Think before you speak, Ahmad Maslan told

Donald Lim cast doubts on the deputy finance minister’s knowledge of economics.

PETALING JAYA: Former deputy finance minister Donald Lim has questioned his successor’s knowledge of economics and advised him to think before speaking.

Responding to Ahmad Maslan’s statement that the Chinese community owned 85% of retail outlets in the Klang Valley, Lim said: “Probably, he is not familiar with economics. It’s a free market. He should think carefully before speaking.”

Last week, a news report quoted Ahmad as saying that only 15% of retail outlets in the Klang Valley are operated by bumiputera businessmen. He lamented that this did not bode well for the government’s move to forge national unity and to ensure a balanced distribution of the nation’s wealth.

“When tourists visit Malaysia, they might ask: ‘Are there only Chinese in Malaysia? Where are the Malay, Indian, Kadazan and Iban shops?’’ Ahmad reportedly said.

Lim, who is a vice president in MCA, said he wondered how Ahmad came up with his figures as many retail outlets are purchased using company names.

“Even in our stock market, about 30% of the listed companies belong to foreigners. So are we going to complain about that as well?”

Lim speculated that Ahmad might have been furnished with wrong statistics.

He said he was not against any Umno leader showing concern about bumiputra participation in business, but he added that businessmen should look beyond Malaysian borders for business opportunities.

“There is no point having 100% control over a small economic cake,” he said. “Let us expand our horizons to the other countries in Asean, where the population runs into hundreds of million.”