Merit, not race
KUALA LUMPUR: The New Economic Policy (NEP) will be reviewed based on merit and needs rather than racial considerations. Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said t he NEP distribution needs to be fair for all Malaysians, and not just one race.
He said the affirmative action policy would be more inclusive, taking i nto consideration the bumiputra in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as marginalised Indians and Chinese.
“We want to ensure that the bumiputra get their rights, but we must be fair to all Malaysians. There are also the needs of the Indian community in plantations and rural areas,” he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
“Chinese businessmen also need to be given attention, help and government support. But t he bumiputra, including those in Sabah and Sarawak, also need serious attention.”
Azmin said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government will also review the 11th Malaysia Plan to include targets listed in the coalition’s manifesto.
New policies will be introduced i n No v e mb e r d u r i n g the government’s mid-term review as it is crucial for the government to
regain international investors’ confidence in the Malaysian economy.
The review of the NEP, an affirmative action policy crafted in the aftermath of the May 13 riots in 1969, will be carried out in line with the aspirations of a New Malaysia to ensure sustainable economic growth and a fair distribution.
In a written reply in Parliament yesterday, he said following the change of government after the 14th general election on May 9, the preparations of the 11th Malaysia Plan mid-term review are realigned with the new directions and aspirations of the PH government.
“This realignment is essential to ensure that new directions are taken into account in the planning and development strategies for the 2018-2020 period.
“It is also important to ensure that all government efforts will truly bring benefit or a positive impact to the people without any leakages, misappropriation and abuse of power,” said Azmin ( pix), adding that the 12th Malaysia Plan between 2021 and 2025 will focus on a detailed and comprehensive development strategy for Malaysia.
He was replying to a question from William Leong (PH-Selayang) who asked whether the government would review key policies and existing economic development plans such as NEP and New Economic Model (NEM) under the midterm review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.
For years, the NEP has been under fire for allegedly being biased towards the majority race.
Announced in 1970, the NEP had a two-pronged strategy to eradicate poverty and restructure society to correct economic imbalances between bumiputras and their Chinese and Indian counterparts.
It was to cover a period of 20 years.
It was replaced by the National Development Policy in 1990 by the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad with the objective of ensuring that all sections of society benefit from the country’s economic growth.
The NEM was the brainchild of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, which was introduced in 2010 to double the per capita income in Malaysia by 2020, aimed to shift from affirmative action plans to needs based, to improve competitiveness and become more market and investor-friendly.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday policies put in place by Barisan Nasional (BN) had taken into consideration the needs of all Malaysians and not just one race, and should not be shelved for no reason.
“Any party that becomes the government must stick to the tenets of the Constitution. Things that are stated in the Constitution cannot be shelved,” he said when commenting on the government’s plans to review key policies in the country including, the NEP.
His sentiments were echoed by Najib who warned that market confidence can be affected by uncertainty over the PH government’s review of economic policies initiated by the BN administration.
“If there is a lot of uncertainty, it can affect market confidence,” Najib who is Pekan MP told reporters .