PUTRAJAYA: Bumiputera group continues to lag behind other ethnic groups despite efforts made over the past six decades to uplift the community.
This is based on indicators such as equity ownership, participation in skilled labor, household property ownership, and income distribution among ethnic groups.
Economy Ministry secretary-general Datuk Nor Azmie Diron said based on these indicators, the bumiputera group are still left behind.
"More than half of bumiputera households are in the low-income group, earning below RM6,000 compared to the Chinese and Indians. Only a small percentage have incomes exceeding the current scale.
"Though the poverty rate from 1970 to 2022 has declined, the Bumiputera group still makes a large sum of the group in poverty," he said during a presentation on the 'Socioeconomic Status of Bumiputera: A Study' at the 2024 Bumiputera Economic Congress (KEB 2024).
Nor Azmie added that the number of professionals among the bumiputera is still significantly behind other ethnic groups in the country.
"We have analysed professions such as doctors, dentists, nurses, accountants, and lawyers, and they (the Bumiputera) are still lagging behind. While there have been improvements, where are they?
"Are they part of high-value economic chains or are they in the low margin chain?" he said.
He added that bumiputera property ownership tends to focus more on residential types compared to other ethnic groups, which have more involvement in industrial types.
"Furthermore, if we look at developments related to Malay reserve land, we have yet to fully utilise it optimally," he said.
The KEB 2024 is being held for three days at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.