“Why wait (until the end of this year)? Give me a draft of the amendments within three months.

“I don’t need to wait that long. This is something the experts have been working on for six to eight months,” he said at Mara’s 60th anniversary celebration at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.

The event was also attended by deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Mara chairman Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, deputy rural and regional development minister Rubiah Wang and Mara director-general Zulfikri Osman.

Earlier, Zahid said he had set a deadline until the end of this year for the draft amendments to the Act to be finalised and tabled in Parliament.

Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said the amendments to the Act will serve as a legal safeguard to ensure the Bumiputera empowerment agenda remains intact and is not altered with every change in national or organisational leadership.

He also said that strengthening the Act is crucial to closing loopholes and preventing fund leakages, as Mara currently carries a significant mandate with total assets amounting to RM23 billion.

Zahid said he wants Mara to become self-sustaining and capable of generating its own funds through strategic investments without relying on government allocations by the time it reaches 100 years old.

Asyraf said Mara is in the final stages of reviewing the Act and that the substance of the proposed amendments, along with the agency’s transformation plan, will be presented by Zahid to the prime minister in the near future.