PRESUMABLY the Bumiputera business fraternity need not feel left out that there are only three Bumiputera billionaires in the Forbes’ list of 50 richest Malaysians.
The trio are Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary at the 15th spot with US$1.3 bil (RM6.2 bil); Tan Sri Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim at 28th with US$756 mil (RM4 bil); and Tan Sri Azman Hashim at 32nd with US$660 mil (RM3.1 bil).
This is simply because Forbes has disclosed that its list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, annual reports, analysts, government agencies and other sources.
Net worths were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on April 2, 2024 and private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded.
“For those who have been following the Forbes list for a long while, they certainly know that the number of Bumiputera billionaires was larger previously,” penned veteran journalist and blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin in his latest Facebook post.
“But year after year, their number declined while the number of non-Bumiputera billionaires, especially the Chinese, has increased rapidly. It seems that it is not the government’s policy to produce Bumiputera business magnates.”
Added the national journalism laureate: “It can be said that apart from Syed Azman who runs a fleet of helicopters that serves the oil & gas (O&G) industry, there has been no other Bumiputera billionaires after Syed Mokhtar and Azman but instead many found themselves eliminated from the list.”
On the other hand, Kadir reckoned that the government – has been directly and indirectly – competing with the Bumiputera business fraternity through government-related funds and companies, ie government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLCs).
“This has not taken into account the competition with the Malay rulers and their family members who are also active in business,” observed the former editor-chief of mainstream New Straits Times.
“In certain aspects, it seems that the government is inclined to implement policies practised by international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which eliminates subsidies, encourages free trade and reduces budget deficit.”
While Kadir has nevertheless highlighted the three Bumiputera tycoons acknowledged by Forbes, there were some cheeky comments to his Facebook post claiming that there could be an even a longer list of Bumiputera billionaire politicians or even their cronies than genuine business tycoons.
This of course cannot be immediately verified but a case in point is that it has been almost nine years and counting yet the inheritance dispute over the late former science, technology and innovation minister Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis’s (JJ) estate valued at an estimate of RM2.1 bil remains unresolved. – April 22, 2024
Main image credit: Sinar Harian
