News Article 3 - Political Issue

Malaysia's biggest bank should not discriminate
Govt urges Maybank to give work to non-bumiputera firms
KUALA LUMPUR — The government has
urged Malaysia’s biggest bank not to discriminate
against ethnic minorities following
an uproar over the bank’s plans to
give benefits to law firms that are substantially
owned by ethnic Malays.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak
said Malayan Banking Bhd, or Maybank,
should not merely help companies that are
owned by bumiputeras — a Malay phrase
meaning “sons of the soil” that refers to the
ethnic Malay Muslim majority, Bernama
news agency reported yesterday.
“The government’s policy is that we
want to encourage (government-linked companies)
to give work to both bumiputera
and non-bumiputera firms,” Mr Najib was
quoted as telling Malaysian reporters on
Tuesday during a visit to the United States.
Newspapers and lawyers have reported
that Maybank recently sent letters requiring
firms on its panel of solicitors to
have a minimum of three partners, at least
one of whom must be a Malay with a minimum
stake of 50 per cent in the firm.
Opposition politicians, lawyers and ethnic
Chinese business leaders have condemned
the plan. Maybank has denied trying
to discriminate against minorities, but
pledged to conduct “the necessary review
(of the plan) with due consideration to the
feedback received”.
Mr Najib stopped short of saying that
Maybank — which is controlled by government
fund manager Permodalan Nasional
Bhd — should completely scrap the plan.
“We don’t want this to be an issue,”
Bernama quoted him as saying. “They know
what the government policy is. They should
understand that. At times you need to give
work to bumiputera companies. In some
cases, you will require non-bumiputera companies
so they can help out.”
The issue highlights sensitivities over
decades-old affirmative-action policies that
benefit Malays — who comprise nearly
60 per cent of Malaysia’s 26 million people
— through government jobs, contracts,
housing and other privileges aimed at boosting
their corporate ownership. — AP