COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera (PEB) and his installation as the agenda’s council chief were announced with scripted infatuation in English and Malay newsprints, and denounced with fierce indignation in much of the online world. (I use PEB instead of Bumiputera Economic Empowerment [BEE] due to the 17 times that variations of “perkasa” resounded in Najib’s Sept 14 speech at UiTM, plus the absence of an English equivalent of that word.)

The backlash is expressing the expected sentiments, but one crucial question has been missing in reaction: should Malaysia pursue bumiputera participation in industry as a policy?

The loudest contention against the policy is that it does not benefit the vast majority of the bumiputera or the poor in general, and that the money should be allocated to social spending instead. Yes, this point is to some extent valid. But is this the most important question? No, I think not.