THE prime minister of the new Pakatan Harapan government, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, rightly gave his firm assurance in Parliament that the government would uphold the special position and rights of Malays, and special position of the natives in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the ethnic rights of other groups, according to our Constitution.   

He added clearly that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was empowered to protect three areas that were special to the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak – the public service, economy and education. 

He was replying to a question from Samsul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Lenggong ). He further outlined the special areas of  protection, as in “jobs in the public sector, the giving of scholarships and the issuance of permits or licences, under federal laws”.

Indeed, all this is right and proper under our present Constitution, but has the time come to improve the  implementation of Bumiputera policies, to make the attainment of the goals more effective and fair to all?

Review the implementation of policies 

The question that now rises is whether, after 61  years of questionable Barisan Nasional rule – which was rejected by Malaysian voters in the historical 14th general election – now is the right time to review the quality of the implementation of past policies and, especially, their abuses.

Firstly, let’s examine jobs in the public service.

We all recognise that we have a bloated and, as said by the prime minister, public service that has declined in efficiency and effectiveness over the years of BN rule. This is partly because the civil service has lost much of its former multicultural composition. How effective can any civil service anywhere be in serving the public and national interests when it is not fully representative of the people it serves? How empathetic can it be? 

Will there not be more inbreeding in the civil service culture, as the civil service becomes more monolithic? Where would the necessary internal checks and balances be and how could there be more competition with the rise in internal protection and favouritism?

Hence, the new PH government needs to improve the racial and religious composition of the public service as soon as possible if it wants to progress at a faster pace. 

Perhaps some kind of quota system is now essential, as the old systems of recruitment and promotion have not worked well.

Secondly, in regard to giving scholarships and training, be more fair in its distribution among our many races.

This is a major source of frustration for all students, even Bumiputera students from poor families. Often enough in the past, wealthy Bumiputera students were known to have won scholarships over their underprivileged Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera brothers and sisters.

This is the kind of the abuse of Bumiputera policies seen in the past. There has to be more justice, as taught by all our religions, by being fair to all bright and poor Malaysian students, regardless of race and religion, to promote real national unity. 

Thirdly, the issuance of permits and licences had also been abused in the past. The most qualified Bumiputera had not always been given licences and permits according to merit. 

Very often, unqualified and underqualified Bumiputera who had political friends and allies were given the permits. This led to more corruption and cronyism, and a wastage of our national resources and productivity as well as competitiveness.

The liberal awarding of approved permits (APs) is a case in point. How many rich Bumiputera were created who did not advance further than being  mere rentiers and easy-going traders. Have we all sacrificed to help build a Bumiputera entrepreneurial class?  But where are the most qualified Bumiputera businessmen and women today? They are mostly in secure government-linked companies, earning big salaries, without taking much business risks. So, can they develop and grow as real entrepreneurs?

Under permits and licences, we can also include tenders and contracts, often awarded to inept Bumiputera contractors. They usually subcontract the tenders to non-Bumiputera contractors at higher prices. The consequent squeeze in profits often led to more corruption, lower standards of performance and much more inefficiencies. All this abuse led to rising costs and higher prices, which poor consumers have had to bear with.

No wonder they reacted in GE14!

So, we all hope that the new PH government will remove these abuses and help genuine Bumiputera businessmen and women from now on. Then, even non-Malays will be happier that special rights are being properly implemented.

And, what is wrong with giving more contracts to able and efficient non-Malay businessmen and women, especially those who can form joint enterprises  among all races, to improve effectiveness in the implementation of Bumiputera policies? 

Conclusion

After 61 years of BN rule, many, if not most, Malaysians believe that Bumiputera policies and their implementation should be improved.

This would be in the best interest of the country and especially Bumiputera, many of who suffered and lost out because of abuses practised in the past. 

The prime minister rightly suggested that “any proposed amendments on this (use of Bahasa Malaysia in the public sector) needs to be discussed  and get the agreement of the Conference of Rulers, in line with Articles 159 and 38 of the Constitution”. 

I think all Malaysians would agree that Dr Mahathir and his new government should be strongly supported by the rakyat and all voters in his proposal and make the necessary amendments to move forward for greater progress.

Proposal 

I would also like to propose that a review of all Bumiputera and related policies be undertaken as a matter or priority to ensure that Bumiputera and other races and religions are protected and can advance, as envisaged in our Constitution and in the spirit of our founding fathers.

This would be the main way to enable “New Malaysia”, under the PH government, to become great again.

Selamat Hari Merdeka dan Malaysia Baru! – August 15, 2018.

* Ramon Navaratnam is Asli Centre of Policy Studies chairman. 

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.