KBN CONGRESS | Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that Majlis Amanah Mara (Mara) will be retained as a single agency under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
"We will leave Mara to the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
"I promise that we will provide all the necessary assistance to the ministry," he said during a dialogue session at the government's Future of Bumiputeras and the Nation Congress(KBN 2018) in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
Mahathir was responding to a question from a congress participant on the government's plans for Mara.
Critics had previously claimed there were plans to abolish Mara as the institution in charge of assisting bumiputera.
On Aug 14, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali told the Dewan Rakyat that his ministry has taken over the management of Mara, but Mahathir's announcement today ended speculations on its status.
Commenting further, the prime minister said the government initially attempted to break up Mara, as it felt that the agency's functions were too broad for one agency.
"But this move triggered strong protest... there were parties who opposed it, so now we return Mara to just one ministry.
"I hope that the ministry will be able to shoulder the responsibility, because Mara is not a small agency," he said, adding that its functions include rural development, providing training facilities, education and numerous others.
Earlier in his speech, Mahathir recalled how Mara was founded to replace the Rural and Industrial Development Authority set-up by British colonials in 1950 to look after the interest and welfare of the Malays.
Over 2,000 participants attended today's congress organised by the Economic Affairs Ministry at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Also present were Mahathir's wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, cabinet ministers as well as various menteri 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
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