Malay Chamber Demands Answers After Government Drops 30% Bumiputera Equity Rule For Private Tuition Centres
The Malay Chamber of Commerce is demanding to know who authorised the removal of the 30% Bumiputera equity requirement for private tuition centres — after two ministries gave contradicting accounts within 24 hours of each other.
The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) has formally called on the government to explain who authorised the removal of the 30% Bumiputera equity ownership requirement for private tuition centres — a question made more pointed after two ministries gave contradicting accounts within 24 hours of each other.
On 21 September 2026, the Ministry of Education (KPM) said it made the decision after discussions with the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).
One day later, MITI said it had no knowledge of any such coordination — and noted that Bumiputera equity policy falls under the Ministry of Economy, not MITI.
DPMM President Norsyahrin Hamidon said the contradicting accounts “should be clarified immediately to preserve public confidence in the transparency, consistency and accountability of the government’s policymaking process.”
The chamber’s questions go beyond the rationale for the removal.
DPMM is asking which authority considered, endorsed and approved the decision; which ministries and agencies were consulted; what engagement process was conducted with affected stakeholders; and what impact data was used as the basis for the change.
Criticism, Timing and an Absence of Process
The concern is not procedural alone.
The PuTERA35 report recorded Bumiputera equity ownership at 18.4% in 2020, against a national target of 30% by 2035.
Removing the equity requirement from private tuition centres — one of the more accessible entry points for Bumiputera business ownership in the education sector — without announcing any alternative mechanism raises a direct policy contradiction: the government is pursuing higher Bumiputera economic participation while dismantling one of the structures designed to deliver it.
The move comes against a backdrop of sustained pushback.
The 30% Bumiputera equity requirement has drawn repeated criticism from non-Bumiputera community recently, who have argued the threshold raises barriers to entry, discourages foreign investment, and creates structural inefficiencies in sectors where it is applied.
The criticism has been loud and consistent.
Yet the government removed the requirement without a formal review or public consultation — leading some observers to ask a straightforward question: was this a policy decision, or a response to pressure?
