Stop asking for govt handouts, bumi businessmen told
GEORGE TOWN: Bumiputra entrepreneurs have been told to stop expecting government handouts and move forward on their own instead.
Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said it had been 61 years since the country attained independence, but “many are still waiting at the gates of the government for help to see them through”.
Mohd Redzuan said bumiputra businessman should instead have the discipline and resilience to conduct business by holding steadfast to values that would bring them success.
“Billions of ringgit were given to businessmen but today we are still in the same cycle where they come back asking for more help,” Mohd Redzuan said at the opening of the Agenda Pembangunan Sosio Ekonomi Muslim (APEM) convention at a hotel here yesterday.
“Who is to be blamed for this situation, when every sector of the government is geared towards developing bumiputra businessmen and yet they fail.
“Haven’t the institutions that are entrusted to implement the bumiputra agenda done their part to see them through?
“It is time we question our business values – if they are geared towards a winning formula, with all the elements for success, or is the bussiness merely plodding along, with the hope of being successful?”
Mohd Redzuan asked if bumiputra entrepreneurs really understood consumer needs and if their products were geared towards meeting those needs.
“We may have a change of government, but the basic policies in the bumiputra agenda have been the same for the past 60 years and we now have to bring back the blueprint as our work is still not over,” said Mohd Redzuan during the event.
“The government has done a lot for you but many of you have done very little for yourselves, which is a fact.
“Discipline is everything and if one has the values closely related to Islam – such as being hardworking, devoid of jealousy and the heart to share knowledge and wealth rather than enrich oneself – then there is no reason for the person not to succeed.”
About 200 participants attended the convention organised by the Penang Muslim League and Muslim organisations in the state.