BarisaThe time has come for bumiputras to cast aside their crutches and compete with non-bumiputras with meritocracy being the ultimate yardstick

____________________
Media Statement 
by Karpal Singh
_________________

(Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday): I welcome the statement by Datuk Seri Najib tun Razak that one day bumiputras will be able to compete without the privileges provided through measures from the New Economic policy (NEP). He said that the NEP’s legacy today had differed from the original and was meant to help not only bumiputras but also deserving non-bumiputras especially from the poor and low income households. 

We are in the 50^th year of our independence and it is surprising that the NEP, which was implemented in 1971, still exists. Depending on privileges in fact means admission of inferiority. Bumiputras should unshackle themselves from this complex. They must be prepared to play on a level playing field with equality and meritocracy being the acid test. The NEP alienates non-bumiputras because it detracts from equality which should be the birth-right of all citizens. In fact, when it comes to implementation of the NEP, it is the bumiputras who have connections with the powers that be, who benefit, and not the deserving bumiputras. In fact, when former Prime Minister, Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohammed was Education Minister, his son was on a government scholarship. Surely, this is a classic example of how only certain classes of bumiputras benefit from the NEP. 

The time has come for bumiputras to cast aside their crutches and compete with non-bumiputras with meritocracy being the ultimate yardstick. The NEP in fact smells of apartheid and the sooner it is abolished the better it would be for citizens in the country. The government should give spirit and expression to Article 8(1) of the Federal constitution which states ‘All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law’.                        

(5/9/2007)