Najib: Bumiputra contracts must be given based on expertise

By A. RUBAN

SHAH ALAM: Contracts awarded to Bumiputras must be based on the individuals' expertise and not anything else, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

Contracts given to those who lacked knowledge and experience in a certain field would bring the nation down, he added.

"There have been weaknesses in the Bumiputra community in the past. It was not the people's fault but the corporate figure who lacked knowledge in running an organisation.

"This has caused the Government to pump in huge amount of money to bail out these companies.

"To avoid this kind of situation, contracts should be awarded to Bumiputras based merit and expertise.

"The tender and evaluation process, of course, must be fair. We should also do away with the support letter culture',” he said at a dialogue session with some 800 retired senior civil servants at the De Palma hotel here.