Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	HOTEL HILTON, KUALA LUMPUR 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	02/09/84 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	PERASMIAN MESYUARAT AGUNG GABUNGAN 
			DEWAN-DEWAN PERNIAGAAN DAN 
			PERINDUSTRIAN CHINA 
			MALAYSIA (ACCCIM) 




 Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Datuk Wee Boon Ping, Presiden Gabungan
Dewan-Dewan Perniagaan dan Perindustrian China Malaysia (ACCCIM); Dif-Dif
Kehormat; Tuan-tuan dan Puan-puan sekalian.

Saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Ahli-Ahli Jawatankuasa ACCCIM kerana
menjemput saya merasmikan Mesyuarat Agung Gabungan Dewan-Dewan Perniagaan
dan Perindustrian China Malaysia pagi ini.

2. Peranan yang dimainkan oleh ACCCIM dalam perkembangan ekonomi Malaysia
tidak dapat dinafi oleh sesiapa. Dan peranan ini akan diteruskan dan akan
mempunyai kesan dalam menentukan sama ada dasar-dasar mengenai ekonomi
yang dibentuk oleh Kerajaan akan berjaya atau tidak. Oleh itu adalah
penting Kerajaan memahami ACCCIM dan ACCCIM memahami Kerajaan dan
peranannya dalam ekonomi.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

3. Let me say at the outset that the Government is fully aware that its
principal role is to maintain law and order so that every citizen can go
about his business without fear or obstruction. The Government would
dearly love to stay with that function only. But it is the people who keep
on urging the Government to get involved in other activities.

4. Even the business people, who believe completely in free enterprise are
not averse to requesting the Government to intervene in order to save
their business. We are forever being asked to raise or lower tariffs, to
protect local industries, to regulate business practices, to formulate
laws and rules to keep frauds at bay and a host of other things. And as a
responsible Government we have to accept the increasing role we are asked
to play. Nationalisation and socialism emerged because businessmen failed
to be fair and to exercise their rights with responsibility.

5. If the Government goes into the private sector area, it is not because
it wants to, but because failure to do so may lead to consequences which
are bad for everyone including the businessmen. Riots and civil strife do
not contribute to business. They destroy business. And so, if there is
inequitability because of the failure of businessmen to exercise
responsibility, the Government has to move in in order to forestall
disturbances that can destabilise the economy. However, there is a cost to
this. The government enterprises may not be efficient. But that cost is
not as great as the cost of civil strifes that can occur.

6. Similarly when Government draws up certain principles and targets, the
Government is really thinking of the common good, not the good of a
particular group or race.

7. Let us take the New Economic Policy for example. The twin targets of
restructuring and poverty eradication are actually set in order that there
will be political and economic stability in the country. I know that
everyone agrees with this target but while you criticise the
implementation of the NEP, the Government criticises the passivity of your
acceptance. There is substance perhaps in your criticism but there is also
a great deal of substance in the criticisms of you by the Government.

8. There is a feeling among some people that Malaysian policies are
designed to restrict economic growth and are therefore stupid. We will
admit freely that restricted economic growth is one of the by-products or
fall-out from the NEP but comparison should not be made with the
hypothetical growth if the policy is not in the way, but rather the effect
of the policy on political stability. Ask any investor what he thinks of
investing in a politically unstable country, and he will say no way he is
going to take that risk. Yet when we devise policies to ensure political
stability, he conveniently forgets how important political stability is to
business and by extension economic growth.

The fact is that everything has a cost and political stability is no
exception. The price we have to pay is a slightly restricted growth. But
that restricted growth is far better than the kind of chaos we see today
in countries where there is no political stability. Business cannot
survive, much less prosper in a climate of chaos due to political
instability. We have to accept some restrictions in economic growth
because the alternative is not greater growth but more likely no growth at
all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

9. I am glad that of late the ACCCIM, under the leadership of Tan Sri Dato
Wee Boon Ping, has become more sensitive to national policies and has
shown a greater desire to act in comformity with these policies. The
ACCCIM is in more frequent contact with the Government, which has enabled
a greater degree of productive interaction that is beneficial to both
sides. There was a time when the ACCCIM felt itself more Chinese than
commercial. That was alright, when the Chambers were regarded by the
colonial power as tame representatives of the various migrant
communities. It was still right in the early years after independence. But
the Chinese is not an immigrant community now. They are Malaysians of
Chinese origin. And as such they have their own political
representation. The ACCCIM should, therefore, focus on commerce and
industry as Malaysians of Chinese origin. If the ACCCIM becomes involved
in non-commercial activities, then its commercial activities and those of
its members may suffer. On the other hand, there is nothing to prevent the
members from being involved in non-commercial activities in their private
capacity or as members of other organisations.

10. There is no doubt that at present the prestige of the ACCCIM is
considerable. Its leaders may be called upon to help overcome various
problems. They should respond to this call but they should not drag the
Chamber in. Above all the Chamber should not be used as an instrument for
other objectives.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

11. I have in the past urged the ACCCIM to cooperate with other chambers,
in particular the Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I am glad that
the ACCCIM has taken this advice seriously, although so far nothing
concrete has really emerged. There is still a great deal of suspicion
between the two organisations. Both should show their sincerity and not
regard cooperation as a lever to obtain concessions or other facilities
from the Government.

Sino-Malay cooperation in business is essential for achieving the targets
of the NEP. The Government cannot forever be buying companies in order to
acquire the necessary shares for bumiputeras. Besides, if the Government
does that, you will find yourself in competition with Government-owned
companies and that is not healthy for you. It is far better that the
acquisiton or the setting up of new companies be joint ventures between
bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras so that Government involvement can be
minimised.

12. Cooperation between bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras in commerce and
industry must be genuine. The bumiputeras should not expect free shares or
sinecure jobs as a result of such joint-ventures. They should participate
actively and try to upgrade their skills through learning from their
partners. On the other hand, the non-bumiputera partners must not tempt
their bumiputera partners into lending their names for a fee. I have found
some people offering one or two million dollars to obviously unsuitable
people as partners. A lot of people go to my constituency to seek out
people who may be close to me to offer partnerships in return for
influence. I can assure you that this is the surest way of not getting
what you want.

13. The Government will give consideration only to those partnerships
where the bumiputera partner is judged as capable of playing his role
actively. We will do this even if we are accused of helping those who are
already capable of helping themselves. Those who do not have the
capability should spend time to upgrade their capability either through
academic channels, like taking management courses, or through involvement
directly at an appropriate level in order to gain experience. The
Government is not going to preside over the distribution of money to
anyone who thinks he should have his turn irrespective of his capability
or sincerity. So, if the members of your Chamber are interested in helping
at the NEP target, please avoid the people who claim that they know
so-and-so who can give the necessary approval.

14. The Government has embarked on a program of privatisation. As usual
this has attracted a lot of criticism. The same people who before accused
the Government of bungling and wasting public money by venturing into the
private sector are now condemning Government's move to get out of it.

15. Nevertheless, we would like to see a positive reaction from you. We
have no illusion about profit being your main objective although some
people will say that you should not look only at profit. Those same people
look only at their salaries when they seek a job. We think you should make
a profit when you take over Government agencies. But it is important that
your quest for profit from privatisation should not be at the expense of
the employees.

16. We have drawn up certain guidelines on privatisation which will be
made available to the private sector soon. We hope that members of the
Chamber will show a good response. You are in control of, or accessible to
large amounts of capital. Privatisation will need capital from the private
sector. The Government has identified several areas for privatisation but
we are willing to examine any proposal. You can now prove that you can be
more efficient than the Government. There is no doubt that the whole
nation will benefit from your management skills.

17. Some of the services that will be privatised are very big. No single
person or company can take them on alone. Malaysian businessmen must learn
to work together while holding minority shares. The idea that a company
can only succeed if someone holds controlling shares of 51 per cent must
be banished. It is grossly unfair for anyone holding 49 per cent to have
no say in a company, especially when the paid-up capital runs into
millions. It is only when Malaysians accept that companies can be run
effectively while having only minority shareholders that we can build up
really big companies. And only these big companies can take over some of
the huge Government agencies that we wish to privatise.

18. In this connection I would like to welcome the setting up of UNICO
which your President mentioned just now. I believe that UNICO has the
potential to be a really big investment company. It should go into
joint-ventures with other institutions and communities so as to function
in accord with its Malaysian identity. Such a company should look into its
role in the context of privatisation of some of the biggest Government
services such as the Railways and Telecoms.

19. Lastly, although the ACCCIM is a chamber of commerce, it should still
concern itself with our objective of national unity. There is much that
you can do, both in the commercial area as well as in other
areas. Although it is a Chamber for Malaysian Chinese, it should not
confine itself to helping the Chinese alone. The same goes for the other
chambers. After all if each chamber is going to give away $1,000/- to its
own community, what difference would there be if they give to other
communities so long as in the end each community gets $1,000/-. The money
is the same, as are the receipients. But the goodwill that it generates
makes such a great difference.

20. I would like to take this opportunity to focus on a certain degree of
naivete that is to be found among some the standards of living of the
people in developed countries and secondly that we can have these
standards for free.

21. Hence we have these people demanding that we have the best of
everything, the best roads, the best schools, hospitals, the best pay
schemes, pensions and environment; that we preserve our forests,
historical buildings, etc. In addition we should lower taxes, pay no
tolls, work lesser hours, throw out foreign investors and everything that
may raise money for the nation and the Government.

22. The fact is that there is no way you have the goodies and not pay for
them. Malaysia is relatively poor and cannot afford what the developed
countries have. But even if we want less than that we have to pay for
them. The payment may not be direct, but in the end you must pay. If we
want to preserve Malaysia in its natural state with tropical forests and
animals and cute attap huts then we must be prepared to live without the
amenities that we now take for granted. That is the price we have to
pay. The most detesable thing is when city-dwellers earning fat salaries
shed tears over the way the countryside has been spoilt and the bucolic
life of the peasants disturbed. In the same breath they would lament rural
poverty. And after they shed those crocodile tears they would retreat to
the air-conditoned comfort of their city houses and offices.

23. Poverty can only be defeated if sufficient people make money
legitimately and pay their taxes, so that Government can launch schemes to
upgrade the productivity of the poor. Dole does not eradicate
poverty. Like drugs, it only reduces people to becoming dependents. The
sole solution to poverty is increased productivity by the poor. The
Government will not be deflected from this approach.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, 

24. Saya juga berharap Gabungan Dewan-Dewan Perniagaan dan Perindustrian
China Malaysia akan bersama-sama memberi penerangan kepada ahli-ahlinya
mengenai harapan Kerajaan supaya mereka dapat memberi sumbangan yang lebih
positif kepada ekonomi negara. Dengan harapan ini, saya dengan sukacitanya
membuka Mesyuarat Agung Gabungan Dewan-Dewan Perniagaan dan Perindustrian
China Malaysia dengan rasminya.

Terima kasih.