KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Malay lobby group Perkasa said today that the government’s move to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of 17 service subsectors including healthcare and logistics will not damage Bumiputera businesses.
Its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali (picture) told reporters after the tabling of Budget 2012 that he expected the liberalisation to be implemented by stages and “for those sectors, I don’t see how it will affect the interests of Bumiputera businessmen.”
Perkasa has been at the forefront of calls for the government to ensure more Bumiputera participation in the economy including projects such as the RM50 billion Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).
The Pasir Mas MP said the budget was “extraordinary and good for all. It helps the public in the middle of the tough and uncertain global economic climate.”
Putrajaya was forced earlier this year to ease pre-qualification criteria for the MRT project to allow joint ventures, and set aside requirements for minimum paid-up capital following complaints from Perkasa and the Malay Chamber of Commerce that conditions imposed were too restrictive.
It also set aside 43 per cent or RM8 billion worth of civil engineering work for the first MRT line for Bumiputera contractors despite analysts saying such a quota may swell the cost of the project.
The government has also made several other concessions to Malay hardliners including blocking the sale of prime land worth billions of ringgit by UDA Holdings due to buyers not being “Bumiputera enough.”
Analysts say these moves are threatening the Najib administration’s economic liberalisation agenda, creating concern among investors about the prime minister’s willingness to undertake hard reforms.
But Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Malay entrepreneurs last month that they must not rely on quotas and instead become more competitive in the open market.
This is his second liberalisation package, aimed at increasing the contribution of the services sector to the economy.
The prime minister scrapped the longstanding 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for 27 subsectors in June 2009, just two months after taking office.
source : The Malaysian insider
Its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali (picture) told reporters after the tabling of Budget 2012 that he expected the liberalisation to be implemented by stages and “for those sectors, I don’t see how it will affect the interests of Bumiputera businessmen.”Perkasa has been at the forefront of calls for the government to ensure more Bumiputera participation in the economy including projects such as the RM50 billion Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).
The Pasir Mas MP said the budget was “extraordinary and good for all. It helps the public in the middle of the tough and uncertain global economic climate.”
Putrajaya was forced earlier this year to ease pre-qualification criteria for the MRT project to allow joint ventures, and set aside requirements for minimum paid-up capital following complaints from Perkasa and the Malay Chamber of Commerce that conditions imposed were too restrictive.
It also set aside 43 per cent or RM8 billion worth of civil engineering work for the first MRT line for Bumiputera contractors despite analysts saying such a quota may swell the cost of the project.
The government has also made several other concessions to Malay hardliners including blocking the sale of prime land worth billions of ringgit by UDA Holdings due to buyers not being “Bumiputera enough.”
Analysts say these moves are threatening the Najib administration’s economic liberalisation agenda, creating concern among investors about the prime minister’s willingness to undertake hard reforms.
But Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Malay entrepreneurs last month that they must not rely on quotas and instead become more competitive in the open market.
This is his second liberalisation package, aimed at increasing the contribution of the services sector to the economy.
The prime minister scrapped the longstanding 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for 27 subsectors in June 2009, just two months after taking office.
source : The Malaysian insider
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