APARTHEID MALAYSIA: Thanks to Najib, Malays seen as shameless, corrupt, dependent on handouts

EDITOR'S PICK KUALA LUMPUR - Any pretence that Malaysia may have had to being a civilized nation was thrown out the window with the latest economic ‘plan’ for the Bumiputras, announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Most of the money, in any event, will go not to the poor and struggling Malays but to a cabal of Malay businessmen with cozy links to the ruling Umno elite. This is no conjecture, it is what has been happening for decades with the New Economic Plan.

What the new plan does, at least in conception, is to take taxpayer’s money and distribute it to only one part of the population. And this part of the population is defined by their race. The word for such twisted economic policies cannot be any other than apartheid. There are preferred citizens and then there are the rest.

Self interest, self interest and self interest

Najib’s motivations for taking so backward a step appear to be three-pronged.

This step will first ensure that he will be unchallenged at the coming Umno elections as he has given the hardliners what they want. Even an arch-racist like Mahathir cannot complain.

Second, he hopes to ensure the Malay vote for the next elections.

Third, he now matches up to his father in the enacting of racially biased policy.

Muhyiddin cornered, acid test for the rest of BN

Muhyiddin, rumoured to be considering a bid for the Umno leadership, quickly rallied to Najib’s side, declaring the opinion of other citizens and the international community irrelevant.

Indeed, most non-bumiputras will have felt very hurt by this overt institutionalization of racism in the country.

The utter irrelevance of BN component parties like the MCA and MIC is apparent. Even they may now give the BN up as a bad job.

Forget about multiracial Malaysia

The dream of a multi-racial Malaysia where all races unite and work together, is now crushed.

For non-bumiputras, the message from the government is an unmistakably clear one. They are unwanted citizens.

As far as the government is concerned, they can take their skills and their capital and migrate to some other land.

This is of course already happening. The rate of such exits will increase. Singapore will be a key beneficiary, as will Australia, Canada and other western countries.

Taking Malaysia backward, not forward

The economics of a nation invested in apartheid policies are doomed to failure.

There is first of all the cost of administering such a system. Malaysia already has a bloated civil service which consumes huge chunks of the budget and produces no productivity in return.

Najib announced the formation of multiple new units within the government, states, and GLCs to administer these new policies, an inadvertent admission of its onerous administrative cost.

Malaysia’s educational policies are already racially biased, and they have resulted in the chronic skills shortages that we see in the workplace today. Nor will the government be getting the best value for money if it persists in excluding vendors providing better value at lower costs because they are not bumiputras.

In the face of global competition, it is indeed a retrograde policy that Najib is pursuing. The apartheid economy of South Africa failed simply because such systems are intrinsically inefficient.

Malays will be seen as thick-skinned, shameless, corrupt & dependent on handouts

The bumiputra agenda will not be served by these populist hand-outs that Najib is indulging in.

What is needed is to equip the bumiputras with the skills and work ethic that will allow them to compete both in Malaysia and internationally. Handing out money for free blunts that objective. Competitive economies grow out of competitive environments.

The poor should indeed be helped, but it should be all the poor regardless of race. In any event, bumiputras form 70% of the poor. They will benefit the most from such funds.

Najib could have been a statesman and adopted that approach. Instead he plays politics and racially divides the country, for his own narrow political gain.

And Malaysia must bear the stigma of being a racist nation with apartheid-era policies.

Malaysia Chronicle