Competition the Bumiputra way

May 9th, 2007 gier Posted in Rant | 2 Comments »

On Sunday, there was that report in the NST about the regulations imposed by a couple of banks, which required at least one bumiputra partner with at least a 50% stake in a firm before it can do any business with the banks. The relevant paragraphs are the first two in the article, as reproduced here (without permission, but under fair use — see Copyright Act 1987):

A new regulation by two major banks that requires Bumiputera legal firms’ involvement has irked the legal community.

The regulation requires law firms to have a minimum of three partners of which one must be Bumiputera with a minimum 50 per cent stake in the firm before they can do any business with the banks.

Now, the following day, there was this article in Berita Harian, quoting the Yang Dipertua Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia (DPMM) Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Syed Amin Al-Jeffri, saying:

“Dalam apa juga perniagaan yang kita lakukan, perlu ada usaha sama yang tulen antara kaum, itulah semangat Malaysia.

“Apa salahnya pembabitan semua kaum dalam apa juga perniagaan, pembabitan semua pihak dapat memenuhi kehendak rakyat Malaysia,� katanya ketika dihubungi Berita Harian, semalam.

The entire article was also reproduced (with permission) at the Bar Council website. Read the comments made in that site, while you’re at it, yah? The article’s title is: “Majlis Peguam tak patut persoal syarat baru bank”.

What’s wrong with the picture above?

On the one hand, we have a couple of banks enforcing a discriminatory rule, favouring one race over others. On the other hand, one person representing the interests of that favoured race says that the move is a laudatory one because it allows all races to be involved in business so that it would “memenuhi kehendak rakyat Malaysia”.

As one of those “rakyat” flers, I don’t recall being asked whether it’s my desire or not to have that ruling.

Ok, so it’s not that simple. The Datuk was saying that having bumiputra partnership in ALL the law firms wanting to do business with the two banks is a good thing. This is because it would help the bumiputras, being the backward, inbred tits that we are. But, the problem there is, the choice has been removed from the law firms who don’t actually have bumiputra partners owning at least half of the firm. In other words, if you’re non-bumis, the best you can do is just work half as hard while the Malay chap carries the rest. If the Malay chap is a lazy arse and only works a quarter as hard (that’s 25% for the hard of counting), then the non-bumis will have to work three-quarters as hard, but with still only half the returns.

The point is this: as a Malay, I would like to compete on an equal footing with my Chinese, Indian and Dan Lain-lain brothers and sisters so that when I beat the shit out of them, I can say that I did it fairly and squarely. Further, if they beat the shit out of me, at least I don’t get the feeling that I got the shitters beaten out of me by opponents that I’ve blindfolded, one arm tied behind their backs and with a leg chopped off.

It’s a matter of pride.