Mara continues to be pride of Malays under BN: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said Mara will continue to be an institution that is the pride of the Malays and Bumiputeras for as long as the government is led by the Barisan Nasional.
The Prime Minister said the existence of Mara today was because of the policies and struggles of the government that continuously looked after the welfare and affairs of the institution for the sake of the future of the Malays and Bumiputeras.
"The existence of Mara is close to my heart because the founder of Mara itself was my father, the late Tun Abdul Razak. To me, the continuity of the previous struggles is necessary and will be continued,"he said.
He said this in his speech in conjunction with an event, "Himpunan Saya Anak Mara" at UniKL MIAT, Subang, near here today.
Also present were Mara chairman Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, Muafakat President Datuk Rizal Mansor and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar.
Najib said Mara was also given the confidence to continue to 'look after' Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) because the existence of the institution was related to the party constitution itself.
"It is clearly written in the party's clause, that the rights of the Malays and Bumiputeras would be championed. Mara is an important body in realising this struggle," he said.
In addition, he said, the Bumiputera policy and agenda on empowering the Malays including the economy were part of the national agenda and thus, Mara will continue to be the pride of the nation.
The prime minister also drew attention that if Mara was derailed in its struggles, millions of Mara products including those holding important positions in Umno and the BN would not allow this to happen.
He also gave the picture that the situation enjoyed by Mara currently would not be achieved if "the other side" were to become the government.
“The situation differs on the other side. If there is anything that is inconsistent with the concept of Malaysia Malaysia, they will certainly do something.
“That is why it is most important for us to ensure the Malay tsunami will not happen as what they try to do.
“I believe the support from the Malays and Bumiputera will continue to give confidence to Umno and the BN. Only this can guarantee our future,” he said which was greeted by loud applause from the audience.
Thus, he urged the people, particularly those who were churned out by Mara not to entertain or be influenced by the people on the other side or the opposition who continued to blame the government for whatever situation faced by the nation.
“The latest, the failure of a bread shop has also been blamed on the government, blame the prime minister. This does not make sense. Many Mara products run bread shops, but they do not fail.
"Do not blame others. Enough of such politics. Place (your) confidence in the BN. As the prime minister, I will work hard and place Malaysia on par with the leading nations in the world,”he said.
With the theme “Menggenggam Langit Biru’ (Reaching for the Blue Sky), the assembly held for the first time by the National Mara Education Consensus Body (Muafakat), an organisation with a membership of almost 100,000 parents and the educational fraternity in the Mara Junior Science Colleges (Maktab Rendah Sains Mara), Mara Professional Colleges and the Mara College with the collaboration of Mara. — Bernama