Thesun 2009-06-16 Page04 Najib Defends Stimulus Packages

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theSun

| TUESDAY JUNE 16 2009

news without borders Husna Yusop and Giam Say Khoon at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday

Najib defends stimulus packages Hisham: Police action in Perak assembly was to restore order HOME Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defended the action by police in entering the Perak state legislative assembly to remove V. Sivakumar as speaker on May 7. “The move was taken to restore order and in accordance with the standing order of the Perak state legislative assembly. It was also done following a request by the new speaker, Datuk S. Ganesan, that the police assisted the sergeant-at-arms to remove Sivakumar as he no longer held the post. “Despite being repeatedly ordered to vacate his seat, Sivakumar refused to budge, prompting the new speaker to ask police to enter the assembly hall to restore order and assist the sergeant-at-arms to remove him,” he said in reply to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) and Datuk Ngeh Koo Han (DAP-Beruas)

during question time. Anwar and Ngeh wanted the government to explain Sivakumar’s removal from the assembly. Refuting claims that police had intruded the Perak legislative assembly, Hishammuddin said the move by the speaker in requesting police to help restore order was in accordance with Standing Order 89 and 90. To a question by Datuk Idris Haron (BN-Tangga Batu) on the way the media reported the incident, Hishammuddin said the media could choose to report the matter in any way they wanted. He said the incident was fully recorded in the state assembly hansard, from the start until the opening of the state legislative assembly by the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah. – Bernama

Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Seri Mohammed Nizar Jamaluddin removing his headband after being instructed to do so by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak refuted claims that the first and second economic stimulus packages had failed. He said the problem was due to the world economic situation and the more-than-expected contraction in foreign demand. “Singapore’s economy will contract by 9% this year. Does this mean that their policies are worse than ours? We are expected to contract between 4% and 5% because international trade will contract more drastically than what was expected. “As for our internal issues, we will review the liberalisation process and re-evaluate the Foreign Investment Committee policy which I will announce at the end of this month,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur). Najib, who is also finance minister, said the International Monetary Fund had restructured the projection for the world economic growth in 2009 from 0.5% to 1.3% and world trade from +2.1% to -11%. Malaysia on the other hand was expected to contract between -4% and -5%. Lim, who wanted to know if there would be a third stimulus package, asked if the government would revamp policies such as meritocracy and abolish the New Economic Policy. Najib said RM6.95 billion was distributed under the first stimulus package where RM7 billion was allocated.

“RM4.02 billion involving 43,682 projects were offered to contractors and the remainder are being offered. Up to June 5, a total of RM1.4 billion was spent to complete 10,979 projects,” he said, adding the projects included upgrading of roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. A total of 7,811 projects worth RM4.2 billion were given out until June 5 from the second RM60 billion stimulus package. Of this, RM1.2 billion was spent to complete 453 projects. “The government’s initiative to preserve the economy has given confidence to investors, especially in the equity market. This is obvious with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index recording a rise after the announcement of the second stimulus package. “The implementation of the stimulus packages are expected to make a greater impact on the country’s economy and to record positive growth in the fourth quarter of this year,” he said. Najib also said there were limitations, such as government agencies being allowed to only process tenders worth not more than RM200,000, shortage of manpower in technical and support areas and shortage of capital, especially among the Class F contractors. He said the government was confident the stimulus packages would be able to soften the impact of the global economic crisis via strategies and that the private sector should help shoulder the responsibility.

1Malaysia not imitation of DAP’s Malaysian Malaysia: PM THE 1Malaysia concept is no imitation of DAP’s Malaysian Malaysia concept, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak. The two concepts have different connotations, he told DAP chairman Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) who claimed the 1Malaysia concept was an outcome of the Malaysian Malaysia concept. “It’s absolutely not true that our 1Malaysia concept is a duplicate of the Malaysian Malaysia concept. The meaning behind Malaysian Malaysia is way different. “Most importantly, it is not based on the country’s constitution, be it in its obvious form or hidden meaning (yang tersurat dan tersirat),” said Najib. Karpal made the claim in a supplementary question asking whether it was true Najib had in 1987, during the Ops Lalang, said he would not withdraw the keris he had held until “it tastes Chinese blood.”. “If it was true, are you prepared to ask for forgiveness from the Chinese community?” Karpal asked. Najib said: “The incident did not take place. I never said that. The one who should apologise is the YB concerned, not me.” Earlier, to Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique’s (BN-Tenggara) original question, Najib said the

1Malaysia concept does not deviate from the spirit of the federal constitution. “In fact, 1Malaysia upholds all core provisions in the constitution like Article 3, Article 4, Article 152, Article 153, Part 2 and Part 3. Therefore, nobody should be concerned, suspicious or worried that it would stray from what had been agreed by our forefathers,” he said. He said 1Malaysia was formulated as a pre-requirement for the country to achieve developed nation status in 2020. “If the ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ (Malaysian nation) concept introduced through the Vision 2020 is the final goal of this journey, so 1Malaysia is the guideline which shows us the way to achieve this goal,” he said. Najib said the 1Malaysia concept was different from other concepts of assimilation practised by other countries whereby the identities of other ethnics were eliminated and replaced by a single national identity. “Instead, 1Malaysia appreciates and respects the identities of the different ethnics and deem this as an asset or something which we should be proud of. 1Malaysia stresses on the attitude of acceptance (penerimaan) among the multi-racial citizens, whereby one community accepts the uniqueness of others as it is. It is more than just being tolerant,” he added.

Motion to debate PKFZ rejected LIM Kit Siang’s (DAP-Ipoh Timur) urgent motion to debate the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and for a royal commission of inquiry to be set up was rejected by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. Pandikar said the matter was not urgent as a special task force had already been set up to help in PKFZ's financial restructure and it was given two months to come up with its recommendations. "At the same time, the project is also being investigated by the Public Accounts Committee and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission," he said. Lim's motion requested that a royal

commission be set up to question former transport ministers Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, the Port Klang Authority chairmen and board members as well as government officials. Later, Lim told reporters in parliament lobby that Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat must produce the ministerial statement as promised earlier to all MPs next Monday. "Is Ong prepared to cut short his Paris trip, rush home to make a ministerial statement in parliament tomorrow or Thursday to account for the RM12.5 billion scandal?” he asked.