By Rahmah Ghazali
KUALA LUMPUR: Reports of Malaysians migrating due to the government's affirmative action policy are not justified, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir said other communities did not lose much when the New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in the 70s.
He was responding to a reporter's question after delivering a keynote address at Mara's 44th anniversary celebrations.
Mara was set up by the government to boost the Malay community's participation in business and education.
Mahathir was asked if the government should give a time-frame to abolish the NEP altogether.
"I cannot provide a time-frame, we must see the results first. And if you do that (set a time-frame), you won't be able to gauge your achievements fairly," said Mahathir.
"You have to be patient. I don't think other communities lose much in the process. They may lose a little, but in this country if you study the distribution of wealth, it is still unequal."
Mahathir has been arguing that the Malays are still lagging behind other races, especially the Chinese community, in terms of financial wealth and distribution.
"...we have to correct that. We have lived with this for the past 50 years. It has not hampered the growth of the country nor have people left because of the perceived injustice of the NEP," he said.
However, when a journalist pointed out that there are a high number of Malaysians leaving the country because of this, Mahathir said "they have to take the good with the bad".
"In other countries, they probably kill and fight. But in this country, they are solving the problems through reasonable discussions," he said.
And those who insist on leaving the country, said Mahathir, are welcome to do so.
"If they think they live here to enjoy the benefits and not willing to sacrifice, sorry, you have to live in a different country," said the former premier.
Don't be proud of the Bumiputera privileges
Earlier during his 40-minute speech, Mahathir, who is a staunch supporter of Bumiputera rights, however, told the crowd that they should not always depend on aid from the government.
He also said that the Malays should not be proud of the aid and consider it as a "right because we are the masters in this country".
"Some of you may not like what I am about to say, but we should not be proud of it because it is better to be independent rather than depend on help," he said.
Mahathir pointed out that the aid, especially the affirmative policies such as the NEP, are like "temporary crutches t to help us when we are weaker".
"When we become stronger, we don't need anymore protection. But it is more noble to stand on our own feet if want to call ourselves 'tuans' (masters)," he said.
"The Malay Dilemma" author further explained that many of the affirmative action policies which were regarded as their birth right were actually created by the British.
The British, he said, viewed the community as an averse race in need of help, likening them to the "Red Indians" who continue to live in Native American reserves in the United States.
"They are considered weak and without these reserves, they would have no other place to live," said Mahathir.
KUALA LUMPUR: Reports of Malaysians migrating due to the government's affirmative action policy are not justified, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir said other communities did not lose much when the New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in the 70s.
He was responding to a reporter's question after delivering a keynote address at Mara's 44th anniversary celebrations.
Mara was set up by the government to boost the Malay community's participation in business and education.
Mahathir was asked if the government should give a time-frame to abolish the NEP altogether.
"I cannot provide a time-frame, we must see the results first. And if you do that (set a time-frame), you won't be able to gauge your achievements fairly," said Mahathir.
"You have to be patient. I don't think other communities lose much in the process. They may lose a little, but in this country if you study the distribution of wealth, it is still unequal."
Mahathir has been arguing that the Malays are still lagging behind other races, especially the Chinese community, in terms of financial wealth and distribution.
"...we have to correct that. We have lived with this for the past 50 years. It has not hampered the growth of the country nor have people left because of the perceived injustice of the NEP," he said.
However, when a journalist pointed out that there are a high number of Malaysians leaving the country because of this, Mahathir said "they have to take the good with the bad".
"In other countries, they probably kill and fight. But in this country, they are solving the problems through reasonable discussions," he said.
And those who insist on leaving the country, said Mahathir, are welcome to do so.
"If they think they live here to enjoy the benefits and not willing to sacrifice, sorry, you have to live in a different country," said the former premier.
Don't be proud of the Bumiputera privileges
Earlier during his 40-minute speech, Mahathir, who is a staunch supporter of Bumiputera rights, however, told the crowd that they should not always depend on aid from the government.
He also said that the Malays should not be proud of the aid and consider it as a "right because we are the masters in this country".
"Some of you may not like what I am about to say, but we should not be proud of it because it is better to be independent rather than depend on help," he said.
Mahathir pointed out that the aid, especially the affirmative policies such as the NEP, are like "temporary crutches t to help us when we are weaker".
"When we become stronger, we don't need anymore protection. But it is more noble to stand on our own feet if want to call ourselves 'tuans' (masters)," he said.
"The Malay Dilemma" author further explained that many of the affirmative action policies which were regarded as their birth right were actually created by the British.
The British, he said, viewed the community as an averse race in need of help, likening them to the "Red Indians" who continue to live in Native American reserves in the United States.
"They are considered weak and without these reserves, they would have no other place to live," said Mahathir.
No comments:
Post a Comment