Thursday December 20, 2007

Najib: We will not deprive others

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS

PUTRAJAYA: The Government will continue to help the bumiputras, particularly in equity possession, but will not deprive other races of their rights, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stressed.

“We will not do anything that is seen as depriving other races of their rights. We will only demand whatever rights the bumiputra has. That is all,” Najib said.

Speaking at the launching of University Tun Abdul Razak’s (Unitar's) Bank Rakyat School of Entrepreneurship, the Deputy Prime Minister said that even though the target of getting bumiputras to hold 30% equity in the country was not met, the achievement of raising the percentage from 2.4% in 1970s to 20% at the end of the New Economic Policy was still “phenomenal”.

He said various initiatives were taken to provide opportunities for Malays to become entrepreneurs, in an effort to rectify the socio-economic imbalance between races.

He said that while the efforts were successful for many years, the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s had resulted in a decline, adding that the Government would continue with plans to achieve the 30% target by 2020.

“This is where Unitar’s Bank Rakyat School of Entrepreneurship comes into play. The aim is to provide knowledge, skills and education to budding entrepreneurs so that they will have all the necessary tools for success.

“We cannot depend solely on the private sector to provide opportunities for entrepreneurship. We have to play a role in creating vibrant and dynamic entrepreneurs in the country,” he said.

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