Bumiputeras in the small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) sector have been "mollycoddled" by the government, Umno veteran Rafidah Aziz said today.

The outspoken former international trade and industry minister, who served in the cabinet for 21 years, said that these bumiputera SME entrepreneurs only have themselves to blame if they do not succeed in the environment set by the government.

"If there are no successful entrepreneurs, it is not the government's fault. The environment is already there," Rafidah said.

In her foreign travels, she said, individuals from other countries felt encouraged by the Malaysian model to give SMEs a boost.

"Don't belittle what the government has done," Rafidah warned some 150 representatives from bumiputera SMEs in a talk at the One World Hotel in Petaling Jaya today that lasted more than two hours.

NONE The talk was organised by Malaysian Businessmen and Entrepreneurs Association (Perdasama) in cooperation with SME Corp Malaysia, which is a collaborating agency for SMEs under the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

Some of Rafidah's thoughts were echoed by hypermarket chain Mydin's managing director Ameer Ali Mydin ( right ), who said during a question-and-answer session later that the government was being "too nice".

"The government gives money to the people until the people are not hungry," Ameer Ali said in response to complaints from some of the SME entrepreneurs present that bureaucratic procedures were hindering their expansion plans.

"We are where we are today because we were hungry," he added.

'Don't just sign MoUs'

Rafidah, who entertained the crowd by recounting her past experiences and giving business tips, also made public her distaste for the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU), which she said was often done among businesses from different countries.

"Don't just sign an MoU. It's like gaining publicity first, but it goes nowhere. Do proper collaboration. Use the respective government chambers to carry out such collaborations," she said.

"Do your market analysis. Go to the ground and find out the demographics. We can determine the market, we can create market trends if we do so," Rafidah added.