It is unarguable amongst Malaysians today that if there is one single organisation in the country that is sufficiently powerful in influencing the 'well-being' of Malaysia it would be the Umno, the strongest and also the oldest Malay political party in power. Indeed, Umno is unequivocally the dominating party that has guided the destiny of our country since independence in 1957.

Therefore, if we may so simply illustrate the overwhelming clout Umno has over our country, it will be like this, 'One bad cough from an Umno assembly is serious enough to send the whole of Malaysia spiralling into an epidemic of socially, economically and politically-related illnesses it will find hard to heal from'.

As such we as citizens and Rakyat Malaysia need to ask ourselves one very important question. If Umno is so important in deciding the fate of our country, should not its delegates and leaders at take more precautions before delivering 'policies' and personal opinions in their speeches and debates? I believe we all know what the answer is. And I also believe we all know what the implications are.

Furthermore, given the important role of Umno in our country, let us not forget that Umno general assemblies are watched closely by a large number of foreign media groups worldwide. The debates at the latest Umno assembly have advertently given foreigners the impression that racial tension is at its height in Malaysia. This will, in turn, give a negative impression to foreign investors who are considering investing within our country.

The rest of this article will serve to discuss five main issues that were raised during the recent Umno assembly and show the extent to which they have negatively impacted not only on Malaysians at all levels of society, but also on the credibility of Umno itself, its delegates and most of all, its leaders.

'Twenty years of the NEP is insufficient to pay back the bumis'. This was one statement that emerged from a speech during the recent assembly vis--vis the point Malaysia having been colonised for more than 400 years.

We must remember that Malaysia was colonised by foreign powers, not by Chinese Malaysians or other minority and ethnic groups. If the bumiputeras really intend to pursue compensation, they should deal directly with the foreign powers that colonised Malaysia over the past 400 years and not with the other minority races within the country. Every person born after 1957 is as Malaysian as any bumiputera and contributes as much in terms of public services, working towards the betterment of the country and most importantly, in paying taxes.

As Malaysians, we live in a plural society and the different racial groups should really work closely together for the good of the country especially in today's era of globalisation and increased competitiveness. For example, as one would put in laymen terms: 'Let the Chinese bring the Malay and Indians to China to do business, let the Malays bring the Chinese and the Indians to the Middle East and let the Indians bring the Chinese and the Malays to India'.

Open tenders the way

The second issue of the Umno assembly is nothing more than a clear-cut message that only the Malaysian bumiputeras will benefit from the government. It is highly disturbing that such a policy or order should be allowed to exist when Umno leaders and delegates talk openly about unity and prosperity for all Malaysians. Clearly this is an utter contradiction.

How is there to be a fair distribution of prosperity and wealth for all Malaysians when only the bumiputeras get the full 100 percent of the government's contracts pie? Artificial monopolies will be created from such unfair distribution and consequently, this will defeat the government's purpose in attempting to create more competitive entrepreneurs especially, amongst the bumiputeras.

The latter may enjoy the full benefit of being offered contracts in Malaysia, but in the international business world they will be rendered the least competitive. If this current situation does not improve in the near future, Malaysian bumiputeras may find themselves in great difficulties when the impending forces of globalisation overwhelm the Malaysian markets with the signing of the FTA and the participation in the WTO.

Another important point to make here is that all the monies that are used to fund government contracts derive from sources such as taxpayers money, the EPF and Petronas just to name a few. This means every Malaysian has contributed to the opportunity of there being a government 'pie' in the first place. Henceforth, every Malaysian should be given the eligibility to tender for such a contract and not only the bumiputeras.

It would definitely be wise for Umno and the government to decide to open up tenders for government contracts as this would certainly increase the competitiveness of Malaysian entrepreneurs. Subsequently, the value and quality of products and services offered will also improve.

Open tenders will always be the wiser move to be made by Umno and our government to ensure the betterment of our country.

At the recent assembly, Umno could be seen to be pushing for the NEP to be continued in its current distorted form which is anything but beneficial to the country. The word 'distorted' here refers to the way in which the NEP has been abused to fully accommodate only to the needs of a small group of bumis otherwise known as the 'Umnoputras'.

Back in the 1970s during the inception of the NEP, the original spirit of the National Economic Policy came with two main objectives. One was to provide help to the very poor and truly marginalised regardless of race and ethnicity and as a result, reduce and eradicate poverty. The second was to eradicate the identification of economic functions according to a particular race.

Umno's overwhelming power

As of today, even after 36 years of having the NEP, although only 5.7% of the population is living below the poverty line, the intra-ethnic wealth gap is widening compared to the 1970s. Additionally, the public sector is also grossly dominated by bumiputeras. How is this near to achieving the objectives of the NEP as proposed by some Umno leaders? It is not. In fact, if there is anything it is near to achieving, it is political patronage.

By distorting the NEP, Umno and the government are breeding political patronage. This, in other words, provides a means for corruption to occur across all levels of the government bureaucracy.

It has been suggested that the government and Umno leaders identify both the group of people who are still below the poverty line and those who are above but whom are stranded at the lower end of the intra-ethnic wealth distribution gap. Subsequently, provide these underprivileged people all the special privileges they may need for an improved living standard, regardless of race and ethnic origin.

As mentioned earlier, Umno has the overwhelming power to affect the country. Thus any policies or statements deriving from its assemblies have an impact on the nation and on all fellow Malaysians.

That said, one of the many things that would seriously affect the Malaysian population is the racial issue. As seen at the recent Umno assembly, delegates have tried playing to the gallery by commenting on race-related issues. These sorts of issues may help delegates garner a high level of attention.

However they do not contribute towards enhancing the overall sentiments of the Malaysian public and may only serve to increase the animosity and ethnic tension amongst the different Malaysian races and create a negative impression of Malaysia in the eyes of foreigners.

From the abusing of the NEP to harping of racial issues to garner self-attention, it can be seen that Umno delegates and their leaders still have a long way to go if they are to live up to the promise of building a better Malaysia.

Nevertheless, the grassroots and all Malaysian citizens are grateful to prime minister and Umno president Pak Lah who, in his closing speech at the assembly, pledged that all races will be taken care of and that he shall be a PM for all Malaysians.

It is hoped that the next few years to come will see Pak Lah's pledge being kept and maintained throughout Umno and all levels of his government.

'I must make it clear that this increase in prosperity is not for any particular group or community. This prosperity must be widely shared and must be spread throughout the nation. This prosperity is for all.' - excerpt from a speech by Tun Abdul Razak Hussein on the New Economic Policy, July 1, 1969.

DR JEFFREY GOH, whilst still practising dentistry, finds operating a chain of restaurants to be more challenging and exciting.