THE Malaysian economy is big enough to benefit and unite all the different races but Malay entrepreneurs and businessmen must stop their unethical and lazy practices and earn the respect of other communities, said the Malay Consultative Council (MCC).

Currently, unhealthy and unethical business practices have caused Malay entrepreneurs to be scorned by non-Malay business owners.

“Right now, when a non-Malay looks at a potential Malay partner, he will be suspicious. He’s afraid the Malay will demand many things but contribute nothing to the business,” said MCC secretary-general Hasan Mad.

When both Malay and non-Malay businesses worked together, economic cooperation was the best way to achieving unity, he said.

“What other platform is there now? Education? Do you think the education system today, with schools of different languages, can unite Malaysians of many races? Politics? That’s even further from reality,” Hasan told The Malaysian Insight.

“The economy is wide enough, and if used well, can be an instrument of unity.”

However, he said if Malays do not stop abusing the system and continue with their bad work ethic, the community will continue to regress economically.

“We need to raise our ethics, correct the mistakes of before, so that non-Malays can respect us and want to work together with us.”

Hasan’s views echoed that of Dr Mahathir Mohamad during last Saturday’s Bumiputera economic conference, where the prime minister said the government would no longer give out easy contracts to Malay businesses, and revoke existing licences sold off to non-Bumiputera companies.

Economic Affairs Minister Mohamad Azmin Ali had also said at the conference, which was organised by the MCC, Malays must shed the image of a lazy, corrupt race and work hard to prove that they were capable of competing with others.

Since Pakatan Harapan came into power after the May 9 general election, Malay rights groups have accused the new government of removing all privileges for the majority community.

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim attempted to allay those fears at the same conference, saying on Saturday that while the new government would offer aid to all in need regardless of race, the special position and rights of the Malays would continue to be preserved.

Last month, Azmin announced that the New Economic Policy (NEP) and New Economic Model (NEM) would be reviewed for the 12th Malaysia Plan.

The NEP was originally planned to eradicate poverty among Malaysians and narrow the economic gap between the Malays and the ethnic Chinese, by redistributing wealth to promote a 30% economic ownership by Bumiputeras.

Although technically expired in 1990, many of the NEP’s policies continue to be enforced and even expanded.

After coming into power in 2009, former prime minister Najib Razak launched the NEM on March 30, 2010, with three underlying themes of “high income, sustainability and inclusiveness” and reducing fiscal disparity between the rich and poor.

However, critics were quick to argue that Najib’s NEM was merely a watered-down version of the NEP.

Following Barisan Nasional’s losses in the 2013 general election where it lost the votes of a majority of non-Malay voters, Najib announced in September of the same year the new Bumiputera Agenda that will offer Malays access to more than RM30 billion in aid and contracts. – September 4, 2018.