DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) members will close their accounts with Malayan
Banking Bhd (Maybank) if it fails to review a requirement for legal firms to
have 50 percent bumiputera equity in order to be listed on its panel of
solicitors.
“We are giving Maybank two weeks to review the requirement. Should it fail (to
revoke the requirement), Dapsy members will be directed to close their
accounts,” DAP parliamentarian for Bandar Kuching Chong Chien Jen told a press
conference in the Parliament lobby today.
Chong was referring to Maybank’s new policy which requires a legal firm to have
a minimum of three partners - with at least one bumiputera partner with 50
percent equity of the partnership - to be listed on the panel of solicitors.
Earlier, Chong failed to move a motion to debate the matter in the Dewan Rakyat.
Speaker Ramli Ngah Talib said this was an internal matter.
However, Chong disagreed with the decision, saying the Speaker had taken the
easy way out.
“All banks in Malaysia are subject to the directive and policies of Bank Negara.
The Speaker’s decision only shows that the government condones practices that
are discriminatory on a racial basis,” he alleged.
“Previously, this has been done in relation to government procurement
procedures. Now it has sipped into procedures of government-linked companies,”
he said.
“In a statement today, Maybank said the policy would be reviewed but this seems
to be typical of answers given by the government and ministers whenever an issue
catches media attention. It will die off slowly in time, and the idea or policy
will be implemented.”
Practise ‘open policy’
Chong reiterated that such moves would affect the professionalism of the legal
fraternity.
Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran said the choice of lawyers should be left to
consumers and that banks should not decide which lawyers and legal firms can
represent bank customers.
“I urge the government to follow the system used in Australia and New Zealand
where a much more open policy is practised,” he said.
Parliamentary Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang urged Maybank to explain whether
the 50 percent bumiputera partnership ruling will come into force on July 1, and
how it will impact on both current panel lawyers and new firms.
“I call on Maybank to be a model of corporate social responsibility and make
public the top 25 legal firms on its panel which have been given the most
business each year for the past 10 years,” said Lim.
“This is to allow the public to judge whether the firms given the most business
are the politically- connected ones rather than those (who receive work) based
on meritocracy or other criteria.”
DONT do business with racist. written by Derek John Fernandez,
Tuesday, May 08 2007 07:04 pm
We have a choice as to whether we wish to do business with those who implement racist policies and discriminate on the grounds of race, religon or gender. Its funnny while its all right to take money from depositors irrespective of race. its somehow wrong to give it to all races . A boycott of the banks who behave like this and letting the world know the names of those banks that use race as a creteria to give work will send a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated in civil society.
DEREK FERNANDEZ
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We have a choice as to whether we wish to do business with those who implement racist policies and discriminate on the grounds of race, religon or gender. Its funnny while its all right to take money from depositors irrespective of race. its somehow wrong to give it to all races . A boycott of the banks who behave like this and letting the world know the names of those banks that use race as a creteria to give work will send a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated in civil society.
DEREK FERNANDEZ