‘Action taken against those who abuse Bumi policies’

Umno supreme council member Aziz Kaprawi says the government is now giving aid only to deserving Malays.

KUALA LUMPUR: An Umno supreme council member has admitted that the government has made mistakes in handing out aid that had led to abuse.

However, Aziz Kaprawi said not all Malay entrepreneurs had abused the system.

“Not all are like that though some have the mentality to take a ‘shorcut’,” Aziz said in response to comments by Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Tengku Adnan had said on Friday that Bumiputera entrepreneurs were being spoonfed by the government and many of them had failed in their ventures because they lacked the competitive spirit.

The Umno supreme council member also lamented the negative attitude of Bumiputera entrepreneurs who took government assistance for granted and did not repay the loans or develop the land given by the government, choosing instead to sell it for a profit.

Aziz said there was justification for what Tengku Adnan had said as there were cases of abuse.

However, he stressed that Bumiputera policies were needed now more than ever in the face of globalisation and technological development, which many young Malay entrepreneurs had taken advantage of to grow their business.

“The government has several policies to make sure help goes only to genuine entrepreneurs.

“These are the Malays who really want to catch up with the world.

“We can see the younger generation is making use of the policies to its advantage, unlike some of the older generation who had abused the system, a bit here and there.”

He said the government, over time, had fine tuned the Bumiputera policies so they were not vulnerable to those seeking to make a fast buck.

Some of the government bodies set up to ensure deserving entrepreneurs receive aid are the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) and Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas).

Meanwhile, Red Shirts movement leader Jamal Yunos disagreed with Tengku Adnan.

Jamal said the minister was also a product of government aid who had been successful in life.

“He has received government aid. Scholarships. And he is successful. He is proof that the government aid is a success.”

Jamal said there were also Chinese and Indians who had received government aid but were not successful.

“Some of them have also not repaid their loans. This is not about race. It is a problem that cuts across races.”

Furthermore, he said, Islam taught that a Muslim should not be in debt.

“Malays are not lazy. No one wants to be in debt.” -FMT