NEP to stay because…

Senator Abdul Wahid Omar claims that top management positions in Malaysia are still Chinese dominated and the government will not compromise NEP objectives.

K Pragalath, FMT

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Abdul Wahid Omar denied that the New Economic Policy (NEP) was a factor contributing to many Malaysians leaving the country.

His denial came in reply to Selayang MP William Leong Jee Kern who questioned whether the NEP would be amended in light of the World Bank report stating that the NEP was among factors listed for Malaysians leaving the country.

“You shouldn’t just look at a single point stated in the report. The World Bank report is much more comprehensive.

“It cites lack of career development and pay scale differences as reasons too,” said Wahid.

The NEP, implemented in 1970, continued its two pronged objective of poverty eradication and to end the domination of certain races in certain sectors of the economy, until 1999.

Wahid added that the government would not want to compromise on the NEP’s objective, specifically the objective encompassing the dominance of a single race in certain business sectors.

“We want to increase the bumiputera economic level without taking away the rights of the other communities.”

He added that currently the bumiputera community only hold 20% of top management positions of business corporations in the country.

“There are 70% Chinese in the top management brass and 5–10% from the Indian community,” he added to reiterate the reason why implementation of the NEP had to be retained.