The Anwar administration’s PuTERA35 transformation plan for the next decade underscores the prevailing socioeconomic gaps in the Bumiputera community’s participation, capability, and ownership. Whether the community makes the long-desired breakthroughs will hinge on rigorous policy formulation, coordination, and execution.
INTRODUCTION
The Bumiputera Economic Transformation Plan 2035 – known by the acronym PuTERA35, for Pelan Transformasi Ekonomi Bumiputera – was unveiled on 19 August 2024. PuTERA35 is the latest edition of Malaysia’s decades-long Bumiputera preferential policy that has been nested within national development plans since 1971. However, as…