Aid for Bumi’s does not contradict 1Malaysia.

All of us predicted that the Chinese community will be the first one to criticize the “PemerkasaanEkonomiBumiputera”plan @ Bumiputera Economic Empowerment plan that was announced by the PM recently. MCA seems to be non-existent as the party has assimilated with the DAP. Thus, when we talk about the Chinese community, we mean the opposition or specifically the DAP. 

Holistically, the Chinese chose to oppose the BN in the 13^thGeneral Election because they refuse to acknowledge the special rights of the Bumi’s. For them, it is an unfair policy as it only affects only one group of people in the country. More than that, they think that the support (financial mostly) given to the Bumi’s comes from their hard work. Frankly speaking, they are accusing the government as taking their part of the cake and giving it to the Bumiputera’s.

They are refusing to admit that they would not be able to have what they have now if the government did not give them the ingredients in their recipe for success. If the government did not support them, for sure the Bumi’s would have a bigger portion of the financial cake.

By announcing the Bumi’s economic empowerment program, the government are not trying to pull out the Chinese from their businesses, and the government also won’t allow anything that has been obtained by the Chinese to be taken away from them. The government are giving the Malays/Bumis a new batch of success ingredients and they are trying to make the Malays to work hard.

The Bumis has already shared their fortune with the Chinese, while the government hopes that the Chinese and Bumis would share this wealth and engage in a friendly manner as what has been stated by the 1Malaysia concept.  

The fact of the matter is the economy of the Malays and the Chinese must be hand in hand. Because of that, many countries in the world also use the same type of positive discrimination in some situation. The United State of America, for example gave special accommodation and quotas for African Americans to enhance their economic standings. Policies like this is important to ensure that the government can focus on more important things rather than being plagued by social problems in the community as a result from the lack of progress from a specific group of people.  

Thus the Chinese cannot be so arrogant saying that they are the one who developed the country and they are the highest tax payer who generate the county’s economy. The Chinese cannot bear to see the Bumis as a hurdle for them to become richer than they are now. Their arrogance and selfishness will not benefit anyone because we will always depend on one another. But then again, the Chinese still need the Bumis as the Bumis still hold the buying power and workforce to make them richer.

The Chinese will not become richer by trampling the Bumis. If the Bumis are being left out of the economy, it will also disrupts the economic cycle of the nation. Social problems will be rampant especially poverty related problems. To make matter worst, it will also contribute to the instability and later destruction. 13 May is one of the most valuable lessons that we can all learn as a nation. Sadly, the Chinese refuse to learn from it and they tried to deny it has happened.

Not just the 13 May incident, but the Indonesian reformation movement also comes from the same problems, as the indigenous people of the country is being left out because there are no effort to close the economic gap.

It is true that the Special Rights of the Bumis that was coined up from the DEB carries a lot of side problems. But, as long as there are efforts, there is still hope that the goal will be achieve. If there are no policies similar to it, then the economic gap will become wider and will expose the nation to another tragedy similar to the 13 May incident.

Thus, the announcement of the New Economic Model, in a program to empower the Malay economy have to be accepted positively among the Chinese because it show that the government  is concern of the problem that arise form the DEB and they are putting all their got to remedy the problem.

Criticism from the Chinese community will oust the Chinese further from BN shows that they are simple minded even if they are not racist or greedy. The fact of the matter is, the better the economy of the Malays, the better it will be for the Chinese. More than that, the economic balance will decrease the crime rate and also social problems in the country.

The Chinese have to think further, not only from the perspective of profit and losses only. As the Malay saying goes “Greedy People Will Always Lose”.