BY: CHRISTOPHER FERNANDEZ
While politicians, economists and other pundits in the country try to figure out how to get the burgeoning B40 group out of poverty, there has actually to be an assessment of how the formation of the B40 group took place.
Despite decades of economic growth and a slew of experts and advisers advising successive Malaysian governments, the B40 group has actually grown in numbers and swelled in ranks and could most likely be a staying feature of Malaysia.
Does this mean that Malaysia as a nation is ‘stuck’ with the B40 group? Your guess is as good as mine. But what can be ascertained is how the B40 group evolved and how it emerged to be a cause of concern for all of us.
In order to fully understand how the B40 group exists today, there is a need to go back in time to 1970 when Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak implemented the New Economic Policy or NEP.
Under the cover of the NEP
Let the explanation be given that the NEP, which was conceived hastily, was a no brainer by the shallow, short sighted thinking of Abdul Razak who triggered the beginning of a slew of incompetent Malaysian leaders.
It is not ironic that Abdul Razak’s son, Najib Tun Razak is now incarcerated in jail for siphoning billions of Ringgit in scams and his children, in turn, are being accused of corrupt practices like the father and mother Rosmah.
Next was Hussein Onn as Prime Minister and his son as well, Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn, is being accused of taking kickbacks from defence procurements while he was the appointed Minister of Defence.
Notice the trend emerging of how the fathers and the children are embroiled and being accused of corruption by Abdul Razak’s coining of the previously non existent term of Bumiputra or indigenous people to trigger launch the NEP.
The saga continues to evolve
Upon Hussein Onn’s death, the world witnessed possibly the emergence of the next politician, Mahathir Mohammad, who over two decades as Prime Minister amassed billions of Ringgit.
This plunder and looting of the wealth of the people was distributed to his wife, children and cronies and sycophants in a bid to block anyone from following the paper trail and to ensure that he remains free of any punishment for crimes of corruption.
After Mahathir Mohammad dismissed the next Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he hand picked Najib as successor and the latter thought if Mahathir can steal, why can’t he also do the same while being Prime Minister?
Continue to follow the saga of corruption and the financial coffers of the country being bled dry by these chain of events and bear in mind that it began with a seemingly helpful affirmative action policy for Bumiputras or the NEP.
The emergence of the B40 group
Over the decades since 1970 to now, there was a steady growth in the number of Malaysians who lived in poverty, trying to eke a living and being deprived and they began to form and become an underclass in this country.
Others who contributed to the increasing numbers in this underclass community were Taib Mahmud in Sarawak and Musa Aman in Sabah who garnered a fortune for themselves and their families.
There were others also of the elite in this country like Daim Zainuddin, his wife and three children and former Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin and family. Note that the combined wealth of the people that have been pilfered by these thieves is in the billions of Ringgit.
Since there is only so much wealth to go around, the greed of the elite amassing wealth has resulted in other Malaysians being deprived as wealth was inequitably distributed and all the affirmative action policies a farce and dismal failure.
Trying to undo the damage done
From an innocuous scheme to uplift the socioeconomic status of the Bumiputras called the NEP, it spewed so much suffering, hardship and deprivation on Malaysians especially Malay Muslims who are now mostly basket cases.
The NEP was the cover needed by these gallery of rogue Malaysian leaders to fleece the rakyat and as the saying in Malay goes,”harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi,” or we put our trust in our leaders but they betray us.
Current Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the MACC, the PDRM, the Attorney General Chambers and other law enforcement agencies must muster the political will to recover all monies lost via corruption.
They need to go through with a fine tooth comb and leave no stone unturned until all the pilfered wealth is returned to the Treasury to be equitably distributed and especially to wipe out the B40 stigma.
(Christopher Fernandez has been teaching and writing throughout Asia since 1984)
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher
