CHINESE & INDIANS BORN YESTERDAY? Non-bumi not marginalised - Daim

Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has denied that non-bumiputera are marginalised and blamed politicians for sensationalising the issue.

He warned that these politicians could rip apart ethnic ties in the nation.

In an exclusive interview with China Press published today, the Umno veteran was responding to a question regarding the government coming out with many pro-bumiputera policies after the 13th general election.

Disagreeing, Daim said the government had abolished the quota system with regard to awarding education scholarships and hiring civil servants.

He added that most of the contracts and licenses had been awarded regardless of race.

"It is baseless to say that the non-bumiputera are not being taken care of and in a disadvantaged situation," he argued.

Daim said such issues crop up with intensity during elections.

"Unfortunately, there are many issues coated with race in Malaysia as the racial card is the cheapest and easiest way to gain popularity," he added.

The former minister also does not believe that the quota system and affirmative actions based on race would be increased.

"The government led by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has taken actions to reform the economy, including stopping certain affirmative action plans under the transformation programmes and New Economic Model," he said.

The former Umno treasurer pointed out that most of the beneficiaries under the assistance provided by the government to SMEs were Chinese but certain quarters claim that such policies only benefit the bumiputera.

Chinese must be sensitive

As for the political scenario, Daim said he was saddened that the situation has come to a point where there are questions like “What the Chinese want?” and “What the Malays want?”

However, he reminded the Chinese that their "actions would cause reactions" when demanding certain rights as the country was built based on mutual understanding between races.

"So, be sensitive, do not demand something in a drastic way, this is very important.

"If you forget this, it will give an opportunity to the hardliners to play up the issue. Such people, unfortunately, are in every political party," he said.

Responding to another question, Daim said there are various interpretations of Najib's 1Malaysia concept and it has become a laughing stock.

Therefore, he believes there was no thought put into it or a clear explanation given before the concept was widely promoted. - M'kini