Many Malay contractors in opposition-controlled states find it difficult to secure job contracts, forcing some to wind up their operations or move to other business.

Malay Contractors' Association of Malaysia (PKMM) vice-president Ahmad Fatahi Omar said among the factors for the problem was that the opposition-led states were limiting development activities.

He said the state governments were reluctant to spend on development despite having the allocations to do so, causing the Malay contractors to depend solely on projects from the federal government.

"Their move to limit development will eventually take its toll on the economy. The economy will not grow.

"From what I know, the federal government does not cut its development allocations, but the state governments are reducing expenditure," he told reporters after breaking fast with Kedah PKMM members in Alor Setar last night.

No fair go from GLCs

Ahmad Fatahi, who is also Kedah PKMM president, also lamented that most government-linked companies (GLC) did not give fair chance to Malay contractors despite their proven ability to do the work.

He, however, admitted that some Malay contractors were not really ready to carry out big projects.

He said some even expected to be paid immediately after completing the projects despite knowing that the payment process would take some time, especially when it involved big companies.

"Malay contractors should be prepared to face this kind of problems. Besides, they must also have a good command of English as most documents and contracts are in English," he said.

Meanwhile, he said although the government wanted Class A contractors to achieve ISO 9001 certification, only 20 per cent of Malay contractors had done so.

"When they have the ISO certification, they can go anywhere including securing contracts overseas. Right now, only 10 percent of Malay contractors have secured contracts overseas," he added.

- Bernama