MELBOURNE - Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP) came under the spotlight when about 200 Malaysian students took part in a MAD debate at Melbourne University on Saturday with the motion "Malaysia has failed to progress since the inception of New Economic Policy."
The MAD 2010 debate was not really that 'mad' but showcased how a frank and open discussion of a controversial topic can be conducted in a rational manner by Malaysian youth.
L-R : Eddie Lee (co-project manager), Pith Soh Beh (secretary of Think Tank) ,Ronald Li (debater) , Noor Leena (debater), Haerris Riani (debater), Khoo Woon Hann (moderator) , Sri Athiyan (debater), Julie Ngai (debater), and the guy behind is Shamir Hameed (debater).MAD is the acronym for MASCA Annual Debate and is the brainchild of the Malaysian Students' Council of Australia (MASCA), Victoria, and a group of motivated students studying here. Zia Mohzani, a postgraduate from Monash University, is the project manager.
A group of debaters, from a diverse range of backgrounds - be it race or religion, was chosen.
So what transpired at the debate, the first to be held in the Prince Philip Theatre at Melbourne University?
The affirmative team consists of Julie Ngai, Shamir Hameed and Sri Athiyan, who are convinced that the NEP has discriminated and unfairly treated citizens that are not privileged from the policy.
Too much privilege
Shamir from Penang, who is currently pursuing a degree in Creative Advertising at RMIT University, believes that Bumiputras are given too much privilege, giving them no motivation to work harder, resulting in more Bumiputras being unemployed as opposed to non-Bumiputras.
"All of us are from different background, ethnicity, ideas and thoughts, but we share a common trait - we are Malaysians. Deprivation of equity of opportunity is the biggest downfall of NEP," said Julie Ngai from Negeri Sembilan, who is a second year Law degree student studying at Monash University.
"NEP is then replaced by the National Development Policy (NDP), whereby University and education quotas for the privileged are reduced. However, people's perception of being unfairly treated is still there, due to the impact brought by NEP", Julie said.
According to Sri Athiyan from Johor, who is also a second year Law student at Monash University, the government had lifted the 30% equity requirement in 27 service sectors only last year, after realizing the importance of foreign investments to bring in expertise, technology, knowledge and job opportunities into Malaysia.
However, the debaters from the opposing team, Haerris Riani, Noor Leena and Ronald Li believe that the NEP has made Malaysia a developed country.
Third World mentality
Ronald Li from Selangor, who is doing his Masters in International Relations at Melbourne University, said that people generally think that poverty is still an issue in Malaysia "because our wage levels have not been increased."
He added that wage levels in the largest economy of the world, the United States, have also not gone up in recent years, and poverty has long ago been a huge problem.
"The younger generations have neither seen nor experienced what the 1960s and 70s used to be like. The only thing I will concede that there hasn't been much progress yet, is that of our Third World mentality, thinking that we have not progressed at all" said Li.
Noor Leena from Penang, who is currently studying Bachelor of Commerce in Melbourne University, argued that since the inception of NEP, unemployment rate has decreased from 6.7% in 1985 to 3.7% in 2006.
"The Bumiputras lacked incentive to break away from living in rural areas, hence the government stepped in to give the Bumiputras better education and special allocation, so that they can venture into new economic sector and into the city," said Leena.
Education system improved
Haerris Riani from Selangor, who is pursuing Masters in Commerce and Management at Deakin University, and also the president of Kelab Umno Victoria, believes that the education system has improved because of the NEP, based on the increasing number of Malaysians studying and graduating from overseas.
Members of the floor have been very participative and attentive throughout the debate.
A student on the floor giving his comments
Sanjay Kumar, a student from Melbourne University, who disagrees with the motion, said "The bumiputras would've suffered more without the Government's help and Malaysia would've failed further without NEP "
Lum from Monash University, who agrees with the motion, said "The policy was implemented since 1971. It is already year 2010 and no significant progress can be seen. We are right now behind other countries that were on par with us before the implementation of NEP."
The high turnout for MAD 2010 indicates that students are highly concerned with this issue that has been lingering in the minds of Malaysian youth.
Prior to the event, the first polling that was recorded from everyone who attended the debate, shows that 44.1% are for the motion, 26% are undecided and 29.9% are against the motion.
To eradicate poverty
The second polling, that was recorded after the event, has shown a slight decrease in the amount of people who are for the motion at 40.2%, 15.9% are still undecided and the number of people against the motion has increased to 43.9%.
The NEP was introduced by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak after the racial riots on May 13, 1969.
The main aims of the NEP were to eradicate poverty by raising income levels and increasing employment opportunities for all Malaysians, irrespective of race and accelerating the process of restructuring Malaysian society to correct economic balance to reduce and eventually eliminate the identification of race with economic function.
However, in recent years, NEP has been subject to criticism which has suggested that the programme promotes laidback attitude among the Bumiputras. Some opposition have also condemned that NEP is a tool used by government to promote self-interest, cronyism and corruption.
This event is sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Australian Government, Australia-Malaysia Institute, YNJ Migration Consultants, Mister Potato, and Victorian International Directors' Committee (VIDC), Universities of Victoria, with refreshment of the day sponsored by Chilli Padi.
Malaysian Mirror
26/04/10
The MAD 2010 debate was not really that 'mad' but showcased how a frank and open discussion of a controversial topic can be conducted in a rational manner by Malaysian youth.
L-R : Eddie Lee (co-project manager), Pith Soh Beh (secretary of Think Tank) ,Ronald Li (debater) , Noor Leena (debater), Haerris Riani (debater), Khoo Woon Hann (moderator) , Sri Athiyan (debater), Julie Ngai (debater), and the guy behind is Shamir Hameed (debater).MAD is the acronym for MASCA Annual Debate and is the brainchild of the Malaysian Students' Council of Australia (MASCA), Victoria, and a group of motivated students studying here. Zia Mohzani, a postgraduate from Monash University, is the project manager.
A group of debaters, from a diverse range of backgrounds - be it race or religion, was chosen.
So what transpired at the debate, the first to be held in the Prince Philip Theatre at Melbourne University?
The affirmative team consists of Julie Ngai, Shamir Hameed and Sri Athiyan, who are convinced that the NEP has discriminated and unfairly treated citizens that are not privileged from the policy.
Too much privilege
Shamir from Penang, who is currently pursuing a degree in Creative Advertising at RMIT University, believes that Bumiputras are given too much privilege, giving them no motivation to work harder, resulting in more Bumiputras being unemployed as opposed to non-Bumiputras.
"All of us are from different background, ethnicity, ideas and thoughts, but we share a common trait - we are Malaysians. Deprivation of equity of opportunity is the biggest downfall of NEP," said Julie Ngai from Negeri Sembilan, who is a second year Law degree student studying at Monash University.
"NEP is then replaced by the National Development Policy (NDP), whereby University and education quotas for the privileged are reduced. However, people's perception of being unfairly treated is still there, due to the impact brought by NEP", Julie said.
According to Sri Athiyan from Johor, who is also a second year Law student at Monash University, the government had lifted the 30% equity requirement in 27 service sectors only last year, after realizing the importance of foreign investments to bring in expertise, technology, knowledge and job opportunities into Malaysia.
However, the debaters from the opposing team, Haerris Riani, Noor Leena and Ronald Li believe that the NEP has made Malaysia a developed country.
Third World mentality
Ronald Li from Selangor, who is doing his Masters in International Relations at Melbourne University, said that people generally think that poverty is still an issue in Malaysia "because our wage levels have not been increased."
He added that wage levels in the largest economy of the world, the United States, have also not gone up in recent years, and poverty has long ago been a huge problem.
"The younger generations have neither seen nor experienced what the 1960s and 70s used to be like. The only thing I will concede that there hasn't been much progress yet, is that of our Third World mentality, thinking that we have not progressed at all" said Li.
Noor Leena from Penang, who is currently studying Bachelor of Commerce in Melbourne University, argued that since the inception of NEP, unemployment rate has decreased from 6.7% in 1985 to 3.7% in 2006.
"The Bumiputras lacked incentive to break away from living in rural areas, hence the government stepped in to give the Bumiputras better education and special allocation, so that they can venture into new economic sector and into the city," said Leena.
Education system improved
Haerris Riani from Selangor, who is pursuing Masters in Commerce and Management at Deakin University, and also the president of Kelab Umno Victoria, believes that the education system has improved because of the NEP, based on the increasing number of Malaysians studying and graduating from overseas.
Members of the floor have been very participative and attentive throughout the debate.
A student on the floor giving his comments
Sanjay Kumar, a student from Melbourne University, who disagrees with the motion, said "The bumiputras would've suffered more without the Government's help and Malaysia would've failed further without NEP "
Lum from Monash University, who agrees with the motion, said "The policy was implemented since 1971. It is already year 2010 and no significant progress can be seen. We are right now behind other countries that were on par with us before the implementation of NEP."
The high turnout for MAD 2010 indicates that students are highly concerned with this issue that has been lingering in the minds of Malaysian youth.
Prior to the event, the first polling that was recorded from everyone who attended the debate, shows that 44.1% are for the motion, 26% are undecided and 29.9% are against the motion.
To eradicate poverty
The second polling, that was recorded after the event, has shown a slight decrease in the amount of people who are for the motion at 40.2%, 15.9% are still undecided and the number of people against the motion has increased to 43.9%.
The NEP was introduced by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak after the racial riots on May 13, 1969.
The main aims of the NEP were to eradicate poverty by raising income levels and increasing employment opportunities for all Malaysians, irrespective of race and accelerating the process of restructuring Malaysian society to correct economic balance to reduce and eventually eliminate the identification of race with economic function.
However, in recent years, NEP has been subject to criticism which has suggested that the programme promotes laidback attitude among the Bumiputras. Some opposition have also condemned that NEP is a tool used by government to promote self-interest, cronyism and corruption.
This event is sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Australian Government, Australia-Malaysia Institute, YNJ Migration Consultants, Mister Potato, and Victorian International Directors' Committee (VIDC), Universities of Victoria, with refreshment of the day sponsored by Chilli Padi.
Malaysian Mirror
26/04/10
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