Anwar Accuses Ruling Party Leaders Of Stirring Racial Hatred

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim defended moves to reform an affirmative action policy for ethnic Malays and accused ruling party leaders of stirring racial hatred to deflect attention from their electoral losses.

Members of the United Malays National Organization, the backbone of the ruling National Front coalition, held street protests Friday (14 Mar) over proposals to roll back the 37-year-old New Economic Policy, or NEP. It gives privileges in contracts, jobs, business and education to ethnic Malays, who make up 60 percent of the country's population.

Anwar, in a statement on his People's Justice Party Web site late Saturday (15 Mar), said the policy needs to be altered to create a "more just, more equitable" system that benefits the poor regardless of race and religion.

"I am therefore deeply concerned with the attempt being made by certain elements to stoke the flames of racial hatred," he said.

A three-member opposition alliance, including Anwar's party, won control of five of 13 state governments and a third of the seats in Malaysia's federal parliament in 8 March elections.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front coalition remained in power _ but with its lowest parliamentary majority in 51 years of rule.

The result reflected a huge protest vote sparked by disillusionment among minority ethnic Chinese and Indians, who have long complained about discrimination.

In his statement, Anwar said he believed the street protests over the proposed rollbacks to the New Economic Policy were led by a handful of "wealthy Malays and UMNO leaders who are themselves guilty of squandering and abusing the NEP to enrich themselves and their cronies."

"These people are now using the UMNO and government controlled media to incite fears among the Malays and deflect attention away from their electoral defeat," he said.

Anwar urged Malaysians to reject the UMNO's "desperate attempts" to salvage the party by allegedly pandering to people's fears and sowing divisions and disunity among the people.

The New Economic Policy was started in 1971 to help Malays following 1969 violent race riots blamed on the wealth gap between poor Malays and rich Chinese. But critics say the policy has been abused to enrich a few well-connected Malay elite.

Abdullah has warned the opposition against inciting the Malays.

"They must be responsible when making comments. Don't make comments just to be popular with a certain race. They must be cautious and not undermine the good racial relations in the country," he said.(AP)