Despite claims to the contrary, Malaysians of Chinese descent are the real beneficiaries of the New Economic Policy or NEP, says Umno-owned Malay language daily Utusan Malaysia .

NONE "The Chinese especially believe that the policy implemented after the May 13 (1969) incident made them second class, or worse, third class citizens," says Utusan 's assistant chief editor Zaini Hassan ( left ) in his weekly column Cuit .

"As evidence shows, it is actually directly the opposite... Under the NEP regime, the non-indigenous moved further forward economically, compared with what happened to the bumiputeras,", Zaini says, quoting a book published in the United Kingdom, "Growth and Ethnic Imbalance".

He argues that the book, by a trio of economists who were the original architects of the NEP - Just Faaland, Jack Parkinson and Rais Saniman - should be required reading for all Malays to truly understand their plight in their own homeland.

Zaini in his column then goes on to ask how the Chinese could claim to have been negatively affected by the NEP if:

  • Are they like the whites who are sidelined in Zimbabwe, or the blacks who were once similarly treated in South Africa;
  • Are the Chinese starving because of the NEP, no longer have education in their mother tongue or are all businesses controlled by Malays?;
  • Have they been denied the right to speak their mother tongue, like in Indonesia, Thailand or the United States?;
  • Are they denied the right to drive luxury cars or live in upscale neighbourhoods such as Mont' Kiara and Bukit Damansara?; and
  • Are they not in the top 10 billionaires spots?
Zaini also quoted an unnamed "empirical" study that shows it is the Malays who are being victimised in the job market by "Chinese-controlled companies".

He said the study showed that Chinese firms will pay a Chinese employee up to almost 30 percent more than a Malay with the same qualifications and abilities.

"It is tragic that their wealth, which is the result of NEP, is used to punish another race that introduced it (the NEP)."

The article is a continuation of Zaini's call for Malays to launch an economic jihad , or a holy war, to recapture the economy from the hands of the Chinese.

This is to be in retaliation of what he described is an attempt by the Chinese, who are not satisfied with just economic power, to aim for political power as well.

Zaini's call followed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement blaming a " Chinese tsunami " for the cause of BN's poor performance in the May 5 general election on a wave of anti-BN.