The intricate nexus between the worlds of business and politics has been an age-old tradition in Malaysia. Crony capitalism, a term to describe the intertwined relationship between business, politicians and the state, where individuals in the private sector benefits by obtaining licenses, concessions, government subsidies, other forms of protection from governments and appointments to key state owned enterprises through their close relationship with politicians and bureaucrats.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad successfully used the New Economic Policy to cripple the Malays into thinking that they would forever need a crutch in order to succeed in competition with others, according to a former MP.
Tawfik Ismail said the NEP as envisioned by Abdul Razak Hussein and Ismail Abdul Rahman (Tawfik’s father) was meant to give a temporary advantage to the Malays, not a prolonged dependence.
Using a golf handicap as an analogy, Tawfik said the NEP was to encourage the Malays to strive towards one day demonstrating better proficiency and skills.
“Mahathir saw the Malays as being handicapped, in what the Malays call ‘cacat’ or permanent disability, requiring lifelong crutches to get by. Also he isn’t a sportsman, and doesn’t know that winning and losing are part of the game of life, and hence he was a sore loser in the game of politics,” he told FMT.
Tawfik, a former Umno member, was MP for Sungai Benut from 1986-1990. He co-founded the Gerak Independent electoral reform group in 2019. The group seeks to be a “third force” at elections.
He said Mahathir’s successful “indoctrination of dependence” is the main reason that Malays today think that they cannot succeed without help.
“This is why the Malays have this ‘crutch’ mentality. Instead of competing and trying to get on an equal playing field, they are in fact being hobbled, which I think is the end result of Mahathirism.”
The NEP was first introduced in 1970 after the May 13 riots in 1969. It put forth pro-Bumiputera affirmative actions with wealth distribution at its core. While it formally ended in 1990, it continues to shape the country’s policies.
Source : FMT
I am sure Dr Mahathir would agree that the New Economic Policy (NEP) has failed to achieve its target; but who failed the NEP?
He had 22 years to fix the inequality that existed back then, but now, he is saying that there is a wider gap between the rich non-Malays and the poor Malays!
I think this is just an excuse that he uses in order to cover his own failures. And, in the next 50 years, after he is gone, the people to benefit from the NEP are not the B40 Bumiputra, but the top 20 percent elites.
The Coverage Malaysia
