This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 25, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The New Economic Policy (NEP) will not be dropped entirely but would be reviewed along with the New Economic Model (NEM) to ensure that it is based on needs, and not race.

Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the findings of the Economic Planning Unit’s (EPU) study on the NEP would be presented in the government’s mid-term review of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) in November with a view towards drawing up a five-year action plan.

The outcome would be part of a two-prong strategy incorporating the mid-term review and Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto, he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

“We hope to introduce some parts [of the study] in our mid-term review of the 11MP where we would assess and evaluate the past policy but this time we will introduce new directions and polices in our manifesto,” he said.

“Well, we won’t replace NEP entirely. Our policies must be based on needs, not race. The needs of Bumiputeras are guaranteed but we must be fair to everyone,” he said.

“The planning is for the NEP to be long-term, perhaps five years but when we talk about a sustainable economic plan, it has to be longer than that, like Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Vision 2020 [previously].

“However, our greatest challenge now is to restore investors’ confidence which is crucial. We need to sustain our foreign direct investment so that investors return and make Malaysia a destination for investment. How do we do that if there is no confidence in the system? That is our priority now,” he added.

The review of the NEP, introduced in 1970 to eradicate poverty and reform social classes to remove economic imbalances, is part of Pakatan’s election promise to ensure targeted and equitable wealth distribution.