MIRI – Bumiputera contractors in Sarawak are no longer content with being made to play second fiddle to others in receiving small-scale government subcontracts from Putrajaya and the state government.
They are telling government leaders to give them major, sizeable contracts – not just “appetisers” anymore.
For too long, the Bumiputera contractors in the state were only confined to getting subcontracts as the main contracts are given to “big-time” contractors from non-Bumiputera consortiums, said Bumiputera Chambers of Commerce steering committee chairman Dato Leonard Martin Uning.
He said native contractors in Sarawak do not want to be continuously playing sub-roles.
Speaking at a meeting with the chamber’s representatives from Bumiputera groups in the state capital Kuching, he cited numerous instances involving megaprojects where native contractors have been confined to getting small sub-works packages only.
“In the ongoing phase one projects involving the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway, the main contractors are not from the Sarawak Bumiputera group.
“We only get the sub-contractors and the small works,” he said.
“Throughout Sarawak, the federal and state governments are expanding the highway projects into phase two,” he added. “We want the main contractors’ (jobs), no more the subcontracts.”
He noted that the state is actively entering into new projects in the energy generation sector.
“We Sarawak Bumiputera contractors are capable of the main projects too,” said Uning, who is also president of the Sarawak Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In light of this, the chambers want to meet with the federal and state ministers.
A plan is underway by the Bumiputera Chambers of Commerce to unite all the native chambers of commerce and industry in the state under a single umbrella body.
Uning said the chamber is attempting to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusuf and state leaders soon to discuss these latest issues. – The Vibes, June 22, 2022
