Can bumis compete with new wave of China nationals, asks PM

KBN CONGRESS | Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today questioned whether the bumiputera will be able to compete with a new wave of skilled and business-savvy entrepreneurs from China making their way to Malaysia.

Speaking during a dialogue session on bumiputera economy, Mahathir said the new wave of immigrants will be unlike early Chinese settlers in Malaysia – who were then mostly involved in small businesses, and whose children have now gained control of major developments in the cities.

"These are the Chinese already in Malaysia whose attitudes we can accept.

"But if we bring in three million more people from China, what will happen to us?" he asked.

"They are hardworking and skilled in business. The ones who are coming, they are not labourers, but those who are already successful.

"Will we be able to compete with them?" he said in response to a question on China nationals buying property in Malaysia.

Unless the bumiputera work harder to retain their positions in the city centres, Mahathir cautioned that the arrival of more China nationals could create a wider ethnicity-based urban-rural divide.

"I think if we receive three million more China nationals, we may lose our positions.

"They are rich and they will buy our lands. We will be forced to move further away from the city to the fringes of the jungle, if there is still any jungle left," he said.

Over 2,000 participants attended the one-day Future of Bumiputeras & the Nation Congress (KBN 2018) organised by the Economic Affairs Ministry at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Also present were Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, who moderated the dialogue session with stakeholders, Mahathir's wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, cabinet ministers as well as various menteris besar. 

The Economic Affairs Ministry previously said that today's congress is part of its constructive engagement with bumiputera stakeholders, and will be the basic platform for the government's efforts to formulate a new empowerment agenda for the community. -Mkini