KUALA LUMPUR: The government plans to clarify the recently-announced proposal to allow the sale of Bumiputera shares or companies only to Bumiputera consortiums, companies or individuals, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

"I acknowledge there has been confusion and we will have to clarify that. We will do this in due course," he said on TV3's Money Matters programme today.

He explained that Bumiputera share ownership comprised shares owned by Bumiputera individuals as well as Bumiputera-mandated institutions, and together they made up about 17.2 per cent of shares owned in 2019.

"What we mean, in our proposal, is that Bumiputera-mandated institutions, which include Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Tabung Haji and Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas), can only sell their shares to other Bumiputera institutions, consortiums or individuals," the minister said.

Asked why Bumiputeras were still lagging behind in equity ownership even after 50 years of the National Economic Policy (NEP), Mustapa said the NEP had been successful, firstly, in transforming the Bumiputeras in the area of education but the success had been not as big in the economic sector.

He cited several reasons that Bumiputera equity ownership had stagnated at about 16-17 per cent in the last few years, including the Bumiputeras' low incomes, low-paying jobs and low level of technical skills.

"That's why it is our policy to increase Bumiputera share ownership to a higher percentage and that's why we'd like to make sure, as much as we can, that shares which are in Bumiputeras' hands -- which have been held by Bumiputera-mandated institutions -- as much as possible remain in Bumiputera hands; they can only be sold to other Bumiputera institutions, consortiums or individuals," he added.

On Monday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, when tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan in Parliament, said the equity safety net framework was aimed at ensuring sustainable Bumiputera equity ownership.

He said the ownership and disposal of Bumiputera companies would soon be regulated by the relevant ministries and agencies.

-- BERNAMA