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The Star, Tuesday November 14, 2006

No time limit to achieve Malay Agenda, says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: No time limit will be set to achieve the Malay Agenda to uplift the status of the race, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. 

He said it was impossible to correct the 446 years Malays were oppressed under the rule of foreigners between 1511 and 1957 within a period of 20 to 30 years. 

“For as long as long as our goals are not achieved, we will continue the struggle, deploying every available resource for the sake of our people.  

“What we struggle for are our rights without denying the rights of others,” he said when opening the Umno Wanita, Youth and Puteri delegates conferences here on Monday evening. 

He said the Malay Agenda must continue for the community to excel in education, be economically strong, socially resilient and outstanding in the world stage. 

“Let it never happen that when the dawn of Jan 1, 2020 arrives, the Malays will wail in protest against any proclamation that Malaysia is a developed nation because they have not advanced,” he said. 

He said despite recent claims of a ’skewed study’ that bumiputra equity in businesses now stood at 45%, he said statistics showed that the Malays continued to lag behind others. 

Najib said the 45% figure came about because the study considered government-linked companies such as Petronas, TM and Tenaga Nasional as bumiputra-owned while they were actually owned by the Government. 

On the other hand, he said the government’s figure of 18.9% of bumiputra equity ownership was realistic as it was derived from the data of 600,000 companies compared to the 1,000 public listed firms in the study. 

Similarly, Najib noted that the Economic Planning Unit figures last year showed that bumiputra owned 11.7% of commercial buildings while it was 71% for the Chinese. 

Likewise, he said the average monthly income of bumiputra had merely increased from RM339 in 1976 to RM2,711 in 2004 while for the Chinese, the figure rose from RM796 to RM4,437 during the same period. 

“Based on this fact alone, Lee Kuan Yew’s allegation that Malaysian Chinese are being sidelined is completely wrong. Let it never be said that our openness and inclusiveness is a sign of weaknesses. 

“On the contrary, it is precisely these qualities that make up the formula of our success. This is the approach well accepted by all races willing to work hand in hand to develop Malaysia,” Najib added. 

He said the Malay Agenda to propel the community forward will be strengthened under the 9th Malaysia Plan and that whatever required for Malay development would be immediately implemented. 

Najib said Umno’s Malay Agenda was also being institutionalised, with the setting up of 12 main groups focusing on various fields for the drafting of special incentives.  

Monday November 13, 2006

Press statement by YB Dato Sri Effendi Norwawi, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department

The Government wishes to state that the equity ownership of Bumiputera in the corporate sector, as at 31 December 2004, was 18.9%, as mentioned in the Ninth Malaysia Plan. This is based on data produced by the technical committee of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), as attached herewith. 

The committee comprises experts from the EPU, Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia and Permodalan Nasional Berhad. The committee also consists of external expertise in the field of Information Technology to generate the data required.  

This figure was derived from a total of 609,595 active companies registered with the CCM. 

The methodology used by the technical committee is based on the best practice available and has been consistently used. The methodology used is recognized by international financial bodies, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.  

The recently quoted figure of 36.64% of Bumiputera equity ownership in 2005 for listed companies is incorrect. 

The methodology used in deriving the estimated figure of 36.64% for 2005 is inaccurate because it apportioned 45% of equity ownership held by nominee companies to the Bumiputera. Instead, based on a survey conducted by the EPU on equity of nominee companies, Bumiputera ownership in such companies is only at 8.3%. Not only that, the estimated figure of 36.64% so derived, assumed that the equity held by government agencies are also owned by Bumiputera. 

The correct figure of Bumiputera equity ownership in listed companies for 2005, derived by using the methodology of the technical committee of the EPU, is 21.8%, and not 36.64%. 

The Government, therefore, wishes to reaffirm that the equity ownership of Bumiputera in the corporate sector, as at 31 December 2004, was 18.9% as clearly set out in the Ninth Malaysia Plan.  

13 November 2006