SHAH ALAM (Oct 5): Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said Malaysia needs more Bumiputera accountants as they only constituted 8% of the estimated 32,000 professionals here.

Abdul Wahid said the government hoped to raise Bumiputera representation in the profession to 30% by 2020.

"The country needs 60,000 accountants within the next five years and ideally, if Bumiputeras were to achieve 30% representation in the professional accountancy population, we will need to increase the number of Bumiputera professional accountants from 1,600 to 18,000 by 2020," Abdul Wahid said.

He was speaking at a press conference on the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre and Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera collaboration to increase the number of Bumiputera professional accountants to 18,000 by 2020.

Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera is an agency within the Prime Minister's Department.

When asked whether it was realistic to achieve the target in the next five years, Abdul Wahid said the 18,000 would comprise full-time students and those who are working and studying at the same time.

"It's a mixture between accountancy and finance courses graduates who want to pursue their professional qualifications and those who are working and studying at the same time. Not many bumiputera students are exposed to the accountancy profession," Abdul Wahid said.