Bumi equity: Lim 'not really' vindicated
Malaysiakini
Nov 9, 2006
Andrew Ong

The government must review the New Economic Policy (NEP) and focus on the distribution of bumiputera wealth, rather than the size of it, said academic Dr Lim Teck Ghee.

He said this when asked about the government’s disclosure on Tuesday that bumiputeras as of Dec 31 2006, owned 36.64 percent of shares on Bursa Malaysia’s main and second board.

But was he vindicated by the announcement? "Not really," he told malaysiakini.

Lim was among the main authors of the controversial study on corporate equity distribution by Asian Strategic Leadership Institute’s (Asli) Centre for Public Policy Studies.

The study challenged the government’s assertion that bumiputera corporate equity ownership had stagnated at 18.9 percent, drawing heavy criticism from Umno leaders in the process.

“The report was not merely about bumiputera racial shares - whether 18.9, 36.6 or 45 percent,” Lim said when contacted yesterday.

“It was more about the need for the government to rescind or revise race-oriented policies - in this case on corporate equity distribution - that have long achieved their purpose and are no longer necessary or defensible,” he added.

'Fooling themselves'

Despite the government’s latest figures and attempt to explain the methodology employed by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Lim said many questions pertaining to wealth distribution still warranted answers.

“In my opinion - and I may add that of many independent scholars - the methodology of poverty and income estimates are even more flawed; the present poverty line for example, is based on household rather than individual income.

“Thus, we look good on our so-called poverty alleviation record. But we - I mean, those in charge - are only fooling themselves,” he added.

According to Lim, this and the EPU methodology to determine bumiputera equity ownership, among others, were no longer applicable today as it was when the NEP was formulated three decades ago.

Lim, who headed Asli’s Centre for Public Policy, resigned after Asli president Mirzan Mahathir withdrew the controversial study.

Public confused

Meanwhile, academic-turned-politician Dr Toh Kin Woon said following Tuesday’s disclosure, there was confusion over the definition of bumiputera equity.

“I was under the impression that the government was only concerned about bumiputera equity in public-listed companies. Now, it includes over 600,000 more companies,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Toh, a former economics lecturer, said it was important that the government revealed more facts for the public to better understand the issue.

He also agreed with Lim on the need for the government to focus more on distribution of wealth.

“Income distribution is more important (for the government) as equity ownership alone cannot accurately reflect the wealth of a particular ethnic group. What needs to be addressed is bridging the gap between the top 20 percent and the bottom 40 percent.

“After all, share ownership is only concentrated in the hands of the very few,” added Toh, who previously branded Umno’s attack on the Asli study as being ‘intolerant of dissent’.

Former Finance Ministry deputy secretary-general Ramon Navaratnam commended the government for releasing further details about bumiputera equity ownership.

“I believe that more work should be done to define the methodology and scope of coverage to refine the figures further,” he added when contacted.