KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has urged young Bumiputera graduates to venture into entrepreneurship over being just jobseekers, citing concerning statistics on the community’ unemployment and corporate equity ownership.
Speaking at the PuTERA35 @ UiTM outreach program today, Ahmad Zahid warned that if young graduates only compete for existing jobs, the Bumiputera unemployment rate — which, at four per cent, is already higher than the national average — will remain chronic.
He noted that Bumiputera youths aged 15 to 30 make up 70 per cent of the more than 388,000 unemployed Malaysians.
“The world of work is no longer the same. A lot of you are worried about getting a job after graduation
“But today’s world offers you bigger opportunities to become creators of jobs, wealth, and opportunities,” Ahmad Zahid said. “If we are slow, others will take the lead. But if we move fast, we will lead the way.”
He also said Bumiputera corporate equity ownership still hovers around 18.4 per cent, far from the 30 per cent target set under the New Economic Policy.
As of 2022, only 62 of the 945 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia were majority-owned by Bumiputeras.
To address this, Zahid pointed to the Bumiputera Economic Transformation Plan 2035 (PuTERA35), a government initiative launched last year to strengthen the community’s economic standing.
The plan has already seen one more Bumiputera company successfully listed on Bursa Malaysia this year, with hopes for more by year-end, Ahmad Zahid said.
“It is because only when we elevate the credibility and visibility of Bumiputera companies, more networks of Bumiputera enterprises will follow in their footsteps,” he explained.
Zahid, who also chairs the National TVET Council, pointed to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as another key pathway to success.
He said TVET graduates now boast an impressive employability rate of 95.1 per cent, with starting salaries ranging from RM2,500 to RM4,000, thanking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for increasing the TVET allocation to RM7.9 billion in Budget 2026 to further strengthen the ecosystem.
