‘Race’ not a dirty word, it’s needed to raise those left out, says economist

 

Malaysians of various races lining up for aid. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: An economist has rejected the assertion that race-based affirmative action policies can be abandoned entirely, saying there are certain areas in which it is unavoidable to give preferences by ethnicity.

“Race is not a dirty word,” said Muhammed Abdul Khalid, who was once former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s economic adviser.

“If you are looking at issues such as addressing under-representation of certain groups in some sectors, using race is unavoidable.”

Recently, former finance secretary-general Mohd Sheriff Kassim and former CIMB group chairman Nazir Razak decried the use of race as a deciding factor in affirmative action policies, insisting that they should instead focus on groups in need.

Muhammed Abdul Khalid,

Speaking to FMT, Muhammed said the government was already using needs-based policies in poverty eradication, adding that this made “perfect sense” and must be continued.

“Race-based and needs-based affirmative action complement each other,” he said.

“It doesn’t need to be one or the other. Replacing race with need is flawed, although it seems very appealing.”

For example, he said, promoting Malay participation would be the only way to address a shortage of bumiputera workers in a certain sector.

“Let’s say you want more bumiputera accountants. You’re not looking at just the poor Malays. You’re looking at any Malay, since that’s how you achieve the ultimate goal.

“The same goes for non-bumiputera representation in the government sector, or the under-representation of women, or in addressing regional disparities.

“In these instances, you can’t look at needs.”

Muhammed said racial policies would become a problem only if they were in place for perpetuity or were abused, “like when contracts are offered to unqualified bumiputeras, scholarships are hoarded by the rich or when hiring practices are skewed towards certain races in the private sector”.

“To me, this is outright disgusting. But the word ‘race’ itself should not be interpreted in a bad way,” he added.

“We live in a multiracial country. We must ensure opportunities are available to any group that is under-represented, whether in terms of gender, region, age, or race.”- FMT