EU envoy hits out at NEP
Hot on the heels of stalled FTA talks with the USA, the EU Envoy to Malaysia, Thierry Rommel, is now calling for expedited FTA talks with ASEAN stating specifically:"The EU is looking at ASEAN, at Malaysia, as a trading nation, to get the actual negotiations started."
Of course, before ALL that, he hits out at the NEP, stating that it drives protectionist policies. He even goes so far as to say:
"In a dominant part of the domestic economy, there is no level playing field for foreign companies even when in a partnership with Bumis. "
Pleading for the Malaysian government to use the Doha Round to re-examine its policies, he has this to say:
"If we all were to continually submit to internal pressure groups and vested economic interests who indeed are often the same, we, as policy makers in a democracy, would fail our nation."
Forbes, which picked up the story, even quotes Eric Reuter, sales and marketing director of Belgian freight forwarder ABX Logistics, which has a 51 percent Bumiputra partner,
"The limitations have eroded his profit margin.We cannot be as flexible as we want to be and chances that corruption comes into play is higher."
I assume Mr Reuter won't be getting much UMNO related business for a while now that he's come out and said this.
Back to the European Envoy's remarks, and this blogger wonders whether the resident UMNO rabble rouser will be reaching for his keris again over these statements and ask for a boycott of all things European.
The international press has gone to town with this. Examples here and here.
Want to read the full text of this stirring speech? Download it here.
Technorati: malaysia, NEP
posted by hew @ 4:57 pm
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