Govt should help people based on need, not race - Syed Husin

INTERVIEW | Syed Husin Ali believes that to elevate the standard of living for the B40, there is no other alternative but to adjust affirmative action policies that are based on race so that they cater to the needy and marginalised of all races.

“I think that is important and, one day, a government will have to be brave enough to bring about this change. So far, the idea of giving special privileges to the Malays has just enabled a group of elites and cronies who are already rich to become richer.

“It has not worked in terms of raising the standard of living for the hardcore poor and the B40, whether they be Malays or otherwise,” the former PKR deputy president told Malaysiakini.

He pointed out that such a policy shift was mooted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, and was indeed a founding principle of PKR when it was formed 20 years ago through the merger of Parti Keadilan Nasional and Parti Rakyat Malaysia.

In August, Rafizi said the government’s vision for the economy would see the continuance of needs-based affirmative action while improving policies that strengthen social justice to targeted groups based on needs.

“If the government was serious about this, the poor Malays would be happier because they get the focus on them as they still make up the majority of the poor in this country. And the non-Malays will be happier because things will be fairer.

“But if you just have this ethnic approach, we will never get anywhere. It has not worked in its original goal of ensuring equitable distribution of wealth,” said Syed Husin, who served two terms in the Dewan Negara.

Alarmed by polarisation

Having spent most of his life battling the Umno/BN monolith, to the extent that he was detained without trial for six years, Syed Husin is relieved that the old administration is no more, but is concerned by the growth of the largely mono-racial PAS/Bersatu alliance as the main opposition in the country.

Former PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali

“I am worried about the polarisation, especially with PAS and Bersatu freely making use of religion and race to gain support, and they get support.

“In the long run, this is dangerous. There might be some short-term gains for them, but if you go on provoking mistrust and enmity among the races, it could erupt,” he warned.

He did concede that having the former BN government playing a determining factor in who governs the country would continue to pose some odd situations.

“Well, by now MCA and MIC don’t feature much within the coalition as they have hardly any seats. It is Umno who is playing that role, and there might be no one to hold them together if (Umno president Ahmad) Zahid Hamidi is gone.

“We don’t like it but we realise that any trigger for the fall of the new government could be Zahid’s imprisonment.

“Politics is the art of the impossible. We thought they couldn’t cooperate. But now they cooperate because if they don’t cooperate, there is no government. On the other side, (Bersatu president) Muhyiddin Yassin clearly stated they didn’t want to cooperate with anybody after the elections.

“So what we have is a compromise that we have to work with,” he said.

In the past, PKR and Anwar were let down by defectors and rebels and Syed Husin cautioned that Anwar needs to choose his advisers well.

He admitted that as long as there are unpopular appointments such as retaining Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz in the cabinet, as well as appointing S Vell Paari as senator and Wong Chun Wai as Bernama chairperson, Anwar would face scrutiny over his judgment.

“I think you get the same faces coming around lobbying for positions and making promises.

“I think one problem with Anwar is that he doesn’t have enough advisers from people outside. He should have a group of independent advisers who will give their views on various things, especially if they are experts in that field,” added Syed Husin. - Mkini