly. We need to address the issue of the influx of foreign workers. No decisive action taken has not gone down well with the rakyat.

53. We support the government effort to reduce the budget deficit so that our debt rating is not affected. We have to maximize the utilization of our nation resources to reduce wastage and leakage.

54. MCA support affirmative action that is based on needs and merit. Needs and merits should be the basis and key fundamental of policy decision.

55. MCA is committed to achieve the PM's vision of 1 Malaysia and High Income Nation by 2020. MCA believe that Barisan Nasional under PM leadership will give hope to all Malaysian for a change towards a better Malaysia.

56. Let us work together to make Barisan National the party of choice by the rakyat. Barisan Nasional must work hand in hand to defend Putrajaya from Pakatan Rakyat. Pakatan Rakyat march to Putrajaya will then continue to be a dream.

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