PAS Youth warns MCA not to harp on NEP

The PAS Youth wing today warned MCA not to gain political mileage by calling for the abolition of the 30 percent bumiputera equity in public-listed companies.

PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub said that the 30-percent equity must be retained and defended "even if the target has been reached".

"Before 1969, the equity of the Malays was almost nil and after 40 years, it is only at 19 percent," he said in a statement today.

"If this continues, we need about 20 more years to achieve the 30 percent target," he added.

He was responding to a call made by MCA vice-president Liow Tiong Lai that the condition for 30 percent bumiputera equity in public-listed companies should be abolished in order for them to remain competitive.

Liow was also quoted as saying that the 30-percent target was a hindrance to the creation of true partnership between Malay, Chinese and Indian businessmen in the country.

Salahuddin said that Liow's call was a form of political pressure exerted by MCA on Umno and can affect the political stability of the government.

It could also lead to racial tensions, he warned.

MCA seeking political mileage

He added that Umno, in the aftermath of losing its two-thirds in the March general election, was being bullied by its coalition partners in making demands for their own races.

He said that Sapp, Upko, MIC and Gerakan have all given pressure to Umno and now it was MCA's turn.

"MCA as the main party for the Chinese, a community which controls the business sector in the country, now wants the bumiputera equity scrapped," he added.

"We realise that MCA is seeking political mileage after a change of party leadership... they want to regain the lost support of the community and the best weapon to get the community back is the economy," he said.

Salahuddin, who is also the member of parliament for Kubang Kerian, said the Chinese community had the control of the nation's economy since independence and it was this which caused the racial riots in 1969.

"The 30-percent equity implemented under the New Economic Policy is a social contract that must be respected not just for its economical aspects but also to preserve political stability," he said.

He also reminded MCA leaders not to raise racial issues and get caught under the Internal Security Act as some of them were detained during the Operasi Lalang in 1987.

Abim: Don't act in haste

Another Islamic movement, Abim, has also similarly rejected the calls for the abolition of the 30-percent equity.

Abim's president Yusri Mohamad reminded the government not to act in haste in changing policies that affected the country's bumiputera.

"It is illogical to abolish this 30-percent equity ownership without giving any due consideration to the overall conditions of the bumiputera," he said in a statement.

He said the government should undertake a comprehensive study before deciding on matters involving the bumiputera.

Apart from PAS and Abim, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad also brushed aside Liow's call, stating that the target for bumiputera equity participation had not been achieved.

The longstanding issue came into prominence again when incoming Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that the NEP would be liberalised progressively.

Najib, the current deputy premier and finance minister, said that when the Malays and bumiputeras have attained success and the confidence to compete at the domestic and global levels, "then they would no longer need quotas or special considerations".

PAS' stand on this matter is seen contradictory to the stand held by PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, who also heads the opposition alliance in which PAS is a partner.

While Salahuddin is calling for defending and retaining the 30-percent equity and the NEP, Anwar's position has been to remove completely the policy which he called obsolete and replaced with his New Economic Agenda.

The issue of the 30-percent equity target for the bumiputera has been hotly debate with some arguing that the target had already been achieved .