In a statement, the DAP secretary-general urged finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz to clarify if 61% was the “new benchmark” for major government procurement contracts given out to Bumiputera companies.

“For the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government had set Bumiputera interest and participation of local vendors at 40%,” he said, adding that Bumiputera companies could still bid for the non-Bumiputera portion through open tender.

“But to unilaterally expand to 61% is a major policy change that should be done with full consultation with all stakeholders because it deals with issues of justice, fair play, and competitiveness and whether it helps to work towards a level playing field.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, Tengku Zafrul said the government will maintain the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model for the 5G network rollout, adding that it will offer a 70% stake to mobile network operators (MNOs) – with the government holding the remaining 30%.

He said that maintaining the SWN model would not have financial implications on Digital Nasional Bhd’s contract with its appointed 5G network hardware provider Ericsson Malaysia – which had drawn up an implementation plan by optimising contract work and services for local vendors, with an estimated 61% prioritised for Bumiputera interests.

Lim noted there had been previous attempts to change the 30% Bumiputera policy, especially in equity holdings of non-Bumiputera companies, when he served as finance minister from May 2018 to February 2020.

In October last year, the finance ministry agreed to postpone the enforcement of a 51% Bumiputera ownership requirement for freight forwarding companies, which was to have been implemented on Jan 1 this year, to Jan 1, 2023.

This ownership requirement states that a 51% stake in all freight forwarding and logistics companies must be held by a Bumiputra representative.