Malays Must Be Confident After 50 Years Independence - Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants the Malays to be more confident of themselves and shed the feeling of scared that has dominated their mind all this while.
"The feeling of scared and apprehensive has dominated the thinking of the Malays for far too long, it has been a long time...we are still scared even after 50 years of independence.
"Among the Malay professionals, there's no fear, but the majority of the Malays are still haunted by the feelings of fear," the prime minister said in a special interview with Mingguan Malaysia published today.
The Umno president said the Malays must realise that they cannot continue to rely on the New Economic Policy (NEP) or be dependent on government hand-outs.
"They must learn to stand on their own feet and learn to be competitive. We will help the Malays who are serious in wanting to do business and want to work hard (to succeed in business)," he said in the interview held in conjunction with the 2007 Umno General Assembly on Wednesday.
Abdullah said: "I want the Malays to capitalise on the opportunities given to them. The government has offered a lot of opportunities, especially in the corridor economic developments.
"They must be bold enough and take the initiative to seize the opportunities.
"There are no easy ways to succeed in life. Only the educated, knowledgeable and the hardworking will succeed eventually," he said.
Abdullah said it would take a long process to change the mindset of human beings but "I've said many times Malays are not stupid or weak".
On views that there are differences between the Malay leadership in world-class government-linked companies with the second echelon leadership in Umno, the prime minister said: "The Malays are fond of making announcements.
"They are like chickens, after laying one egg, it tells the whole village, while a turtle lays its eggs quietly, when we come to know, it already has many hatchlings. We need to talk less and work more," he said.

tunku : we are confident and believe in ourselves but we don't believe and have confidence in you and your SON-IN-LAW.