When affirmative action shames the community

Malaysia is well versed with policies that promote affirmative action, either in employment or housing or even education. Quite frankly, I have defended some of these affirmative action steps.

However, affirmative action should not be used by those who received it with a lackadaisical attitude, because those who give you that chance are the ones which have to suffer.

In corporate Malaysia just recently, MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd CEO Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid resigned over an accident that cost three lives in the V1 Package ofthe Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.

As someone who knows him personally, this is in his character. I do hope someone is able to talk him out of it. Under his management, the MRT project is still within its budget, progress is now at more than 70% and it is still due to complete and operate by 2016.

I can think of no better person to manage another RM60 billion worth of infrastructure, should the MRT Lines 2 and 3 be approved by the Economic Council.

This being said, I look to the contractors that got the V1 Package under more scrutiny than that of MRT Corp, and that company is Syarikat Muhibah Perniagaan dan Pembinaan Sdn Bhd (SMPP).

First of all, readers should not confuse this with the Muhibbah Engineering Group led by Mac Ngan Boon, which focuses on the oil and gas sector.

Meanwhile, SMPP boasts itself as a “Class A” Bumiputera company with experience in building roads, bridges and dams since 1995. However, this line on its two-bit website is just plain ironic:

“Syarikat Muhibah Perniagaan & Pembinaan Sdn Bhd is committed in delivering quality construction services to its clients as well as protecting the health and safety of its employees, workers, clients, the general public and other interested parties at all times...”

Ironic, considering they have been found to be negligent for their workers' safety which led to this tragedy and the subsequent resignation of Azhar.

Currently, SMPP is also one of the contractors involved in the LRT Extension Plan for the Ampang line.

This is the problem I foresee with affirmative action. Being granted affirmative action as a Bumiputera company does not give you cause to slack around, either in business or even an education. It is not a right, it is a privilege.

These policies are in place as a show that the government and whatever company are giving you a mandatory shot to prove your worth. It is not a case of “you deserve this” or even “you earned this”. It is a case of “we will take the heat for you to give you a chance to prove yourself”.

In the case of SMPP, they blew it. And as such, MRT’s CEO had to resign to take full responsibility of the incident. He had to resign for giving SMPP a chance which the company abused by lagging with its safety standards.

And because SMPP blew it, every single Bumiputera company’s image was similarly tarnished because one bungling company with two directors did not take safety seriously. We can see this by comments on any of the posts regarding affirmative action, when one company or even a student of non-Bumiputera descent fails to enter a public university of their choice regardless of their stellar results.

As such, this message also applies to the Bumiputeras who were granted placements in universities. Bear in mind, you are not entitled to an education in a public institution just because you are a Bumiputera. You are entitled because in this country, we have a government policy which encourages you all to join the middle class and generate wealth to own equity.

It is not a right. It is a privilege.

If you think just because you can get into UiTM, you can slack off or just suspend your studies without a care or impact, you are wrong. There are those out there who did not get a chance, and they are looking at what you did and wondering why this government and its supporters choose to defend someone who is clearly unworthy of being given such a chance.

And they are asking these questions because they believe it is a waste of resources.That you will join the corporate world without the ability to get a job done. That you will be an underpaid drone working at a fast food joint for umpteenth years without ever even using the degree you earned.

And yet, there are those like me who look at affirmative action as a means to level out the socioeconomic seesaw in Malaysia. There are those who are looking at the five-digit number of unemployed Malay graduates and think the next solution in line is to get them funding to start a small business as an alternative.

And there are those who will roll our eyes when the only thing you can think of is opening another burger joint instead of an original idea like a bakery or a chain of retail coin operated laundromats.

Regardless, I will take the heat for supporting you. But if you take that for granted, like SMPP did, I think you should step off a bridge over troubled water. – August 21, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.