The New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in 1971 as contained in the Second Malaysia Plan to cover a period of 20 years up to 1990. The NEP has a two-pronged strategy of eradicating poverty irrespective of races and restructuring of the society, especially to increase the share of Bumiputera in participating in the economy. The ultimate objective of NEP is to achieve national unity. The objective and strategies of NEP were noble and righteous in view that the majority of the Bumiputeras were in the rural areas, mainly engaged in the agriculture sector. They were poor, still lagged far behind, in terms of education and composition in workforce both public and private sectors. Today, after 38 years far exceeding the original 20-year target, the NEP managed to achieve success in certain areas. There are many learned and professional Bumiputeras both in the public and private sectors. However, in terms of equity ownership in the economy, the Bumiputeras are still lagging behind.
Who should be blamed for the failure in achieving the 30% target in equity share in the economy? There are many policy measures implemented to achieve this target but we still failed. Among the measures include the provision of pink forms to Bumiputeras to own equity shares in newly listed companies, the award of APs to selected Bumiputeras to enable them to import cars, the award of Government contracts, the FIC guidelines and the establishment of MARA to assist the Bumiputeras as well as Permodalan Nasional Berhad which issues trust shares to Bumiputeras (ASN and ASB). Although, all these measures,in someway managed to increase the wealth of Bumiputera but at the same time, the equity share held by the non-Bumiputeras increased and further widened the equity gap. Some of the Bumiputeras who had been awarded the contracts have no business experience and just intend to make quick money by unofficially selling the contracts to the non-Bumiputeras. This gave rise to Alibaba businessmen, where the company is in Bumiputeras name but the real owner is a non-Bumi. Ther were also complain that those who are close to the Government and cronies of certain people will easily get Government contracts. Similarly, complaints were heard that scholarships and jobs were offered to those who have strong cable links with the authority.
I believe in NEP kind of policy but I think that time has come for us to review the NEP objectives and strategies. After 38 years of implementation, we have failed to achieve the main objective of national unity. Whether we agree or disagree the disparity and dissatisfaction among races has widened. The majority Malays are still left behind although there are some multi-millionaires among them. Not all Malays benefited from NEP and there are many who are unsatisfied. We need a new version of NEP focused on uplifting all Bumiputeras livelihood and eradicating poverty among all races through education and providing opportunities to progress in the economy.
1 comment:
yes, i totally agree with you. there are, in fact, alot of things that should be reviewed. the education system for instance. things were different way then, and now we could see how things have evolved. there is still plenty to be done, yet we are moving very slowly and at times, i feel we don't even know where we are actually going. directions should be clear. people are now more educated and they demand results.
of course, there is always the mentality problem on one hand. but oh well.
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