Throw away NEP crutches urges Amanah leader

(FMT) – Parti Amanah Negara leader Rosli Yaakop said today it was time for the government to slowly phase out the New Economic Policy (NEP) and replace it with a merit-based system.

He said in the long run, the Malays would benefit from being part of the merit-based system.

“If we keep using crutches, our legs will become useless.

“Furthermore, the NEP has benefited the Malay elites more than those from the interiors,” Rosli said at a forum called “Quo Vadis: Economic Development in Malaysia?”.

Rosli, who was with Bank Negara’s economic department, said the country could not continue with the same policies it implemented in the 1970s.

He said the NEP was implemented to uplift the economy of the Malays but it had not helped the Malays to progress as fast as they should.

Rosli said this was because the majority of the Malays still worked for the government while the non-Malays continued to dominate the business sector.

He said a Merdeka Centre’s survey on the NEP showed that 71% of Malays had agreed to phase out the NEP.

This, he said, showed that society wanted the NEP to end.

“They want it to end because it has benefited the Malay elites,” he said.

Rosli also asked the audience if the nation was ready for Vision 2020 – a vision to achieve a self-sufficient industrialised nation by 2020 in all aspects of life, from economic prosperity, social well-being, education, political stability as well as psychological balance.

Most of them said the country had failed to create a united Bangsa Malaysia, or to create a democratic and ethical society.

Rosli also pointed out that the Malays, Chinese and Indians in a neighbourhood did not visit each other as often as they should.

“Except when they are good buddies. Then they might visit each other when someone is in hospital.”