Johari said the measure was necessary to combat “Ali Baba” practices that have adversely affected the government’s efforts to empower Bumiputera businesses and communities.

He said the database would allow companies to be properly screened to determine their suitability to tender for and secure the award of government projects.

“Many government initiatives have failed due to ‘Ali Baba’ practices. We aim to support only genuine Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

“For this, the government must maintain a central database, instead of allowing each ministry to have its own,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of the 2024 Bumiputera economic conference here.

“Ali Baba” practices loosely refer to rent-seeking by Bumiputera companies who take on government jobs and subcontract the actual work to non-Bumiputera entities without adding value.

Johari, an Umno vice-president, said that without a comprehensive database, the government runs the risks of awarding contracts to undeserving people, rather than genuine Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

“If the government wants to assist Bumiputeras, there must be a credible database we can refer to (that will flag) those ineligible for government projects or contracts,” he said.

The database must be accessible to the public, he said.

Earlier, Johari took part in a forum that discussed strengthening the Bumiputera agenda, one of several programmes taking place between today and Saturday at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.