Sunday, May 13, 2007

12.05.2007: Keep Maybank's bumi rule, say Malay lawyers

Chinese businesses have been employing their own kind for years on end. If this is not discrimination, then, what is? Using the reason of Mandarin or Chinese dialects as having an advantage in business is no longer a valid reason in this day and age because even Chinese in CHina is fast taking up English.

If Maybank wishes to implement their policy of favouring a company that has at least 50% bumiputera stake (Bumiputera population in Malaysia is roughly 65%), it can do so, but do not declare it openly.

No reputable Chinese owned companies will make it an open policy to favour Chinese but of course the tacit understanding is such. So, do the same if Maybank wishes to do so.

I am sure it is not as difficult to find a lawyer's firm that fit the requirement as well as being an efficient law firm to boot.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

dr asrul, i disagree. 2 wrongs don't make a right. if chinese firms want to be "racist" towards the malays by employing only mandarin or cantonese speaking people, so be it. who would want to work with those type of employers in the first place anyway?

secondly, haven't you posted several articles in your blog about meritocracy among the malays? i don't think you should backtrack now.

trust me, what difference will it make if a firm has 50% malay equity, but in practice, the malay partner is just a sleeping partner? believe you me, that if the rule went through, it will just be identical to construction companies having to have at least 30% malay partnership in order to get government contracts. sistem ali baba lagi.

there is no use to set equities here and there, if in the end the malay is just going to goyang kaki, relax, while the money just pours in. who benefits? the malay bangsa won't benefit, only that sleeping partner in that law firm.

i'd rather the single malay succeed through his own blood, sweat and tears to become a legal firm working with maybank than to have plenty of malay sleeping partners in legal firms doing the same because of maybanks proposed policy.

Asrul Zamani said...

Hi Muhammad ilham

I generally agree with your views. I am not advocating merely choosing a malay over a chinese as an ali baba business. I am saying choose a Malay (if maybank wants to) equal to a chinese, not just a sleeping partner we are talking about here. The Chinese companies are doing the same tacitly although a Malay company may be better.

Anyway the targets of the NEP has not been met yet and it is in line with NEP. If you read my book you would see where I stand with meritocracy and NEP.

I have an extreme contempt for inefficiency and if a Malay or Chinese or English is inefficient and does not know how to do his work, I have a contempt for the person as a whole. Race does not play an issue.