Dr Mahathir speaks during the opening of the Congress on the Future of Bumiputera and the Nation at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said government contracts acquired by Bumiputera companies will be cancelled if they are sold or transferred to other parties.
He said the Pakatan Harapan government would not help Bumiputera companies who only wanted to seek wealth quickly without trying to execute the contract being acquired.
“If a person gets a contract, then he will carry out the contract. If it is sold or transferred to another person, then the contract is cancelled. I am sorry.
“If we do not have the ability to execute the contract, do not try to get a contract. If our intention is only to sell the contract we have acquired, then the contract that we sold is no longer valid, it can no longer be implemented,” he said.
The prime minister said this when opening the Congress on the Future of Bumiputera and the Nation – Addressing the Challenges Faced by Bumiputera in the New Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here yesterday. Also present were Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, PKR president elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and over 2,500 congress participants.
Dr Mahathir said the PH government would tighten bad practices by certain parties to gain immediate profits including the sale of the Import Permit (AP).
Saying that there was no good news to be conveyed at the congress, Dr Mahathir said, on the other hand, he would continue to rebuke Malays and Bumiputera so as to change their culture and values by striving hard to improve their destiny.
He said the get-rich-quick habit and dependence on government assistance would not bring success to the Malays and Bumiputera.
“As long as we continue this way, we will fail, especially when we are introduced to an easy way to get rich. The government raises the money and give it free to us such as BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Aid) and pay wages to fishermen who don’t catch any fish.
“All these weakens us because we no longer have to work hard to earn a living, instead we wait for the money to come flying and rolling to us,” he said.
When the New Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented, Dr Mahathir said various assistance was provided by the government to help the Bumiputera, including the granting of contracts based on direct negotiation and AP, which sometimes caused dissatisfaction among other races.
However, he said the opportunities had instead made other races successful due to the bad practices of Malay and Bumiputera companies.
“We have been trying our best to give opportunities but we have found that this get-rich-quick habit made them unsuccessful. When we implement the NEP, the Bumiputera did not succeed…but the non Bumiputera succeeded because we use the opportunity to trade and expand companies to become millionaires and billionaires and build Kuala Lumpur and other cities,” he said.
However, Dr Mahathir pointed out that NEP was a success for entrepreneurs who truly worked hard besides producing professionals through the awarding of scholarships not in accordance to merit.
Hence, the prime minister wanted the congress to find ways to improve the fate of the Bumiputera and the Malays.
Dr Mahathir said the government was prepared to carry out a good agenda for the people although the decision made could be unpopular.
“This congress needs to be serious about implementing good decisions, if any. If it is limited to begging, I believe that although this government will be defeated for not fulfilling the demands, it does not matter to us.
“We are not here to to persecute our own race, that’s our hope,” he said, receiving rousing applause from the crowd.
The one-day congress was intended as a discourse on the government’s efforts to enact a new Bumiputera economic empowerment agenda and will identify new areas of growth for the Bumiputera. — Bernama
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