Zaid: Relax, no group in the world is as fortunate as bumiputera

Zaid: Relax, no group in the world is as fortunate as bumiputera

Published: Mar 2, 2024 9:45 AM


Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim believes there is no reason for alarm over the revelation that only one out of 97 listed companies in Bursa Malaysia in the last three years is bumiputera-owned.

Zaid said bumiputera or Malays generally do not have much to worry about as they control everything in the country - the government, Petronas and the biggest banks.

“PNB (Permodalan Nasional Berhad) owns all the significant conglomerates for the bumiputera. Khazanah Nasional Berhad and the hundreds of government-linked companies are bumiputera.

“Let the Chinese promoters get some limelight. Let them be the owners of listed companies. Give them a break. After all, who knows that behind the beneficial ownership list, there are links to other interests in the subterranean corporate world of the country? Everything is possible.

“To the Malays, I say relax. Our leaders are doing everything for us. The worldly matters, that is. No group in the world is as fortunate as the bumiputera,” he said on Facebook.

Speaking at the Bumiputera Economic Congress yesterday, Bursa Malaysia chief Abdul Wahid said the situation should serve as a “wake-up call”.

Bursa Malaysia chief Abdul Wahid Omar


In addressing the reasons for failing to achieve results despite six decades of implementing various policies to empower the bumiputera, Wahid said the “main cause of the failure” is that the focus is on the public sector but not the private sector.

In the context of gross domestic product, the Bursa chief said the public sector only contributed 17.8 percent to the economy whereas the private sector 76.2 percent.

Understandable ‘alarmist’ remarks

Zaid said Wahid’s remarks at the congress are understandable.

“Understandably, a Malay leader, when representing or speaking at the bumiputera congress, must pitch the speech appropriately to the audience who come from far away to hear how they are to be saved.

“You have to be alarmist and care about their bleak future, and you have to be seen as a saviour,” he said.

However, Zaid said there is one thing that the bumiputera should be concerned with.

“It is what our forefathers told us 500 years ago. ‘Jaga lah pagar, supaya pagar tidak makan padi’ (Malay proverb that reminds the Malays to make sure those we trust to protect us do not betray us),” he added.

Previously, Zaid had said nothing useful or relevant would emerge from the three-day congress for the underclass because policies in Malaysia do not cater for them.