Pardoned Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim said today that decades-old affirmative action policies for the country's Malay majority must be discarded in favor of a new program to help the poor regardless of race.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the prime minister-in-waiting also said he plans to run in a by-election this year to become a member of Parliament but that he isn't in a rush to take over the top job.
Anwar, 70, was convicted of sodomy in 2015 in a case he said was politically motivated. His sentence expires June 8 but he was given a royal pardon on Wednesday and freed from custody after last week's stunning electoral victory by his alliance led by former foe Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar said poor Malays will benefit more from merit-based policies that are transparent. He said the New Economic Policy, instituted in 1971 following bloody riots fueled by Malay discontent with the relative affluence of ethnic minority Chinese, has been abused to enrich the elites.
The program, which gives preference to Malays in government contracts, business, jobs, education and housing, is credited with lifting millions of Malays out of poverty and creating an urban Malay middle class. It is also blamed for a racial divide between Malays, who account for two-thirds of Malaysia's 31 million people, and minority Chinese and Indians who have long complained about government discrimination.
The policy is a sensitive issue, with many Malays fearing they will lose their privileges under a new government. Many ethnic minorities have left Malaysia in search of better opportunities elsewhere.
"I have said that the NEP should be dismantled but the affirmative action must be more effective. I believe that poor underprivileged Malays will benefit more through a transparent, effective affirmative action policy rather than the New Economic Policy which has been hijacked to enrich the few cronies," said Anwar, a Malay. Anwar, who changed Malaysia's political landscape with his reform movement after he was
"He was full of himself, thinking he could succeed and even toying with the idea that he will regain a two-third majority (in parliament) which is clearly outrageous to most people but he is convinced," Anwar said. "He is just oblivious to the stark realities, he is in a cocoon."
"It's a long wait ... the struggle is 20 years. There was continued humiliation, victimization but it's OK, we survived. There's no need to complain too much," Anwar said. "I think we should focus our attention now on how to alleviate the poor, how to reduce this inequality, how to stop these excesses and endemic corruption which is part of the culture now."