Friday, July 20, 2007

Bumis Will Regress
Without NEP, Says Mahathir

Ethnic Malays have made poor use of the 36-year-old affirmative action policy and will regress economically if it is taken away, former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) gives Malays and other bumiputeras quota privileges over ethnic Chinese and Indians for government contracts, homes and company shares in a bid to redistribute wealth.

“The Malays have not responded to the efforts made by the government and because of that, the disparity remains,” said Tun Dr Mahathir in an interview.

“When you're coming up from behind to catch up, you have to run faster, you have to make more effort,” he added.

But without the NEP, the Malays will slip further behind and the country risked a return to racial violence, he warned.

-- BLOOMBERG

For detailed text please click the link be BLOOMBERG

http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml

2 comments:

Keith said...

Whenever someone talks about ending the NEP it's met by a threat of violence. It is my genuine belief that the average Malay is happy where he is, and no longer views his race as backward of poor. The only people to suffer from the abolishment of the NEP are people who have abused it for their own good. The average Malay next door, is quite happy where he is and won't go to the streets with Parangs because we abolished it, we have been a democratic country for 50 years, we are modern , developed and far richer than we were in 1969. The chances of a racial riot are slim to say the least, but because most non-bumis live in fear of it, the politicians will continue using it for as long as they can gain.

cyberprince said...

Keith.

Thank you for visiting cyberprince and sharing your thought with the rest of us in Malaysian cyberspace.

I agree with you that "the chances of a racial riot are slim to say the least, but because most non-bumis live in fear of it, the politicians will continue using it for as long as they can gain."

If you are a Chinese then you will definitely know the meaning of wo-men tou-sheh yi-cia-ren...

My best regards to you.