In two days' time Malaysia will be celebraring her 51st birthday. However, many people do not seem to be immersed in the festive atmosphere; instead, they are wrapped in gloomy emotions owing to the uncertainties in the country's political scenario.

In view of this, the government must have stronger political will to adopt various measures to ensure political stability while preserving the growth of the national economy to guarantee the quality of life of Malaysians.

As an important constituent of the nation, the Chinese community must always strive to express its views to the government. MCA and various Chinese associations recently held a dialogue to collect the opinions of the Chinese community in various areas, and this should be seen as an effective channel for the Chinese community to ensure that its voices are being heard by the government.

MCA has been holding talks with various Chinese associations in the past. MCA has now decided to expand the scope of the dialogue to include more grassroots organisations as well as regional associations on a quarterly basis in order to truly reflect the problems encountered by various levels of the Chinese community in a more comprehensive and effective manner. In this respect, the Chinese associations have very high expectations that such dialogues will eventually help improve their environment for doing business.

On top of that, the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) just published the "2008 Half Yearly Economic Survey Report" on 25 August. The survey shows that over 70% of Chinese businessmen are pessimistic about the country's economic prospects in the first half of this year. The respondents, who hail from a broad spectrum of economic sectors, feel that the national economy was slowing down during the first half of the year, citing poorer sales, reduced orders, poor collection and decreased new investments, among others. The impact caused by government strategies, higher operational costs and raw material prices, is also greater than last year.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled the 2009 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon, and Chinese businessmen hope that the government will offer some pragmatic and feasible stimulus packages, even short-term solutions, to help mitigate their problems. On long-term solutions, the government must formulate a comprehensive set of economic plans, discarding the obsolete and ineffective policies while drafting more timely, open and transparent ones.

In this respect, MCA, as the predominant Chinese representative in the Malaysian government, must closely monitor the government's various policies and measures, in order to come out with more people-friendly policies that would help Chinese businessmen sail past difficult waters. It is now the time to implement the five major directions proposed in the 2008-2013 Economic Masterplan launched by MCA earlier this year, in a bid to enhance the economic status of Chinese Malaysians.

Politically, bipartisan politics have begun to take shape after the March general elections, with racist politics being abhored by many voters. However, in the just concluded Permatang Pauh by-election, or in political and even academic sectors, we still see people continuing to mess around with racial issues. During the Permatang Pauh by-election, an UMNO leader from Penang even published irresponsible remarks that Chinese Malaysians are only squatting in this country, and once they are in power, they will not treat other races fairly. MCA Youth yesterday launched a signature collecting campaign to urge the Chinese community to strongly protest the politician's extremist remarks while demanding an apology and urging BN leaders to take the necessary actions against the perpetrator.

The Chinese community will never accept racist-minded politicians to issue any irresponsible remarks that may hurt national unity, destroy our harmonious multicultural society, and contradict the Constitutional spirit. Political parties from within and without the ruling coalition must never tolerate any of their leaders or members who resort to racist discourse. Actions must be taken to punish those who have done so, irrespective of their positions in the party.

The citizenship status of Chinese Malaysians as well as their contribution towards the prosperity of this country must never be doubted by anyone, or be negated by the extreme remarks of any irresponsible politician. Having said that, all this while Chinese Malaysians have not been enjoying fair and just treatment in the political, economic and educational fields. It is imperative for the government to map out more equitable policies to ensure that the Chinese community will stay in the mainstream of national development.

Let me reiterate that Malaysia is a multicultural country with her prosperity and stability rooted upon the foundation of harmonious inter-racial relations. Any act that may damage racial harmony is poised to bring grave consequences to the nation. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)