Malaysia says will not deprive other races - paper

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Malaysia will continue to help ethnic Malays increase their share in the nation's corporate equity, but will not deprive other races, the deputy prime minister said, according to a local media report.

Malaysian affirmative action, also known as the Bumiputera ("sons of the soil") policy, aims at improving the economic well-being of the majority Malays by giving them preference in education, jobs and business.

"We will not do anything that is seen as depriving other races of their rights," Najib Razak was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper on Thursday. "We will only demand whatever rights the Bumiputera has. That is all."

Najib's comments came after Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) stunned the government last month by bringing more than 10,000 ethnic Indians onto the streets of the capital to complain of racial discrimination.

Malaysia has taken a hardline stance in recent weeks to maintain peace and order in the country ahead of elections many expect to be called within the next few months.

An election is not due until May 2009 but Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is widely expected to dissolve parliament and call for fresh polls by early next year.

In 1969, Malays made up half the Malaysian population but owned barely 2 percent of the nation's corporate equity. Malay ownership has since climbed to about a fifth -- and one unofficial estimate puts it as high as 45 percent.

But the wealth gap between Malays, who now make up about 60 percent of the population, and ethnic Chinese (a quarter), remains big. Chinese corporate equity is double Malay equity and Chinese household income outstrips Malay income by 64 percent. (Writing by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Jerry Norton)