Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for the immediate suspension of the New Economic Policy and an end to 35 years of preferences for Malay Malaysians.

"For saying this, I have been accused of being anti-Malay," he lamented. "But no deserving Malay will be denied of government assistance. In fact, more funds could be expended in this area.

"However, the Indians in the estates, poor Chinese and the bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak equally deserve assistance."

His call for an end to the current NEP, which was implemented since 1970, was made in a foreword for a newly released book, Where to, Malaysia?, written by political commentator Kim Quek.

"I am in favour of some form of affirmative action and government intervention to rectify unacceptable social and economic disparity. But such initiative must not be based on racial line. It must be targeted towards the poor, irrespective of race or ethnicity," said Anwar.

He added that given the abuses of the NEP through "corruption, cronyism and nepotism", the policy must undergo a "major surgery".

"(The) practice of the NEP today is the dishing out of government contracts, often overpriced, to cronies. The NEP has become a cover for self- and crony-enrichment among the already mega-rich."

Criticism of NEP not new

According to Anwar, criticism of the policy was not new.

"Way back in the 1980s, a group of UKM (University Kebangsaan Malaysia) economists - they are all bumiputeras - have subjected its practice and its effect to close scrutiny. Their conclusions were not very flattering to the government.

"One cannot imagine such trenchant criticism of a major government policy by scholars is even possible today," said Anwar, referring to the climate of fear in university campuses.

His criticism of the NEP is in deep contrast to his former party's call for further enhancement of the controversial policy at the Umno annual general meeting early last month.

Anwar, once the heir apparent to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was sacked in 1998 and subsequently charged and convicted for sodomy and corruption.

He was later slapped with a 15-year jail term but walked free last year after serving six years when his sodomy conviction was quashed upon appeal to the Federal Court.

From the onset, Anwar claimed that the charges were trumped-up as there was a political conspiracy against him. However, Mahathir has denied this.

Trenchant analysis

Quek's 381-page Where to, Malaysia? is mostly a collection of articles written over the past six years on various political and economic issues afflicting Malaysia.

It also contained a trenchant analysis on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership.

Quek, a retired accountant based in Johor Baru, argued that the report card on Abdullah's reform achievement in the past two years since he took over from Mahathir was "almost blank".

"None of the repressive laws had been repealed or amended, free press is non-existent, corruption has worsened, open and fair government tenders continue to be elusive, crime rates are still raging, social ills remain endemic, education continues to be mired in mediocrity, and judicial integrity is as low as ever with judges tainted in the Anwar trials continue to be given speedy promotion over others more deserving," he wrote.

Quek warned that Malaysia could see the return of Mahathirism, especially through Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is widely considered as the torch bearer of the Mahathir legacy.

"There is little doubt that Mahathir has made a forceful comeback to public life. Being the creator and perpetrator of the largesse system of governance, to which almost the entire heirarchy of Umno owe their presence affluence, Mahathir's resurging influence in Umno cannot be over-rated."

Quek's Where to, Malaysia? will be available in bookstores nationwide soon.