We want Anwar to be the next PM, says Chua

We want Anwar to be the next PM, says Chua

Chua having a supper discussion on Johor politics with PAS local leaders after the ceramah at midnight

JOHOR BARU (Oct 13, 2012): What’s wrong with giving Anwar Ibrahim the chance to be our next prime minister?

“This is what the Malaysian Chinese community is asking among themselves today,” PKR (People’s Justice Party) vice-president Chua Jui Meng said in a ceramah (political rally) in Pasir Gudang’s Dataran Tahir in Taman Megah Ria tonight.

Chua said the Indian community in Johor was also rooting for change, “what about the Malays?”

“We (Chinese) are saying, give Anwar the chance. If he does not deliver on his promises in Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s Buku Jingga and shadow Budget 2013, then change in the 14^th General Election,” he said to an applauding crowd of about 800 majority Malays.

Chua, who is also Johor PKR chairman, said: “What have you got to lose? For 55 years Malaysians have been returning Barisan Nasional (BN)-Umno to federal power.

“What have you got in return? We have been saddled with RM800 billion in federal debts, according to Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir.

“But according to Najib (Abdul Razak)’s Budget 2013, it is only RM502 billion. Which is the correct figure? Is Najib hiding some debts?”

Chua said Singapore is an island state with zero natural resources but it is today a country with one of the highest per capita income and huge gold reserves.

“Malaysia is blessed with vast rich natural resources, including oil and gas. We have to pay about RM2.50 for a Singapore dollar. Why is that?

“In Malaysia, there is unabated corruption by BN-Umno cronies and the Umno elite. Nepotism and cronyism dictate mega businesses. In Singapore, corruption is on a super tight leash.

“There is no racial and religious discrimination in Singapore’s administrative decisions. What do we have?

“Our tertiary education standard stinks. Not a single university in Malaysia made it to the QS World University Rankings Top 100 this year.

“Singapore’s National University of Singapore was ranked 29^th, up from last year’s 40^th, and its Nanyang Technological University is 86^th, up sharply from 169th. BN-Umno has only brought global shame to Malaysians and Malaysia,” Chua said.

He said 15 years of successive annual budget deficits had seriously strained the economy, resulting in rising cost of goods and essentials without a corresponding rise in wages and salaries.

As a two-term Cabinet member and Health Minister, let me tell you this “secret”.

“During Mahathir Mohamad’s 22-year tenure, anything profitable is privatised to Umno crony companies. Losing entities are bailed out with taxpayers’ money.

“When Mahathir stepped down in September 2003, I bumped into his successor, Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) who told me he is left with an empty national coffer.

“That is true because we are living off borrowings but the privatisation continues unabated and the day will come when the people are left with nothing profitable but massive debts, like what you are seeing in Greece now,” he added.

Chua delivering his ceramah backed by local PAS leaders.

Chua pointed out that it was Mahathir who amended the Land Acquisition Act 1960 in 1991 to enable state governments to acquire land in the name of development and then pass the projects to the private sector. Before that, the Act only allowed compulsory land acquisition for infrastructure development, like building of roads, schools, hospitals, etc.

“Look what is happening in Johor today. The state is using the Act to acquire agriculture land cheaply for Umno cronies and companies to get rich in property development.

“You are seeing land grabs everywhere. Pengerang is the latest clear example, other than Nusajaya, Danga Bay, etc. They grab both Malay and Chinese village land, they even go for the dead – the cemeteries,” Chua said.

He said Petronas was set up in 1974 by the then Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who recently revealed that there were planning a Tabung Warisan Petrolium (National Petroleum Heritage Fund).

“I believe there is not a single sen in the tabung. What happened to the billions and billions of ringgit in oil revenue?

“In Norway, where they have oil in the North Sea, the country’s tabung is US$550 billion or RM1.7 trillion. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund is US$770 billion.

“Brunei’s diesel retail price per litre is 70 sen and we are paying RM1.80. Brunei is also income tax free.

“All these mean BN-Umno and its cronies have been siphoning off the nation’s wealth, sacrificing the rakyat’s welfare.

“The people, especially the Malays, have been fooled by BN-Umno’s Malay Supremacy rhetoric for the past 55 years.

“The rich Malays are all the Umno elite, the beneficiaries of nepotism and cronyism.,” he said, adding that Johor Malays must rise to stop BN-Umno from turning Malaysia into a bankrupt nation.