Don't become 'Ali Babas', bumi contractors reminded

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairperson Annuar Musa has urged bumiputera contractors not to become 'Ali Babas' in handling exclusive race-based projects they get from the government.

"Bumiputera and Malay contractors who get any contracts (should) do not ‘Ali Baba' them just because you do not have enough funds (to do the work themselves)," he told a press conference at the Mara headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

‘Ali Baba' refers to bumiputeras who farm out projects to non-bumiputeras for a quick profit, so that they do not have to manage the project themselves.

To curb this in line with the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment (BEE) programme, Annuar (right) said Mara will expand its Express Contract Financing Scheme (SPiKE) to provide funds for bumiputera contract winners to carry out the work themselves.

Annuar said if such bumiputera contractors only want a quick buck by giving them off to non-bumiputeras, their reputation will be affected.

"If they only take a small profit and leave the work to someone else, and when the work is not properly managed, it will leave a bad impression on them," he said.

He urged bumiputeras to utilise the SPiKE programme to finance the contracts they won, so that they can become genuine entrepreneurs.

The programme's expansion, he said, is among seven immediate steps that Mara is rolling out in light of the BEE.

He added that Mara's new blueprint will start in 2015 but these seven are priorities that the agency will focus on in the interim.

They include strengthening Mara education institutions, scholarships and investment.