KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) Act 1966 will serve as a legal safeguard to ensure the bumiputra empowerment agenda remains intact and is not altered with every change in national or organisational leadership.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the move is aimed at establishing a stronger governance framework and stricter regulations to ensure the agency's direction remains consistent in upholding bumiputra interests, free from political influence.
"We do not want Mara's agenda to change simply because of a change in leadership. We want Mara to continue safeguarding the bumiputra agenda regardless of who is in charge at any given time.
"I have set a deadline until the end of this year for the (draft amendments to the) Mara Act to be finalised and tabled in Parliament," he said at the Mara 60th Anniversary Celebration here on Sunday (May 3), which was also attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, said strengthening the Act is crucial to closing loopholes and preventing fund leakages, as Mara currently carries a significant mandate with total assets amounting to RM23bil.
He also aims for Mara to become a self-sustaining organisation capable of generating its own internal funds through strategic investments, without relying entirely on government allocations, by the time it reaches its 100th anniversary.
Earlier, Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, in his speech, said that the agency is now in the final phase of reviewing the Mara Act, which has been in place for six decades.
He said the move is aimed at establishing a stronger legal foundation to enhance governance and institutional management, ensuring the organisation maintains its integrity in the long term.
"The most important aspect we want to amend and lay the foundation for is to ensure that, although leaders may come and go, the core principles of governance and management are firmly in place so that misconduct, wastage and leakages can be properly prevented," he said.
Asyraf Wajdi said the substance of the proposed amendments, along with the transformation plan, will be presented by Ahmad Zahid to the Prime Minister in the near future. – Bernama
