THE nation’s wealth has been hovering in the hands of a “chosen few” that the government must address immediately to bring about change to the economic standing of the Malays and Bumiputra, said the Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM).

Its chief executive officer Ahmad Yazid Othman said Putrajaya must take radical measures in line with the government’s Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030 initiative to address this issue.

“Wealth has been hovering in the hands of the chosen ones for a long time,” he said in a statement today.

“We hope the SPV 2030 will be used as a starting point to identify the situation and our direction.”

“The goal to bridge income disparity will become pointless if there is no meaningful action take to address the issue.

“We cannot waste the chance to bridge income disparity and Bumiputra control of the economy while at the same time ensuring that there is robust economic growth for all people regardless of race.”

Ahmad Yazid said after five decades of the New Economic Policy (NEP) adopted in 1971, the Bumiputra economic standing is still far from expected.

He added from the latest data, it has shown that a lot of Malays are “consumers and employees” instead of being “producers or employers”.

“In short, Bumiputra have not added much value to the economy except to the employment sector.”

Bumiputra contributed RM124 billion in terms of gross operating surplus in 2014, compared to the RM397 billion contribution of the non-Bumiputra.

Ahmad Yazid said the economic downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic will widen the income gap between the rich and the poor, and the Malays and Bumiputra will be affected the most.

“We urge the Perikatan Nasional government to act bravely so that this situation does not prolong.”

MTEM said there are certain Bumiputra economic targets in the SPV2030 that have to be updated as it is incomplete or insufficient.

These economic strategies that are supposed to be the core of Malay and Bumiputra economy will become meaningless and be reduced to mere rhetoric if it is not fine-tuned.

He said the SPV2030 will remain a pipe dream if it is not adopted into action in economic programmes, including the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plans, with measurable KPIs.

The government should also accelerate economic development which will yield short- and long-term results to the economic standing of Malays and Bumiputra.

He said the government should show immense will and care in ensuring that the policies are executed and they do not become political slogan for elections.

“We urge the government to have the spirit and bravery to fight for Malay and Bumiputra economic agenda just like Tun Abdul Razak’s tenure in the 1970s,” he said, while expressing confidence in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government. – June 24, 2020.