In response to my posting "Kisah Benar Cerita Orang Melayu Bela Hantu Di Kulim" Tokoh Wartawan Negara, Datuk A. Kadir Jasin comment that there are several successful breed Bumiputera-Chinese business partnership. Tun M, Daim and Syed Mokhtar has shown the path.
Inspite, there are several breed of Bumiputera that got eaten up buy their Chinese partner and I met one in 1998 say to me "Saya adalah pemegang saham yang terbesar syarikat ini dan saya tidak kira siapa pengurus nya baik Melayu atau Cina, as long they can make money for me I don't care".
Read more below Datuk A. Kadir Jasin comment:
1. Dear Mummy, there are several forms of Ali-Baba. There are good ones and there are bad ones.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his early days as Prime Minister promoted the idea of genuine Bumiputera-Chinese business collaboration. What the people like Tun Daim, Syed Mokhtar and many other successful Malay businessmen did was to forge genuine partnership with the Chinese. This is because whether we like it or not the Chinese control the capital, the expertise and the market. Only later that the Malays acquire some business expertise. In the case of Daim, his first venture i.e a salt farm in Selangor failed although he had Malay and Chinese partners. Salt making is never a successful venture in Malaysia because we are too wet and humid. Then he joined his Chinese partner whom you mentioned to start a plastic company which is successful and is in existence until today and is traded on both Bursa Malaysia.
2. Syed Mokhtar was from childhood had been helping his father in live cattle trading. Even so he did not control the market despite sending his live cattle as far away as Kuala Lumpur to be slaughtered. (Where Mid Valley Megamall is today was the Kuala Lumpur Abattoir where Syed Mokhtar slaughtered his cattle) To expand into rice trading and lorry transportation, he had to find Chinese partners who were already in the business. In later years, he still work with Chinese and other non-Bumiputera partners to expand and venture into new areas. We should continue to encourage this kind of partnership.
3. Of course we should condemn and take away projects given to Malays who then give them outright to the non-Bumiputeras for quick commission. This is Umno's problem. Umno leaders gave projects and contracts to Ali who immediately gave the projects to the Baba for quick profit which the Umno leaders then took a share.
4. Even where no joint ventures were involved, there were many examples of beneficial and genuine Bumiputera-non Bumiputera collaboration like giving contracts and credit lines to each other.
5. Finally, if we the Malays want to see more of our people venturing into business we must stop this habit of running down our business people and associating everyone of them with Ali-Baba and corruption.
Please appreciate and acknowledge that there are many genuine and non-government dependence Malay businessmen out there. I think you are one of them.
Thank you.