The NEP, as I always knew it, was about empowerment of the Malays so that they can compete on a level playing after 20 years (1970-90) with other Malaysians. Uppermost in the minds of our leaders at the time (Tun Abdul Razak and his colleagues and advisors like Dr Agoes Salim and James Puthucheary) was national unity via the creation of a level playing field. It was never intended to make the Malays dependent on patronage.
Dinobeano , 28 December 2011
Under Tun Razak’s leadership, Tun Razak has taken several leftist and progressive officers to help him in the state administration. Among Tun Razak officials at that time were Dato ‘Abdullah Majid as Tun Razak Press Secretary where Dato’ Abdullah Majid and James Puthucheary have been together in the University of Malaya Socialist Club in Singapore during their studies era there.Other than that Tan Sri A Samad Ismail who equally established a PAP party in Singapore has also become a Tun Razak officer. While Tun Razak’s Political Secretary Dato ‘ Abdullah Ahmad has long followed James Puthucheary’s political journey in Singapore before that.Dato ‘ Abdullah Ahmad is responsible for finding Tun Abdul Razak with several radical intellectuals who were once arrested in Singapore because of their leftist understanding including James Puthucheary.To implement the economic reformation post May 13, 1969, Tun Razak has been attracted to James Puthucheary’s idea through formula of government intervention in the economy including empowering the Malay economy as the majority of Malay Land to balance the economic gap as James put in the book of Ownership and ownership The Malay Land Economic Mastery.Based on the book, New Economic Policy (DEB) has been enacted. Obviously, James Puthucheary’s services are significant in forming the DEB policies we know today. Tun Dr lsmail in his book The Reluctan Politician strictly admits James Putucheary’s huge contribution to the New Economic Policy (DEB) that balances between the needs of poor people and the greed of businessmen, big entrepreneurs and foreign capitalists.