KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) should not be meddled with or be used as ‘political ammunition’, but should instead be empowered further to ensure that it continues to play its role in helping the people.
United Malay Economic Action Council Bhd (MTEM) chief executive officer, Ahmad Yazid Othman, said MARA had all this while possessed a clear mission, vision and objective, which was to develop successful, innovative entrepreneurs and produce human capital with integrity.
He said MTEM is 100 per cent against any idea to ‘split up’ MARA among several ministries and urged the government to review any such decision.
“MARA should not be disturbed. Instead, its role should be refined and empowered even further so that it becomes a model human capital development institution.
“This is because its establishment was based on the country’s Constitution and as such, should be protected and respected.
“However, if any separation is to be done, MTEM recommends that MARA be placed under the Economic Affairs Ministry, headed by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
“His leadership, coupled with strategic economic planning, can help develop the agency even further,” he told NSTP.
Ahmad Yazid was responding to a statement by former MARA chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who is also Umno secretary-general, on the possibility that MARA could be ‘carved up and divided’ among several ministries.
Annuar, on Twitter, had stated that MARA could be divided among the Rural and Regional Development Ministry; Entrepreneurial Development Ministry, Education Ministry, Prime Minister’s Department, as well as the Economic Affairs Ministry.
Meanwhile, Association of Bumiputera Women in Business and Profession (Peniagawati) president, Datuk Azlin Ahmad Shaharbi said, the government must ensure that MARa’s functions and objectives are upheld in the event that it is split up.
She said she was confident that the division of MARA among the ministries would be followed up by improvements and upgrades to further bolster the agency’s effectiveness.
“The government must have solid reasons as to why MARA needs to be split up. However, as an NGO, we want the government to ensure that the agency’s role and objective is preserved.
“Logically, questions over an agency’s effectiveness will definitely arise if it is split up and divided among different ministries,” he said.
Azlin said Peniagawati, at 38, is among Malaysia’s oldest NGOs, and has more than 2,000 members nationwide.
She said the NGO will always support the government’s decision to develop entrepreneurship and further the role of Bumiputera women in business.
“On the issue of MARA, the views and involvement of NGOs should not be sidelined seeing that we best understand the needs and wants of the people, especially the entrepreneurs.”
