7/20/2007

notable quotes - mahathir

'When you're coming up from behind to catch up, you have to run faster, you have to make more effort.' Mahathir Mohamad Without the NEP the bumis will regress. That's what Mahathir said. With the NEP for almost 40 years, they are still behind. They have not made good use of the policy. So they must run faster to catch up. Who would want to run faster when there is no need to run, where money drops onto their laps? This is the irony of the NEP. It is based on the wrong assumption that people would voluntarily want to work hard when they don't have to. Like it or not, it is a double edged sword. It cuts both ways.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's not a nice admission from the man himself, but the lot of those Malays who benefitted from the NEP are still bent on keeping it, going by what they are saying in letters to the Malaysian media and blogs.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

anyone that is given an easy way out would not want to do it the hard way. it is only human.

this is what will happen to the prodigal son. only when he ruined himself will he pick himself up. but many can't.

an overly kind parent will only dig the grave for his children.

Anonymous said...

40 years is a damn long time. To not be able to see the obvious is what fools like them do best.

Anonymous said...

China used to be like that too, assuming people would voluntarily want to work hard when they don't have to with the iron rice bowl they had. But not any tom dick harry can be as agile like them to reverse a slumping and dead economy so quickly. A regressive policy is more often a straight down no U-Turn to nowhere that only fools didnt know.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

china was saved by deng xiaoping after mao died. deng threw away communism which believes that everyone will work as hard as he can be and get the same pay as those who work less.

the theory of all men are equal in abilities was debunked and the reality that people will work harder for their own pocket first was acknowledged. thus capitalism was returned to china.

make people work and the more they work, the harder they work, the more they get.

when people can get paid without working, it becomes a disease. everyone gets poorer when those who are able refused to work. why should they work for the parasites?

Anonymous said...

Malaysia is unlike China because of the racial politics. UNMO needs the vote of the Malays to stay in power and they cannot dismantle the NEP without suffering a backlash. Thus they just have to carry on with the regressive NEP policy. It is now very difficult for the Malays to do away with the NEP because with priority in everything, who wants to change. The Malays are treating the NEP as a right and not a privilege.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

ya, it is not easy to unwind.

my bumi friends here, any suggestion or views on this?

Anonymous said...

If not for all the wrong things they did, would singapore have risen so quickly... hmm food for tots?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

that is one of the brutal and honest truth. everytime they decided to take one step back, we move one step forward.

when they chased away investors or make investments in their country difficult, investors will come here.

the msc was an excellent example when the giant american software companies chose to go there than singapore. but they messed is up so badly that the americans have no choice but to put their money here.

i am saying this not for being chauvinistic. they could have the idr developed way way ahead of suzhou and shenzhen. singapore would be most happy to put money there than in suzhou.

now it is not only too late, it will take another generation or two for the fear to go away, that is if no more nasty surprises coming out from KL again.

Anonymous said...

i am saying this not for being chauvinistic. they could have the idr developed way way ahead of suzhou and shenzhen. singapore would be most happy to put money there than in suzhou.


If not for all the animosity, paranoia and tensions, yes something similar to idr cud have been mooted and succeeded long before suzhou and shenzen in the concept of Golden Triangle.

That it did not take off is due 100% to the incompetence and backwardness of these people.