WOULD MALAYS LISTEN? UiTM chief urges Malays to drop handout mentality

KUALA LUMPUR - Malays must be resourceful to face competition both locally and abroad in order to survive in the current economy, according to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pro-chancellor Tan Sri Arshad Ayub.

Saying that the various ethnic communities also face challenges of their own, Arshad pressed the Malays to adopt a mindset that stressed on ensuring their survival instead of waiting for serendipitous rescue.

“The Malays must change their thinking. If we say we want help, of course we want help, but how long do we want help?

“Malays must think of survival. How do you survive? If you need cane but cannot find it, even the root will do,” he said in an interview with Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia published today.

The UiTM don also claimed that the New Economic Policy (NEP) would have developed the Malays economically if Malaysia had not suffered during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

He also stressed the need for education in order for Malays to be able to compete, insisting it was the only way for the community to survive in the current cutthroat conditions.

“Now it’s competition, competition, competition... not just from locally but also from abroad,” he said further in the interview.

The Malay and Bumiputera communities enjoy privileges accorded to them under the Federal Constitution, along with affirmative action introduced under the now-defunct NEP that was created following the 1969 race riots.

Although technically expiring in 1990, many of the NEP’s race-based policies continue to be enforced and even expanded.

The discriminatory policy is also a major source of discontent among non-Bumiputera communities, who complain that it deprives them of equal treatment and opportunities.

After taking office in 2009, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced the New Economic Modelto reform the economy and promote meritocracy, even as Malaysia plans to achieve high-income status in just six years’ time by 2020.

But his proposal was swiftly savaged by the conservative factions in Umno and Malay right-wing groups like Perkasa, who said it would harm Bumiputera interests. -Malay Mail