Zahid said preparations were expedited by Mara’s management, allowing the process to surpass the three-month timeline set by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“The Mara Act is ready to be tabled. This shows we are efficient. We are not a pre-independence generation – we are a post-independence generation,” he said at the Kami Gen-Mara: Unplugged Ansara gathering at the World Trade Centre here.

On May 3, Anwar instructed that amendments to the Mara Act 1966 be completed within three months, noting the draft had already been reviewed by experts for six to eight months.

While Mara was originally established in 1966 to uplift rural communities, Zahid said the organisation must evolve alongside Malaysia’s shifting demographic profile.

Zahid said the new law would strengthen governance, covering management, investments, education, and entrepreneurship, while also addressing emerging technologies.

He also said an engagement session with the Gen-Mara community would be conducted after the Cabinet approves the draft amendments to the Act.

Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, previously said the amendments to the Act would serve as a legal safeguard to ensure that the Bumiputera empowerment agenda remained intact and was not altered with every change in national or organisational leadership.

He also said that strengthening the Act was crucial to closing loopholes and preventing fund leakages, as Mara currently carries a significant mandate with total assets amounting to RM23 billion.

Zahid said he wanted Mara to eventually become self-sustaining, generating its own funds through strategic investments without relying on government allocations by its 100th anniversary.