KUALA LUMPUR: Laws will be reviewed to ensure greater transparency in shareholdings, particularly among bumiputra companies, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).
“I wish to inform Dewan Rakyat that the Companies Act 2016 and Limited Liability Partnership Act 2012 related to beneficial ownership declaration are being reviewed.
“This is aimed at strengthening the transparency of share ownership in line with the emphasis on good governance,” he said when tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review yesterday.
He said the move came about because there was a drastic increase in the number of instances where nominee shareholders were exposed as not being the true owners.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the previous bumiputra empowerment agenda had relied on their participation in the economy based on equity ownership as a yardstick.
“After five decades, this ownership has yet to achieve the 30% target, which has been fixed,” he said, adding that this approach would be reviewed under his administration’s Madani economy through the midterm review of the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“Among them is reviewing the approach towards the level of participation and control of the bumiputra economy in a more meaningful manner,” he said.
Anwar said a bumiputra economic congress would be held in January to determine the direction and new approaches for a bumiputra agenda that would be just, fair and inclusive.
He also assured bumiputra companies that they would continue to benefit from the government’s overall funding support provided through 16 bumiputra agencies.
Among the agencies are Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun) Nasional, Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas), Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputra (Teraju), and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).
He said funding support had surpassed RM30bil since the Third Malaysia Plan.
Malay Economic Action Council’s (MTEM) Ahmad Yazid Othman said any new bumiputra agenda must not repeat the mistakes of past initiatives that failed to deliver.
This, he said, included failing to substantially increase the incomes of bumiputra households and to create a dynamic and competitive bumiputra commercial and industrial community.
“One of the main problems with past initiatives was that the aid and programmes only benefited a select group of people and were not distributed to those who deserved them,” said Ahmad Yazid, who is an MTEM senior fellow.
The new agenda must go beyond political slogans and using the programmes to gain mileage and support, he said.
Another problem was that many of the current entrepreneurship programmes aimed at bumiputras were tech-related and had benefited mostly urban residents.
“But what about entrepreneurs in the rural areas? Equal emphasis should be given to them.”
