Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	THE DEWAN NIRWANA, HOTEL HILTON, 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	10/03/82 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE 44TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER OF FEI 
			SAN MALAYSIA 




Datuk Lim Chong, President Fei San Malaysia; The Honourable Dato' Lee San
Choon, The President of MCA and Advisor of Fei San; Leaders of Guilds and
Associations; Distinguished guests; Ladies and Gentlemen.

I wish to thank Fei San Malaysia for inviting my wife and I to this
dinner. This is the second time I have been given the opportunity to
attend the anniversary dinner of this association. I also wish to thank
you for giving me the honour and opportunity to address this gathering
tonight.

2. I am very honoured to be invited to your function this evening and to
be amongst important and distinguished leaders of well over two hundred
guilds and associations.

Guilds and associations have very important roles to play.

They have made their useful contributions in the past twenty five years
since we achieve independence and I am sure that with dedicated and
responsible leadership you will continue to render positive contributions
to the community, society at large and the nation.

3. We are presently on a threshold of a new era in our development. Older
Malaysians, including those present here proper and strong footing and
foundation so as to ensure a viable future for all.

4. We agreed then on certain specific and basic premises for building this
country and this nation. We incorporated these basic ingredients in the
Constitution and later enshrined them in the Rukunegara and the New
Economic Policy. Our main concern is unity and we have agreed on the
instruments for unity through a national language and culture whereby the
indigenous norms and values will form the basis of our Malaysian and
national way of life. Unlike many other countries where alien cultural
influences have to be discarded, we in Malaysia are fortunate that within
the limits of our Constitution and policies, our people are free to learn
and practice their beliefs and cultures.

5. Malaysians who have travelled widely abroad will come to appreciate the
value of being the people of this country.

And I believe that it is because we place a high value on the
sensitivities of our people and our national ideals that we have managed
to sustain our development, stability and prosperity which in the final
analysis are for the benefit of all.

6. As a multiracial society we have to expect certain grievances from
certain quarters with regard to the implementation of our policies. For
that matter there is no country where everything is all fine and no one
has any our country some noises here and there over some issues are to be
expected. But there is this tendency of some people who like to capitalise
on an issue to ignite "mob psychology" for mobilising the people, or
segment of people, against the Government. I hope, responsible citizens of
this country will not take the good and beautiful things that we have for
granted and dance to the tune of mischief-makers who are always out to
disrupt the potentials of a viable future for all.

7. The 3R is a fine example of how a simple issue on the implementation of
an agreed Government policy has been distorted by some people who are
aimed at arousing racial sentiments and misunderstandings among the
people. It was unfortunate that the so-called champions of the Chinese
cause have managed to misinterpret and misrepresent the issue to such a
proportion that even the Government supporters are charged with emotion. I
say that this is unfortunate not because I would like to see that
Malaysian Chinese should be passive but because I feel that before anyone
makes an issue out of something there must be a clear understanding of
what it is all about. We must realise that in many instances we are faced
with the danger of racial conflict that can obstruct our national
development.

8. I would like to stress here very categorically that the Government has
no intention whatsoever of changing the character of Chinese Primary
schools. The provisions in the Constitution that safeguard the rights of
using the mother-tongue of the various communities in this country will be
respected. There has been many comments in the local press over the years
regarding Section 21(2) of the Education Act, 1961. This is only an
enabling clause whereby the Minister of Education is empowered to convert
National Type Chinese or Tamil primary schools to national primary schools
when a request has been made. I have stated in the past that although this
power is vested with the Government it has never been the intention of the
Government to use this power to convert National Type Primary schools into
national primary schools if the people do not wish it so. In fact, in 25
years there has been only one such occasion whereby this enabling clause
was used to change a national type primary school into a national primary
school.

This was done on a specific request of the parents and community leaders
concerned. The Government on its own will not abuse this clause. This is
my pledge on behalf of the Government. Therefore, I hope that with this
statement of mine there will no longer be any doubts in the minds of the
Chinese as well as Indian communities that this clause will be used at the
whims and fancies of the Government. I hope there will be no more
misinterpretation, intentionally or unintentionally, to breed anxiety and
confusion on a matter which is not a controversial issue at all.

Ladies and gentlemen.

9. One of the things that the new Government did was to lift the ban on my
book "The Malay Dilemma". This is necessary because it is important that
the people in this country know what was written in the book rather than
hear about it from people whose intentions may not be very healthy. The
book will be translated into Chinese, Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia so as to
enable everyone to read it if they wish. I am not trying to advertise my
book nor am I seeking monetary gains. But I would like to explain that the
book was written in 1969-70 and the views reflect the situation prevailing
at that time. Today much of the things I describe no longer hold
true. After 10 years of the New Economic Policy a lot of the wrongs have
been rectified.

The harsh words used in the book may no longer be justified.

Indeed the harsh words used in 1969 and 1970 by everyone would seem out of
place now.

10. I am not making an apology for what I had written then, as I expect no
apology for the things other people said about me and about racial issues
in those days. But it is important to know how close we came to disaster
and how, by the grace of God, we avoided it. We must not forget 1969
because it was a lesson to us of the dangers of racial inequality and race
politics.

11. As I have often stressed we are on the threshold of an era of great
achievements in the various fields. We are looking towards those countries
which are scientifically and technologically advanced. I have stressed the
need to emulate certain aspects of work ethics of the Japanese and the
Koreans and we are sending our people for training in the Republic of
Korea and Japan. Our people will have to acquire new languages for this
purpose and it is my sincere hope that all Malaysians will look at the new
approach to learning positively so that we can look forward to reaping the
fruits of progress and development instead of being used by those who
would like to cause mischief and retard our progress and disrupt the unity
and stability that we have.

12. We are part of a bigger international community and our development
will be part of the total development. We will have to pick what is good
from the experience of others and build a future that all Malaysians will
be proud of and benefit from.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

13. The Chinese guilds have played a very important part in the social and
economic life of Malaysia. Now that we have reached a stage for an
economic take-off it is imperative that you organise yourself to play a
greater role. The racial exclusiveness of the guilds should be minimised
slowly so that everyone in the same field of economic activity would be
able to participate. This will not only help strengthen the economy but it
will improve the racial harmony in this country. With greater inter-racial
harmony the march to prosperity would be enhanced. I am not forcing this
view on you but I do hope you will give it your earnest consideration.

14. Malaysia is a fairly big country. There is opportunity for
everyone. You may not get everything that you want but you can get
something equally good. Recently a foreigner wrote a novel about Malaysia
in which, Meng, a Chinese boy, could not get a place in the Faculty of
Medicine in the university. He was offered a place in the science faculty.

According to the book Meng became very angry and decided on a life of
crime. This is a gross misrepresentation of the Chinese. Surely a slight
set-back like that would not make a Chinese a criminal. Chinese are a
pragmatic people. They have survived and prospered in worse conditions. To
say that they would become criminals easily is to insult the Chinese and
their culture.

15. In Malaysia you are more likely to get what you want no reason for the
Chinese in Malaysia to be bitter. Indeed with the rapid industrialization
you cannot help but prosper along with everybody else. With everyone doing
well, Malaysia would prosper and be a better place to live in.

16. The present Government is determined to rule this country justly and
fairly. Everything that is guaranteed in the Constitution will be strictly
adhered to. In addition the gentleman's agreement that was formulated by
the founding fathers of the country will be honoured. The Constitution and
the original understanding between the leaders of the different races in
Malaysia will ensure a stable and harmonious state.

17. It now remains for the people to give their support to the policy this
Government has adopted. The guilds can play a big role here. They are very
influential and they can reach the people on the ground easily. They
should therefore help explain the attitude of the Government to their
members and the general public, particularly the Chinese. They should
understand the spirit of collaboration that motivated the different races
in the struggle for independence. They should not react emotionally
without first approaching the Government or at least a component party of
the Barisan Nasional should there be any issue which involves them or the
Chinese community. They should do all these not just because they
themselves can gain through living in a country that is well governed, but
because they are Malaysians and as Malaysians they must be proud of the
stability, prosperity and greatness of their own country.

18. Finally, let me once again thank you all for inviting me and my wife
to this dinner. We both wish you all and your guilds every success.

Thank you.