Protectionism doesn’t work, says MP on Bumi quota in malls

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: The government should learn from past mistakes and focus on capacity building and resilience for Bumiputera businesses instead of establishing quotas in malls and “strategic places”, an opposition MP said.

Bandar Kuching DAP MP Dr Kelvin Yii said protectionism would not work and core issues that led to the past failures must be examined and addressed to ensure shared prosperity for all.

He was responding to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement on proposed quotas for Bumiputera-owned companies in strategic places such as shopping malls to expand the community’s involvement in the economy.

Ismail said the proposal was in line with the concept of “Keluarga Malaysia”.

Yii said the New Economic Policy, developed in 1970, was meant to improve the economic involvement of Bumiputeras, and the policy was supposed to be updated.

“We should be learning from past mistakes, and if we realise it is not working, we must examine the core issues and address them properly to ensure shared prosperity for all Malaysians,” he said in a statement today.

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