Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has urged Malay contractors to create their own opportunities instead of relying solely on government contracts, a sensitive issue as Putrajaya pushes for more economic competition.
The deputy prime minister said they could work their own construction projects, for example, to save costs as property prices spike, rather than handing them over to other developers.
“Create value from fields that you have expertise in by using a different approach,” said Muhyiddin (picture) at the Malay Contractors Association’s (PKMM) annual general assembly last night.
“This is to create more opportunities than what is usually offered by the government. This is my sincere opinion,” he added.
The Umno deputy president reassured them, however, that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) would continue to protect Malay interests in the country’s development.
The government-owned Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad recently yielded to pressure from Malay rights groups when it revised the pre-qualification criteria for several construction packages for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) by allowing joint ventures or consortiums.
Bumiputera contractors had complained that the owners of the country’s largest infrastructure project had excluded them from even the pre-qualification phase. The national Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry had even asked the government to hand over the project to them, saying it was capable of running it.
Some Bumiputera contractors and groups had also complained that UDA Holdings Bhd had also ignored the Bumiputera economic agenda by appearing to select non-Bumiputera companies for its flagship Bukit Bintang City Centre project on the former Pudu Jail land.
UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the company has to make profits to survive for the sake of its 1,400 employees and to ensure government policies can flourish.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak set up a Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju) last February to strengthen the Bumiputera development agenda under his New Economic Model (NEM) after complaints from the community’s business groups.
