PM says do not regard Malaysian Chinese as "pendatang"

“We should not look behind with sentiments of the past. We must look forward because we are building a Malaysian nation that is progressive and successful on the global stage,” he said when opening the 57th MCA general assembly on Sunday.

Najib urged the public to focus on how the Chinese and Indian communities could work with the Malay and other communities to create a fair society despite differences in interpreting what constituted a fair society.

“There can be a big polemic on what is a fair society. A Malay leader’s definition of fair can be different than your definition of fair but eventually we must converge,” he said.

Najib said there was a need to develop the economy equitably to have a fair distribution of wealth depending on the size of the community.

“It is a conventional wisdom and rational thinking that if the majority of a country has a very small percentage of the wealth, that is not equitable. I think MCA would also agree.

“So, we need to have a nice balance that the Malay feels they have a bigger share in economic wealth but the Chinese also feel they are growing economically in our system,” he said.

He added that was the reason to aim for a 6% economic growth in the next 10 years to ensure the economic pie grew.

“When you expand the pie, in absolute terms, we are getting better. We must look for a fine balance. Malays also have their aspirations and their fears, the other communities have their wishes. In all these things, let us look at it from the Malaysian context,” he urged.

He also urged the country to find ways to work together to bring to fruition policies contained in 1Malaysia, Government Transformation Programme, Economic Transformation Programme and 10th Malaysia Plan.

“We must be realistic, not emotional. Not racist but realistic. Embrace the need to work together like how our forefathers have shown the way,” he said.

Najib also reminded that the 1Malaysia concept was a work in progress to create an equitable and fair society.

“When I announced 1Malaysia, it cannot be that at the stroke of a pen, everything is perfect, it is a work in progress, a journey, leading us to something better,” he added.

He said even after 22 years in as Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad admitted his failure in trying to change the mindset of Malaysians.

Najib stressed that the Government did not condone racist remarks made by its officers but due investigative process must be taken before action could be taken.

“One officer made a racist remark, we take action. We don’t condone racism, I assure you. But proper investigation must be done with due process. But the issue has been amplified because of information communication technology,” he said.

He said that racist remarks should be taken in its cultural context to be sure it did not carry a derogatory connotation.

He gave the example of him being able call his Northern Malay friend with dark skin Non Tok Yu (dark soy sauce) without it being taken as an insult.

“If they made remarks, you must understand the cultural setting. Of course, if applied in the context of Malaysian Indian, it’s derogatory. I don’t use that to describe my friends in MIC,” he said.