New opposition Selangor govt free to end New Economic Policy
By Reme Ahmad, THE STRAITS TIMES
MALAYSIA'S three-party opposition coalition that is forming the state government in Selangor has raised eyebrows for declaring that it will scrap the affirmative action policy favouring Malays.
The trio - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) - secured control of Malaysia's most industrialised state in Saturday's polls.
Yesterday, PKR secretary-general and Menteri Besar-designate Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, when asked if the New Economic Policy (NEP) would be dropped, said: 'That will be the standard. The NEP is not part of the Constitution. All three of us are of the same mindset.'
The NEP was launched in 1970 after the bloody 1969 race riots in Malaysia to placate unhappiness that Malays were being left behind economically. It aims to uplift them and other bumiputeras with preferential quotas for university places, jobs and housing.
But Malaysia's Chinese and Indian communities have complained bitterly against the discriminatory policy. Malays, too, have lamented that the NEP as practised today only enriches those with political connections as they get big government contracts without proper tenders.
Among the politically connected, the phrase 'go for direct nego' is bandied about, short for direct negotiations for tenders, instead of going for a transparent process.
Tan Sri Khalid was echoing what the de facto leader of PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had said about dismantling the NEP in its present form.
Datuk Seri Anwar had declared that he wanted to introduce a new economic strategy to help the poor of all races, though details of such a plan had never been issued.
Analysts yesterday said that whether in Selangor or other states captured by the loose opposition alliance such as Penang, Perak or Kedah, state governments have the full right to drop the NEP.
This is because the policy is merely a platform to help the bumiputeras catch up economically and socially with other races, but is not part of the Constitution.
Article 153 of the Constitution grants the Malaysian king the responsibility for safeguarding the rights and privileges of the bumiputeras, but the NEP is not part of it, said constitutional lawyer Professor Shad Faruqi.
'The NEP is grounded in Article 153, but there is no mention of such a thing in the Constitution. It needs no constitutional amendment to change it,' he told The Straits Times.
But whether such a move would be politically acceptable to the Malays is the big question.
'They, the coalition in Selangor, are now the state government, and they have the right to do it. But if they don't do it right, they might be thrown out the next time,' said Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad, a former senior MP who was involved in discussions on the NEP under the National Economic Consultative Council.
'Of course the Malays will turn it into a racial issue. It needs to be explained to them what are the advantages for them.'
It is also likely to be exploited by the Malay-based Umno as a sign of the opposition's betrayal of the race, said other analysts.
Under Malaysian law, state governments have the final decision on land and religious issues, and on such things as opening up tenders for local town councils to every race or issuing trade licences regardless of race quotas.
Kelantan, the only other opposition-held state, has not had to confront the issue of continuing with the NEP in its state contracts because it has an overwhelmingly Malay population at 90 per cent.
The planned move by Selangor would not be the first time that Malaysia is taking steps to remove the NEP, but it might be the most radical.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad received a lot of flak several years ago when he introduced a limited form of meritocracy for places in public universities.
Under the system, bumiputeras using the equivalent A-level results to apply for a place would compete directly with non-Malays. But bumiputeras could also enter by an easier route - through matriculation schools.
Despite grumbling, the policy has continued to this day.
Posted by Raja Petra
Malaysia Today
PEOPLE'S POWER
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