PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s return to power after 15 years is a good time for him to tackle one issue holding back the country’s progress – the pro-Bumiputera policy – said a Bloomberg op-ed piece today.

Dr Mahathir does not intend to remain in office for long and will hand over power to Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto PKR leader, after the latter’s release from jail.

However, in the interim, Dr Mahathir should reverse an unintended consequence of the New Economic Policy, Bloomberg said, the creation of “a class of Malay rent-seekers whose only role is to add 20% to 50% to the cost of (public work) projects”.

The 20% cut ends up in the pocket of the politically connected cronies who do nothing, it said.

Taxpayers end up as the losers.

Dr Mahathir, who long championed Bumiputera rights, is now the best man to dismantle or modify the NEP to bring it back to its original goals.

He could start with setting an end date for the policy, Bloomberg said, thereby forcing Bumiputera businesses to compete and operate more efficiently in an open-tender system.

If he fails to reform the affirmative-action policy, Malaysia risks becoming one of two of the most non-competitive economies in Southeast Asia. The other is Brunei. – May 14, 2018.