APRIL 28 — The government recently launched the second edition of the Bumiputera Economic Transformation Roadmap (BETR) and the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB).
I won’t complain about the lack of a Chinese blueprint, lest people retort “Apa lagi Cina mau?” [What more do the Chinese want?]
If the point of these lofty government plans is to help disadvantaged communities, then why not have a blueprint or roadmap for women, disabled people or Orang Asli (who are largely ignored although they are Bumiputera) etc?
Enacting action plans for certain ethnic groups only reinforces divisiveness in politics, policymaking and society.
Impoverished people need help to move up the socio-economic ladder, but why should affirmative action be based on their skin colour? There aren’t only poor Malays and Indians in the country; there are low-income earners and blue-collar workers of every stripe.
Yes, the Chinese may comprise the majority on Forbes’ Malaysia’s 50 Richest list, but most ordinary Chinese are not multi-millionaires or billionaires.
According to EPU statistics, the Chinese have the highest median gross household income in 2014 out of the three main ethnic groups at RM5,708, compared to Indians (RM4,627) and Bumiputeras (RM4,214).
However, Bumiputera households comprise more than half (53.81 per cent) of the top 20 per cent (T20) income earners, compared to the Chinese (37.05 per cent) and the Indians (8.80 per cent). T20 is defined as a median income of RM11,610 a month. Nonetheless, there is a bigger proportion of Bumiputera households in the bottom 40 per cent (B40) income earners’ category at 44.7 per cent, compared to 38.96 per cent in the middle 40 per cent (M40) category and 16.34 per cent in the T20 category.
M40 and B40 are defined respectively as median monthly income of RM5,465 and RM2,629.
For the Chinese and Indians, middle-income households make up the biggest base in both ethnic groups at 42.32 per cent and 41.31 per cent respectively.
However, there are also significant B40 households in both the Chinese and Indian communities at 28.02 per cent and 38.71 per cent respectively.
On the surface, it may seem that having blueprints for the Bumiputera and Indian communities are justifiable because almost half of the former and close to 40 per cent of the latter are low-income earners.
However, what about the more than quarter of Chinese households that are also low-income?
That’s the problem with race-based affirmative action. It neglects the impoverished from other ethnic groups.
There’s nothing wrong with the prime minister's desire to increase Bumiputera monthly wages and to have more professionals, “renowned” scientists, artists, novelists, “world class” sportsmen, competent workers and even a Nobel Prize winner from the community. However, we should aim to have more of those talented people not just from the Bumiputera community, but from all.
More importantly, these talents should be motivated to stay in Malaysia instead of emigrating when they feel that they’re not being rewarded fairly here.
The government’s increasing bent on racial and religious policies, however, does not promote an intellectual environment necessary to develop talent.
How can Malaysia become a developed nation if equality is still a foreign word here and racial discrimination is socially acceptable? If we want the cream of the crop, there must be competition. Otherwise, people will settle for mediocrity.
Government policies like requiring both non-Muslims and Muslims to dress “appropriately” in Malacca (a policy that appears to target women) also stifle an intellectual environment. How can we even begin to challenge conventional theories to come up with scientific breakthroughs if we can’t do something as simple as dress however we like?
The effect of such government policies can be seen in the way many Malaysians viciously troll talented people (particularly women) who do not conform to their beliefs on “appropriate” conduct, such as the top SPM scorer who wore make-up, a bodybuilder and a professional racer.
We must be encouraged to think outside the box and to challenge the status quo. It means having freedom of expression and the liberty to come up with ideas that may even be deemed heretical.
Physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei was convicted of heresy in 1633 for propagating the revolutionary Copernican theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun, contradicting Catholic Church belief that the Earth was the immovable centre of the universe.
Religion may be helpful to promote kindness and generosity, but it oftentimes ends up motivating attacks on science and intellectualism.
If the government is sincere about producing more talents, then it must stop arresting people over Facebook posts and quit banning books and seizing artworks. The government must encourage meritocracy and move towards promoting equality.
Only fierce competition will create exceptional talent.
Without a safety net, some people may fail. But it is failure that sometimes paves the way to success.
Malaysians across race and religion must be encouraged to stand on their own two feet and to make it on their own.
All the government needs to do is to provide a conducive environment for talent (ie: minimal interference in our private lives) and let the rest of us fight it out to be the best in our fields.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
