KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday agreed to put all Bumiputera-related affairs under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department with the Prime Minister himself as the minister in charge.
He said this in response to one of the resolutions passed at the 1965-2020 Bumiputera Economic Congress (KEB).
“I personally, and the government generally, will examine this document in detail for further action. I give my assurance that every resolution will be scrutinised and carried out,” he said at the closing of the congress at Wisma MPM here yesterday.
The resolutions also agreed to have Mara and YaPEIM as the first two agencies to come under Prime Minister’s Department with the Prime Minister as the minister in charge.
Muhyiddin said the Perikatan Nasional government was very committed to implementing the Bumiputera agenda, especially in empowering human capital and increasing Bumiputera participation in economic sectors.
The Prime Minister said despite various successes that had been achieved by the Bumiputeras in Malaysia, there were still many things that needed to be improved.
He said the Bumiputeras were the poorest with the highest absolute poverty incidence at 7.2 per cent compared to the Chinese (1.4 per cent) and Indians (4.8 per cent) in 2019.
Apart from that, Muhyiddin said the average income gap between the Bumiputeras and the Chinese now stood at RM2,802, which is four times higher than that recorded in 1989.
“The two indicators imply that the Bumiputera is still lagging behind other races despite the many efforts being made under numerous Malaysia Plans ever since the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP),” he said.
Muhyiddin said efforts to implement the Bumiputera agenda were now being continued under the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (WKB 2030) to address inequality, to restructure the economy and to build Malaysia to face a more challenging era in the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said in view of Bumiputera renaissance, the concept of paying it forward or helping others should be inculcated in order to create a caring Bumiputera ecosystem.
He said it was high time for those who had benefitted from the NEP to give back to the community and the future generation.
“For example, the business sector is the best platform for earlier benefiters of NEP to prepare a strong foundation for the young generation in need of mentor capital and network capital.
“To ensure the survival of the Bumiputera community in the long run, each of us must have the spirit of helping each other,” he said.
At the event, Muhyiddin also said that an implementation committee could be set up between the government and the Malay Consultative Council (MPM) to oversee the implementation of the KEB resolutions.
He added that the committee could be led by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad. — Bernama