KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak was told bluntly in the face by Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali that the Malays have rejected the New Economic Model (NEM), which the prime minister later clarified has yet to be finalised.

Ibrahim, who chaired the Malay Consultative Council (MPM) congress yesterday which passed a resolution rejecting the NEM, was relentless and at times scathing when he fired his salvo towards Najib before some 1,500 council members at PWTC last night.

“I am sad to say, Datuk Seri, the congress has rejected the NEM,” said the Pasir Mas MP while looking at an unsmiling but composed Najib, who is due to table the NEM as part of the 10th Malaysia Plan on June 10.

Ibrahim did not stop there in his speech at the MPM closing ceremony, where the resolution was handed to Najib.

“The congress was a very heated affair. If I did not change my speech text, it can be seen as a vote of no-confidence towards you.

“This will be a situation where the mainstream media or blogs will definitely put pressure on the PM to sack me but I don’t care because I am not in the government or an Umno member,” he said

The MPM congress passed a 31-point resolution essentially demanding the preservation of race-based affirmative action as expounded by the New Economic Policy (NEP), under the new economic regime.

The umbrella body, comprised of 76 Malay NGOs and led by Malay rights group Perkasa, deliberated for hours before unanimously agreeing that the Najib administration’s move would dismantle what they see as inherent Malay rights.

Many of the participants at the congress slammed the NEM and its framers, the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC), for betraying the social contract which they claimed recognises the special economic rights of the Malays.

“We did a dissection of the NEAC at the congress and some are non-Malays. We have to have Malays on the council so they know the Malay soul,” said Ibrahim in a tirade against the council whose members were handpicked by Najib himself.

“Yes, there are Malays on the council, but these are liberal Malays who are the product of the NEP but have forgotten their roots,” the Kelantan-born leader continued.

The country’s sixth premier has been left with no choice but to go ahead with the unpopular decision of dismantling the NEP amid pressure to resuscitate the nation’s softening economy.

Much of the fattening Malay largesse, economists say, was NEP-induced and has caused investments to wane, the stagnation of wages, and an overall decrease in Malaysia’s global competitiveness.

Ibrahim and MPM, however, argued that the NEP had yet to achieve its objective of strengthening Malay economic participation, especially in the private sectors.

Killing of the NEP through neo-liberal policies under the NEM would only impede the Malays and fetter the nation’s majority race to the bottom of the economic floor, argued MPM.

“Who is the architect of the NEP?” asked Ibrahim. He then pointed to the backdrop with a picture of Tun Abdul Razak as an implicit but stark reminder to the current premier that he would be betraying his own father’s effort to elevate the economic status of the Malays.

But the Perkasa chief knew his place and was quick to appease Najib, saying that he and the MPM supporters believed the prime minister would carry on his father’s legacy under the NEM.

Jokingly, Ibrahim said he had crossed the line with his speech and gave Najib a jovial salute at the end of his key address.

“Saya tabik hormat (I give my respectful salute),” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Najib later told the congress that the government was still in the process of gathering feedback from various quarters, including Malays, before implementing the NEM.

“I hope no one will have doubts or worry that I will not pay attention to the concerns of the Malays. Obviously, I as the president of Umno cannot forsake the interests of the Malays who form the majority in Malaysia,” he said when closing the congress.

Najib told them he would not betray the NEP as he was the son of its founder.

The NEM to be implemented would have to be accepted by Malaysians at large to make the country a developed nation by 2020, he added.

The prime minister said he wanted to see the NEM produce better results for the economic advancement of Malays and ensuring that they were able to compete on the world stage.

At the same time, he said other races would also not be left out in helping the nation to progress further.

“Islam teaches us to not only be fair to all our Muslim brethren but also to non-Muslims,” Najib added.