A question of privilege?

By Koon Yew Yin

JAN 2 — I refer to the presentation of a memorandum to protect Malay rights to the secretariat of the Penang Yang di-Pertua Negeri on Dec 29 by members of the Yayasan Aminul Ummah Malaysia. During the presentation, YAUM president Md Radzi Daud was reported to have said that no one should question Malay preferential rights and privileges which had been entrenched in the Constitution.

Obviously certain groups have not yet taken to heart the results of the recent elections in Penang and in many other parts of the country in which at least half of the country’s electorate — including many Malays — rejected Umno’s approach to the issue of NEP and other aspects of so-called Malay entitlement and preferential treatment.

Why we cannot become a developed nation?

Only a few weeks ago, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad openly said that Malaysia will not be able to become a developed nation by 2020. All Malaysians must not be afraid to question why we cannot achieve this. Is the Malay preferential treatment the biggest obstacle?

The basic characteristics of a developed nation are economic well being, social cohesion, cultural freedom and political democracy.

An ethnic approach to wealth accumulation and distribution in Malaysia has underpinned national policymaking and implementation for over 38 years since the introduction of the NEP in 1970. In no other country in the world is there to be found a similar preoccupation with ethnic preference as seen in the longevity and wide array of NEP policies.

Many experts and laymen are of the opinion that continuation of the NEP — which currently affects virtually all aspects of the economy and human resource development — represents Malaysia’s biggest obstacle to competitiveness, social cohesion and meeting the goal of becoming a developed country.

But what are the true facts of NEP achievement or under-achievement?

Bumiputera achievement

Based on conventional accounting principles, the Malays have already achieved the 30 per cent target of Bumiputera equity ownership. Bumiputera presence in all the major modern sectors of the economy including banking, plantations, aerospace, defence, oil and gas, energy and utilities has not only grown tremendously but is also well entrenched. A strong Malay professional and business class had been built up during the past 30 years at an unprecedented speed — probably the fastest ever experienced by any marginalised community anywhere in the world — and this group no longer needs special crutches. Policy emphasis should now be placed on nurturing competitiveness and excellence for all groups in the country, especially the SMEs, to enable the country to meet global challenges.

Broad base of Malay professionals

In fact, after over 30 years of NEP implementation, many Malays have already graduated and are more than capable of standing on their own merit without the safety net. Where are the large numbers of successful Malays to be found, some sceptics of YAUM may ask? The easiest way to answer this is for the government to make available the statistics on Bumiputera employment in the higher occupational categories and in the professions. Such a table showing Bumiputera achievement was included in the Third Outline Perspective Plan document, 2001-2010. That table showed that Bumiputeras had already comprised 63.5 per cent of the population for the Professional and Technical Category of employment by the year 2000.

Malays should be satisfied with their achievement and be willing to dismantle the NEP

The truth of the matter is that the NEP has been successful and the Malays uplifted. If this vital information were made publicly available, there will be less talk about Malay under-achievement and less insecurity within the Malay community that they are losing out to the other races. In fact they should be justly proud that they are most probably the majority ethnic community in many highly paid and prestigious occupations.

That this information is not disseminated is due to the lack of transparency of the official statistics provided to the public. Malaysia is badly lagging behind many countries in ensuring that its statistical system is accessible and transparent .

Let us remember too that Umno, the main beneficiary of the NEP, does not lead but dominates. The party holds 22 of 31 Cabinet positions.

If the NEP is such an impediment to progress, why has it not been dismantled? The most obvious reason is that it is in the interests of the dominant elites that this policy be continued perpetually in its present form. The ruling party has enormous resources and tremendous capacity to co-opt or coerce dissenting elements that question the NEP into staying passive or compliant within the fold of the system.

Despite the official coercion backed by the notorious Sedition Act and ISA, many Malaysians have become increasingly restive, disenchanted and demoralised. Ethnic tensions are rising, deliberately stoked by those who want to keep their grip on power. To heal the division in the nation, the NEP, one of the main causes of widespread disaffection among Malaysians who voted in unprecedented numbers against the Barisan Nasional, has to be dismantled.

Current economic scenario

Various international and national socio-economic indicators show that Malaysia's economic future is getting more difficult and stormy. These indicators include recent global competitiveness, inward FDI performance, stock market capitalisation, government inefficiency, business inefficiency, government intervention in the economy and corruption level. Other subjective indicators such as the sense of material well-being and security, socio-political stability, civic freedoms, religious tolerance, etc also reveal a worrying situation.

The most important indicator is our GDP per capita. In 1970 when the NEP was first introduced, our GDP per capita was about the same as Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. After 38 years, Singapore is 3 times, Taiwan is 2.5 times and South Korea is 2 times our GDP per capita. All Malaysians must have the right to question this poor performance of our nation and the policies such as the NEP that have been responsible for it.

All our political leaders must find out why and how these neighbouring countries can outperform us despite their lack of oil, gas and other natural resources.

The best way forward

All our political leaders, in both the ruling parties and the opposition, should play less politics and concentrate on improving our national economy. They must not be afraid to discuss sensitive issues, like the Malay preferential rights, to make radical changes. Only a new road map based on more equitable, enlightened and inclusive principles can bring out the best amongst all communities. Only a new social economic order based on national unity, equity, justice and growth — one in which marginalised and vulnerable Malays and non-Malays are provided equitable assistance, combined with a system of meritocracy that rewards the best, irrespective of race — can guarantee the future for Malaysia.