(The Star) - The bumiputra community is ready for change under the New Economic Agenda because it will continue to be grounded on affirmative action to help the poor and the marginalised, said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said that the New Economic Agenda recognised the multi-ethnic composition of Malaysia, and therefore was “fortified with a policy to foster and nurture a plural and tolerant society”.

“The fear that such an agenda will erode the rights of the bumiputra is but the consequence of the racist chanting of some Umno leaders who will stand to be the biggest losers in the new agenda.

“Let me reiterate that the interests of the bumiputras will never be compromised because we are committed to building a new system that is just and fair. No one will be left behind on account of race or religion,” he said Tuesday in his keynote address at the CLSA Corporate Access Forum in Singapore.

In giving a snapshot of the Pakatan Rakyat’s economic blueprint should they form the Federal Government, Anwar added that “unlike the current scheme of things, the New Agenda will put in place mechanisms to ensure that economic aid goes to those who most need it.”

To detractors who had pointed out that the road to a more deregulated free market economy would lead to the abandonment of social instruments, he replied that they had no intention of abandoning electoral promises which included the promotion of social justice.

“Whenever necessary, we temper free market with an appropriate dose of state intervention to rectify the social inequities attendant on the interplay of pure market forces.

“We don’t think we need to apologise for advocating a policy on fuel, healthcare and education which is calculated to ease the burden of the rising cost of living,” he said.

“We call this humane economics.”

Anwar also said that the Pakatan Rakyat had no intention of doing away with the affirmative action principles outlined in the New Economic Policy, “but we will apply them across the board making them available for all races on a needs basis,” he said.

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