Building bridges to create a socially just economy

Harnessing collective energy: Drummers rock the auditorium during the USM Kungfu Club’s annual performance yesterday

Global economy in free fall Source: IMF.org

The global economy is in terrible shape and it is obvious that our export-oriented economy will not be spared a mauling.

As Malaysians, we should be rallying together and cooperating to protect the local economy while all around us the system of global capitalism, neoliberalism and financial liberalisation is brought to its knees.

We need to find new ways of building a more sustainable, resilient and socially just domestic economy, which also protects the environment and respects indigenous cultures and livelihoods.

But the official criteria used to determine whether a listed company is ‘bumiputera controlled’ will make it difficult for meaningful business cooperation and partnerships to emerge. According to the Foreign Investment Committee’s 27 Feb 2007 guidelines, to be regarded as bumiputera-controlled, a listed company has to satisfy all the following criteria:

• the public listed company is controlled directly by an identifiable Bumiputera group/company/institution being the single largest majority shareholding with at least 35% of the voting power of the company or in aggregate 2 or 3 identifiable Bumiputera groups/companies/institutions holding at least 35% of the voting power of the company. There is no other non-Bumiputera group holding more than 10% of the voting power of the company or in aggregate, the identifiable substantial non-Bumiputera group/company/institution shareholders should not own more than 24% of the voting power of the company;
• the shareholding of the Bumiputera group is not associated directly or indirectly with any non-Bumiputera group;
• the Bumiputera group is the rightful owner and capable of exercising the voting power attached to their shareholdings free of any influence;
• at least 51% of the members of the Board of Directors including the Chairman who is nominated by that Bumiputera group is Bumiputera;
• the Managing Director (MD)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Bumiputera;
• at least 51% of the management, professional and supervisory staff is Bumiputera; and
• Bumiputera institution/group/company involved will try their best to increase the Bumiputera participation in their activity(ies).

Yes, we need to be concerned about bumiputera participation in the real economy.  But we should also be devising policies that encourage inter-ethnic partnerships and cooperation based on the the idea of harnessing our collective efforts and growing together rather than growing apart or separately.