Najib is no reformer as race card rules policy-making, says Tony Pua

Najib at the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda announcement event held at the UiTM in Shah Alam last Saturday. The Malaysian Insider pic, September 20, 2013.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda contravened the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) by diverting it from a private sector driven transformation plan to a government-led transformation plan.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said the prime minister's new plan to boost the Bumiputera economic position takes the racial mindset a step further by reneging on the New Economic Model (NEM), the Government Transformation Programme and the ETP's call for transparency and accountability in the delivery of government projects.

Pua noted that the NEM called for “market friendly and transparent affirmative action programmes” that would focus on the bottom 40% of households in order to narrow disparities between the rich and the poor, the urban and the rural, the Bumiputera and the non-Bumiputera.

However, he pointed out that Najib's newly-announced Bumiputera agenda makes no mention of targeting the bottom 40% that was a key focus of the NEM.

"The ‘carve out’ policies to ensure Bumiputera participation in what are essentially GLC mega-projects – Menara Warisan (PNB), Bukit Bintang City Center (UDA), Rubber Research Institute land (EPF), Matrade (Naza TTDI) - prove that Najib believes that the  government knows best," said Pua.

Another of Najib's latest folly was his call to bailout Utusan Malaysia, said Pua, adding that with these two landmark announcements recently, Malaysia can no longer cling on to the hope that Najib was a reformer prime minister.

"His 1Malaysia policy has bitten the dust and was nothing more than an attempt to fish for votes in the last general election," he said.

He added that Najib's shameless call to give life-support to Utusan Malaysia followed by announcement of massive allocations to Barisan Nasional (BN) cronies under the guise of the Bumiputera agenda confirmed the hypocrisy of the Prime Minister’s “1Malaysia” campaign.

He said that the bailout call was also proof that Najib himself supported extremist tendencies, where Utusan Malaysia, a publication owned by Umno has been at the forefront.

Pua noted that until recently, Najib's image had been impeccably managed to ensure that he was perceived as sincere in fighting against racial and religious extremism with the setting up of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM).

"However, with his latest two announcements, in calling for government departments and Government-linked companies to rescue Utusan Malaysia and the RM31 billion Bumiputera agenda, he has in a blink of an eye revealed the real Datuk Seri Najib Razak," added Pua.