The official methodology used in computing the equity ownership held by different race groups can be improved to be more representative, ex-finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today.

"The methodology can be improved. When I say improve, I mean it should be advanced to a level where it is more representative.

"No methodology is static because new information and methodologies come in," Razaleigh, who is the Gua Musang MP, told reporters when met at the Parliament lobby.

However, he opined the current methodology - using par value calculation involving some 600,000 registered companies - has been consistent since the Second Malaysia Plan.

"I see no reason why it should be changed except for updating the way it is done and the data selected for the purpose of computing (the equity ownership)," he said.

Last Tuesday, Deputy Finance Minister Dr Awang Adek Hussin - in a reply to Razaleigh - revealed that bumiputera share ownership on Bursa Malaysia was at 36.6 percent as of last year.

The veteran politician had asked for the number of bumiputera-controlled companies (not including those controlled by Malay trust funds) listed on Bursa Malaysia and the value of their shares.

Dramatic about-turn

However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Effendi Norwawi, in a statement yesterday, claimed the figure revealed by Awang Adek was inaccurate .

Effendi, who oversees the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), said the correct figure should be 21.8 percent which is below the New Economic Policy's (NEP) target of 30 percent.

Commenting on this, Razaleigh said he agreed bumiputera share ownership in listed companies would not have reached 36 percent as argued by Effendi.

The ex-finance minister said current calculations based on the registered companies reflect a better picture of the wealth held by bumiputeras.

"You can't just sum up based on listed companies. These listed companies also include companies that are owned by the government," he asserted.

Elaborating, he said it was right to exclude Malay trust funds from the calculation of bumiputera equity ownership although certain quarters viewed it as significant enough to be included.

"(If we were to include,) then you better agree all the trust funds shares should be distributed to the bumiputeras [...] then the whole picture is going to change.

"The shares are offered to trust funds because the 30 percent allocated cannot be taken up by Malay individuals or companies, so we keep them until there are Malays who are able to finance the purchase of those shares. So until such time, they are kept by the trust funds," he said.

Razaleigh expressed hope to see a fair distribution of wealth in the country as he said lopsided equity ownership will not be good for the stability of the country and its economy.

Better to have draconian laws...

Meanwhile, during the question-and-answer session in the House earlier, Razaleigh asked whether laws deemed as draconian would be regarded as still relevant by 2020 when the country achieves the status of a developed country.

He also asked whether the government would amend or repeal these draconian laws before 2020.

Responding, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government has never enacted any law to be used as a tool to inflict injustice on anyone.

Later however, in a reply to a supplementary question by Wan Junaidi Jaafar (BN-Santubong), Nazri said it is the "... government's principle that it is better to have draconian laws than not having them".

"We may think of doing this and that only when something happens, but when that happens, it may have already cost many lives.

"Therefore in this question, we take into consideration the nation's interest and we take a position that it is better to have draconian laws than not have such laws at all," Nazri said.