Tee Keat: Chinese no mere passengers in nation-building

The Sun
Giam Say Khoon and Loo Sim Ee

KUALA LUMPUR (March 1, 2009) : Malaysian Chinese are no mere passengers and the community is here to build a nation, says MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

"Therefore, the time has come for all races and religions to understand and respect each other, to put an end to the preaching of hate perpetrated by fanaticism.

"We must stand up to injustice and engage any other like-minded forces to seek redress on issues of public concerns. We have to be bold and loud if we have to," he said in his address at the party's 60th Anniversary celebration in the party headquarters today.

Ong said inter-racial relations must be unshackled from the zero-sum mentality where one community gains at the expense of another.

"We simply stand for the simple notion that a person is treated with equal concern and respect as a Malaysian."

He said party members and leaders must take immediate affirmative action to reimage and reinvent MCA to remain politically relevant not only in Barisan Nasional but also in the eyes of Malaysians.

"This, we must do in response to the public's demand for good governance and efficient public delivery. The MCA and BN have failed to live up to these expectations and this is why support has declined.

"MCA needs to listen to the public, and they want their voices to be heard. The voices echo from all walks of life, people with different colours speaking different languages carrying the same message. They ask for change," he said.

The first step, Ong suggested, is to take drastic actions to address the nation's economic woes, doing away with piecemeal and short-term solutions.

"We must promote micro-credit and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) financing for Malaysians. Transparency and accountability must be in order to replace red-tapes, delays and leakages that ruin our efforts to reduce income disparity," he said.

"Next, we must concentrate on politics and make the correct decisions that will bring impact to the future generation. Our party was a proactive partner in the struggle to gain independence.

"Premised on this spirit, our party needs to participate in mainstream politics, be courageous and expand our roles, ensuring that broader politics are multi-racial and just," he added.

In his presidential speech in Mandarin, Ong said the people had become very sensitive to racial harmony and that "we cannot allow irresponsible politicians to continue playing racial and religious cards, which will ultimately destroy the country".

"We live and own the land together, we are one of the masters of the nation who built the country together. So we will stand against power and resource monopoly and manipulation, simply because we are not squatters who came to share the gains of the country," he said.

Ong stressed that his suggested affirmative actions were "no mere rhetoric" and that "MCA will start with improving service standards, putting in place systems that will ensure promises are delivered.".

"We will reinvent ourselves and continue with the struggles against poverty, misery and ignorance. We will promote integrity, freedom, and the right to live a wholesome life one chooses in this country. We will not serve just a segment or a group, but all Malaysians," he added.