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

Thursday, 13 March 2008 10:09

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

Comments (21) Add Comment

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written by fairnessforall, March 13, 2008 11:40:26

Syabas PAS, at least you are starting on the right track. Hope its not just a case of new broom sweeps well.

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written by idham, March 13, 2008 12:20:24

to my Chinese, Indian friends..

See that PAS also has practical view on NEP.

So be patient..take it slow and steady. At least we admit it!

Boycott MSM!

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written by Sudahlah tu, March 13, 2008 12:27:16

Dalam apa dasar ekonomi negara pun, haruslah kita memberi kesempatan yang sewajarnya kepada perpaduan kaum.
Pada pendapat saya, Orang Melayu yang berjaya dalam NEP selama ini tidak memainkan peranan utama sebagai ICON pembentukan masa depan Orang Melayu. Mereka ini lebih suka memilih gaya hidup yang mewah serta bermain permainan orang kaya selama ini.
Pembentukan satu generasi Orang Melayu yang berdikari memerlukan gabungan tenaga semua termasuk daripada kaum lain untuk memahatkan sifat bekerjasama serta hormat menghormati satu sama lain.
NEP tidak menyediakan landasan mereka berdasarkan perpaduan tetapi telah mebina terlalu 'jalan singkat' untuk meletakkan Orang Melayu pilihan UMNO.
Selama perlaksanaan NEP ini telah membina satu generasi Orang Melayu kaya yang sombong serta tamak. Apa yang menyedihkan ialah mereka berada dalam kelompok orang Melayu yang beriman untuk 'dilihat' sebagai 'Orang Sendiri' tetapi hakikat sebenarnya tidak. Mereka hidup bergaya di luar ajaran agama dan mewujudkan kepercayaan Islam baru.
Walauapapun, rakyat Malaysia kini lebih matang dan pandai membuat pilihan dengan risiko yang tertentu.
Syabas, Malaysia.

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written by Mik, March 13, 2008 12:38:27

1st, please get rid of all these race labeling and start thinking "malaysian". We have to do that 1st if we want a united malaysian. if we fail to do dat, then we wont make any difference. It will be juzt be the same as before. New Economic Policy for all Malaysian.

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written by NSTPravda, March 13, 2008 12:53:12

NEP shouldn't be implemented at expense of minorities
To that sentiment, we heartily and sincerely agree
It was supposed to advance the underprivileged, promote equality
But had been only used to enrich the crony minority

We have a hostile and volatile world out there
We all need to all hang together and beware
Divided we will surely all hang separately
By forces who are blind to our racial identity

UMNOâ€™s divide and rule has been laid bare
For us to survive we have to be vigilant and aware
That UMNOâ€™s impending tricks, not cause us to lose our way
And repeat their mistake that status quo is semua-ya OK!

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written by temenggong, March 13, 2008 13:08:56

This is not good enough. The NEP was a cover scheme to bring about ethnic cleansing of non malays from govt service and the uniformed services, create racial assymetry, as well as restrict non malay participation in trade and services by constricting licensing. The 'removal of poverty' part of it was just a propaganda ploy and to hoodwink and try and win acceptance of it by the non malays. The only true poverty eradication schemes were the Muda Irrigation Scheme, Felda and Felcra which were all initiated in the 60s by Tunku! And that too excluded the non malays, but rather further entrenched the malays in agriculture whereas the policy was supposed to reduce identification of races with occupations!

We know that to be true with hindsight as after 40 years there is still 8% poverty. Rather than spend to remove poverty the BN govt chose to pump billions into infrastructure projects like KLIA, PKA, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, etc., favouring big malay tycoons and foreign workers, when such spending on poverty removal could have eliminated it in one year!

The NEP was purposely drafted in such a way to be structurally flawed so as to encourage abuse! The NEP has to be rejected in toto, and right away, and not gradually.

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written by Malay Ultraman, March 13, 2008 13:16:44

NEP should be well exercised to favor the underprivilege, the poor and the underdog from ALL racists.The problem with current NEP, the umno dogs are taking all the big bites and leave a tiny slice the actual bumis. Very often bumi contractors of class A are stumping on F bumis.... Ever wonder many F bumis went bankrupt and got F...ed.. BUMI A even having proxies F contractor to little project. These bumis contractors are monopolizing from A to F and sucking every bits of wealth... Worst still some even enjoy practising ali-baba syndicate. The contracts secured by BUMI yet the jobs go to non-bumi.. In the long run, bumi are the one losing in term of know-how, and skills.

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written by Bigjoe99, March 13, 2008 14:26:02

God, the cracks are beginning to appear already. In the game of life especially in economics there are winners and losers. You can't avoid it. The point is to make sure the game is fair and dynamic i.e., that the game keep playing and everybody gets to play. Who wins and loses is not up to the state to decide. The state can influence, try and target but never pre-determine the outcome. The problem with the NEP is that it pre-determine the outcome and the rules is made to fit that outcome i.e., the ends justify the means when it rarely does.

The answer to the weakness of meritocracy is to make sure the game is dynamics and people get to play the game over and over again, not predetermine who gets what out of the game.

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written by Francis, March 13, 2008 14:32:23

First of all, has the NEP enriched the very Malays for whom it was intended - No!

Barisan Nasional has failed to pass the benefits to the Malays. However, BN has enriched its cronies only, at the expense of the Malays.

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written by MMhunter, March 13, 2008 15:33:48

Whatever the coalition does it must not ignore the malays in any capacity.That will be politically commiting sucide.They must be there in the thick of things making decision together with the non malays as a team and a rakyat in the spirit of give and take.Thats the key to the success of this new coalition of three parties with different idealogies.

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written by Ken Liew, March 13, 2008 16:58:00

A gun can be good, IF used by a GOOD man. But it will be deadly if a BAD guy using it.

Same goes to NEP/DEB. If this policy is used wisely, it will have good feedback.

Bad news is, when people gets greedy, Same thing will happen. it is the way of human when they have more, and even more they will wanted.

I believe that if the government are mixed party(such as now), the balance oppinion for the policy, they came out will be better managed then one party says it all......

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written by mara koman, March 13, 2008 18:43:58

Dear DAPs and PKR and PAS,,

This is the First Step,,

Rakyat know that you have good policies for rakyat, but please take it slow.. because

-Pas has give a positive view of the NEP
-NEP never was good for Pas govt states. IF govt has been for all rakyat, why was kelantan and terengganu is not developed like perak or selangor.
-Oppress malays in kampungs and rural areas are also sick and tired of umnoputras, many are still poor just like the estate Indians..
-So pls go slow with your policies.
-The world know NEP is not helping the malays as much as it shd be. It only creating a few malays millions..

-Please go slow. ALl we want is to have a true democratic slowly and sure and rakyat will always wait..

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written by Commonsenses, March 13, 2008 22:13:08

NEP from the start was a regressive policy. As I can recall no country in the world has affirmative action policy for its majority, for minority, yes. NEP was born out of a violent incident. Together, with the rise of malay nationalism and the abolishment of english education. These policies, until today has kept UMNO as the premier ruling party in Malaysia. During these times, the minorities suffered as all government resources were supposely used to benefit the malays. The NEP policy was eventually hijacked by the elites in UMNO as rapid development increases the government treasuries. Project after project during TDM times were implemented to enriched the elites rent seekers who subcontracted them to others as most of them do not have the expertise to undertake these projects. These rent seekers create wastage and inefficiency in the utilization of resources . Many years ago, TDM justified the assistance to a group of malay cronies as his attempt to built a capitalist class of malays. His explanation was simply he cannot allowed all malays to be rich lest we become socialist. So cronism is an entrenched policy of UMNO and condoned to the very end even untill today by UMNO PM. What the ruling party has not realised that NEP projects produced inefficiency as the portion taken by the bumi rent seekers has no productive benefit except for conspicious consumption of the rent seekers including politicians and these money were further used to promote and obtain corrupt and tainted projects from persons in position of influenced in the government. As you can observed the ruling party has the capability to buy oppositions members from the ill gotten gains in an attempt to retain power and to continue with their influenced peddling. However,
resources as they are are not infinite, neither are corruptrd funds and influenced peddlers are rich but only to a minority of the malays. The rest because of better education their growing urbanisation and higher expectation of living standards can see the issues of NEP beyond race. Compounded by the negative news on the inability of the government to combat corruption among their elites, at a time rising prices of neccesities, the blacklash of the people was brought by anger of all communities against the government of today. People do not want to hear AAB explaining to people to lower their standard of living because of rising oil price while the ruling elite partake conspicious consumption and under take unproductive projects in the name of religion.

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written by aryn, March 13, 2008 23:08:01

Asal nya NEP ni mulia.

But along the way, ya ampun! Umno leaders terbeliak mata dapat durian runtuh dari NEP and they turned it into an enterprise to enrich their cronies. At the same time, they hoodwinked the poor Malays into believing that they cannot live without NEP, that their periuk nasi is dependent on the NEP.

Apa dah jadi? Dah 30 tahun lebih, kebanyak Melayu masih lagi miskin. Lepas tu bila DAP, PAS, PKR nak reform the NEP supaya lebih berkesan, Umno was the first to protest because it would affect theirs and their cronies periuk nasi!

Reform NEP. Include all races. In baru Malaysia.

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written by Loh, March 14, 2008 04:32:28

///It (NEP) 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///

ASLI's report in 1996 concludes that the 30% target has been surpassed. In fact there was no need to compute the stock position. The government has enforced the policy that 30% of all listed share capital be sold to Malays, at par value. What was peculiar was the fact that when company were listed at the exchange, the market value had already been multiple times its par value. Yet there was no rule to ensure that those shares should have been retained within Malay owners.

The figure of 2% stated for 1970 was incorrect. By 1970, over a million acres of mature palm oil and rubber plantation had already been developed for the benefits of Malays and only Malay settlers. The acreage was as high as the total plantation acreages of the estates owned by foreigners. The net worth of foreign ownership in Malaysia in 1970 was said to be more than 45%; the share of its plantation could account for one/third or 15% of foreign share capital. Consequently, if the net worth of FELDA which was run on a corporate basis had been valued and included in Malays ownership, the equity share of Malays should read 17% and not 2 per cent. EPU figure at 19% for 2004 based on par value shows an increase of 17% over 1970. This together with the 17% to start with in 1970 would have moved Malays equity, based on par value as adopted by EPU, to 34% by 2004. In fact it was said that the position of Malay equity in 2004 was the same as in 1997. Based on the calculation, Malays had already surpassed the 30% in 1997.

When ASLI released its report in December 2006 PM AAB and his deputy announced that the government would reveal its methodology and statistics to prove that ASLI report incorrect, and that the 30% target had not been achieved. The figure 19% had been cast in stone since 1997. It is 2008 and yet the government has no intention to prove ASLI wrong.

The wealth or net worth of any company cannot be based on par value. The number of shares in any company would not tell us the worth of it. The worth of the company is based on the market value of its total share times its market value per share. That should be the arithmetic question for students in primary school. Yet the government claimed that ASLI methodology which was based on market value was incorrect, and that EPU method of computing it based on par value was the correct approach. Even if it is allowed that equity is computed based on par value, if EPU has included the â€˜wealthâ€™ of all those enterprises such as the net worth of FELDA scheme that ought to have been included, the Malays equity figure should have exceeded 30%.

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written by Loh, March 14, 2008 04:33:35

NEP was to be for 20 years from 1991. The target was for Malays to acquire 30% participation in commerce, and the equity share capital of corporate sector was accepted as a proxy for the computation of that target. Listed companies in Malaysia had the lion share of the corporate sector, and the GLCs owned the bulk of them. Share prices are available by the minute and it could be computed taking the share prices of any given day. If the statistics show that Malays ownership had not reached the target 30%, then the government could buy up the shares that are needed from the GLCs to make up the 30%. Reserve those shares to be sold only to the Malays. Declare that NEP objective has been achieved and delete the word NEP which is emotional and it means different thing to different people, from government policies.

Create poverty eradication programme for people of all races. Pay them life-support allowances from Petronasâ€™ earning. The governmentâ€™s approach of teaching the people to fish has been going on for far too long. Give the poor the fish, and let the not so poor choose whether they want to fish or to tap rubber or work in construction sites. For 50 years the government has been treating the people as kids. There are now grandfathers and grandmothers.

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written by mikewang, March 14, 2008 07:15:43

YB Lim Guan Eng.

Please do not simply shoot from your hips.
You are no longer in the opposition.
What you say is policy for the new administration.

1. On NEP

See the statement from PAS compares to yours regarding NEP ?
You ought to remember that NEP has a 2 throng approach to give the Bumiputras a 30% in the wealth of the country.
One is to elimination of the identification of race to occupation.
The other is the eradication of poverty.

I have no objection to the approaches above.
In fact UMNO has deviated from the original intention in that it has created a government service mainly of 1 race in the civil, military and police.
This is BAD and should be corrected.
In contrast, if you go to Kuching, you would see all races represented in the state administration.

Yes, get rid of that part that enriches cronies and shady deals.
One that cheats the rakyat.
The people of Penang congratulate you for your transparency.

2. On State-Federal cooperation.

Please do not antagonise the federal administration.
Learn to be patient when you make a response.
Just clarify your point.
No need to shoot back and attempt to teach the other party.

Most importantly,
REMEMBER, you must behave like a statesman, a leader.
You are no longer in the opposition.
You are the government.
The rakyat of Penang would rather see a Lim Chong Eu in you than a Lim Kit Siang.

You have a lot to learn from PAS in making public statements on controversial issues.

Good Luck !

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written by Perak Fuchow, March 14, 2008 10:38:55

The progress and the success of NEP should be monitored to the microscopic level.

Who, what, where , when, and how to get NEP a more transparent project. This is the patient we all can wait if we see the reason why it is still in need. The over pampering of NEP may create more problems for the NEP. It needs a serious organization to implement and monitor.

I am Chinese and yet I support the great course of the project. The Abuser of the NEP project has not been managing with full heart. It seems they purposely "drag on the NEP" so that more cronism can rape the hell out from NEP year by year. NEP have been used to buy voting power. NEP being use to divide Malaysian.

But NEP must not be removed until MALAYSIAN sees that it is a success. Now, let's be more transparent about it.

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written by Shyetan, March 14, 2008 14:08:53

These are wise and comforting words
The NEP should be used to help those who are still poor and down - yes of course
But BN has twisted the NEP to mean helping only Malays (excluding the poor of other races) and even those rich Malays making them multimillionaires - this is what we don't like. There are still many poor Malays and others who need help.

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written by DontPlayGod, March 14, 2008 15:29:32

PAS' Hadi Awang have made a gem of a statement regarding the NEP. In fact, during the time of Tun Razak, Malaysia's 2nd PM, the NEP was meant to uplift the economy of not only the Malays, but the poor of all races. It was not meant to be a discriminatory policy. But UMNO has blatantly hijacked the NEP to carry out a wide-ranging slew of discriminatory policies to rob the rich and give to the poor. This was again hijacked to rob from the non-Malays to give to the Malays. But in the end, it was again hijacked to rob from the people and give it to the cronies, and the same few cronies, at that. In other words, the NEP was used by UMNO to enrich themselves and their cronies left, right, and center.

To give substance to my statements, the main transport companies and banks were all Chinese owned, except an Indian bank. So, too, were the rice mills in nearly all the states. But UMNO has openly, by hook or by crook, taken over all these Chinese-owned enterprises, and to-day, not one transport company, or rice mill is Chinese-owned. Most of the banks have now been taken over by UMNO cronies, leaving only two local banks in the hands of the Chinese. These may go too, if UMNO have their ways, and I believe UMNO has plans to take over these last two local Chinese-owned banks.

Of course, MCA and Gerakan can just look on and grin.

Meanwhile the poor Malays remain poor, and the poor non-Malays remain poor or poorer.

Fortunately, the now elightened Malays have seen through the UMNO cronies evil ways, and hence the result of the last elections.

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written by angfaulith, March 16, 2008 15:13:57

yes please support pas. in a truly islamic state we will stand for no corruption and no nepotism. no gambling and other vices should be allowed now in perak and kedah. please check that all is well in langkawi. shut down all vice dens there immediately... allahu akhbar!!

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