SEDC had to rescind its assistance to Bumi contractors due to a threat from a political party?

12/04/ 2012

Bumped into a businessman recently when I was in a coffee shop.

I was surprised to see him because I had not seen him for many years.

It was indeed a very pleasant surprise.

“What do you do now?” he asked me.

“I am no longer working for people ... Now I am self-employed,” I replied.

“That is good. But you have to bear in your mind that it is not easy to be successful ... many have to be unsuccessful first, before they can be successful,” he said.

Then he mentioned many names which he personally knew who had to suffer before they became successful.

After awhile, we talked about politics.

“I hate **** and I have been campaigning against the party until now,” he said.

I asked him why.

“Do you know that SEDC had to rescind an assistance to Bumiputera contractors after getting a threat from the party that it would join the opposition if the SEDC, which was under (Datuk) Effendi Norwawi at that time, didn’t rescind the assistance,” he said.

I was bewildered. I never heard of this from any ‘senior’ businessman or politician.

I asked him to elaborate further.

He said that that time, SEDC was supplying  construction materials to the Bumiputera contractors on a favourable credit term.

“Because of its threats, Effendi had to inform the Chief Minister who subsequently had to give in to the party’s demand,” claimed the businessman.

After the man left, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what he had said about the party and its demand.

If it is true, no wonder, till now the Bumiputera contractors have to depend on the party’s supporters whenever they do construction jobs.