Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low is turning a blind eye on discriminating policies when he said Malaysia needs time to get rid of racial politics, Suaram advisor Kua Kia Soong said.

Low on Monday justified the wait by saying that the United Kingdom took decades to abolish slavery.

One such race-based policy is the pro-bumiputera New Economic Policy which Kua described as the "elephant in the room".

"The minister is avoiding the elephant in the room, namely, racial discrimination which is entrenched in our economic, educational, social and cultural policies.

"Is he saying that we have to also wait for decades before this ‘Never Ending Policy’ of racial discrimination is abolished?” he asked.

He said that policy-based discrimination does not need decades to abolish, and could be as easy as lifting the ban on non-bumiputera students at University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) or halting discounts on property buys for bumiputera millionaires.

"(It) is especially galling when we bear in mind that this institution is paid for by Malaysian taxpayers including non-bumiputeras.

"It is all the more shocking at a time when there is a gross lack of opportunities for vocational and technical education for non-bumiputera youth," he said.

He said while it may be true that societal change takes time, laws can be put in place to curb racial discrimination like an Equality Act.  

"So minister, please try not to avoid the elephant in the room and state your stand on eradicating racial discrimination in Malaysia."

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