By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, March 4 — Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari has said rent-seeking and cronyism practices must be put to an end to strengthen the Bumiputera economic agenda.
The Menteri Besar said apart from that, the Bumiputera community must also be able to compete domestically and globally in order to empower its economy.
He said to ensure that the Bumiputera businesses in Selangor continue to move forward, the state government has offered various entrepreneurial activities supported by its state agencies.
“Such programmes do not only strengthen the supply side of the economy but also domestic consumption and improve the disposable income of Selangor people, especially the Malay community.
“That is why we need to have a comprehensive (syumul) understanding and thinking of the economy.
“The era of producing fast-track rich tycoons has come to an end. To empower the Malay economy, we must cease the practices of rent-seeking and crony capitalism, and the Malays should be able to compete domestically and globally,” he told the Selangor State Legislative Assembly when responding to a question from Batang Kali state assemblyman Muhaimin Harith Abdullah Sani on the state administration’s initiative to empower the Bumiputera economy in the state.
Amirudin said some of the efforts put forth by its state agencies include the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) with its SelBiz initiative, which has recorded some 10,000 alumni trained since secondary school and university levels, as well as programmes offered by the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) that have produced high-quality startups and successful entrepreneurs.
He said the programmes executed had ensured high participation from the Bumiputera group.
“In 2022 and 2023, PKNS had spent RM1.1 million and RM6.4 million, respectively, and will be spending RM7.7 million in 2024 (for its programmes). If we look at the programmes under PKNS, about 99 per cent of their participants are Malays.
“We also ensure that the majority of those participating in the programmes under Hijrah (Yayasan Hijrah Selangor) is about more than 60 per cent Bumiputera.
“We also found that those taking part in the programmes by Sidec are more than 55 per cent Malays,” he said, stating that some of the programmes expanded for the youths, such as the Selangor Digital School, are also participated by the Bumiputera community.
Meanwhile, commenting on the recently concluded Bumiputera Economic Congress (BEC) 2024 on Saturday, Amirudin said that the Bumiputera youths should take advantage of the RM1 billion fund approved by the Federal government, aside from the technical and vocational programmes offered.
“State institutions such as Hijrah and PKNS should also immediately provide recommendations for programmes that we are implementing to strengthen the agenda and empower the Malays in Selangor so that they are also assisted with skills, knowledge and funds to expand their businesses,” he added.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, at the seventh BEC, announced that Putrajaya will allocate RM1 billion to kick-start a Bumiputera entrepreneurship fund that aims to encourage and promote growth in the high-value industry among the Bumiputera group.
