KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — The government will always ensure that the Bumiputera economic agenda will remain an integral part of its development policy, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak said today.
Speaking at the launch of a programme aimed at consolidating Bumiputera business networks through big data sharing known as Bahtera, the Barisan Nasional chairman said his government must continue to push the agenda as entrepreneurship within the community has yet to succeed completely.
"We have never abandoned the Bumiputera agenda. We have built a comprehensive ecosystem to ensure the Bumiputera agenda succeeds… it must continue as it has not succeeded completely," Najib said at the launch.
The prime minister said Bahtera is an e-platform set up by the Ministry of Finance to ease businesses for the Bumiputera community.
"The main thrust of Bahtera is to create Bumipreneurs that will look far ahead, competitive".
The programme will work with other Bumiputera initiatives to incorporate their resources to help strengthen Bumiputera entrepreneurship.
Najib said one of the weaknesses of the Bumiputera business community is its failure to network among themselves and utilise resources.
He pointed to a study in the United States that showed Asian Americans are better at businesses than their African American counterparts because they knew how to capitalise on their networks within the community.
"They have trust. This trust is important," he said.
