Some have claimed that the bumiputeras dominate both the country's banking and automobile industry. I would agree with this.

Out of the 10 anchor banks in Malaysia, only Hong Leong Bank, Public Bank Bhd and Southern Bank are controlled by non-bumis. In the automobile sector, the only non-bumi player is Tan Chong which holds the distributorship for Nissan cars.

As for the claim that bumiputeras currently have only 18 percent of the nation's wealth capital, this is only if government-linked companies (GLCs) are excluded. If included, then it would be safe to say that the bumiputeras control more than 50 percent of the country's economy.

Let us not also forget the plantation industry. Through GLCs, bumis control the big boys Sime Darby, Golden Hope and Guthrie. Bumiputeras actually control most of the plantation land in Malaysia.

It just that the yields of these companies are unable to compete with those under non-bumis such as the IOI Group, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and PPB Oil Palms Bhd. Thus, it's time to improve efficiency and competitiveness rather than improve percentage of ownership.

At one point in time, bumiputeras controlled the whole of Kuala Lumpur public transport system via IntraKota, Park May Bhd, Putra LRT and Star RT.

However, al have been acquired back by the government due to inefficiency and mounting debts. Again, this is a question of efficiency and not a question of ownership percentage.