Najib said: Malays must have positive attitudes
04 Sep 2006
Umno should not base its struggles solely on defending Malay special rights.
"Umno will not succeed if we just continue to defend the (racial) status quo," he said.
"Yes, we can build this and that using the (political) powers that we have, but can we change the attitude of the Malays?
"That is what we should ask ourselves, as this is the factor which will determine whether Malays can progress further."
Umno, he added, must act as the catalyst for the promotion of a culture of excellence and good behavioural practices in all fields.
Najib said Malays also needed to be urgently pushed to cast off the attitude of taking things easy if they want to preserve their cultural identity in a globalised world.
He said failure to take "an immediate quantum leap in the right direction" could spell doom for them.
He described the coming 15 years before Malaysia’s 2020 target to be a fully developed country, as the most challenging period for the Malays.
"We could probably meet the deadline, but the question is, what would become of the Malays?
"We certainly do not want Malays to lag behind then, and continue to rely on handouts."
Najib said acquisition of a first-class mentality, through efforts which could improve their human capital, should now be the main priority of Malays.
To ensure this message reached the Malay masses, Najib said Umno members and leaders had to maintain constant contact with the grassroots and continuously explain the challenges faced by the community."
Speaking at the delegates meeting, Khairy said that a balanced income should be the party’s main agenda and there was no time for other petty issues.
“It has been 20 years and the nation is well developed in the industrial sector and others, but in comparison with the other races, Malays are still left far behind,” he said.
“We really want to see the improvement of the Malays, that’s why I voiced my suggestion,” he said, adding that the Government could consider studying the income gap among races.
As an economic graduate, I am perplexed over such hypothesis as suggested. Income is based on effort, qualification, skills and market needs. If you are an employee, it is not your skin color or creed that determines your income. In a bull market situation where jobs are plenty and where there is a shortage of manpower or professionals, the price to acquire resources will generally be high. For example, in 1996, we advertise for the post of a civil engineer with a minimum of 5 years experience. Only 2 person applied and the minimum asking salary is $15,000/month with fringe benefits such as car, handphone, allowances and bonuses. Today, in the contracted construction industry, the going pay offer is nothing more than $4,000-$5,000/month for an engineer with 5 years experience. At such, it is not about color or creed; it is supply and demand based on skills, experience, knowledge and competency.
In my opinion, UMNO and Khairy should spent time to study the competency level and how to improve the masses of graduates who lacks basic knowledge and fundamental knowledge, apart from the fact that they lack the required skills and creativity. This study if done comprehensively will surely help the Malays to uplift their income and opportunities.
Ironically, many of the institutions, departments and officers who are mandated to built and develop the skills and competencies of human resources were more concern about their own political and hierarchical interest. The institutions were more interested to fulfill their own perception of the job scope and getting paid without properly assessing the needs and lacks. Trainings offered were basic and theorethical, often lacking pragmatism and application knowledge. Case studies were limited and often inapplicable as they are more tuned towards American and European culture and environments. They talk about Enron, World.Com, HP and Compac, etc, all textbook case studies, and nothing about live local case studies, contractual issues and local conditions. How could the participants improve? Worse off, the senior managers and event organisors are calcified and dogmatic. They performed more rituals and forms, lacking substances, guiding principles and structured framework.
Could we improve? Income improvement? What's the point of comparing income amongst the races? If your neighbour is earning $1,000/month, does it mean you are better off or good enough if you are earning $1,100/month? Or, if your neighbour is earning $50,000/month with Khazanah, does it mean you are inferior if your income is lesser? You want more Income? Well, using NEP and forcing institutions to pay for mediocrity, is suicidal. The saying goes: you reap what you sow! You get paid for what you can do, not what you want! In reality, be ye Chinese, Indian, Malay, Kadazan, Dayak or Mat Salleh, the market dictates the price. If the system tampered with the market, it will ultimately suffers from the resulting consequences - that's the rule of globalisation and competition.
04 Sep 2006
Umno should not base its struggles solely on defending Malay special rights."Umno will not succeed if we just continue to defend the (racial) status quo," he said.
"Yes, we can build this and that using the (political) powers that we have, but can we change the attitude of the Malays?
"That is what we should ask ourselves, as this is the factor which will determine whether Malays can progress further."
Umno, he added, must act as the catalyst for the promotion of a culture of excellence and good behavioural practices in all fields.
Najib said Malays also needed to be urgently pushed to cast off the attitude of taking things easy if they want to preserve their cultural identity in a globalised world.
He said failure to take "an immediate quantum leap in the right direction" could spell doom for them.
He described the coming 15 years before Malaysia’s 2020 target to be a fully developed country, as the most challenging period for the Malays.
"We could probably meet the deadline, but the question is, what would become of the Malays?
"We certainly do not want Malays to lag behind then, and continue to rely on handouts."
Najib said acquisition of a first-class mentality, through efforts which could improve their human capital, should now be the main priority of Malays.
To ensure this message reached the Malay masses, Najib said Umno members and leaders had to maintain constant contact with the grassroots and continuously explain the challenges faced by the community."
Speaking at the delegates meeting, Khairy said that a balanced income should be the party’s main agenda and there was no time for other petty issues.
“It has been 20 years and the nation is well developed in the industrial sector and others, but in comparison with the other races, Malays are still left far behind,” he said.
“We really want to see the improvement of the Malays, that’s why I voiced my suggestion,” he said, adding that the Government could consider studying the income gap among races.
As an economic graduate, I am perplexed over such hypothesis as suggested. Income is based on effort, qualification, skills and market needs. If you are an employee, it is not your skin color or creed that determines your income. In a bull market situation where jobs are plenty and where there is a shortage of manpower or professionals, the price to acquire resources will generally be high. For example, in 1996, we advertise for the post of a civil engineer with a minimum of 5 years experience. Only 2 person applied and the minimum asking salary is $15,000/month with fringe benefits such as car, handphone, allowances and bonuses. Today, in the contracted construction industry, the going pay offer is nothing more than $4,000-$5,000/month for an engineer with 5 years experience. At such, it is not about color or creed; it is supply and demand based on skills, experience, knowledge and competency.
In my opinion, UMNO and Khairy should spent time to study the competency level and how to improve the masses of graduates who lacks basic knowledge and fundamental knowledge, apart from the fact that they lack the required skills and creativity. This study if done comprehensively will surely help the Malays to uplift their income and opportunities.
Ironically, many of the institutions, departments and officers who are mandated to built and develop the skills and competencies of human resources were more concern about their own political and hierarchical interest. The institutions were more interested to fulfill their own perception of the job scope and getting paid without properly assessing the needs and lacks. Trainings offered were basic and theorethical, often lacking pragmatism and application knowledge. Case studies were limited and often inapplicable as they are more tuned towards American and European culture and environments. They talk about Enron, World.Com, HP and Compac, etc, all textbook case studies, and nothing about live local case studies, contractual issues and local conditions. How could the participants improve? Worse off, the senior managers and event organisors are calcified and dogmatic. They performed more rituals and forms, lacking substances, guiding principles and structured framework.
Could we improve? Income improvement? What's the point of comparing income amongst the races? If your neighbour is earning $1,000/month, does it mean you are better off or good enough if you are earning $1,100/month? Or, if your neighbour is earning $50,000/month with Khazanah, does it mean you are inferior if your income is lesser? You want more Income? Well, using NEP and forcing institutions to pay for mediocrity, is suicidal. The saying goes: you reap what you sow! You get paid for what you can do, not what you want! In reality, be ye Chinese, Indian, Malay, Kadazan, Dayak or Mat Salleh, the market dictates the price. If the system tampered with the market, it will ultimately suffers from the resulting consequences - that's the rule of globalisation and competition.
2 comments:
I wonder where the marginalised Indian community stands in this equation among neverending talk about the "poor, left behind Malays" who have not benefitted from the NEP for umpteen years.
Who is Najib? Remember he screwed up our education system when he was the minister? I'm one of the victims, if not because of him I won't be so suffer now. He is the most uncapable among the leaders. I wonder how he leads the Malays community?
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