Nep Can T Remain Forever Says Dr M

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Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the gap between the Malays and other races would be very wide if not for the NEP introduced in 1971.
PETALING JAYA: Affirmative action for Bumiputeras under the New Economic Policy (NEP) cannot remain in place forever and needs to be phased out eventually, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir said the NEP had achieved some success, and that the gap between the Malays and other races would be very wide if not for the policy introduced in 1971, which could cause tensions between communities.
While asserting that race-based affirmative action was still needed in Malaysia, he said there would come a time when the NEP would need to be done away with.
“In the field of business and entrepreneurship, there has been progress. There are several Malay figures who achieved success, although most of them failed because their culture does not suit the demands of managing a business.
“But we cannot allow this policy to remain forever. One day, we will have to put a halt to the NEP.
“But I hope that the Malays would respond well (to the policy and its initiatives while it exists). God-willing, we will catch up with the other races and there will not be a major difference between the achievements of the Malays and non-Malays,” he said on an episode of the Khabarnya podcast.
The NEP, introduced in 1971 by the Abdul Razak Hussein-led government, was aimed at addressing economic disparities among ethnic groups through affirmative action programmes favouring the majority ethnic group – the Bumiputeras.
Among its wide-ranging policies, the racial quotas for education have long been a hotly debated issue, with critics arguing that it discriminates against non-Bumiputera students.
In July 2019, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said the NEP must be abolished as it was not sustainable in the long run, calling for policies to be needs-based instead.
Mahathir’s close ally, the late Daim Zainuddin, had also said affirmative action needed to be needs-based instead of race-based, to prevent those who have benefitted from Bumiputera interventions to continue being enriched.
I’m no racist, says Mahathir
Mahathir said his consistent struggle for the Malays were simply about helping the community “catch up” with their non-Malay counterparts, insisting he was not a racist.
“Those who do not want to allow the Malays to catch up with them, they’re the racists. Because they’ve attained wealth and they consider that only they deserve to be wealthy,” he said.
He maintained that it was important for the nation’s social fabric for the Malays to be on par with other ethnicities, as a large gap in earnings would give rise to feelings of anger and envy.
This, he said, would lead to instability in the country.
He said part of the NEP’s key initiatives was education, as different cultures had different norms when it came to matters such as finances, which would in turn affect one’s social standing.
Touching on how poverty seemed to be tied to ethnicity, Mahathir said this was down to the values held by different cultures.
“On one side, you have those who prioritise success in the world. On the other side, they are easily satisfied; they don’t see it as a necessity to work their socks off to achieve success or become rich. So, for those who don’t work hard for success, they will be left behind.
“Some are of the view that we should put race aside and focus on enriching the poor, regardless of race. But I find that such an approach would see those of certain cultures failing to succeed,” he said.
He said this was why it was important to focus on educating people of a certain ethnicity and culture, to teach them how to manage their finances and to operate their own businesses. - FMT

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