NKRA – Looking At the Glass Ceiling

By Delimma – A sad day to be A Bumi

It pains me to tell this story, but in the interests of all Malaysians and for the government to take action, I hope this letter is given due justice.

There is a young girl, Bumiputera from East Malaysia, who had finished a course in hair-styling. She is presently working at a modest salon in KL. She was offered a majority partnership in the salon by her boss (a Chinese Malaysian who wanted to help this girl), by offering her 60% shares of the salon so that it would ultimately be hers and she can improve her life here. The girl was ecstatic, but to gather such funds at her tender age seems out of this world.

Enter her fiancee, a Peninsular Malay who happens to know that there are several avenues where she can obtain help from the government to meet the financial needs to take over the salon. MARA was recommended – he was a MARA scholar, got through his education overseas with MARA’s help, and persuaded her to seek their help too. The application forms were duly signed and submitted, with hope that at least the government through MARA can find some form of assistance for her.

Alas, poor Yorick … as Hamlet said. Two weeks after submission, she received a call one morning from MARA detailing the needs list to enable her to obtain the said loan. She was heartbroken, her world collapsing in front of her eyes and her trust drained as is her strength. Her fiancee feared the worst and went about trying to get to the bottom of things. He was shell-shocked. MARA, being a paramount bastion in helping Bumi entrepreneurs – had this to say about her application:

1.    MARA did not have any funding for shares takeover – thus she needs to takeover the whole business (100%) to qualify;
2.    Despite her hard work in studying the company’s accounts and writing a good proposal (as requested by MARA during her application), the officer told her that they needed a professional analysis of the takeover and the potential of the business;
3.    Since she will still be a partner with the Chinese boss as minority shareholder, MARA could not entertain her application as they only deal with 100% Bumi shareholding;
4.    The premises are currently being tenanted to the boss, so MARA has asked her to sign a tenancy agreement with the landlords to show that she is owner of the property at the time of application.

This is a ture story that happened only 1 day ago. What strikes me as strange is that in meeting NKRA targets, how did this girl’s application get rejected outright? MARA did not visit the premises, nor did any of the officers call her for an interview at MARA. She was even asked to collect her forms which her fiancee duly did on the same day of the call. Was there due diligence done by MARA to reject her loan? My arguments are as follows:

1.    By owning 60% of the shares, shouldn’t that make her majority shareholder and owner of the company? What constitutes a Bumi company – more than 51% (unless I’m mistaken), so this means the company now is not a Bumi company? The reason for the partnership is simple, the clients’ base for the salon has always been with the boss, and his skills and experience has brought many customers to return to the salon regularly. Removing him from the picture totally at this point of time will mean the customers will find a new owner and might not want to frequent the salon anymore. The girl was clever enough to figure out this point – a partnership that helps her grow, gain the confidence of the customers and develop her own niche in time. Having 100% Bumi ownership means she will not be able to learn the trade, so to speak, from the master.
2.    To get a professional valuer, the girl would have to pay handsomely for their services. But isn’t MARA supposed to be doing the evaluation to help small businesses? This is total absurdity given that the loan application was only for RM50,000. Yet, the girl has to pay on her own a professional valuer (taking over MARA’s responsibility) to prepare a proposal that MARA would accept. I am no genius but this does not help any Bumi entrepreneur at all. And why the requirement for her to prepare her own proposal if there is a need to use a valuer instead? Does MARA mean she has no merit whatsover in writing the proposal? But she is working there, experiencing first hand the business and learning. She would be the best person to gauge the capability of the salon should she take over – right?
3.    MARA wants 100% Bumi ownership before they can consider her loan. At present, she has 0%. To be offered 60% is already more than a dream come true for her – but MARA’s insistence on 100% Bumi ownership smacks of unfairness for those just about to start their footing in business. And the officer had the audacity to ask if she is really a Bumi (given that she is not Malay). I am saddened by such questioning even though I am a Malay myself.
4.    The tenancy to be changed into her name should be a priority after the loan is disbursed, not before the application is considered. Even if the premises is being leased to the boss, the shop and business belongs to her. What gives this unfair requirement?

Bumiputera entrepreneurs dream of making it and standing as tall as their non-Bumi counterparts. To even be offered assistance and senior partnership in a business about 80% operated by non-Bumis itself is proof of her boss’ belief in her. And yet she is staring at the glass ceiling as this letter is written, seeing how nice it would be to be able to go up, but never being able to make the leap. If the government is interested to really fulfil its NKRA obligations, then such trivialities need to be removed. The purpose of giving loans is to promote and advocate business, not hinder it. Government officers are only as good as the policies that the government set them to administer, so are they to be blamed on this now? But I would have a word of caution for the officer in this particular case – not only is she not aiding would-be genuine business people, but her actions will only lead to apathy, anger and discontent with the government, which she has sworn to serve diligently and fairly.

If the glass ceiling is ever to be broken, the government has to overcome this myopia. It is sad to note that the girl might be forced to return to East Malaysia and leave behind her life here. It is even sadder to note that she might even be more skeptical of future government aid due to this experience. MARA should be guiding young entrepreneurs and not hindering their progress. If this can happen to a Bumi girl in KL, what about other applicants and what about other states? Is MARA really an arm to help Bumis grow in whatever field that would make them stand proud and prosper, or is MARA an institution bereft of ideas to help Bumis and instead wishes to build glass ceilings where we can only look, but never get across?

MARA is supposed to utilise its expertise to help the girl to develop herself, and yet now MARA is the very organisation that is destroying her expectations and aspirations. If this is what fulfilling the NKRA is about, the Rural & Regional Development Ministry which is the ministry in charge of MARA might be forced to review its achievements and aims.

Yours sincerely

Delimma – A sad day to be A Bumi