Ku Nan: 30pct Malay quota insulting as bumis make up 60pct

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor agrees with the party's Youth chief that the quota system favouring Malays in various policies in an insult to the community.

However, Tengku Adnan's reasoning for backing Khairy differs from the youth and sports minister's rationale that the quotas are keeping the Malays on crutches.

"I am with Khairy. Why do we have a 30 percent quota? If we go by demographics, Malays and bumiputera make up 50 to 60 percent of the demographics, but most people don't realise that we are being moderate," he said.

Khairy, in an interview on The 2050 National Transformation Plan (TN50) recently, said the quotas are holding the Malays back from surging ahead.

He was slammed for being "shallow, incorrect and duplicitous" when making the statement.

Malay rights pressure group Perkasa, which slammed Khairy for his statement, said it was it was challenging the special position of the community under the Federal Constitution.

PKR's deputy Youth chief Dr Afif Bahardin said that while there were good intentions behind the pro-bumiputeras quotas, it did not meet its purpose because of rampant corruption.

The quota system does not only benefit the Malays but also favours the Sabah and Sarawak natives as well as the Orang Asli, who are also considered bumiputera.

However, the terms bumiputera is not enshrined in the constitution.

Article 153 of the Federal Constitution safeguards the special position of Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of the other communities.

The article empowers the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to ensure quotas for Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak in "public service" and of "scholarships, exhibitions and other similar educational or training privileges or special facilities given or accorded by the federal government".

The Agong can also ensure quotas "when any permit or licence for operation of any trader or business is required by the federal law".

However, the same article states that the quotas should not breach Article 136, which reads: "All persons of whatever race in the same grade in the service of the federation shall, subject to the terms and conditions of their employment, be treated impartially."

Bumiputera quotas today extend to a wide range of policies, including in education, trade and property ownership, prompting many debates on whether the quotas should be phased out after almost 60 years of independence.- Mkini