Najib's new pro-Malay plan: Repackaged crony machine?

MALAYSIA - IS PRIME Minister Najib Razak's new Malay economic agenda announced last Saturday a pillar of an "inclusive growth" strategy like Singapore's?

Or does it mark the return of the New Economic Policy (NEP), Malaysia's affirmative action plan turned crony machine, in a new packaging?

The answer, perhaps, is a bit of both and depends on where one chooses to zoom in and on how effectively the government delivers its promise, according to analysts.

For now, at least, Datuk Seri Najib's announcement of his plan - Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera (Strengthening the Bumiputera Economy) - should convince Umno leaders that he has heeded their calls to extend more aid to the Malays.

The new measures aim to raise the stake of Malays in the economy, in what is seen as reward for their support of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional in the general election in May and an attempt to secure their loyalty for the next.

The initiatives include creating more entrepreneurs and upgrading the skills of bumiputeras, comprising Malays who form roughly half of the population and other indigenous races.

"Bumiputeras are still far behind in almost all sectors, especially in the corporate sector and business, as well as asset ownership," columnist Awang Selamat wrote in Sunday's Umno-owned Utusan newspaper. Awang Selamat is the collective voice of Utusan's editors.

Still, Mr Najib's plan, announced ahead of Umno party elections next month, raises concerns that it will leave non- bumiputera minorities behind. Worse, it risks alienating the Chinese and Indian communities.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, said the government should include "all Malaysians, since there are large numbers of poor non-bumiputeras as well".

Others see in Mr Najib's new Malay economic agenda strong echoes of the NEP, which Prime Minister Tun Razak Hussein, his late father, launched in 1971 following deadly racial riots in 1969.

Though the NEP ended officially in 1990 and was succeeded by other programmes, the name stuck. Over the years, the policy has come under fire, with critics saying it was being used to cut sweetheart deals for people with ties to government leaders rather than to help needy bumiputeras.

Defending the new economic agenda, the chief of Malaysia's investment fund Khazanah Nasional, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, told The Straits Times that it forms part of "inclusive growth" to ensure a more equitable distribution of the economic pie.

"Even in neighbouring countries like Singapore, there is an emphasis on inclusive growth... we know that you have to do development together with all the parts," he added.

To assure the people that its new economic agenda is not the NEP in disguise, the government must be transparent. It must openly show the number and names of those who benefit from the new policy.

Just as important, the programme, instead of merely handing out more fish, must teach more Malays to fish instead.

"This has to be strictly implemented to enhance bumiputera participation in the private sector through SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)," said Mr Khoo Kay Peng who runs his own consultancy. "This will reduce the intra-community disparity."

reme@sph.com.sg

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