KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — Lawmakers across the political divide are wary of Putrajaya’s move to transfer 10 non-core businesses from Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd to Bumiputera companies.
They say it mirrors the failed Mahathir-era plan to groom Bumiputera entrepreneurs in the 1990s.

Umno supreme council member Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin gave the example of Khazanah’s MAS-AirAsia share swap as a deal that resulted in the public suffering. — file pic
While Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs support efforts to grow Bumiputera equity, which stood at 22 per cent in February last year, short of the 30 per cent target set by the government, they told
The Malaysian Insider it has so far benefited only a handful of “crony elites.” Umno supreme council member Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin said “the government must be transparent as to which Bumiputera company is being selected to ensure the national interest is served.”
“If we keep feeding the same Ali Babas which we’ve already helped, then this doesn’t help anything,” the Kinabatangan MP said, referring to Khazanah’s recent divestment of its 32 and 42.7 per cent stake in Pos Malaysia and Proton respectively to DRB-Hicom, controlled by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary.