“The fate of Umno and that of the Malay contractors is inseparable,” he said when officiating the 31st annual general meeting of the Malay Contractors Association (PKMM).
“Malay contractors have to continue to support Umno.”
He likened the mutually beneficial relationship between Malay contractors and Umno to two hands clapping, citing the initiatives and incentives provisioned in the New Economic Model (NEM).
However, while he acknowledged the success of Malay contractors in the 40-odd years since the founding of PKMM he cautioned that past success was no guarantee of future progress.
“I don’t like to defend the status quo,” he said.
“If a race can only rely on past successes and can’t ensure that tomorrow will be better than today... then the fate of that race will be an unfortunate one.”
Najib told attendees that they had to identify both strengths weaknesses to progress to “the next level of success.”
“We have to examine the steps contractors can take so that Malay contractors will become... more competitive, efficient and productive,” he said.
“In this new era, the future is only assured if we are a competitive contractor, in the true sense of the word.”
He suggested that PKMM should look to consolidate its many members like the banking sector so that they could better ride out economic downturns.
He chided Class F contractors for not wanting to “graduate” out of their class for fear of greater competition.
“I know it’s very comfortable being a Class F contractor. If there is a fiscal plan by the government they are sure to get a project, sometimes two or three even,” he said.
“There is no incentive for Class F contractors to graduate to a higher category.”
Najib said Malay contractors not only had to better their management processes and technology but also improve skills, attitudes and commitment to boost the construction industry’s confidence in them.
“Reputation in business is everything,” he said.
“If we have a good reputation in market, people are going to put more faith in us when considering [contractors for work].”
