Commentary by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
“The Government’s announcement that it is repealing the 30% Bumiputera equity requirement for listing is long overdue but still welcome. It is not so much the percentage share issue that is at the heart of concern. It is whether we are in fact really transitioning to a freer, more robust, more race-blind and investor friendly economy. We have been stuck in a crony-ridden, inefficient, racially-biased and corruption-prone economic system for too long. Even the government now admits that the failure to achieve set targets was due to leakages – deviations and abuses that were clear for a long time but which were tolerated. The Bumiputera equity leakage over the years amounted to over RM52 billion alone if the Government’s estimates are to be believed.
What is important now is to see whether these new principles – in the PM’s own words of “a freer economy, of being fair to all communities, of helping all those who are really capable and with calibre, of a win-win situation for all” will be implemented or will remain rhetoric as has happened with many of the BN’s promises.
The devil is also in the details and the public will be watching closely to see what happens next.
Full disclosure of the methodology used for measuring corporate equity ownership (is it still par value or market value as called for by many quarters), how the Bumiputera and other ethnic shares have been computed, how the new institution EQUINAS will work, etc. – such information should be disclosed to the public in the interest of transparency and accountability. Otherwise we are likely to see more wayang kulit on the corporate equity issue.”
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee