Bumiputera special privileges cannot justify Putrajaya’s decision to lavish billions on the community without care for the rest of Malaysia, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said today.
Hadi Awang said the correct approach should be to reach out to the poor community, regardless of race, to eradicate poverty.
“It is not right if you disregard other races, just because of the special rights of the Bumiputera, even if they are the minority.
“This is the concept that PAS has fought for,” he told reporters at the party headquarters today.
He reiterated that the Islamist party’s call for a “benevolent state” concept towards welfare distribution in Malaysia’s multi-racial society, which it said would address the issue of poverty without denying the Bumiputera community their entrenched privileges.
“But at the same time the concept of fairness and welfare that has been fought for by PAS must be fair, the aid should be given to those who are poor, regardless of race, and it should be equal in order to eradicate poverty among the Bumiputera,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on Saturday a revised pro-Bumiputera New Economic Model (NEM) that provides the dominant community access to over RM31 billion in aid and contracts.
Political analysts have criticised the so-called Bumiputera agenda, saying it reversed Najib’s promises to roll back race-based policies and was a politically-motivated decision ahead of the upcoming Umno elections.
Others have also labelled the NEM an “exaggeration” of the now-defunct New Economic Policy (NEP), and described the contained measures as violating Article 8 of the Federal Constitution that guarantees equality to all Malaysian citizens.
Today, Abdul Hadi also hit out against claims that it is unconstitutional to question the special policies and aid given to the Malays.
“This is not against the constitution because it is the citizens’ rights and a basic human right, these are rights recognised by the constitution all over the world including Malaysia’s constitution,” he said.
Proponents of Bumiputera affirmative action insist that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which outlines the special position and privileges of the group, provides for the measures announced ostensibly to uplift the community.- themalaymailonline
