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Maybank issue a lesson to all, says Hisham

Friday, 11 May 2007 08:03am

©The Star (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Maybank issue, which created controversy and drew much criticism, should be a lesson to all Malaysians, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.

He said that as the country moved towards its 50th year of independence, such matters should not arise, and added that in multi-racial Malaysia, every small thing could become sensitive.

“Maybe their approach was not right but the matter should have been between the two parties only. This is not something that should have been brought to the Cabinet, “ he said after a meeting with Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed and Thai Education Minister Prof Dr Wichit Srisa-an at his ministry yesterday .

On Wednesday, the Cabinet directed Maybank, the country’s largest bank, to withdraw its requirement that law firms must have a bumiputra partner with at least a 50% stake before they could do any business with it.

The Cabinet discussed the move, which many criticised as discriminatory, and felt the bank's stand was not in line with government policy. The Finance Ministry had also not issued any such directive to banks.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen urged all government-linked companies, especially financial institutions, to abide by the Cabinet decision as they must understand that they had a role in nation-building and had to compete in a globalised world.

“The Cabinet decision does not just affect Maybank. All GLCs and agencies should understand the spirit behind the decision,” the Wanita MCA chief said yesterday.

Bar Council chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan commended the Cabinet for its decision to lead the way in removing discriminatory practices but said the situation should not have necessitated Cabinet action.

“It would have been proper for Bank Negara to order the bank to do so,” she said.

On AmBank’s statement that it only required law firms to have a bumiputra but made no stipulation on the level of equity, Ambiga said: “The level of equity is irrelevant. It’s still discrimination. No company has the right to stipulate the racial composition of firms that it will give work to; this is certainly no way to deal with professionals.”

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng refuted Ambank’s statement, saying the party could not accept the bank’s requirement to law firms, and produced a letter dated April 17 that was sent out by the bank’s legal and compliance department.

On Wednesday, AmBank had said no restrictions or quota of shares were imposed, saying it did appoint legal firms that did not have bumiputra partners but encouraged firms to have bumiputra partners.