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PETALING JAYA: A PKR backbencher has called on the government to scrap the Bumiputera economic congress and replace it with a congress that focuses on addressing issues based on economic class.

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said it was time for a congress where economic issues are discussed based on income groups rather than race.

He said this would be more inclusive and fair, as the high-income T10 and B60 lower-income group comprised Malaysians of all ethnicities.

“If we study the demographics of hardcore poverty, we face the fact that there are not only poor Bumiputeras but also many poor Indians and Orang Asli.

“If the congress really wants to be honest and inclusive, it needs to focus on the B60 group, which is the majority of the nation, who need support and economic assistance, comprising Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera.

“I hope that the upcoming Bumiputera economic congress from Feb 29 to March 2 will be the last and that we can hold a Malaysian economic congress (in the future),” Hassan said in a Facebook post.

Were Bumiputeras manipulated by elite?

Hassan also called for next month’s congress to discuss whether the platform has succeeded in uplifting the lives of Bumiputera communities or had merely been manipulated by a handful of elites for their benefit.

The congress is set to be attended by more than 3,000 participants, including those from the Malay, Kadazandusun, Dayak, Iban and Orang Asli communities.

It will focus on 10 main clusters, including educational and human capital reforms, strengthening the halal industry, Sabah and Sarawak’s Bumiputera economy, and new technology.

Former MCA vice-president Ti Lian Ker had urged Putrajaya to discontinue the congress, saying Malaysia would not progress so long as such congresses were a platform for Malay elites to enrich themselves.

Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said although the event was called a Bumiputera economic congress, the government’s attention was not limited to challenges encountered by only the Bumiputeras.

He said the coming congress will be inclusive in addressing the Bumiputera economy, as this would mean resolving issues affecting other communities too.