Another Young Malay Professional
5:36pm Fri Jan 31st, 2003
 

I’m not going to analyse the rationalness of the letter Why Malaysiakini must be stopped by Hady Hud of Sekretariat Melayu Muda as Praba Ganesan (Right-wingers in our midst) and Abu Sida (Professional but not o­n level playing field) have already rightly expressed their opinion o­n it.

As are my fellow Malay Malaysians in Sekretariat Melayu Muda (SMM), I’m a young professional and product of the New Economic Policy (NEP). I can understand the sentiment and political wind that ushered SMM to respond accordingly. However, I failed to understand why SMM has flagrantly denied the truth behind Petrof’s letter, specifically this:

"It is an obscenity to see well-fed Malays driving around in Mercedes Benzes and drawing fat salaries, yet availing themselves of '7.5 percent bumiputera discount' for posh houses, plentiful government scholarship forms to go overseas, entitlement to bumiputera unit trusts paying 10 to 15 percent returns when everyone else is in recession or going broke (the extra cash due perhaps to mandatory share allotments from new listings) while the Chinese and Indian Malaysians keep quiet because they know they do not count."

NEP was supposed to bring us, the poor-agrarian-based-Malay community, to the same level of economic competitiveness as the economically advanced Straits communities, which are mostly Chinese and Indian traders. Yes, albeit its many ‘imperfections’, NEP did manage to bring many bumiputera to the same level playing field of commerce, education and the like. SMM might now jump at my stressing of ‘imperfections’ of the NEP. What imperfections? But as Petrof rightly implied, why should the NEP allow rich bumiputera to still enjoy all the perks of NEP?

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) gave me a study loan for my Bachelor and Master’s degrees. I’m forever indebted to Mara as my family was in no position to provide for my studies. The loan sufficiently covered my tuition fees and basic necessities. Most of us have to work in order to gain extra money for travelling, etc.

However, as many of us slog o­n with studies and work, there is a group of elitists who use Mara’s money just for shopping. Daddy is a CEO somewhere and Mummy might be a businesswoman connected to who-and-who. So, money is a-plenty. But, no! They still enjoy the benefits of Mara or Public Services Department (JPA) loans and scholarships.

Without any shame at all, their rich Daddies and Mummies ‘claimed their right’ from Mara, JPA and the like. My Chinese and Indian Malaysian friends ask me: "Why"? I answered: "Abuse". Not o­nly do many rich bumiputera abuse the basic principle of NEP, they also abuse the right of other deserving bumiputera to enjoy the real benefits of NEP.

My dear young Malay Malaysian professionals in SMM should not flagrantly deny the truth for we are already unable to ‘hide’ it. It is high time we re-looked at the so-called absolute rights accorded to us. All races have participated in building this beloved nation of us. It is time that we accorded the same rights for all Malaysians.

The principles of NEP might still be applicable. However, its benefits must be administered across all races, for all who really deserve it. There are still large Malay communities who are still living under the poverty line. Please visit some of the rural estates and try to understand why many Indian Malaysian communities are still living in a vicious circle of poverty. And despite their urban background, many Chinese Malaysian families just manage to scrape through for their daily living. These are the people that should have the ‘absolute right’, not we young Malay professionals.