Hishammuddin: NEP was for poor Malays, but made pie bigger for all Malaysians

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — Malaysia’s second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein had designed the New Economic Policy (NEP) with poor Malays in mind, but the policy ultimately benefited all citizens across the board by enlarging the size of the country’s economy, his nephew and current Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today.

In a speech to commemorate Abdul Razak’s contributions to the country, Hishammuddin said it would be a “great disservice to the memory of Tun Razak” if people were to merely view the late prime minister as a champion solely for the Malay community.

“In terms of inclusiveness, Tun Razak believed that a nation could only be great if it provided opportunities to all its sons and daughters.

“He knew the country could not prosper without tackling the inequalities which were rife in our society. However, it would be a great disservice to his memory if we were only to regard him as a narrow minded Malay nationalist.

“The prime beneficiaries of the NEP were the Malay community but ultimately all Malaysians gained from the growing pie that it created,” Hishamuddin said at the Special Commemorative Seminar on Tun Abdul Razak (Father of Malaysia’s Development).

The NEP, introduced in the aftermath of racial riots in 1971, aimed to close the economic gap between the Malays and ethnic Chinese through a wealth redistribution plan by promoting a 30 per cent business equity ownership among the Bumiputera community.

Officially ended in 1990, the NEP’s Bumiputera affirmative action measures have continued and even expanded till today with the New Economic Model (NEM), leading to simmering discontent among Malaysia’s minorities who claim they have been deprived of equal treatment and opportunities.

The three underlying themes of the NEM, introduced by Abdul Razak’s son and Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2010 are “high income, sustainability and inclusiveness”.

In his speech today, Hishammuddin also said Abdul Razak was also a good listener who paid attention to the voices of young leaders and helped nurture talent.

“Tun Razak knew how to spot talent and how to encourage it. He did not feel threatened by new idea of the enthusiasm of the youth," Hishammuddin added.