Call on Malaysia Government to treat all Malaysians of Post-Merdeka generation as Bumiputeras
Parliamentary Opposition Leaders, Mr. Lim Kit Siang, has called on the Malaysian Government to recognise and treat all Malaysian of the Post-Merdeka generation as Bumiputeras.
Mr. Lim was speaking to a capacity crowd of Malaysian students at La Trobe University, Melbourne, the third consecutive night he spoke to Malaysian students. The previous two nights, Mr. Lim spoke to Malaysian students in Monash University and Melbourne University.
Mr. Lim said it would be an unacceptable for Malaysian of whatever origin, who were born in Malaysia after Merdeka Day on August 31, 1957, who have no other homeland, who are ‘fully-blooded’ Malaysian in the true sense of the word, to be somehow regarded as less of a bumuputera.
Mr. Lim said nothing could undo so much negative feeling and divisiness for everyone in Malaysia than to reach a national consensus that every young Malaysian of the Post-Merdeka generation – every Malaysian who is 23 years old and born in Malaysian –is a bumiputera, regardless of race or any other consideration.
In his speech, Mr. Lim said from his few days meeting Malaysian students in Victoria, he found that their uppermost concern was whether they could find suitable employment when they returned to Malaysia on graduation.
Mr. Lim said that he was no expert on career guidance, and was unable to tell them in detail whether any particular qualification would be in a buyer’s market and seller’s market at any particular time back home.
However, underlying this question is concern whether the returned students would get a fair employment deal on their return.
Mr. Lim said this was why he and his colleagues, over the years, inside and outside parliament had striven for greater egalitarian approach in all field of national life.
The New Economic Policy, for instance, claims to restructure society to eliminate identification of race with vocation, but from the ten years’ of implementation of the HEP, there is clearly no general, rounded, balanced restructuring effort, but a most selective and therefore divisive one.
During the question time, in reply to a query, Mr. Lim expressed concern that the New Economic Policy had not been able to grapple with the basic problems in the country.
The NEP purports to benefit the bumiputera, but the real beneficiaries of the NEP have been a small coterie of UMNO – Putras – while the masses of peasants, fishermen and workers have remained neglected.
In response to a question about erosion of human right and democratic freedoms in Malaysia, Mr. Lim said that nothing precious in life is ever achieved without an effort or even sacrifices. Democracy and freedom do not descend fully-clothed like manna from heaven.
Mr. Lim said that there are many areas of human rights and democratic freedom which have been trampled upon Malaysia, and it is important that if Malaysia feel strongly about these right and freedoms, that they should make a commitment to help in the struggle to restore these right and liberties.
Mr. Lim said his party, the DAP, believed in a peaceful, democratic, constitutional political struggle, and not in any armed, violent struggle. This is because Malaysia’s multi-racial nature is particularly inappropriate for any violent means of political or social change.
Mr. Lim told the Malaysian students that there was no reason for anyone to despair about the future of Malaysia.
He was confident that provided there are sufficient Malaysians who were prepared to make a commitment to help shape the destiny of Malaysia, then the future is not bleak.
Malaysia is a nation of minorities, and there is not a single race, religion or culture which could arbitrarily impose its will on others without producing consequences adverse to all group concerned.