INTERNATIONAL Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed has urged local corporations to support the government’s Bumiputera vendor development programmes to enable these companies to penetrate the global market.
He said these corporations could play an important role in developing the Bumiputera vendor community by providing it with the much-needed break to enter the international market.
Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 10 anchor companies yesterday, Mustapa said the development programme will equip vendors with competitiveness that will enable them to take on challenges and tackle external markets, especially with the Asean Economic Community (AEC) taking shape next year.
The companies involved in the MoU signing ceremony yesterday were Proton Holdings Bhd, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd, which already have a vendor programme, and six others: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd, Celcom Axiata Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, UEM Group Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and GO Automobile Manufacturing Sdn Bhd.
The Bumiputera Economic Council last month decided that the guidelines drawn up by the ministry, as the central monitoring unit for the Bumiputera vendor development programme, should assist in the implementation of the programme and the Vendor Development Roadmap initiative.
The ministry will ensure that the vendor companies are developed under the roadmap, and ultimately, be as competitive as their anchor companies.
Last year, seven anchor companies, of which four are government-linked corporations, structured vendor development programmes for their 1,620 vendors.
“The government wants to see more large corporations involved in the vendor development programme to encourage participation of more Bumiputera companies and help them become vendors (to these corporations),” Mustapa said.
Meanwhile, MAHB chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali said there are plans to introduce five vendor programmes to support Bumiputera entrepreneurs this year, followed by another 17 next year.
He said 80 per cent of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 construction was done by Bumiputera contractors.
He expects the multiple services required in airports to attract more Bumiputera entrepreneurs.
“We are proud that our cleaning service company, which has been serving our airports for 15 years, has ventured abroad to provide advisory service to an airport in Sri Lanka.”