Awang Tengah (seated centre), flanked by Naroden (on his right) and Jack and and participants of the symposium in a photocall.
BINTULU: Local Bumiputera contractors, especially those in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), must have the right attitude and willing to explore new opportunities and increase their capacity and capability to grow.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said to be successful entrepreneurs one must not always be in their comfort zone because new challenges would open up new opportunities for them to move to the next steps.
Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, said this when officiating at the closing of the contractor entrepreneur symposium which was attended by 740 participants from Mukah, Miri and Bintulu, yesterday.
Assistant Minister of Entrepreneur and Small, Medium Enterprise Development Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais and Bintulu Resident Jack Aman Luat were also present.
The Sarawak government under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) led by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has announced a RM11 billion-budget, with more than 70 per cent of it for development.
This should be seen as an opportunity for local SMEs, particularly Class C and F contractors to be involved in projects.
“I know we have many certified contractors specialising in their respective fields. If we want to succeed, we must do the jobs accordingly and not just halfway.
“Don’t take the easy way out. We will face many challenges and we must know how to deal with them,” he said.
Awang Tengah also talked about the ‘Ali Baba’ culture of contractors selling their projects or contracts to third parties. He said it’s not the way for local Bumiputera contractors to do business because apart from getting less profit they would not be able to learn anything.
“Learning is a continuous process, which is priceless because it can help them (contractors) to develop their businesses.
“If we are really want to become successful contractors, we must be involved. If we want to work with others make sure the collaboration is based on proper regulations because at the end of the day you are still controlling the whole things,” he added.