@BarackObama Misinformed, Pro-Bumiputera Policies Must Be Maintained

US President Barack Obama’s criticism of Malaysia’s purported sidelining of its non-Malay communities stemmed from a flawed understanding of the country’s affirmative action policies, Pelaburan MARA director Datuk Sohaimi Shahdan said today.

Defending Putrajaya over the remarks made during Obama’s visit here on Sunday, Sohaimi insisted that race-based affirmative action that favours the mostly-Malay Bumiputera group need not necessarily encroach on minority rights.  

“I think Obama may not be given the full picture,” Sohaimi, who is also Umno supreme council member, told reporters after attending Pelaburan Mara’s event here.

“Just because we have pro-Bumiputera policies does not mean we take the rights of other races. This is equality in the context of a multiracial Malaysia.”

He said Malaysia’s socioeconomic situation in which the majority ethnic Malays continue to lag economically despite the billions in aid justifies the continuation of such policies to put the community on par with the rest of the country.

“In today’s situation if we continue with it (pro-Bumiputera policies) there is nothing wrong. You can’t have equality in the sense where person A gets 50 then person B gets 50. It has to be based on race, environment and a lot of other factors then only can we have a fair benchmark,” he said.

Those for the race-based affirmative action policies, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, have argued that economic equality among all the races are necessary to ensure social harmony.

Critics, however, contend that the policies have been exploited to benefit a small group of elites close to the ruling government.

In a meeting with local students on Sunday, Obama said Malaysia cannot flourish if non-Muslims are sidelined.

Obama also said that prejudices against people from different religions and races have no place in the modern world and must be removed.

Malaysia, which is 60 per cent Malay-Muslim, has come under global scrutiny with a series of controversies affecting the rights of non-Muslims, most notably a government ban against Christians from referring to God as “Allah”.

The US president’s statement drew immediate criticism from Umno leaders who pointed out that the US too practiced affirmative action.

They denied that non-Malays in the country are being marginalised.

Malaysia’s Bumiputera majority enjoys privileges under a system of preferential treatment in jobs, housing and access to government funding. 

Among others, these have been blamed for Malaysia’s chronic brain drain that see its non-Malay communities leaving the country, with southern neighbour Singapore the main beneficiary.