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Merit And Need Should Be The Bases Of Malaysian Economic Policy Statement by Dr Tan Seng Giaw, DAP National Vice-Chairman and MP for Kepong on Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir's comment on the New Economic Policy and privatisation. 13 May 2000 | |||||||
| The second day of the 54th UMNO General Assembly saw myriad different opinions during the debate on its President Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's opening speech. Some regard the two-hour address as the state of the nation speech. Some think it is the state of UMNO speech. The mass media continue to give the assembly a wide coverage including miscellaneous features. Only when Opposition assemblies are also given prominence will we see the flowering of meaningful democracy. Some candidates have voiced the obvious on the need to have a code of ethics, the will, the Anti-Corruption Agency, ACA, the police, strict enforcement and penalties to stamp out money poltics. The ACA must be truly independent. Dr Mahathir said: "...But now we know that the Western bloc is as bad as the communist bloc in their oppression and in replacing legitimate governments with their own puppets....if in the past, colonisation involved the use of military might, today the power of the economy is used.... many countries are supposedly free and independent, but in reality they are colonised by foreign powers. "In Malaysia, efforts to overcome the economic attack from foreigners are made more complicated because we have to balance the economic position of the various races. The Malays and other bumiputeras hold a very small percentage of the economic wealth compared with their numbers. "The Government has formulated and implemented the New Economic Policy, NEP, which was successful in increasing the percentage of economic control by the bumiputeras. The government's privatisation policy also helped to create a small number of bumiputeras in big business activities." If a generation is taken as 30 years, NEP has been implemented for one generation. A comprehensive review of the success and failure of the policy is imperative. While there is a report of Malays owning 50% of the shares in the Kuala Lumpure Stock Exchange, KLSE, the truth is difficult to find. The activities of KLSE and governmental involvement in various fields are often shrouded in mystery. Corporate holdings and nominees and myriad different shades and hues boggle the mind. Who are owning what? In reviewing the NEP, we must have the truth. We do not believe in totalitarian | |
state economy. Neither do we believe in laisser-faire capitalism. The superior technology, knowledge and wealth of the industrialized nations have certainly put the less developed countries at a terrible disadvantage. Rapacious speculators make life impossible. The flaws in the international financial architecture offer golden opportunities for these marauders. Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, economic weapons have been used increasingly to subjugate the poorer nations. The inherent weaknesses of these nations make them all the more vulnerable. While Dr Mahathir has a point about economic colonisation, he must review and rectify the weaknesses in domestic economic architecture. Much as he does not like to hear the repeated reminders on cronyism, nepotism, corruption and wastage, he would have to look into these in a big way. True, compared with some countries, our weaknesses may not be so glaring. But, they are there. Since 1983, a total of over 434 projects have been privatised with a total cost of over RM66 billion. The success and failure of these privatised projects must be made known to the public including what has been achieved in wealth restructuring and narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor and between the races. For example, the government has taken over Indah Water Konsortium after spending tens of millions of ringgits in privatising the sewerage system in the country. From the beginning, we do not know how the consortium was formed, the manoeuvring, the government soft loans and finally the collapse. What does it mean by restructuring of wealth? How is it benefiting the nation? Holistic motive has been invoked such as to have a clean and efficient sewerage or liquid waste disposal system in Malaysia. What happens? Merit and need should be the bases of our economic policy. The effforts to restructure wealth, the economy and to redress the gap between the haves and the have-nots have to go on. They are hampered by multitudes of inherent human foibles of greed and selfishness. If the governance is more open, democratic, transparent, accountable and just, then the dastard activities of bad elements such as money politics can be exposed and dealt with more easily.
Dr Tan Seng Giaw | |||||
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