Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is not happy with the level of participation and performance of Penang bumiputeras in business activities, adding that he is aware that they are facing problems.

Penang Malays should be given more opportunities to participate in economic activities that would enhance their income level, he told reporters after chairing the state committee o­n bumiputera participation.

One of the problems cited by Abdullah is of bumiputera businessmen transferring their licenses to others, usually Chinese businessmen, when they were the o­nes given the opportunity to operate businesses.

Recent complaints

"This is not being anti-Chinese. We want to know if they (bumiputeras) are utilising the opportunity given to them or they are passing it o­n to others," he said.

"What they do then is merely collect rent. We give them licenses not to o­nly collect rent," he added.

"We acknowledge that bumiputeras have problems, they need help to increase their participation in economic activities. We are reviewing several projects," he told reporters after the four-hour session at a hotel.

Abdullah's concern today over the plight of bumiputeras is a result of recent complaints by the Malays in Penang that their presence is eclipsed by the number of Chinese residents, who are mostly involved in business.

There were also said to be upset over the lack of business opportunities compared to those of other races.

Report o­n education

On education, the deputy premier said he wanted a report from the state government o­n the performance of bumiputera students and not merely the number of student intake.

"If you give me the number of students, it is not enough. We need to pay attention to their performance to know if they are benefitting from the facilities and curriculum," he said.

"We want to know what are the factors which made them fail...if there are drop outs."

"We need to know if they are benefitting from the training, if they are being trained properly or if they are simply lazy and constantly have problems," Abdullah said.

Abdullah will assume the leadership of the country and Umno presidency from Dr Mahathir Mohamad in October. Abdullah's assessment of the bumiputera performance and participation in business is akin to continuous concerns raised by Mahathir.

Mahathir had often criticised the Malays for still wanting to rely o­n the government's preferential treatment to succeed.