Saturday 14 September 2013

The PM's Bumiputra Economic Empowerment Initiative

When the PM first announced that he would be announcing some measures to address the Bumiputra economic agenda recently, I wasn't too excited as I have often been disappointed with his decisions in the past.

His decisions in the past have been proven to be Bumiputra-unfriendly and he has spent the larger part of his time as Prime Minister pandering to the demands of the louder non-Bumiputra groups that despite all the groveling that he did, they showed him what they really think of him and his efforts by supporting the Pakatan en masse during GE13.

So this time around, I am taking the attitude of wait and see, before deciding whether this time it is a sincere effort to uplift the poor, or just another gimmick to garner support before the Umno General Assembly.

Finally I get to see Najib's speech text at Annie's, a bit too long to digest immediately, though, so I need time to see what he has to offer the Malays and Bumiputra in the form of economic empowerment.

It is good that PM Najib acknowledged early on that BN won because of Malay and Bumiputra support.  It is a sign that he knows whose welfare he should pay attention to as head of the BN coalition.

It is also good that he noted that Bumiputra represent almost 68% of the Malaysian population, forming the majority despite their voice being hardly heard in the din created by the minority groups.

It is interesting that he did not elaborate about how his Model Ekonomi Baru was initially devoid of the Bumiputra agenda, and how he then qualified the meritocracy in Rancangan Malaysia Ke10 as meritocracy with respect to competition among Bumiputra.  Heh ... good one there ..  so the meritocracy is just among Bumiputra ...

For me, I think the most significant part of the whole thing is where Bumiputra-engagement, in various forms, is included as part of Heads of GLCs' KPI, and the setting up of a materials supply chain for Bumiputra businesses.  The rest isn't particularly exciting to me, not even the ASB2 if its going to be managed the same way as ASN and ASB.

The role of GLCs in nurturing Bumiputra enterprises is such an important part of the Bumiputra economic development mechanism as it provides opportunities for Bumiputra organisations to gain the much needed experience and networking to compete effectively while creating job opportunities for the Bumiputra workforce.

There is no point in training, re-skilling or even marketing our Bumiputra human capital if we cannot develop organisations willing to employ them at their market value.

Hopefully these Bumiputra organisations will prove that despite our Bumiputra graduates' lack of command of the English language, as is claimed by so many people to be the reason why they are unemployable, they can excel in their jobs, given the opportunity and support.

The proposed supply chain  to assist Bumiputra businesses to be more competitive is also something to look forward to as cost of supplies has been a major stumbling block for Bumiputra businesses to compete effectively in the open market.

To conclude, based on my early assessment, I look forward to the implementation of these initiatives, and will be looking at how the government intend to check for abuses on the part of the enablers, i.e. the GLCs and the Ministries, to ensure that this time around, Bumiputra economic empowerment can really be achieved.

10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Menangani pendatang18 September 2013 at 20:45

      Menangani pendatang Cina dan India

      Pendatang pedagang Cina dan kuli cina dan India ke Tanah Melayu pada kurun 1900 adalah satu migrasi yang disebabkan oleh orang Kristian British ke Tanah melayu.

      Mereka juga memerlukan tenaga buruh untuk ladang getah dan lombong timah.

      Dari sini mereka menjana wang dari jualan getah dan timah ke eropah.
      Dengan kekalahan WW2 oleh jepun orang Inggeris tidak mampu
      bertahan setelah orang Melayu membunuh duncan Stewart di sarawak, henry Gurney di Malaya.

      Kini orang Melayu dan UMNO berdepan dengan masaalah pendatang Cina dan India yang tebal dengan budaya mereka.

      Mereka sukar menerima dan memberi ketaatan kepada Raja dan Negara Melayu.

      Kini mereka ingin merampas pula tampuk pemerintahan seperti yang terjadi di Singapura dan Fiji dan Sri Langka.

      Ini ada lah masaalah sekuriti jangka panjang yang perlu dihadapi dan tidak boleh di tutup dengan slogan 1Malaysia atau rayuan untuk berterimakasih kerena Tanah Melayu saja yang membenarkan sekolah Cina.

      Sebetulnya itu adalah kelemahan orang Melayu dan bukan bargaining power
      bagi orang Melayu. Soalnya sanggup kah UMNO menutup sekolah Cina dan India?

      Apa faedahnya? Sebaliknya sekolah cina dan India boleh dimanfaatkan dengan kesedaran asal usul mereka supaya mereka boleh kembali ke tanah air mereka dan memulakan kehidupan baru.

      Sekolah vernakular perlu dilihat sebagai rehabilitation centre atau preparation school untk orang orang Cina kembali ke tanah air mereka.

      Skin dan dana untuk mengurangkan endatang perlu diwujudkan.

      Delete

  2. As an aside,
    met up with an American O&G professional yesterday. These guys were paying great tribute to how successful Keppel Shipyard in Singapore is until they can build the best in the class rigs and vessels to drill for oil. They can beat the Chinese and the Koreans anytime.

    Ok - the aside is over.

    Ok continue on the Bumi vs Non Bumi divide. I'll get the popcorn

    ReplyDelete
  3. What worrying the whole economic chain and process are not in controlled of the Bumiputra ,just like NEP it could be manipulated ,at the end of the day more non bumi (Chinese) businesses and supply chain will get richer . If they are product producing their market will be limited to Bumiputra outlet which are hard to find .
    Without this being address properly ,no matter how much fund's being injected will be a waste .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is not about whether it is being fully controlled by the Bumiputra or not. It is all about being controlled by people who will not abuse the system for their own ends.

      It is more important that we can put a check on self-serving jerks taking advantage of the system to feed their own excesses .. i.e. a monitoring and evaluating mechanism that not only put a stop to abuses of the system, but also periodically provide input of its success rate.

      Delete
  4. Hi, actually, overall, I don't see the Initiative as a game-changer in terms of Malay economic development. I'm of the opinion that everything is interconnected. Any affirmative action must be comprehensive. Inclusive instead of exclusive. I find that many other similar blogs offer 'solutions' and ideas which are exclusive which are actually conter-productive.

    2 key ingredients in business. Profit & Trust.

    Abuse happens when you put the government in charge of your future & welfare. It should be the other way round. Reclaim ownership on an individual level.

    Keep track of the big money. It's an indication of the economy. They run the country.

    You want Malays to progress? Put aside differences. Expand the economy. The key word is expand. Very important. Let the Chinese lead the charge in the frontlines. Right now, they are actually raring to go and have got what it takes. They have the capital and appetite for risks. Only with an expanding and vibrant economy can the Malay & Bumi Initiative be successful, provided it is implemented properly.

    Companies must be made to hire multi-racial staff. Malays must work in Chinese businesses. Govt can offer incentives for these companies to hire & train Malays/Bumi at the executive levels. The Chinese must be encouraged to join the civil service, mix & learn in a Malay environment. With this, there will be a major mindset & attitude shift for both communities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. there is no need to depend on chinese for malays development. This is Malay country and we must create a malay eco system.
      The Chinese will go back once China is rich and fully developed. so UMNO must start creating Malay eco system today.

      Delete
  5. The challenge I feel is to create more sustainable Bumiputera companies and to elevate currently sustainable Bumiputera companies to be bigger. There are already a large number of Bumiputera companies but many are trading in small volume. There are I feel a number of reasons for this;

    1. Small number of Bumiputera entrepreneurs. This is to me due to the ease by which Bumiputera are able to get jobs with the government and the GLC. I don’t think making it more difficult for Bumiputera to get jobs with the government or GLC is the answer. It is also natural for Bumiputera and (non-Bumiputera) to take the safe route of working for companies, government and GLC to ensure that they are able to
    2. PUNB which is tasked with developing Bumiputera entrepreneurs was before this not really filled with top Bumiputera both in term of capability and passion. Having somebody like DS Ali Rastam to head this outfit esp. if he is at cabinet level will I feel push this along faster. DS Ali Rastam passion and drive in developing Malacca shows that he can deliver.
    3. Instead of just giving access to capital, PUNB and other agencies should provide more safety net in the initial stage for the Bumiputera. That will encourage Bumiputera to take risks and venture into business. Such safety net could be in term of PUNB say buy back of the business at say 70% of the initial investment if the business fail. Many would be more willing to take risks if this safety nets are in place.
    4. Close monitoring of these companies to prevent defalcation and leakages such as in awarding over-priced contracts as a way to siphon money out must be in place. My experience with PUNB before was that the PUNB officers do at time conspire with the business owner to do this siphoning
    5. Government agencies to develop Bumiputera entrepreneurs, policies etc are already in placed but the implementation can be improved. This is mainly due to this objective not being given as high a priority as other objective such as growth rate etc
    6. This is reflected in the fact not the highest level UMNO/ Bumiputera parties senior members and government servant not being put to head this unit.
    7. Having a committee headed by the PM and the Deputy PM is not enough. Need to put the really top guys to head this. Need to put high capabilities government persons into this including some private sector Bumiputera to help with the monitoring and in developing ideas for expanding the Bumiputera businesses
    8. SPAD is headed by Datuk Seri Syed Hamid but who now only recently Datuk Seri Ali Rastam was appointed to head PUNB. Should get all the government agencies tasked with this objective to be under one ministry and reporting to a senior minister like DS Ali.
    9. Not many knew about PUNB before. PUNB was given a very low profile compared to PEMANDU, SPAD etc
    10. We should not be apologetic about using the government and GLC to create this new Bumiputera companies and expanding the existing Bumiputera companies

    In essence, if we want the Bumiputera business expansion to take place, the government must put top guys to head and populate the agencies that are responsible for achieving this objective. Really focus on achieving this objective and the PM, Deputy PM and DS Ali to really drive to achieve this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why I am waiting to see how the initiatives will be implemented by the various enablers and it will be interesting to see how the KPIs of these enablers will be measured.

      Delete
    2. 1 trillion Petronas Subsidies!124 September 2013 at 16:32

      The source of the Chinese riches is actually Petronas. UMNO Presidents have made policies which actually enriches the Chinese through direct subsidies.
      For example the fuel subsidies is 24 billion per year! And 80% goes to the Chinese community as it depends on how much you use. The more diesel you steal the more subsidy you get.

      For the Malays who use motorbike they get the very little of this 24 billion.
      A more common sense and fair distribution of oil wealth would be to distribute to every one not just those who own cars or buses or lorries.

      Just like in Brunei those over 21 get 2000 per month! Or Saudi Arabia where the wealth are distributed equally.
      Why should Petronas give subsidies to car owners only?

      Or why should Petronas give 30 billions to Chinese industries and factories? Why should UMNO give 50 billion profit to IPPs?

      Well the now we know its because an UMNO President sons or others have shares in the IPPs.

      The amount of cash subsidies that Petronas gave to the chinese over 30 years is more than 1 trillion!

      The chinese are so full of cash that they have to take it out an thats where the 207 billion out flow come from.

      To redress this problem, all subsidies from Petronas must stop. If there are any profit they must be shared equally among eligible citizens not just car owning citizens or IPP or factories. That is really stupid.

      This will put the purchasing power in the hand of the majority who will decide what to buy.

      Until the Malays, UMNO members and leaders understand this simple wealth distribution concept, the Malays will always be shortchanged by their own UMNO Presidents.

      Delete