SOME believe that national policy enabler Mara deserves greater attention, especially post-14th general election. Mara’s board believes that it should be focused on education and entrepreneurship. Conflicting messages from the new custodians are quite disconcerting, hence this note.

Indications are that Mara should take the lead to help achieve the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV2030), as its long established machinery has the range and reach. The new Mara board must assume responsibility fast and empower Mara Corporation to reach greater heights, although post-GE14, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad inherited a government machinery that is not the same as the one he had left to his successors when he first retired in 2003.

The system may be somewhat impaired and dysfunctional, with many agencies quite disconnected and in disarray but the need to realign them to work in tandem is critical. Reforming the civil service, putting in checks and balances, empowering an independent MACC/GIACC for maximum governance and integrity is a precondition to attain SPV2030’s developmental goals, including eradicating poverty. A smooth running machinery that spans ministries, agencies and policy enablers will provide the much needed tailwind for Captain Kirk aka Dr Mahathir.

Our planners of the post-independence era left a great legacy of development institutions with clear mandates (given their respective roles/approaches) to uplift the well-being of Malaysians.

 One major Bumiputera empowering institution is Mara. As a policy enabler, a national institution with a statutory mandate, Mara, since the late 60s (or early 50s if we take into account it’s predecessor, RIDA) has made giant strides in education and entrepreneurship enabling. Mara has become the go-to place for aspiring students, professionals and budding entrepreneurs, as well as pioneering and visionary industrialists. Mara is actually an ecosystem, from talent development all the way to value/wealth creation through ventures and partnerships.

It is the premier socioeconomic agency with an overarching role that goes beyond the rural development ministry (note: at the point of its inception, under the national and rural development minister) to include primarily strategic/developmental (Mara itself) and purposeful/synergistic commercial/industrial initiatives (through Mara Holdings in the early days and more recently through Mara Corporation), which reinforce each other.

Mara’s founders knew that for it to traverse such hostile terrain, it would need autonomy and latitude, one that is almost entrepreneurial, to reclaim so much lost economic ground.

Mara became the foundation where Bumiputeras were nurtured, groomed and “catapulted” to become successful leaders in finance, business and government.

While Mara has a clearly defined strategic/developmental role, Mara Corporation needs to assume a truly commercial operating paradigm. This way Mara Corp can move with some agility and latitude. As a recent consolidator of Mara’s venture, Mara Corp’s board and management, comprising of professionals, must be given the leeway to deal with any corporate transgressions of the past. and murmurs in Mara of a “shutdown, divestment” and “blame-it-on-political-interference” seems all too convenient.

If ventures can be turned around (and very likely they can), Mara leadership should give the moral and financial support to Mara Corporation, as their businesses are thriving entities meant to flourish. The Mara business portfolio managed by Mara Corp must be allowed to accelerate local/regional partnerships. Be the big fish in small ponds (Malaysia).

As dominant players here, they should aspire to be fierce competitors in the regional/global arena and be part of Malaysia Inc’s expansion into economic blocs like Asean and APEC, with enhanced multilateral development financing arrangements such as AIIB, JBIC, IsDB and others alongside the highly challenged national DFI system.

Mara Corp’s pioneering Lynas partnership would put Malaysia on the rare earth industry map. Only those who are out of sync with the advent of the new economy would not want Mara Corp to continue with this endeavour.

Let’s not indulge on oneupmanship. One can replicate such a partnership model with a few industries in line with the 12th Malaysia plan and calibrated with the upcoming industrial master plan. Malaysia needs to reindustrialise in more ways than one. All the stakeholders, agencies must harmonise to realise this goal.

Mara is the natural partner to cement collaboration with Huawei and Alibaba (though, on this score, Singapore has done a Dyson on Malaysia) to jointly develop AI products for the world. Mara Corp can be the “lunar probe” to help the MARA “mothership” and its stakeholders conquer new galaxies.

At such a crucial time of the post-GE14 economic turnaround, going astray or veering off its original mandate (which was the case for a GLIC) is tantamount to a dereliction of duty.

To limit the 1966 Mara Act and mandate “to suit their limited thinking and capability” is definitely not the answer as decried by many stakeholders. Speaking of which, stakeholder engagement is key to ensure policy alignment and validation. It would be a shame if Mara does not tap its “power to convene” with a range of prominent and “younger” agencies.

If its custodians feel that this is too much to handle, they should reach out to the rich talent pool of Mara alumni and related agencies to put things right. We also hope that the Mara leadership, especially its board, would persuade the government to correct Budget 2020’s omission of Mara’s emolument.s They need to eliminate speculation that there is ulterior motive by certain quarters to force Mara to dispose of assets, to not pay salaries including Mara Corporation’s as well as to bury past misdeeds for good.

Well, hopefully not.

The Mara leadership must do the right thing. Mara custodians must be mission oriented. They must implement the full mandate. Let professionals come in and deliver it, in terms of investment, industry development and socio-economic development.

Moreover, I hope the Mara leadership understands the implication of limiting Mara’s mandate. They have been told in public and in private that this will lead to the downfall of this government. I pray they will take heed. And if they don’t then the minister in charge must take heed. The Mara leadership must uphold the 1966 Mara Act and if they can’t, they should ask themselves if they are indeed doing the right thing or wavering amidst all this persistent “noise”.

Let’s  not be further distracted  by past issues, ministry circulars, and gazettes. Do not amend a well thought out (rigorously debated – ref hansards 1965-1975) legislation that has worked well for the past half a century thus propelled millions of students, entrepreneurs as key contributors to sustainable development.

Let’s focus on the full mandate as we are collectively dutibound to launch our communities, industries, businesses and aspiring leaders into orbit!

* Rizal Ishak reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.