KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The government plans to clarify the recently-announced proposal to allow the sale of Bumiputra shares or companies only to Bumiputra consortiums, companies or individuals, says Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

       “I acknowledge there has been confusion and we will have to clarify that. We will do this in due course,” he said on TV3’s Money Matters programme on Saturday (Oct 2). He explained that Bumiputra share ownership comprised shares owned by Bumiputra individuals as well as Bumiputera-mandated institutions, and together they made up about 17.2% of shares owned in 2019.

       “What we mean, in our proposal, is that Bumiputra-mandated institutions, which include Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Tabung Haji and Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas), can only sell their shares to other Bumiputra institutions, consortiums or individuals,” the minister said. Asked why Bumiputras were still lagging behind in equity ownership even after 50 years of the National Economic Policy (NEP), Mustapa said the NEP had been successful, firstly, in transforming the Bumiputras in the area of education, but the success had been not as big in the economic sector. He cited several reasons that Bumiputra equity ownership had stagnated at about 16-17% in the last few years, including the Bumiputras’ low incomes, lowpaying jobs and low level of technical skills.

       “That’s why it is our policy to increase Bumiputra share ownership to a higher percentage and that’s why we’d like to make sure, as much as we can, that shares which are in Bumiputras’ hands - which have been held by Bumiputra-mandated institutions - as much as possible remain in Bumiputra hands; they can only be sold to other Bumiputra institutions, consortiums or individuals," he added.

       On Monday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, when tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan in Parliament, said the equity safety net framework was aimed at ensuring sustainable Bumiputra equity ownership. He said the ownership and disposal of Bumiputera companies would soon be regulated by the relevant ministries and agencies. - Bernama