NEP shouldn't be implemented at expense of minorities: PAS

NEP shouldn't be implemented at expense of minorities: PAS PDF Print E-mail
Posted by Raja Petra
Thursday, 13 March 2008

MALAYSIA'S conservative Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) yesterday said there were many good aspects to the New Economic Policy (NEP), but it should not be implemented at the expense of the minorities.

PAS president Hadi Awang's comments came a day after the Democratic Action Party (DAP) said that in Penang, it would dispense with the decades-old policy that favours Malays and indigenous ethnic groups.

Datuk Seri Hadi said the opposition would drop unfair elements in the programme that had drawn much flak from the Chinese, Indian and other minority ethnic groups, but did not specify exactly how the policy would now operate in the areas under PAS control.

PAS is part of an opposition coalition that rules the states of Selangor, Kedah and Perak, a result of the polls that saw a massive swing away from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. The party, which is well known for its hardline Islamic stance, also runs the state government in Kelantan, where it has ruled for 18 years.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) had earlier said the NEP would be sidelined in the five states the opposition now controls, while new Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced that the DAP-led coalition would dismantle the discriminatory policies in Penang, Malaysia's only Chinese-majority state.

Yesterday, PAS appeared to follow the moderate line set by its opposition partners PKR and DAP - that of looking out for the interests of both bumiputeras and other communities.

Datuk Seri Hadi said the opposition would retain the beneficial parts of the NEP, adding that it had previously failed because of Umno, the Malay party which leads BN.

'There are many aspects of the New Economic Policy which are good and can be implemented, but its failure is because of Umno's abuse of power, corruption and double standards,' he said.

'We will keep plans to help the poor Malays and the underprivileged, but we cannot rob non-Malays of their rights in the name of protecting Malay rights.'

One of the changes that the opposition is seeking to make is to increase transparency in business contracts.

The NEP favours bumiputeras in government contracts, something that has irked the non-bumiputera business community.

Datuk Seri Hadi said PAS-led state governments would implement an open tender system for government contracts, similar to that announced by the DAP's Mr Lim in Penang.

The DAP was part of an opposition coalition with PAS and Keadilan in the 1999 general election, but they broke ranks in 2001 because of the Islamic party's call for an Islamic state - a goal that PAS has since dropped.

Datuk Seri Hadi said the PKR was now acting as a mediator as the parties attempt to cobble together coalitions in newly acquired states.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
What is the NEP?
THE New Economic Policy (NEP) was born after violent racial clashes in 1969.

It was aimed at reducing the wealth gap between the Malays and Chinese. It was touted as a plan to eradicate poverty through the re-distribution of wealth in favour of bumiputeras (sons of the soil), who include Malays and indigenous groups.

Under the NEP, bumiputeras receive preferential discounts on house purchases, special allocations in public share issues and preferred status in the awarding of government contracts.

Previously, there were also university entrance quotas, but these have since been scrapped.

The NEP targets bumiputeras to achieve 30 per cent of corporate equity by 2020.

It appears to have worked to some extent: Their wealth has risen from just over 2 per cent in 1970 to about 19 per cent in 2004.

However, they are still behind the minority Chinese. Government statistics, for example, show that bumiputeras, including Malays, still have the lowest salaries in the country.

Complaints from some Malays, who say that the NEP now enriches only a small elite, and from minorities, who feel it discriminates against them, have prompted calls for its removal.

HAZLIN HASSAN