The three-party opposition alliance has said it would dismantle the New Economic Policy (NEP) — which gives majority Malays preference for almost everything from jobs and housing to government contracts, educational opportunities and stocks — saying it breeds cronyism and corruption.

Lim Guan Eng of the Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party, who is heading te new government in the industrial state of Penang, said after he was sworn into office on Tuesday, he would scrap the NEP in Penang, Malaysia only Chinese-majority state.

“The (Penang) state government must not try to create an atmosphere which can cause racial tensions,” the national news agency Bernama quoted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying.

“Do not marginalize the Malays. I want to ask Lim Guan Eng what are his plans for the Malays in Penang? What are his plans for the Indians in Penang?

The opposition won control of five of the nation’s 13 states in national and state elections held on Saturday.

Abdullah, seeking to regroup his battered ruling coalition, will name a new line-up next Monday or Tuesday featuring a smaller Cabinet than the record 32 ministers in last one, government sources told Reuters.

The Cabinet cutback will affect Abdullah’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which now has fewer parliamentary seats — 79 — than the 82 held by the opposition parties.

The leader of the main Indian party in Abdullah’s coalition confirmed on Wednesday he would not be part of the new Cabinet. Malaysian Indian Congress leader Samy Vellu lost the seat he had held for 34 years in Saturday’s general elections.

UMNO will be on the backfoot in trying to defend the NEP, which even many Malays have grown disillusioned with, saying it has only enriched a small elite, while most of them remain poor.

“UMNO is facing an uphill task to defend the NEP,” said Rita Sim, deputy chairman of the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research, a think-tank linked to the main Chinese party.

“The message that they are giving is that the NEP is only appealing more to the UMNO members, but it must appeal to non-UMNO Malays as well,” she said. “The government must find a way to reduce the income gap between the Malays.” The multi-racial coalition lost the ironclad two-thirds majority in parliament it had held for nearly 40 years, and an unprecedented five states fell under opposition control in elections that have been dubbed a “political tsunami”.

Chinese and Indians, accounting for a third of the population, voted in droves against Abdullah’s coalition, venting anger over the handouts for “Bumiputras” (sons of the soil) and perceptions their religious freedoms were being squeezed.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email