Be aware and do not forget our ex Great Leader's arse was saved by the Chinese only to betray them later. You guys must be dimwits if taken in by this bigot. Do not be taken in by his speech, I guess he will talk about stability and harmony in Malaysia's multi-racial society and the nation's progress, attributing this to BN's power-sharing formula and consensus in decision making. Just say, Bah, humbug!!!

The Malaysian Chinese Organizations Election Appeals Committee "Suqiu" with more than 2,000 signatory bodies, submitted a 17-point appeal to the government before the November 1999 general elections. While the group did not question Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which stipulates the special position of Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak, they criticised special rights and privileges as well as the bumiputera/nonbumiputera distinction that is not foreseen in the constitution.

At the time, their appeals did not cause any major reaction by the Prime Minister, because it was obvious that Chinese voters were going to be the kingmakers during those elections. A massive outrage by the Prime Minister followed only much later, on National Day, 31 August 2000, when Mahathir tried to mobilize the support of the Malays. He unleashed an angry attack and made the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS) threaten mass demonstrations against Suqiu and indirectly, the Chinese. The main result was that Suqiu backed down and put aside seven most controversial sub-points of its appeals, the ruling coalition lost the support of Chinese voters during the subsequent by-elections in Lunas, and finally Malaysians of all ethnic backgrounds were angry about the move that obviously showed little respect for their intelligence.

The Indians too must not forget. Another evidence of unresolved ethnic tensions are the racial clashes in Kampung Medan between 8 and 12 March 2001. Six people, predominantly Indians, died and many more were injured in riots that followed the armed gang clashes and subsequent rumours of attacks on Malays. A group of 51 non-governmental organisations immediately drafted a memorandum, which called for the establishment of a "Race Relations Commission" that has "the power to investigate overt and institutional racism, and to recommend possible remedies". Dr. Mahathir called the clashes "isolated incidents" and threatened the press and opposition parties with charges under the Sedition Act,13 if they were to publish other information.

This article1 provides a review of the condition of Malaysian democracy after 20 years of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's rule. To this end it looks into issues that were identified as political causes of the Asian crisis in the years after 1997. These are in particular: weak democratic institutions and electoral systems, an executive that dominates parliament, the judiciary, and the media. Considering the Malaysian constitutional background and evolving political trends in recent years of the Mahathir era, the article finds these issues basically unresolved. The country thus seems unprepared for future political challenges and crisis scenarios.
www.asienkunde.de/articles/Malaysia2.pdf