Anwar: All races should be given equal opportunities

The Star 18 August 2008

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Students who have the potential to excel in their studies should be given equal opportunities to pursue tertiary education, said PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

All students, regardless of race, should have the chance to “rise to the occasion” and fulfil their potential, he stressed.

Anwar also touched on the suggestion by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim that 10% of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) intake be open to non-Malay and foreign students.

“Khalid was only talking about opening one or two courses to non-bumiputras. But Umno views it as selling off UiTM to the Chinese,” he said at a dinner with Chinese voters in Sungai Lembu near here last night.

He said smart Chinese, Malay and Indian students should be given every opportunity to move up the ladder.

“If the Malays are smart, let them rise. The same applies to Chinese and Indians,” he said. “Who benefits from this? Everyone.

“The Government benefits and so does the economy.

“But now, we uplift Malays who are not smart. Everyone loses and the share market drops.”

He also said not all Malays were corrupt or thieves, adding that the good ones had the capability to make the country prosper.

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This is a statement of someone with a vision for the country to develop and move forward. We are not suppose to compete with each other regardless of the race and religion instead the world is where we should be placing all our energy to compete.

We find the present Government are too engrossed with building "Ketuanan Melayu" and Islam Hadhari whilst in actual fact the majority of Malays in Malaysia are seeking development, better lifestyle (not adjusted lifestyle as promoted by the PM) and nation growth.

Having a fluent Chinese speaking Datuk Arif Shah as a BN candidate in the Permatang Pauh by-election does not answer the main context of the whole nation but a mere meagre solution to the UMNO Youth call not to field "re-cycle candidates". The rakyat is not going to be swayed by Datuk Arif Shah's Chinese eloquence this time however as being a recycle candidate can be tough.

Malaysia have gone through 50 years of independence and we have a PM who instead of carrying on the 2020 plans , had brought Malaysia into the backwaters and a political turmoil which is unseen before.

Malaysia needs to have the right people for the right job! Not by virtue of their political or social standing which they may be looked upon highly but do not acquire the experience and knowledge to execute the task at hand well. Worst of all, today, we find cronies seating at positions to safeguard their respective bosses besides "screwing" the nation from the country resources for their own benefits.

Whatever PM called it "Money Politics" or "Corrupt Politics", it's a disease which had spread to a point of epidemic in Malaysia but the root of the cause will never be discovered unfortunately.

I borrow a verse from Frank Sinatra's My Way which goes like "And now, the end is near;And so I face the final curtain" for BN(is this a legal organization) as the September 16 date draws nearer.