He said this during the closing ceremony of the Bumiputera Economic Congress (BEC), here today.

“I have agreed with one of the resolutions (from the congress) to place Bumiputera matters under the Prime Minister’s Department,” he said in his speech.

Among the 13 resolutions presented in the BEC were for Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) and the Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation to be placed under the Prime Minister’s Department.

Another resolution touched on the rights and development of all Bumiputera, including strengthening the Orang Asli to be on par with the Malays and other communities.

Muhyiddin assured the Congress, which comprised of individuals from various sectors, that the government will review the proposed resolutions.

He hoped that these resolutions will also help Putrajaya when formulating policies for the coming 12th Malaysia Plan (2021 to 2025).

“The Bumiputera agenda has been in place since 1965 and it has successfully created various action plans and resolutions.

“However, the Bumiputera community remains the poorest with 7.2% of them being below the poverty level as compared with the Chinese (1.4%) and Indians (4.8%) as of last year,” he said.

Muhyiddin added that Mara has spent RM28 billion since 1966 on 171,000 students at Mara Junior Science Colleges and 624,000 students at Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutes, as part of the government’s efforts to help the Bumiputera community.

“To boost Bumiputera participation in the country’s economy, the government has also spent RM1.1 trillion under its 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Malaysia Plans,” he said.

Muhyiddin then called for the Bumiputera community to help each other, especially with those who have succeeded with the help of the government to now pay it forward.