NEP to go or just a never ending policy?

There were few occasions when I travelled to Kuala Lumpur where I took the cab ride to move around in the hustle bustle of the city instead of the more convenient train ride.

It happened once when a chatty Chinese cabbie, in his 40’s was telling me of how difficult it is to earn a living nowadays to the extent that he had to do few jobs to sustain the escalating cost of living.

As usual and as expected, the cabbie who spoke in near perfect English albeit KL accent and slang vented his frustrations and criticised the many government policies which he claimed as extremely unfair.

Not spared from his wrath was of course the New Economic Policy (NEP) which has come under attack as being inefficient system which promotes a laid back attitude among the Bumiputeras.

And recently, Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak caused a buzz when during an interview with Bloomberg, he claimed that not in the too distant future, Malaysians would see all the elements of the NEP being replaced.

He was quoted as saying that “if we do not change, the people will change us.”

So there you are. The policy which has been in existence for more than 30 years since 1970, with the aim of bringing to par the economic disparity between the Bumiputeras and the non-Bumiputeras, has been criticized by many as benefitting only a few, especially those with guanxi with the top level.

Not only do the Chinese or Indians are skeptic with the policy but also the majority of ordinary Malays who feel that they have not benefitted from the NEP.

A Malay cabbie in Kuala Lumpur for instance once told me that despite all the special privileges that the Bumiputeras enjoy, he still has to work as hard as the Chinese or Indians to earn a living while casting doubt whether the NEP really benefits them or just the cronies of certain politicians as he claimed.

And the point is clear. Ordinary Malaysians, regardless of Malays, Chinese or Indians want a fair and equal distribution of wealth and opportunities.

The Opposition which has been championing for this has been riding on the right track and sentiment and receives overwhelming support from people as clearly shown in the March 8 general election.

Unless the sentiment on the ground is well understood by those higher up, especially the UMNO for the role it plays as the taiko of the ruling coalition, then the BN can expect yet another political tsunami in the next general election due in 2013 except that this time it may be even more disastrous or fatal than the March 8.

MCA, which is still fresh from its party election has proposed for the abolishment of the 30% Bumiputera equity ownership in public listed companies but the proposal was met with a “no no” from the former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir, who is instrumental in turning the country into what it is today had said that it is not the time yet to abolish the 30% bumiputera equity.

“We have not reached that yet. There is still a lot to be done. If we reduce it to 20% today and it does not expand while the economy does, bumiputera equity participation will get smaller. We have to take all this into consideration,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying.

Then there is this warning from the Opposition PAS Youth movement which warned the MCA not to harp on the NEP and that the 30% bumiputera equity must be retained and defended even if the target has been reached.

Over in Selangor, the appointment of a Chinese as the acting general manager of Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) has caused a slight brouhaha with certain quarters claiming that the post should be reserved for the Malay, but the Menteri Besar, Khalid Ibrahim stood firm by his decision with the appointment.

While I acknowledge that the NEP is noble in its objective, the government must wake up to the fact that the outside world is waiting for nobody and should our politicians still debate on what is yours and what is mine, then one thing for sure is that we will be left miles and miles far behind in this world without mercy.

Come on YBs, it is time to pull our weight together as one Malaysian in this difficult time of world recession.

And by the way, a close aide to Najib clarified after the Bloomberg interview was published that what his boss meant was that there would be a gradual liberalisation of some of the elements of NEP and not the entire programme.