In a forum today, Azmin said while the policies practice inclusivity, it was unfair and irresponsible to accuse the Pakatan Harapan government of completely abandoning the rights of the Malays.

“We have to accept that we need to elevate all Malaysians from the bottom income tier to the middle income tier and in the B40 group, statistically there are a lot of Malays.

“Of course the focus will be on the Malays, but there are other races too in the B40 group and it is the government’s role to boost everyone up,” he told a forum called Bicara Minda at Karangkraf’s headquarters today.

He pointed to the Congress on the Future of Bumiputera and the Nation, organised by his ministry last month, as evidence that showcased the government’s commitment towards Bumiputeras.

Azmin also said he believed in the potential of Bumiputeras and that the group’s chances in the economic sector would not be hurt by the implementation of the new set of rules.

“People keep on saying if we do open tenders for important contracts, it would hurt Malays’ chances but that’s not true at all. For instance, when Penang and Selangor state governments did open bidding previously, I saw a lot of Malay companies that succeeded.  

“The Malays have a lot of potential. I want them to start having more faith in their own capabilities and skills. We must stop all this ‘Ali Baba’ types of practices of lobbying or getting handouts from the government,” he said.

He acknowledged that some smaller businesses may have a harder time competing with mega companies but added that the government is in the midst of finding a sustainable solution, based on the Congress’ findings.

“During the Congress, some delegates voiced out this concern and I agree. The bigger businesses should actually support the smaller ones so we are currently looking into this,” he said.