NEW YORK: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said multi-ethnic Malaysia must work towards forging a genuine national identity and that he stands ready to make difficult decisions needed by the country.

In one of his strongest speeches on his 1Malaysia agenda, delivered at the Asia Society here Friday, the Prime Minister acknowledged that there would be entrenched opposition but he was determined to deliver the reforms to bring the people together and place the country on the path of a high-income economy.
To his detractors, he has this to say: “To those who harbour doubts about whether as Prime Minister and the government including my other colleagues have the will to bring about these difficult changes, I have this to say: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
“I am ready to make the difficult decisions that Malaysia needs.”

In his speech titled ‘A New Vision for Malaysia’, the Prime Minister made clear that he was not opposed to dissent or opposition because he believed legitimate views deserved to be heard.
But he was wary about reckless people who lie and trample on public interest for their own narrow selfish interest.

While this had infected political discourse in Malaysia, he was confident that the government reforms would be recognised and valued by the people.

“I believe in the common sense of all Malaysians, I am confident that our maturing as a nation will gain strength and momentum,” he added.

Najib said the recent years had witnessed widening disparities and growing polarisation among the different communities as the affirmative action, the New Economic Policy, was seen to have benefited a narrow group of Malays.

“Not only is this wrong, in the new global economy, it is unsustainable. Any nation that seeks to compete internationally in the high wage knowledge sectors of the future must realise the skills, talents and expertise of its entire people.
“Potential untapped is potential wasted,” he said.

On his visit during which he had a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington for the first time, Najib believed the US had regained its moral leadership of the world.
Apart from his talk at the Asia Society, the Prime Minister spent the final day of his week-long visit again with a series of meetings with top American corporate leaders.

He met news mogul Rupert Murdoch for the first time and the latter indicated his interest in visiting Malaysia to view investment prospects.

In his one-to-one with Frank Kern, senior vice president for IBM Global Business Services, Najib was acquainted the technology used by New York police for crime reportage and assessment and another for traffic monitoring.

Najib said the police system would be studied first to see if it help crime reduction. — Bernama

April 18, 2010, Sunday