A good reply to those hypocrites who have immensely benefited from the NEP but now wants it aborted because they do not want others to have a comfortable life like they have. Reblogged from the MOLE.my:
Let’s all bash NEP
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Without stability, we would never enjoy strong economic growth - Ibnu Khalid
Every once in a while, as if like clockwork, the debate on the NEP resurfaces. The latest came from the author of ‘No More Bullshit, Please, We’re all Malaysians’.
The writer - Kee Thuan Chye claimed that Malaysia is in a social and economic mess because of the NEP, he further asserted that “if it was not for the New Economic Policy (NEP) and its continued existence to this day …. we would not be in the state we’re in now”.
Specifically, he charged that the NEP has made us economically less competitive, discouraged investors from putting money into ventures, and triggered a massive brain drain. Nice try, but unfortunately, his claims are not supported by facts or data, in other words (to use his favourite word), are entirely bullshit.
Let’s take the brain drain issue first.
Studies have found that the foremost reason why most tertiary educated Malaysians emigrate is to seek better career prospects, and not solely because of the NEP. This is not my conclusion, but the conclusion by World Bank and Harvard University.
Claiming that the NEP triggered an exodus of the well-educated is quite a far stretch from the truth. For an ex-journalist I expected him to uphold some journalistic integrity. Maybe he is also ignorant of the fact that brain drain is not solely a Malaysian problem.
Singapore, our prosperous neighbour who is often touted as a utopian state that some of us wish to emulate, is also facing the same problem.
The World Bank found that Singapore’s rate of brain drain is 14.5%, much worse than Malaysia’s 10%. Hong Kong’s brain drain is equally bad, at 30%. What does this tell us?
It might suggest that abolishing affirmative action policies would not resolve the problem. Then why is it that Kee Thuan Chye thinks that the NEP is the problem?
What about investments? Has the NEP discouraged investments in the country as claimed by the writer? Let’s see.
Data from IMF shows that Malaysia's average investment ratio to GDP during the official NEP period was among the highest in the region. Our average investment ratio to GDP was about 29%, on par with her neighbouring countries and comparable to developed nations such as USA, UK and Japan.
Even if we stretch the analysis to the year 2012, the average investment ratio remained on par with our neighbours. Isn’t he aware that many industries were exempted from the requirements of the NEP? For example, since 1986 export-oriented companies, which were mostly owned by foreigners, were fully exempted from the NEP requirements.
Besides that, the manufacturing sector has been liberalized since 1998. High-technology industries, especially companies that were established within the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) were also allowed exemption from NEP rules.
And the services sector, which accounts for 60% of the GDP, was also liberalised a few years ago. So where is the evidence that the NEP impeded investments?
Nonetheless, despite what the evidence has clearly shown, NEP will continue to be the punching bag for the ills facing the nation. The baseless arguments to discredit the New Economic Policy have been refuted many times, but are still being recycled ad nauseam.
It only serves to fuel unnecessary rage against a policy that has provided great success in establishing a socio-economic balance and harmony in society.
We must acknowledge the fact however inconvenient it maybe; NEP plays a big role in creating and maintaining social and political stability in this country since 1970.
Without stability, we would never enjoy strong economic growth. Sadly, the NEP bashing will continue. It has become a zombie; it should be dead given that the critics are wrong on the facts and they have been thoroughly refuted by analysis.
It is time to bury it; the bashing serves no intellectual purpose other than fulfilling some hogwash political agenda and appeals to racist and liars. Enough. No more bullshit, please.
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| Yes lah Kee, please no more bull shit from you, its rather tiring, |
Kee Thuan Chye you are one condescending racist prick do us a favor and start doing what you preach..NO MORE BULLSHIT!
1 comment:
Brain drain la konon, they are pea-brains not worth of keeping. It's in them to be where the cakrs are, even leaving their own mainland, the homeless.. We have more brains than we can handle here, look at the jobless grads we have here including those who studied overseas.
If they are brainy enough, they should have known not to flee from their own motherland, if they consider any as one. Theys are just pure opportunists who rob the natives off their land and mines.
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