Updated to include Dear Jay love letters at the end of this article
Two NEP beneficiaries, two different tales. Nazir Razak's point about a "bastardized" NEP has sparked quite a debate in
cyberspace over the weekend. Nazir, or Jay to friends, is the big boss of CIMB (the 2nd largest bank in Malaysia), son of our second Prime Minister, and the brother of the current PM, so his views count. Unfortunately, despite whatever good intent Nazir had, his statement is being used against him, against the NEP, and will be used against his brother, Najib Razak.
I can agree with Nazir to a certain extent, but when was the road to success ever straight? The NEP has been manipulated by greed in men and women to make themselves richer or more powerful. But after all is said and done, the policy helped keep us a peaceful nation and a prosperous one.
As I wrote in my tweeter yesterday, Nazir himself is the proud product of the NEP. Without the environment that the NEP had created for the likes of him to excel, would Nazir have the opportunity to run a major bank and is today
one of the youngest chief executives of a regional bank? I believe he is where he is today also because the NEP made it possible for him to become a successful banker and NOT jut because he is an extremely clever chap, the son of a PM and the brother of the Prime Minister.
The excitement over a "bastardized" NEP led me to Dr Mahathir Mohamad's posting in 2008 entitled
Cronyism and the NEP. In para 26, it's almost as the former PM had Nazir in mind when writing:
21. Under the NEP more schools were built in the rural areas and primary education was free. Secondary education was easily available and a lot of scholarships were given for the universtities in the country and abroad.
22. Residential colleges enabled the students to study under better condition than found in their inadequately lighted village houses. They were given better food in these hostels. Junior science colleges modelled after the English Boarding Schools provide ideal environment for selected students to study and play.
23. The results of all these efforts is very satisfying. Thousands of Malay boys and girls from poor village families gained access to better education and eventually obtained university degrees in various professions and fields of knowledge.
24. Many went on to study for post-graduate degrees and doctorates. They now work as professors in universities, as specialists in various fields of medicine, as scientists, engineers, architects, veterinarians, agriculturists etc. They have not been left behind by the advances in new knowledge such as information technology, telecommunications and space science.
25. They have also gone into management, obtaining MBAs from well known universities such as Harvard and Philadelphia. Armed with these qualifications they have been employed as management executives at all levels. Some actually head multinational companies.
26. In the education field the NEP has been very successful. It has helped to correct the imbalances not only in the professions but also in business. Strangely Malays have become very successful bankers.
27. The educational successes of the NEP have been largely ignored and not even recognised as a part of the poverty eradication and the removal of the identification of race with economic function objectives of the NEP. But in fact they are.
28. So think again whether the NEP simply enrich the cronies of the PM and Government.
29. Think of what would be the situation in Malaysia today without the NEP.
30. If there is still doubt then do a survey of all the contracts and scholarships given by the private sector and work out how much they have contributed toward eliminating disparities between races, and who would be the poor in this country.
Read the entire Cronyism and the NEP.
And then, there's the account by
Liew Kee Sin, the chief of SP Setia, the developer of Putrajaya, the country's largest property project.
KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Ogos — Pemaju hartanah utama Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin mempersoalkan kewajaran rungutan masyarakat Cina bahawa mereka tidak dilayan adil oleh kerajaan, sambil menekankan kaum itu telah menikmati kedudukan baik di sebalik persekitaran dasar pro-Bumiputera.
Liew (gambar), yang syarikatnya SP Setia Bhd merupakan pemaju Putrajaya — projek pembangunan terbesar di Malaysia berkata, terdapat lebih banyak firma dikawal kaum Cina berbanding syarikat-syarikat milik Bumiputera di Bursa Malaysia.
“Secara statistik, majalah Forbes menunjukkan masyarakat Cina-Malaysia telah boleh berjaya sepanjang 30 tahun lalu,” kata beliau Presiden dan Ketua Eksekutif SP Setia ini.
Read the Unspinners' spin on
Anggapan Cina mereka terpinggir itu meleset. Liew said on the contrary other races, especially the Chinese, have benefited tremendously from NEP.
In cyberspace, Liew has been getting a lot of flak for this statement from the same people who now hail Nazir as their new hero.
Updated:
Nazir "anak bangsawan" should stop talking cock, by A Voice
Orang Cina kini mahu pulak celah peha Melayu by Hidup Tuah!
Which eco-system did Nazir Razak come from? by Big Dog
As far as I know, these are all pro-Umno bloggers who are pro-Najib Razak. Mmm ...