Thesun 2008-12-02 Page01 Najib Use Bn Channel

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No. 4651 PP 2644/12/2008 (020369)

Tuesday December 2, 2008

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Najib: Use BN channel by Husna Yusop and Timothy Leonard [email protected]

UALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak yesterday sought to contain the contentious public debate on the ketuanan Melayu issue, telling Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders to solve their internal problems through the coalition channel instead of issuing statements. The BN deputy chairman said the open exchange did not benefit the coalition as it would give the public the impression that the coalition faced a lot of problems. “I don’t deny the right of BN members to voice out their respective views but it must be done wisely so as not to disadvantage BN and we end up seen as being in conflict all the time,” he said after chairing the Cabinet Committee on Sports Development in Parliament yesterday. Referring to the various statements made by BN component party leaders in recent days, in particular on the Malay supremacy issue, Najib said it was better for internal party problems to be solved the BN way. “The rakyat must understand that if they (statements) were not reported in the newspapers, not necessarily it was not discussed. All this while, they (leaders) were accused of not doing anything. That prompted them to make open statements. When this happens, it becomes something unhealthy. So, they were in a dilemma. For me, the best way is to use the BN channel,” he said. At another function, MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat urged all parties to stop playing the racial card and instead focus on economic issues which were more important in the national agenda. He said this in response to yesterday’s protest

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by the Young Malay Graduates Coalition (GGMM) against MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s recent comments on the concept of Malay supremacy. “As a democratic party in a modern world, we accept this matter (protest) with an open mind,” said Ong. “But we also have our own mind … and our own stand.” He reminded all quarters that he had repeatedly said the MCA upheld the Federal Constitution. However, the party did not condone racial domination, he said after visiting the Keretapi Tanah Melayu workshop in Sentul. A group of GGMM members, led by its president Khairul Azam Aziz, had marched from the Ampang Park LRT station to Wisma MCA in Jalan Ampang to deliver a notice of demand to Chua, asking him to pay RM2 million in compensation for allegedly questioning the special position of the Malays. Khairul asked for Chua to apologise to the Malays and threatened to take him to court on Wednesday if he failed to do so. Chua had on Sunday said he stood by his view regarding the concept of ketuanan Melayu, or Malay supremacy, despite heavy criticisms from Umno leaders. He reportedly said he accepted Malay leadership but not Malay supremacy. Earlier, after the Economic Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib, who is also finance minister, said the main challenge in the near future was to save the country from the world economic crisis so that it would not fall into recession, therefore, the government’s main concern was to generate as much economic

Clinton picked growth as possible. “We do not deny that our market has been affected and our real economy also has faced very severe economic pressure. We will be facing an uncertain future. But Alhamdulillah (thank God) we could still survive. Although our growth is slow, there has been no adverse effect such as companies going bankrupt in massive form and unemployment. The inflation situation also has slowed down,” he said. He said Malaysia was on track to achieve at least a 5% gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year if fourth quarter growth was at least 1.4%. “This is based on the 4.7% growth in the third quarter. So, we are still within our target for a 3.5% growth in 2009,” he said. However, he said, this growth will depend on the effective implementation of the RM7 billion stimulus package and on condition that the external environment did not worsen. On alleged Malaysian links to the Mumbai terrorist attack, he said they were “unsubstantiated and without evidence” but the police had been in touch with the Interpol and were awaiting further details. Najib also said the council was briefed on the crime situation by Inspector-General Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan in a special presentation also attended by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar. He said according to the briefing, Malaysia had a lower per capita crime rate than Hongkong and Japan but public perception was otherwise.

US President-elect Barack Obama listens as New York senator Hillary Clinton speaks after he named her as his choice for secretary of state at a news conference in Chicago, Illinois, last night. Accepting the nomination, Clinton, 61, vowed to make the US a new force for positive change, saying that she would work with the world community to solve global crises. Obama, who takes office in January, also announced that Defence Secretary Robert Gates, 65, will stay on the job at the Pentagon. He also named former Marine general James Jones to serve as national security adviser, and Susan Rice, his foreign policy aide during the election campaign, to become US ambassador to the UN. Eric Holder was nominated as attorney-general, and Arizona governor Janet Napolitano to head the Homeland Security Department. See Page 6