CONFIRMED: UMNO's Crutch for Survival is to Continue the NEP Indefinitely

It is now fully confirmed by Selangor Chief Minister, Mohamed Khir Toyo that UMNO's political survival depends on the continued existence of the NEP (New Economic Policy). (see Star report)

In the words of Khir Toyo, "... Umno will continue to struggle and discuss the need to keep the New Economic Policy (NEP) to ensure the interests of the Malays are protected."

He further said UMNO could only remain relevant in the future IF this ( ie the NEP) was among its priorities.

According to Khir Toyo, WITHOUT NEP, the Malays could switch their support to religion-based parties such as PAS or other opposition parties including Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). Read here in Star for more .


Read BELOW RELATED ARTICLES :

• by Dr. Dzulkifli Ahmad in Malaysiakini



• by Dr. Azly Rahman in Malaysia-Today

QUOTES:

"It doesn’t need a political pundit to tell the nation that the New Economic Policy (NEP) is the legitimating ideology for Umno’s hegemony and legitimacy.

The party now has trouble weaning beneficiaries off it.

The already capable Malays, after five decades of independence, must NO LONGER be beholden to an ‘affirmative mindset’ that entraps them into an unrelenting ’crutch mentality’ and which prevents them from be truly competent, competitive and enterprising.

We must not repeat our mistakes. Otherwise, it will be ‘the Great March Backward’ for the nation."
- Dr. Dzulkifli Ahmad

"..The NEP is NO longer serving the needs of Malaysia. The policy is hopelessly one-dimensional and short-sighted.

It may be not be weeded out overnight, but its form can certainly be altered over time.

EDUCATION is probably the best starting point. Children of poor Malaysians, regardless of ethnicity must be given equal opportunity funding for higher education.

Children of wealthy Malaysians and members of the Malaysian royalty should not receive preferential treatment, for obvious reasons.

Until and unless a NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT is written, one that is seen not to align disproportionate wealth to a minority, or unevenly among the races - real change for Malaysia, is a figment of imagination.

Equal opportunity would mean nothing if a new socio-economic philosophy replaces purported Malay economic preponderance with that of any other race."
-Dr. Azly Rahman

Why UMNO Needs NEP

Being a race-based political party, without the NEP, in the form being practised by this Government since its inception in 1970, UMNO is irrelevant to the Malays. For UMNO to survive as dominant race-based party in Government, it has to rely solely on the Malay vote.

And for NEP to be of any use to UMNO, the policy contents of NEP must focus on giving only preferences to Malays in all spheres of economic, social and educational activity.

Otherwise NEP is worthless to UMNO. Any change in the policy direction of NEP, other than that serving only the interest of the Malays, will be rejected.

The Non-Malay Voters and NEP

But what does all this mean in this coming General Election to the Chinese and Indian voters, who generally see the implementation of NEP by this UMNO-led Government as racially discriminatory against them ?

What it means in the coming General Election, is this:

1. A Chinese vote to MCA (as a member of BN), is a vote for UMNO, and therefore it is a Chinese vote for the continuation of NEP in its present racially discriminatory form.
   
   
2. An Indian vote for MIC (as a member of BN), is a vote for UMNO and therefore it is an Indian vote for the continuation of NEP in its present racially discriminatory form.

Fortunately for the Malay voters, they now have at least two credible choices in the ballot box: the secular Parti KeAdilan and the religiously-inclined PAS.

For the rural poor Malays, UMNO is becoming less and less the "saviour" of the Malays, with the history of UMNO leaders in recent times being associated more with corruption, nepotism, cronyism and blatant abuse of political power for personal gains.

Without NEP, UMNO as a race-based political party has NOTHING to sell to the Malay masses.

The Selangor Chief Minister's public admission confirms what is generally known among the chattering class in th Klang Valley and among liberal and educated Malays, that continuation of the NEP today is NOT about achieving the noble goals of improving the livelihood of the marginalised and the poor Malays.

NEP is all about the political survival of UMNO. It is about making rich UMNO-Malays richer. It is about creating and enriching a creamy class of rich and influential UMNOputras.

To suggest that the continuation of NEP in its present form is towards helping all the poor Malays, is political hogwash.
-"Malaysian Unplug"

Related Article

Slaying an Immortal Tiger: Malaysia's New Economic Policy
by
Dr. Azly Rahman
(Dr. Azly Rahman has doctorate in International Education Development, Masters in International Education, Masters in Communication, Masters in International Affairs, and Bachelors of Science in Education and a member of Kappa Delta Phi International Honor Society in Education Columbia University Chapter, International Understanding Honor Society Ohio University Chapter, Member of Spring 2007 Oxford Round Table on Diversity in Society. Dr Azly has published morethan 150 papers on Malaysia and has taught more than 40 courses in a variety of fields. )

Excerpts: Read here for more

The New Economic Policy (NEP) owes it genesis to a vision that sought to redistribute wealth among Malaysia's races and create a Malay middle class.

Today, there are a significant number who believe that most of the benefits have gone to upper and upper-middle class Malays.

The NEP has also overseen the growth of a larger class of poor across all ethnic groups too, with Malaysia witnessing the rapid growth of an urban poor who live below the poverty line.

The NEP was quite ill conceived to begin with, although in fairness, it was NOT meant to continue indefinitely unlike what one observes today.

It was premised upon the principles of ethnic segregation and a leg-up for the most disenfranchised community - the majority Malay-Muslim population. A noble policy then, affirmative action was also the dominant philosophy of human development in the 1960s and 70s. Today, the NEP can hardly be appended to noble intentions.

The only Indian and Chinese individuals that continue to support it are either found in political parties that are aligned to the ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional or to those Chinese and Indians who rely on government patronage for contracts and tenders.

The state of Malaysian politics continues to worry. Even the Malay middle class - products of the Mahathir development philosophy are now in a state of confusion and contradiction. On the one hand, they have benefited from the policy of affirmative action.

On the other hand, they are concerned about the depth of corruption in Malaysian politics and the number of incompetent public servants running the bureaucracy.

The nature of Malay nationalism is reaching a frightening apex with Malay leaders resorting to Malay nationalism as the panacea of choice when faced against anti-NEP sentiments.

New Paradigm

A new philosophy is needed, a new paradigm needs articulation, underpinned by a New Economic ethos that will benefit ALL ethnic groups and communities.

All this, in response to a new Malaysian reality that should acknowledge the "non-bumiputras" as the "new bumiputra".

Malaysians should NOT continue living with the sins of their fathers and continue the archaic legacy of colonialist ideology - divide and rule.

It is the technological imperatives that will probably force a review of the NEP, if it has not already. Globalisation and the interface of new mass-reach technologies have redefined the boundaries of social justice.

The international community is interested in the story of Malaysia's NEP, just as Malaysians are interested in the story of the Palestinian question.

More than at any other time in this generation, we are in an age where "the center cannot hold", especially when the spine of its raison d'etre was hosted on the back of information dominance by the state and a social contract that cannot last beyond one generation.

If NEP Continued in Present Form

One might ask: what are the implications for Malaysian politics and business should the NEP continue in its current form?

1. The perception of mass dissatisfaction will continue to grow,
   
   
2. Those marginalised by the system will continue to heckle and the middle class, especially the Malays will continue to protest.
   
   
3. Politically, mass mobilisation in support of progressive political groups will increase.
   
   
4. Citizen journalism will continue to challenge government-controlled media outlets and online platforms like Malaysiakini, Malaysia-Today and jeffooi.com, will probably end up as the first port of call for the news-hungry Malaysian.

The post-Mahathir regime thinks that it can still use the Mahathirist formula of maintaining power and wealth. It does not realise that Malaysians no longer wish to see a 5, or 6 or 7 term Prime Minister in power, as such as how the 22-year Mahathir rule.

• They want to see a government that serves the people and not one that makes the people modern slaves.
  
  
• They want to see corrupt politicians brought to justice.
  
  
• They do not want a government that is run by arrogant politicians who see politics as a dynasty-building vehicle and a conduit to build up a personal fortune.

While the political system perpetuated by the NEP does not necessarily make the latter scenario a given, it has by default, sowed the seeds for it.

The NEP is no longer serving the needs of Malaysia. The policy is hopelessly one-dimensional and short-sighted. It may be not be weeded out overnight, but its form can certainly be altered over time. Education is probably the best starting point.

Children of poor Malaysians, regardless of ethnicity must be given equal opportunity funding for higher education. Children of wealthy Malaysians and members of the Malaysian royalty should not receive preferential treatment, for obvious reasons.

The government-driven Iskandar Development Region project may well be more important for Malaysia than ordinary Malaysians envisage. As the laboratory of a "no-affirmative action" special economic zone, its success may well be critical for a thorough review of the NEP, especially if Malay Malaysians do well there.

At heart ultimately in the fight to banish the NEP to the annals of history is a culture of insecurity that Chinese and Indian Malaysians need to appreciate too. As argued by Malay nationalists, the real reason the NEP was implemented in the first place was the economic under-representation of the Malays in Malaysia.

Until and unless a new social contract is written, one that is seen not to align disproportionate wealth to a minority, or unevenly among the races - real change for Malaysia, is a figment of imagination.

Equal opportunity would mean nothing if a new socio-economic philosophy replaces purported Malay economic preponderance with that of any other race.
-Dr. Azly Rahman