Drop ‘absurd’ Bumiputera equity rule for tuition centres, govt urged

 Parents' group and an academic say this is unfair to existing operators and fails to meaningfully encourage Bumiputera entrepreneurship.

Magpie president Mak Chee Kin questioned whether the equity rule could be slowly extended to other sectors, while independent scholar Sharifah Munirah Alatas said it risks racialising the education sector.

PETALING JAYA:

A parents’ group and an academic have criticised the 30% Bumiputera equity condition for tuition centres, calling for the education ministry to drop this requirement for licence renewals in 2027.

The Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) and independent scholar Sharifah Munirah Alatas said the move was unfair to operators who have built their business over years, and fails to actually encourage Bumiputera entrepreneurship.

Sharifah said this policy is absurd and risks racialising the education sector, adding that it only exemplifies how distracted the education ministry is from more pertinent issues.

“This directive is another example of how our government gets bogged down in trivial administrative interventions. It fails to focus on the structural obligations, such as teacher training, administrative bloat, overwork, and other classroom challenges,” she said in a Facebook post.

She said the 30% equity condition merely distributes earned benefits to passive groups instead of actually birthing Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the sector.

“Throughout economic history, genuine entrepreneurs have never been the product of affirmative action enforced willy-nilly. Rather, they emerge organically through personal struggle, market discipline, and risk-taking.

“When aspiring entrepreneurs fail, they don’t run to the state for bailouts. Neither should the state offer any. When they fail, they should lick their wounds, pick themselves up, and then try again,” she said.

Magpie president Mak Chee Kin said the government should provide financing, training and grants if it wants to boost Bumiputera participation in tuition centres.

“Is it fair to require existing businesses, some of which have operated successfully for decades, to surrender 30% of their ownership simply to continue operating?

“These entrepreneurs invested their own money, took risks, employed teachers, and built their centres from the ground up. They should not be penalised by a policy introduced years after they established their businesses.

“Magpie urges the government to reconsider this policy and, most importantly, protect existing tuition centres that have been operating legally and responsibly for many years,” he said in a statement.

Mak also questioned whether the Bumiputera equity rule could be extended to other sectors little by little.

Earlier this week, Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung said a ministry guideline purportedly stated that tuition centres must have 30% Bumiputera equity in order to have their licences renewed next year.

Lee urged the ministry to explain the basis for the move and to consult operators and give them clear guidance on the implementation of the policy. - FMT