KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia
Malaysia’s leader defended the country’s decades-old
affirmative action policy for majority Malays, saying Tuesday it was still
needed to narrow income disparity among ethnic groups and ensure national
unity.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi acknowledged the
37-year-old New Economic Policy that gives a host of privileges in jobs,
education, business and other areas to ethnic Malays had been widely regarded
as a “cost to doing business” in Malaysia.
“But many fail to appreciate the spirit behind the
policy,” Abdullah, who is also finance minister, told an economic
conference in Kuala Lumpur.
“The objective to disassociate race from occupation or
social standing is critical in ensuring the long-term unity and cohesion of our
country,” he said.
Europe’s envoy to Malaysia, Thierry Rommel, last month criticized
the policy, or NEP, as discriminatory and
amounting to protectionism against foreign companies. Rommel also warned the NEP
could thwart free trade talks between the European Union and the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Malaysia.
Rommel’s comments angered the government and sparked calls
for lawmakers to review the NEP.
