Poverty eradication to gauge performance of elected reps - PM

Bernama (7/11/2007): Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday the successful eradication of poverty will be one of the key performance indicators for elected representatives in their respective constituencies.

When delivering his presidential speech at the Umno General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here, the Prime Minister said Barisan Nasional (BN) elected representatives must make the poverty eradication agenda as their priority because it was one of the main objectives of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

He said the poverty eradication programme which involved the interests of all ethnic groups would be given intensive attention in the second half of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

"We hope that in the not too distant future, the term `poverty' will be obsolete - a word only to be found in dictionaries," he told more than 2,500 Umno delegates at the Dewan Merdeka, PWTC.

Abdullah said Malaysia would not achieve true peace for as long as there was a large number of the poor living in the country.

"Poverty can cause political instability, street demonstrations, a high crime rate and serious social problems," he said.

Abdullah urged everyone to champion the fulfilment of the objectives of the NEP to ensure a more balanced composition of the professional and middle classes so that the Malaysian society was no longer divided by profession.

He said the non-Malays need not worry about the spirit of the NEP which was being continued because it was never intended to rob anyone's rights, but to eradicate poverty in a comprehensive manner.

"Although it has been 37 years since the introduction of the NEP, we have not made the Malays rich by seizing the wealth of the non-Malays.

"In fact, the wealth of the non-Malays continues to grow. The list of the richest individuals in Malaysia is still led by the non-Malays. All parties should work towards achieving the objectives of the NEP," he added.

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Malays 'not stupid or weak', must become competitive: Abdullah

Straits Times Singapore (4/11/2007): Malaysia's majority ethnic group, the Muslim Malays, are not 'stupid or weak' and should stop being fearful and learn to live without government handouts, the prime minister reportedly said on Sunday.

'The feeling of being scared and apprehensive has dominated the thinking of the Malays for far too long... we are still scared even after 50 years of independence,' Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said in an interview reported by the official Bernama news agency that Malays must not continue to rely on a four-decade-old system of positive discrimination which entitles them to a range of benefits.

'They must learn to stand on their own feet and learn to be competitive. We will help the Malays who are serious in wanting to do business and want to work hard,' he said.

'I've said many times Malays are not stupid or weak,' he added.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said it would take a long process to change the mindset of Malays, who make up 60 per cent of the population but lag far behind the ethnic Chinese community which dominates the business sector.

'I want the Malays to capitalise on the opportunities given to them,' he said. 'There are no easy ways to succeed in life. Only the educated, knowledgeable and the hard-working will succeed eventually.'

The prime minister's salvo comes ahead of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party congress this week which is expected to tackle the issue of the positive discrimination policies that are criticised as ineffective.

Government data released in 2004 showed that 8.3 per cent of Malays were still living in poverty - earning less than US$190 (S$275) a month - compared to just 0.6 per cent of Chinese and 2.9 per cent of Indians.

After racially charged speeches at last year's assembly caused dismay among Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indians, Datuk Seri Abdullah said the party must show this time that it was intent on benefiting all Malaysians. - AFP