The PAS President, Abdul Hadi Awang, made it very clear that we must fight for all needy Malaysians regardless of race and clean up the abuse in the implementation process and address the mismanagement of the economy.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The last two days, Umno, through the mainstream media, has been playing up the issue of what the PAS President, Abdul Hadi Awang said: and that is he too supports the rights and privileges of the Malays.
Well, read what Bernama reported below and read what Buletin Online reported below that. There is also a video link in case you want to hear what Hadi really said -- although the video is a bit noisy, but you can still make out what he said.
The government controlled mainstream media reports that Hadi said, “The rights and privileges of the Malays and the bumiputeras should be retained because the majority of the poor in the country were bumiputeras and that they had a right to the privileges.”
Actually, Hadi was responding to a reporter’s question about his comments on what Tony Pua said -- that there should no longer be a special discount for Bumiputera buyers of luxury homes or expensive houses. And what Hadi said was Tony Pua’s view is his personal view and which was never raised, discussed and agreed by Pakatan Rakyat.
Hadi then went on to say that, granted, the Malays form the majority of Malaysia’s population so the majority of the poor would therefore be Malays. But we can’t just look after the interest of the Malays while ignoring the interest of the other communities who are also poor. It is wrong to just look into the interest of the Malays while ignoring the interest of the others, argued Hadi.
In short, Hadi said that all poor Malaysians, Malays or otherwise, need to be looked after. And the discount on the purchase of houses should be given to all who are eligible, not just to Malays.
Hadi also commented on the implementation issue. The problem is that the economy of the country has been mismanaged and we therefore need to look at this rather than focus on the issue of Malays.
So there you have it. Umno and the mainstream media twisted what Hadi actually said to make it appear like he too is now fighting for Malay rights and privileges. But Hadi made it very clear that we must fight for all needy Malaysians regardless of race and clean up the abuse in the implementation process and address the mismanagement of the economy.
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Apt to retain rights and privileges of Malays: DPM
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin today described as apt the statement by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on the need to retain the rights and privileges of the Malays and bumiputeras, including the discount for purchase of commercial and residential properties.
Muhyiddin said Abdul Hadi would have surely made reference to the Federal Constitution although his statement might seem to be contrary to the stand of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, of which PAS is a partner along with the DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
"However, from the viewpoint of the DAP, it seems that there is a contradiction in terms of the stand in the Pakatan Rakyat. They (PAS and DAP) do not have the same view on the matter and there seems to be a drastic difference," he said to reporters after launching the National Crime Prevention Carnival organised by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) in collaboration with the police, here.
Hadi had said to reporters in Marang, Terengganu, yesterday that the rights and privileges of the Malays and the bumiputeras should be retained because the majority of the poor in the country were bumiputeras and that they had a right to the privileges.
The PAS president had been asked to comment on the proposal by Petaling Jaya Utara Member of Parliament, Tony Pua of the DAP, to the Selangor PKR government to abolish the bumiputera discounts for purchase of houses costing more than RM500,000 and commercial properties costing more than RM2 million.
Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said it was left to the people to evaluate the stand of Pakatan Rakyat to determine whether its partners adopted a common position or had differing views.
On crime prevention, the deputy prime minister, who is the MP for Pagoh, said all community leaders, and not the police alone, had a role to play in maintaining and stepping up security both in the urban and rural areas.
"We also want the community leaders to be involved because various issues have to be attended to at their level in the urban and rural areas," he said.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and MCPF vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye were also present at the event. -- Bernama
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Kita wajib membela kaum lain yang miskin dan yang patut juga dibela
PAS menyifatkan cadangan Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua, memansuhkan diskaun bumiputera dalam pemilikan hartanah komersial di Selangor adalah bersifat peribadi.
Presiden PAS, Dato’ Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang berkata, isu tersebut belum pernah dibawa berbincang dalam Pakatan Rakyat.
“Pandangan itu lebih bersifat peribadi. Sebenarnya, kita belum bincang apa-apa lagi perkara itu di peringkat Pakatan Rakyat, dengan sebab itu, kita kena bincang di peringkat Pakatan Rakyat.
"Apa yang berlaku hari ini tidak sampai ke (sasaran) bumiputera pun, sampai kepada pemimpin-pemimpin Umno sahaja,” jelasnya dalam sidang media selepas majlis pelancaran buku terbarunya.
Beliau berkata demikian ketika menjawab pertanyaan wartawan berkenaan isu tersebut.
Dalam isu yang sama, Ustaz Hadi membidas sikap kepura-puraan Umno yang kononya juara isu hak bumiputera, sedangkan sebenarnya bukan bumiputera yang mendapat segala kemudahan, tetapi dimonopoli oleh pemimpin Umno dan Barisan Nasional (BN).
Beliau yang juga Ahli Parlimen Marang bagaimana pun mengakui belum melihatnya secara ‘detail’ hasrat cadangan pemansuhan diskaun pemilikan hartanah yang diperkatakan itu.
Sehubungan itu beliau berpendapat, realiti yang wujud dalam negara masakini adalah, bumiputera merupakan majoriti rakyat yang masih miskin.
Walaupun begitu, menurutnya, Islam juga tidak membenarkan berlaku zalim terhadap kaum serta bangsa lain yang memerlukan pembelaan.
“Saya tidak melihat ‘detail’ tapi saya melihat realiti yang ada dalam negara kita bahawa majoriti rakyat adalah bumiputra dan yang miskin adalah bumiputra.”
“Sebab itu, kita perlu melihat majoriti rakyat yang mengalami masalah kemiskinan. Dalam masa sama, kita (Islam) wajib membela kaum lain yang miskin dan yang patut juga dibela.”
“Kita (Islam) tidak boleh menzalimi kaum lain dalam keadaan kita (orang Melayu) membela kaum kita sendiri,” tegasnya. -- Buletin Online
SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHDYt6guki8
“They always quote Article 153 of the constitution whenever they think we question Malay rights. However, the second part of the article emphasises on the protection of the legitimate interests of the non-bumiputeras which is conveniently forgotten by the ruling party,” he said. 
By FMT Staff
The trust fund will monitor Kampung Baru Development Corporation which is set up by the federal government.
By Athi Shankar - Free Malaysia Today
United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) studies indicate that child marriages are often a reaction to extreme poverty in mostly rural areas. And yet, here we are in Malaysia, supposedly on its way to high income economy status, propagating child marriages as a solution to teenage pregnancies.
