The credibility and integrity of the Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute (Asli) is in question after its president Mirzan Mahathir retracted a controversial study on bumiputera equity, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He said Mirzan did so without providing academic or rational reasons. Rather, Lim believed that Mirzan buckled to the barrage of criticism over the report.

"Clearly Mirzan's retraction was politically motivated and not driven by any flaws or shortcomings either in its methodology or research data," Lim told a press conference at in Kuala Lumpur today.

The study 'Corporate Equity Distribution: Past Trends and Future Policy', challenged the government's assertion that bumiputera equity ownership was below the 30 percent target and suggests a review of methods used in determining such data.

But over the past two weeks, the report drew flak from many Umno leaders including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad - Mirzan's father.

Curbing genuine research

On Tuesday, Mirzan said the study was based on flawed assumptions and calculations, while its conclusion could not be "vigorously justified".

Following this, publisher of the study, Centre of Public Policy Studies, saw its director Dr Lim Teck Ghee resigning from his post due to Mirzan's retraction, but he stands by his findings.

Lim expressed worry that should this be a trend, many academics would shun away from genuine research for fear of a backlash.

"Never before has an academic resigned from his job to uphold the truth of his research findings and such rare sacrifice has raised doubts about the reliability of government statistics," he said.

Ask why would the government vehemently defend the Economic Planning Unit's findings that bumiputera equity lies at 18.9 percent, Lim believed it was meant to distract more pertinent questions from the grassroots.

"Many Malays are beginning to ask: Who owns this shares? But they (the government) don't have answers. What we need to address is the issue of distribution," added Lim.

Defend academic freedom

In a related development, two media watchdogs said that they were saddened that Mirzan had bowed to political pressure in disavowing the report.

The Writers Alliance for Media Independence (Wami) and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said academic freedom and the freedom of expression must be respected.

"If the CPPS report is flawed or misleading, the case should be put forward with the same or a higher level of intellectual rigour," they said in a joint statement.

"The best weapon for the government to use in rebutting the CPPS finding would be to publicise its own data and analysis."

The movements also expressed their highest salutation to Lim for "standing up to unscrupulous political pressures expressed in ethno-centrist language".

They called it an assault on academic freedom with all academics having a duty to defend that freedom.

The following is Mirzan's Oct 19 statement

Asli's Centre for Public Policy Studies' report on 'Bumiputera Corporate Equity' has recently attracted adverse comment in the media.

This report was part of the centre's set of recommendations to the Malaysian government for consideration for the Ninth Malaysia Plan submitted in March this year. The contentious portion of the report relate to the centre's claim that the estimated bumiputera equity ownership in public listed companies may be as high as 45 percent of total equity traded on the Malaysian bourse.

On the re-examining the methodology and conclusions of the report, Asli has concluded that there are shortcomings in assumption and calculation that led to conclusions that cannot be vigorously justified. As such, Asli feels that this report does not fairly reflect the true picture of total equity ownership by bumiputeras in Malaysia.

As the 30 percent ownership of Malaysia corporate equity by bumiputeras is one of the key targets of the NEP, it is important to have a reliable methodology to measure the government's success in meeting this target.

Asli's Centre for Public Policy Studies' report has ignited public debate on the subject which we hope will lead to a better understanding of the merits of the current methodology. All methodologies are at best good estimates of the true situation and due to the importance of the threshold to the public, should be as transparent as possible.

Asli deeply regrets the hurt and confusion felt by all Malaysians caused by the centre's report. In our 13 year history, Asli has never projected an agenda other than to help create a better society through the promotion of strategic thinking and leadership qualities. This report and its reaction serve as a reminder of the unique qualities of our beloved nation.

We humbly take all criticisms levelled at Asli with an open heart in our quest to improve ourselves in order to serve Malaysia better.

Mirzan Mahathir

Asli P

resident

Oct 10, 2006