New Bumi unit contradicts NEM principles, says Pua

Pua: ‘Najibnomics’ turning out to be nothing more than an endorsement of the controversial NEP which favours the influential elite and a copycat of Mahathir’s mega-projects and privatisation policies of the 1990s.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — DAP publicity chief Tony Pua accused Datuk Seri Najib Razak today of abandoning his New Economy Model (NEM) by launching a new unit to enhance Bumiputera economic participation.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said the new unit called Teraju contradicted the spirit of NEM, which is to restructure the affirmative action programmes to benefit the bottom 40 per cent of income earners regardless of race.

“Najib is now proving to be a failed reformer, with his much vaunted ‘Najibnomics’ turning out to be nothing more than an endorsement of the controversial NEP which favours the influential elite and a copycat of Mahathir’s mega-projects and privatisation policies of the 1990s,” said Pua in a statement today.

“It is most unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to pander to vested political interest of race-based extremists groups such as Perkasa, and forsake his opportunity to make his mark by embarking on genuine reforms on Government policies which will reverse the decline in our economic competitiveness,” said the first term MP.

When launching Teraju yesterday Najib had said that the unit will lead, co-ordinate and drive Bumiputera economic participation through new and existing initiatives, propose institutional reform to increase effectiveness and act as the secretariat for the Bumiputera Agenda Supreme Council (MTAB) that oversees Bumiputera economic development.

Najib had in the past promised that reforms to the economy would still see to the needs and interests of the Bumiputera community who are made up of the majority Malay population as well as indigenous people such as the Orang Asli.

He said yesterday that Bumiputeras account for 73 per cent of the 2.4 million households in the lowest 40 per cent income bracket.

In 2009, Najib had done away with regulations requiring a 30 per cent Bumiputera stake in 27 service and financial sub-sectors and limited the purview of the Foreign Investment Committee that oversees Bumiputera equity.

Pua said Najib had made NEM irrelevant with the new Bumiputera unit while extending the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) without clear deadline.

“A confluence of criticisms by a member of the National Economic Action Council (NEAC), a former Minister and the former US Ambassador to Malaysia, together with an announcement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak himself have confirmed the death and irrelevance of the New Economic Model (NEM),” said Pua.

He cited NEAC member Datuk Dr Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusof’s remarks yesterday that Najib administration has insufficient political will to reform and former US diplomat John Malott’s warning against delaying reform plans or risked losing the country’s competitiveness.

“The Prime Minister himself, has chosen the very same day to hold a ‘Bumiputera Agenda Supreme Council’ meeting and announcing the setting up of ‘Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera’ to drive and co-ordinate bumiputera economic participation,” said Pua.

“This confirms the criticisms that Najib is placing the race agenda above the original intention of the NEM, which was to steer affirmative action programmes towards the bottom 40 per cent of income earners of the population,” he added.

A 30 per cent Bumiputera stake in the national economy has been an objective of the government since the implementation of the NEP in 1970.

Official statistics state that Bumiputera-held equity in the country stands at 18.7 per cent as of 2004.