IT has been rumoured that the Finance Ministry (MOF) has agreed that the requirement of maintaining a 51% equity for non-Bumiputera freight forwarding companies has been deferred been until next year.
However, there is nothing official directly from the MOF on this matter.
I am not sure if the MOF might come up with an official statement as it might be construed giving in to the non-Bumiputera freight forwarders.
Anyway, the very thought of imposing this equity is tantamount to wiping out the non-Bumiputera freight companies from their involvement in freight forwarding business.
The New Economic Policy’s (NEP) imposition of 30% equity for non-Bumiputera companies was bad enough.
Such an equity never really contributed to the economic and commercial achievement of the Bumiputera community.
It ended up in giving undue advantage to the political and bureaucratic and political elite at the expense of the larger community.
In many instances, the NEP requirement was used to enrich a small minority, especially those in the dominant Malay political parties.
The Government – rather than finding out the cause of the NEP failure in meeting the 30% equity requirement – has jumped to impose a new requirement of 51% equity for Bumiputera in non-Bumiputera companies in the logistics sector in order to obtain customs licenses.
Nowhere in the world would any government push for such kind of measure to deprive one segment so that another segment could benefit from it.
This is a preposterous and an unkind measure against Malaysian citizens who have nurtured and built up their companies from scratch.
Now all of a sudden, the Government is telling non-Bumiputera stakeholders that they must give up their majority share in logistics business to Bumiputeras so that their customs licenses can be obtained.
All the hard work and sweat of non-Bumiputeras freight forwarders in building up their businesses would mean nothing if the Government commits a daylight robbery to force them to part with their majority share.
‘Never Ending Policy’
I am wondering why the Government is insisting on only 51% and not 60% or 70% or even force them to give up their companies entirely.
This is nothing but plain daylight robbery in the name of addressing the Bumiputera equity under the NEP or as I call it: the ‘Never Ending Policy’.
Yet, this hypocritical Government of Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob still talk about Malaysians being ‘one big family’.
Yes, superficially we might be one family but sadly this ‘family’ is deeply divided and fragmented where the very survival of the Malay-only Government depends on the continued division and conflict within society.
Really, you cannot have ‘one big family’ when the Government itself is responsible for splitting the family in terms of racial and religious divisions.
Itdoes not make any sense when there is a move to deprive one segment of the population in a certain way just so that another segment can benefit without of course putting in the hard work.
The 51% equity for Bumiputera is a plain mockery to rob and maim the non-Bumiputera who have worked hard and built up their businesses over the years.
Even if the 51% of the equity is maintained, I wonder how the provision of the equity can benefit the Bumiputera companies.
Businesses are not built overnight, nor does the equity comes by the way of Government policy. It must be earned through sheer hard work.
Increasing the equity for Bumiputera companies might be popular from a political angle, but, whether such a provision will be meaningful to them remains to be seen.
If the NEP’s 30% equity has hardly made an impact in addressing the economic woes of the Bumiputera what guarantee is there that the 51% equity could bring major and overarching benefits to the Bumiputera community?
Even after so many years of the NEP, the Government refuses to learn from past mistakes.
Ethnic and religious divisions are continuing to spur the government to engage in populist policies, policies that might earn the votes but doubtful whether they will be meaningful to the economic advancement of the Bumiputera community.
Why keep on punishing and depriving the non-Bumiputera of their hard earned wealth?
Don’t they have constitutional rights that need to be defended at all costs?
A nation cannot move forward if an irresponsible government such as we have now continues to sow the seeds of destruction.
I am not sure how long the racial game of hatred and antagonism is going to be played. – Sept 24, 2021
Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
