PAS joins UMNO in racist notion against PKR

Selangor UMNO Youth disagrees with the state government's appointment of a non-Malay to head the state-owned Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS); accusing the PKR of being ignorant of the agency's "history and purpose" for developing the bumiputra community. [Malaysiakini, 28/10/08]

Selangor Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's decision to appoint Low Siew Moi as acting general manager for PKNS have stirred a hornet's nest in the Selangor UMNO Youth camp. The state youth wing of the Barisan Nasional leading party, UMNO criticised the appointment of a non-bumiputra as general manager of PKNS, citing it as an ignorance towards the struggle of the bumiputra community in Selangor.

Low Siew Moi was a corporate and accounts deputy general manager for PKNS prior to her latest installation as the agency's general manager. Khalid said Low's appointment was only temporary as the current Selangor PKNS general manager Datuk Harun Salim would be retiring at the end of October, while Low herself admitted that a bumiputra should be appointed to continue steering the government agency.

And yet, UMNO refuses to back down despite the appointment of Low being temporary.

According to Selangor UMNO Youth, the purpose of the PKNS was to develop the bumiputra community in Selangor and the recent appointment of a Chinese as the general manager showed that the Selangor state government was doing little to honour that mandate.

"We (Selangor UMNO Youth) are disappointed with Low's appointment as this has never happened in the history of the PKNS. The agency was established to help the bumiputras. If the Selangor government is short of capable leaders to head the PKNS, it can refer to us and we will provide suitable candidates from our list."

"The Chief Minister is seeking to restore support of the other races for PKR but at the expense of the dignity of the Malays. I think he (Khalid) is acting on the pressure of others, probably DAP in their quest to 'assert control over the government'," Abdul Shukur who is Selangor UMNO Youth chief said. [Malaysiakini, 28/10/08]

Abdul Shukur, please get your facts right:

• The appointment of a non-bumiputra has never happened before in the history of PKNS, he says. True but the same can be applied to Malaysia's first astronaut too. We have never sent anyone to space in the past but that certainly did not stop the government from sending Sheikh Muszaphar to the International Space Station.
  
• To restore the support of other races for PKR? Have they not realise that the March 8 Elections have shown that the support of the other races for the Barisan Nasional have been diminishing ?
  
• How does a non-Malay general manager threaten the dignity of the Malays?
• DAP trying to secretly seize control of the government by planting Chinese professionals in high government posts? Try topping that with a more far-fetched statement and Abdul Shukur would be mistaken for a Hollywood script writer.
  

A close study of PKNS's mission statement and vision on their website revealed little about the alleged primary focus on bumiputra development but rather, a holistic development of a Malaysian society. The word 'bumiputra' was, nonetheless, mentioned only twice. You may read it here.

Hence, to say that the PKNS was solely established for the betterment of the bumiputras is both naive and unfounded. By all means, the PKNS was formed for the development of the people of Selangor regardless of race or skin colour.

PAS, a fellow member of the Opposition also came in support of Selangor UMNO Youth's recent spat with the state government and have suggested a few candidates from their party to replace Low as the general manager of PKNS. PAS's move to question Khalid's decision will certainly be monitored closely in the next few weeks as they have surprised many in the Opposition bench for supporting UMNO's notion.

Nonetheless, the Selangor Chief Minister defended his move to appoint Low to spearhead PKNS despite objections from PAS and UMNO and have said that it should not be made into an issue of race.

"(One of) the tasks of the PKNS is to develop the state and bumiputra community under the New Economic Policy, but the results have been rather unsatisfactory. If the Malays manage this themselves and they do not benefit from it, then we have to look at the matter seriously. People get angry over such a change (appointment) but their stand is different when millions of ringgit go down the drain," he told reporters. [Bernama, 28/10/08]

DAP MP for Kampung Tunku, Lau Weng San shared the same sentiment as he said it was about time that skin colour was set aside in the appointment of individuals for high government posts. He also commented that PKNS should be responsible for the development of all races and not just the Malays in Selangor.

"We have to ensure that one is appointed on the grounds of qualification and ability; not by skin colour, religion, race or gender. It is absurd for a government agency to champion for a particular group of people whereas half of Selangor's population are non-bumiputras," Lau said in Selangor State Assembly. [Malaysiakini, 28/10/08]

DAP vice-chairperson Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim also blasted the PKNS staff as a large proportion of them was said to have protested against the appointment of a non-bumiputra to lead their agency. Taking the protests as an example, he also said that a culture had developed where merit was neglected while “less than relevant considerations” such as ethnicity and religion were prioritised.

“I hope the Chief Minister’s decision is respected by all and the PKNS staff will focus on doing their work professionally instead of questioning the prerogative of the state government to appoint the most suitable person for the post.”

“The interference by the senior staff of PKNS runs counter to established management practices and may well be the result of the race-based policies and indoctrination that the nation had been subjected to for the better part of 50 years or so,” he said. [Malaysiakini, 29/10/08]

Truly, the big uproar over the appointment of a non-bumiputra for a post traditionally held by bumiputras was a product of 50 years worth of racial propaganda and discriminative policies set out by the government. However, with people like Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim who understood what it means to be a Malaysian first, the utopian dream of a Malaysian Malaysia does not seem so far-fetched after all. Nonetheless, we still are many milestones away from achieving that goal.