KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — Umno members of parliament (MPs) are in full support of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s new economic policy and hope it will help the country deal with the current economic downturn it is experiencing.
The prime minister announced this morning that the government will drop the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for Malaysian firms seeking public listing, the cornerstone of the New Economic Policy (NEP), but they will now have to offer 50 per cent of the public shareholding spread to Bumiputera investors.
Najib also plans to cut the powers of the Foreign Investments Committee (FIC), immediately repealing its guidelines covering the acquisition of equity stakes, mergers and takeovers.
The FIC will no longer process any share transactions nor impose equity conditions on such transactions.
Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mohammad believes that the announcment is a fresh approach in tackling the issue of economic growth.
“We’ve had this problem of trying to raise Bumiputera equity since we first started the NEP. The highest we have ever attained was 24 per cent I think in 1990. We also now understand that we are stuck in this middle income trap and for us to break the ceiling, we need strategies like these to help us.
“So I think the anouncement is very interesting and I hope it will be implemented well. We will see how it goes but I am quite optimistic about it,” he said.
Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman believes that the new model will help open the economy and encourage greater investment and help kickstart the economy.
“He (Najib) will also make sure that it is genuine Bumiputera participation... so this quota of 30 per cent which has been practised before is no longer practical,” he said.
Rompin MP Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis also hopes that the new policy will improve the stagnation of Bumiputera participation in the economy.
“It is great to encourage more growth and the participation of Bumiputeras has been stagnant so what our government is trying to do is improve it. A new strategy is not to do it at micro level but a global one and to encourage more Bumiputera companies to be listed and by having more foreign participants coming in to spur economic growth and activity,” he added.
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