The federal territories minister also hinted that Putrajaya may be to blame for this malaise.

“I don’t know, maybe it is our fault. Maybe we have been spoon-feeding all of you,” he was quoted as saying at the Federal Territories Bumiputera Economic Empowerment programme certificate presentation yesterday.

Tengku Adnan, or Ku Nan, as he is fondly referred to, said while some may not like what he had to say, he was merely “speaking from the heart” as he was saddened to see his race in such a situation.

The Putrajaya lawmaker also lamented the attitude of Bumiputera entrepreneurs who took the assistance provided by the government lightly and were nonchalant when it came to improving their economic situation.

“Some think that it is alright to suffer losses since they had received money from the government. They ask for loans, but the money is not used to start their own business.”

He went on to point out that land given to the Bumiputera community for free by the government had not been used for any proper development projects.

Instead, he claimed that the Bumiputeras just waited for the land value to increase before selling the land.

“When we give it to the Chinese, people get angry, but the Malays do not perform.”

Ku Nan, who is also the Umno secretary-general, said he was perplexed by the fact that non-Bumiputera entrepreneurs had developed a comprehensive network to assist each other, yet no such efforts were made by the Bumiputera community.

“All the Bumiputeras want is to be individualistic.”

He then urged the Bumiputera community to change their mindset to become competitive.