In a statement today, DAP Youth deputy chief Muhammad Shakir Ameer said the Bumiputera business community did not need the intervention of parties supposedly fighting for the dignity of the Malays, referring to reports last week of a controversial 51% Bumiputera equity requirement for logistics companies.
“We need to accept that the economic empowerment of a community is through healthy competitiveness, which will also benefit the industry,” he said.
“The pandemic we are going through shows that the challenges and trials in various industries are the same for Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera entities.
“Malaysians need each other to ensure that the country’s economy grows and we improve our international competitiveness while providing employment opportunities for all.”
Last month, an association of freight forwarders urged the government to clarify its position on Bumiputera equity in logistics companies, with only months left before an end-of-year deadline on Dec 31.
The expected 51% Bumiputera equity rule would have seen such companies being taken over by Bumiputeras, but the finance ministry last week postponed the enforcement of the rule to December next year.
Shakir said industry players may use this time to relocate their operations to other countries as foreign companies are not subject to the same ownership conditions.
He warned that the ruling would also reduce logistics activities in Port Klang, Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Penang as important destinations in the Southeast Asian region, which he said would have detrimental long-term effects on economic activity.
“Bumiputeras who are already majority equity holders will also lose opportunities,” he said.
Stressing that healthy competitiveness “will only elevate the Bumiputera community” in various industries, Shakir highlighted the numerous Bumiputera entrepreneurs who have enjoyed success on e-commerce platforms thanks to savvy social media skills.
He added that since Bumiputeras have various platforms to start their own businesses such as Mara and the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju), the implementation of majority Bumiputera equity on non-Bumiputera companies would give the perception that agencies set up to boost Bumiputera equity have not been successful.