Malaysian political parties should move away from race-based politics, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar says.

The more race becomes entrenched in politics, the more it will become a consideration for public policies, Khairy told a forum titled "Vision for Economic Development for Malaysia" in Kuala Lumpur last night.

NONE "Is it something that we should move away from? Yes, it is something we should move away from. Every party should move away from identification with ethnicity and identification with religion.

"I think Malaysians are crying out for a true, genuine multiracial political party and on that score, everybody fails... some fail more than others," he said.

This was why, Khairy said, some within the BN, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, had supported a call to allow direct membership to the BN, although the plan met opposition within the coalition.

However, he told some 200 people at the forum orgainsed by the Chevening Alumni of Malaysia: "It is also how this is reflected in society. It is not just the parties that think that way. Society also thinks that way.

"It is not just political parties that are made up of certain sectorial interests as far as ethnicity and religion are concerned. It is also how society looks at itself."

The Rembau MP also took a swipe at fellow panellist Tony Pua, saying that although Umno was unostentatiously a Malaysian Malay nationalist party, DAP claimed to be multiracial but had few ethnic Malay leaders.

'Welfare system should be needs-based'

Pua rebutted that what counted was not the numbers but the fact that any person, regardless of race, could join the DAP.

Khairy, Pua and PSM's Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj spoke at forum that was held at the Menara Getah Asli auditorium.

Earlier, a member of the audience had asked Khairy whether he agreed with the view that Malaysia needed to end race-based politics before it could address economic issues.

Pua during his presentation had advocated for a needs-based, rather than a race-based welfare system.

Khairy agreed, but said there was a "grey area" that he struggled with and believed that his Pakatan Rakyat opponents did as well - which was with the restructuring of society.

NONE Both the BN-led federal government and Pakatan Rakyat state governments, Khairy said, have agencies to assist bumiputera entrepreneurs who were not "on the margins of society".

These included Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB) which Khairy chairs, and some programmes run by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS).

"That has nothing to do with need. It has to do with the empowerment of certain ethnic groups within certain economic sectors...

"We can go needs-based as far as eradicating poverty is concerned. We can go needs-based as far as helping those on the margins of society is concerned. But when it comes to the restructuring of society, it must continue," he said.

For example, Khairy said, there were few non-bumiputera secretary-generals in government service, and likewise there were few bumiputera chief executive officers in non-bumiputera-owned companies.

This needed to be done in a manner that is transparent and market-friendly, to ensure that only those who qualify would get assistance.