Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured that safeguards for bumiputera businesses, including negotiated tenders, will remain in place.<br /><br />Asked today about a request for 20 percent of the civil works for the East Coast Rail Link megaproject to be reserved for bumiputera contractors, he said Pakatan Harapan had yet to arrive at a decision.<br /><br />"No, we haven’t fixed a quota yet, but they (bumiputera contractors) are asking that 20 percent should go to them.<br /><br />"I would like to explain that the old system of giving some special treatment is still there, it goes on. Including negotiated tender, that will still go on," he said.<br /><br />Mahathir was speaking at a press conference after chairing a Bersatu supreme council meeting at the party’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday.
