What is 30% Bumiputra Equity?

What is 30% Bumiputra Equity?

All it requires is that in, for example a public listed company, one Abdullah Najib Khairy (a Bumiputra) owns 30% of the shares - the we have 30% Bumiputra Equity requirement.

The same one Abdullah Najib Khairy (a Bumiputra) can own 30% of the shares in all them companies - and we have achieved 30% Bumiputra Equity requirement.

(Note: the same applies if and when there is talk about Chinese or Indian or Non-Bumiputra equity...)

This is the flaw that has been exploited by a small number of Bumiputras (and non-Bumiputras)... today results in that big GAP between the rich and the poor - an indication that the wealth and riches is not being equitably distributed between the people of Malaysia.

Remember - the Constitution talks about 'Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak' - so where do we get this term Bumiputra from?

It is not the right time to adjust the 30% bumiputra equity in public-listed companies because the objectives of the New Eco­no­mic Policy have not been achieved, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

Perfect host: Dr Mahathir greeting guests to the Perkim Hari Raya open house at Bangunan Perkim yesterday.

“If we adjust the equity to 20% and the economy expands, the share of bumiputras will still be below 30%,” he said at the Muslim Welfare Organisa­tion (Per­kim) Hari Raya open house yesterday.

He said there were still many objectives in the NEP which must be achieved before the 30% equity rule could be dropped.

“If you lower the 30% to 20%, non-bumiputras will have 40% equity. In that case, they should have a lower equity too,” he said.

However, Dr Mahathir said that in protecting the rights of bumiputras, economic policies must also consider the rights of non-bumiputras.

“We have to look at both sides. Be rational about it. At the moment, I don’t agree we should change the (equity rule). It’s not the right time for adjustment because the world economy is in turmoil,” he said.

MCA vice-president Datuk Liow Tiong Lai had suggested on Monday that the mandatory 30% bumiputra equity in local main board companies be abolished to ensure competitiveness in the current world economic meltdown. - Star, 29/10/2008 - Dr M: Not the right time to adjust 30% bumi equity

So, why do the majority of them 'Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak' getting worked up - about this 30% or 40% nonsense - after all they do benefit almost nothing - it is them 'chosen ones' and some leaders who are the biggest beneficiaries. Where did Najib's wealth come from? Where did Abdullah's, his son's, his son-in-law (Khairy J)'s wealth come from? Where did Mat Taib's wealth come from? Where did Anwar Ibrahim get his wealth from? Were they rich all the while coming from already rich family backgrounds?

In 2004, it was said that the top 10% was about 22 times richer than the bottom 10%. In a country of about 27million, the bottom 10% is about 2.7million persons. Go read this posting on unequal wealth distribution in Malaysia - note also how the government now talks about percentages(%) and really actual numbers of persons that control these 'equity' and wealth of the nation.

Remember also the NEP - and its 2 primary goals :-

The launching of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971 was a watershed in the Malaysian economic policy history. The NEP underscored the importance of achieving socio-economic goals alongside pursuing economic growth objectives as a way of creating harmony and unity in a nation with many ethnic and religious groups. The overriding goal was national unity. To achieve this goal, two major strategies were adopted:

To reduce absolute poverty irrespective of race through raising income levels and increasing employment opportunities for all Malaysians; and

To restructure society to correct economic imbalances so as to reduce and eventually eliminate the identification of race with economic function.- Source:Official Website of the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department, MALAYSIA

Now, I also wonder whether this '30% bumiputra equity in public-listed companies' or this '30 Bumi-40 Non-Bumi - 30 Foreigners quotas' is something that is constitutional. Is it done in reliance of Art. 153 of the Federal Constitution? I think not .....

Next, the "New Economic Policy (NEP)" is merely a Barisan Nasional government policy - and there are many such policies that have come and gone. In fact, I believe that even the BN government have moved on - and there have been new policies that have superceded the NEP of 1971.

Either way, I hope to look at the objects of this NEP Policy and see whether we have achieved the 2 OBJECTIVES of the NEP - Of course the EPU site now calls this as being the 2 'major strategies'. [Well, we may need to look at the original document to see whether the wordings have been changed...]