By : YOW HONG CHIEH
DATUK Seri Najib Razak wants government contracts to be given to those who were qualified, and not cronies, admitting today Putrajaya had bailed out troubled Bumiputera companies that did not deserve to be given contracts due to their political connections.
The Prime Minister said, while Barisan Nasional’s pro-Bumiputera policies were correct, their implementation had been 'off the mark' due to the tendency to award jobs to those who did not have the expertise.
He warned that such practices must cease if Malaysia wished to become a developed nation and achieve high-income status by 2020.
"We must be give to Bumiputera who are qualified, not the people we know,” he told some 700 retired senior civil servants at De Palma Hotel here. “Help those who deserve to be helped... those who have proven their ability.”
Najib, who is chairman of BN, said the tender process must therefore be made more transparent and fair to ensure that only worthy Bumiputera individuals were given contracts.
He said Bumiputeras must shed their 'rent-seeking mentality' if Malaysia was to transform into a progressive and modern country.
"There’s no use asking ministers to sign letters (of support) when we don’t build up Bumiputera capacity. This is what’s wrong,” he said.
This did not mean he could guarantee there would no longer be failures, he said, but stressed that the giving out of contracts to Bumiputeras would be improved.
The government’s privatisation policy in the 1980s saw a slew of infrastructure projects given to politically connected tycoons but the Asian financial crisis triggered a meltdown, forcing Putrajaya to take over and nurse the companies back to the black.
Among those affected were diversified conglomerate UEM, flag carrier MAS and several telcos absorbed by their competitors.
Under the Najib administration, state asset manager Khazanah Nasional Berhad has divested itself of national car maker Proton Bhd to tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s DRB-HICOM group.
Syed Mokhtar, who has close ties with Umno politicians, also has a stake in several big ventures including a rail double-tracking project and the city train project.
Critics say the government is still pandering to cronies and have yet to be serious about transarency in business. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have promised to unwind unfreindly deals when they take power.
Najib is right, the government must not award projects to those who are not qualified in the field if we wanted to become a high income nation and a developed country. Hopefully the tender process will be more transparent and fair so that the projects will be given to companies who are capable of taking over the work.
ReplyDeleteOnly those who are qualified should be given the projects, this will help improve the competitiveness in the country so that every rakyat will be driven to do their best in their respective fields.
ReplyDeleteSesiapa yang layak saja patut diberi peluang.
ReplyDeleteNajib has the power to ensure the government contracts are given to those who are qualified and not cronies.
ReplyDelete"....the tender process must therefore be made more transparent and fair to ensure that only worthy Bumiputera individuals were given contracts."
DeleteTransparency and fairness is what the people always yearn for from the government.
tender kontractor perlu dilakukan secara terbuka, sesiapa pun berhak mendapat projek.
ReplyDeleteBagi projek kepada mereka yang benar2 layak.
DeleteBerlaku adil kepada semua, dan jangan pilih kasih.bagi peluang kepada mereka yang layak.
ReplyDeleteBetul...Mesti adil dengan pemberikan kontrak kepada pengusaha. Bukannya untuk kroni.
ReplyDeleteoleh itu, najib sendiri perlu mengawasi atau memantau setiap pemberian projek oleh kerajaan kepada mana2 syarikat atau kontraktor.. jika syarikat atau kontraktor itu mempunyai kaitan dengan mana2 pemimpin kerajaan, jangan teragak2 untuk ambil tindakan pembatalan serta merta..
ReplyDeletesebaik2nya kerajaan perlu mengutamakan syarikat atau kontraktor yang benar2 mampu melaksanakan projek itu dan mempunyai reputasi atau track record yang baik dan cemerlang..
ReplyDelete