Don't use entitlement mentality to fight for Malays, group tells Perkasa

A Malay trade group has rejected Perkasa’s calls to boycott Petronas for allegedly sidelining bumiputera companies in a solar energy project.

The Malay Businesspeople and Industrialists Association (Perdasama) said the issue had already been settled when Petronas agreed to form a consortium of local solar industry players for future projects, as well as to create a bumiputera firm development programme.

As such, it said calls to boycott Petronas were unwise and short-sighted.

“The truth is that this incident taught a lesson, that Malays and bumiputera need to be more resilient in competing with non-bumiputera companies, and not just depend on government assistance.

“The party involved should also cease using the fear factor and entitlement mentality to fight for Malay and bumiputera businesses,” Perdasama president Mohd Azamanizam Baharon said in a statement yesterday.

Azamanizam (above) did not name the party behind the boycott movement.

However, the only party calling for a boycott on Petronas is Perkasa.

Last month, Petronas appointed Solarvest Energy to install solar power systems at more than 300 Petronas stations across Malaysia by 2027.

This caused disgruntlement among bumiputera trade groups.

Former Mara Corporation chairperson Akhramsyah Sanusi argued that Petronas had erred not because it ultimately awarded the deal to Solarvest Energy, but because it did so via a closed tender in which none of the three companies invited to bid were bumiputera-owned.

Following this, Petronas’ clean energy arm Gentari Sdn Bhd met with the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) and reportedly agreed to form a consortium of solar players for future projects.

Perkasa, however, was not satisfied with this development as the announcement came from DPMM and not Petronas itself.

The group plans to boycott Petronas gas stations for the entire first week of April. -  Mkini