Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader and DAP Secretary-General, Mr.Lim Kit Siang to Party members at DAP Alor Star Branch on Sunday, 26th August, 1973 at 8.00p.m.
DAP Suggests Second Malaysia Plan Re-orientation to help the poor of all races and not to create a Class of Malay rich to keep company with the Non-Malay rich
The Second Five Year Malaysia Plan is well past its half way mark, and there are only 850 days left for the Plan.
All that the Alliance New Economic Policy has succeeded in doing is to create a new class of bumiputra rich while the masses of bumiputras and Non-Malays remain poor and down-trodden.
The DAP is opposed to an economic policy which make the rich richer and the poor poorer. We want the Second Malaysia Plan to be re-orientated to give emphasis or priority to the upliftment of the poor of all races and not, as of now, the creation of a bigger class of Malay rich to keep company with the non-Malay rich.
The Alliance Government is now concluding an interim review of the Second Malaysia Plan and this is the most appropriate time for a new orientation to be given to the Plan.
That the Alliance is a government of the rich for the rich can be seen from its fiscal and economic policy. Thus, its fiscal and taxation policy impose greater burden on the have-nots than on the haves as illustrated by the retrogressive 5% Sales Tax.
The Government handling of the inflation crisis is another instance of the Alliance pro-rich and anti-poor policy.
Inflation hit the poor and low income bracket harder than the rich. A government which has as its primary objective the elimination of poverty will take concrete measures to counter inflation and prevent the sharp decrease of the purchasing power of the poor.
This, the Alliance Government has not done. It was in Alor Star on 10th June, 1973, as that the Deputy Minister of Trades and Industries, Encik Musa Hitam, inaugurated the National Consumer Association promising a new era for the consumers.
Actually, since the 10th June, 1973, a whole host of other commodities like flour, bread, biscuits, mee-hoon, exercise books, and soap has gone up in prices.
Two weeks ago, the Finance Minister said one of the major causes of inflation was some importers making profits of 100% or more. But the capitalistic backed Alliance Government has taken no action to protect the Malaysian consumers from exploitation by such rapacious importers because of their monopoly position.
It is becoming more and clearer that the Second Malaysia Plan is an instrument for the local rich to amass their wealth and for foreign capital to exploit Malaysian workers and peasants.
Thus, the Alliance Government talks endlessly the imbalance between the Malays and the non-Malays but it ignores the even greater economic inequality between Malaysians and foreigners.
The Second Malaysia Plan had provided some interesting figures. In 1969, of the total $4,678 million share capital, 62.1% was accounted for by foreign interest, compared with 22.8% by Chinese, 1.5% by Malay and 0.9% by Indians. Foreign interest accounted for one half to three-quarters of the share capital of limited companies in estate agriculture, mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, banking and finance. They also accounted for more than one-third of the share capital of limited companies in construction, retail trade and other industries.
Unless the Alliance Government changes the emphasis of the Second Malaysia Plan, and give priority to help the poor of all races, it would have no meaning to the workers and farmers of Malaysia.