Bumiputera Congress to Grow the “Pie”?

The three-day 2024 Bumiputera economic congress from Feb 29 was aimed at improving and growing the “economic pie” for the benefit of the community in line with the Madani framework, said the Second Finance Minister recently. The Government is looking at all possible ideas that could be implemented to further create more wealth for the Bumiputera community amid the rising cost of living, while at the same time strengthening fiscal reforms. 

The congress itself was at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), and focused on 10 main clusters, including educational and human capital reforms, strengthening the halal industry, Sabah and Sarawak’s Bumiputera economy, and new technology.

The Second Finance Minister noted that issues such as poverty could disproportionately affect the Indian and Malay communities, and by addressing them, the government could simultaneously find solutions that benefit the entire society.

“I have a very simple philosophy that I would like to put forward, that is, how do I make the cake bigger, rather than how do I slice the cake?” said the Minister

Meanwhile, the Minister said that with the current government’s stability and the robustness of local institutions, Malaysia would provide additional assurance to foreign investors regarding its long-term prospects.

In addition, the proposal to establish a Bumiputera Land Corporation was among the three initiatives designed to empower the Bumiputera community and support the Bumiputera Economic Transformation (TEB), according to the Deputy Prime Minister (“DPM”). The proposed corporation is intended to safeguard Bumiputera land ownership, which will serve as the foundation for economic stability and the preservation of national identity.

The DPM also stressed the need for a Health Waqaf and Didik Bumiputera (SIDIK) plan to guarantee the continuous provision of healthcare and educational services for the Bumiputera community.

According to him, SIDIK will provide facilities, equipment, and healthcare services, such as haemodialysis centres and machines, healthcare services for the elderly, and financing for chronic disease treatment.

In addition, SIDIK seeks to empower Bumiputera educational institutions and training centres, provide scholarships for Bumiputera children and empower skills development programmes to increase the Bumiputera workforce’s marketability.

The DPM also proposed the establishment of a contribution system involving government-linked companies (GLCs), government-linked investment companies (GLICs), foundation trusts, and individuals to enhance the well-being of Bumiputera.

The third recommended initiative was the industrialisation of agriculture, with the aim of integrating Bumiputera into the large-scale food crop farming sector and ensuring the country’s food resource production.

To grow the pie and not slice it was what the NEP stated in 1971. This concept has been tested and has failed! But we persist on doing something over and over again expecting a different result! That’s the “Myth of Sisyphus!”

References:

Bumiputera Congress to grow the ‘pie’ for economic distribution, says Amir Hamzah, FMT Reporters, FMT, 26 February 2024

Proposed Bumiputera Land Corporation Initiative to empower bumiputera – Ahmad Zahid, The Sun Daily, 29 February 2024