The Hindu
P. S. Suryanarayana
SINGAPORE, April 7, 2010
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has pledged a policy of affirmative action in favour of those in economic need, regardless of racial considerations, in the Muslim-majority state. The basic objective was to ensure that the new policy “will lead to a more cohesive and socially harmonious society,” he said here.
In a question-answer session with the Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore, Mr. Najib said the Group of 20 major and emerging powers, rather than the United Nations Security Council, would be “the driving force that will determine the order of things in this early part of the 21st century.”
And, on ties with New Delhi, Mr. Najib said Malaysia was committed to concluding a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement this year. He was looking forward to receiving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later this year for signing such an economic pact.
Asked whether affirmative action under his newly-announced New Economic Model for Malaysia would have “common but differential” benefits for the various racial groups like the Malays as also ethnic-Chinese and the people of Indian origin, Mr. Najib said: “As far as affirmative action is concerned, I don't think we want it to be broken up into too many different policies and programmes. In terms of the needs, we will have to address them, irrespective of race.
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