Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : LONDON
Tarikh/Date : 23/07/87
Tajuk/Title : THE LUNCHEON HOSTED BY THE
CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH
INDUSTRY (CBI)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the Confederation of British
Industry for inviting me to this luncheon and to share some
of my thoughts with you today. Among us here are
distinguished representatives of some of the most successful
companies in British industry. I am indeed very glad to have
this opportunity to meet you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2. Malaysia is not an industrialised country in the
accepted sense of the word. But we do intend to
industrialise, at least, partially. The primary products
like tin, rubber, palm oil, and timber have seen their best
days. The future lies in the production
of manufactured goods. And so we study avidly the
development and progress of the industrialised countries,
including Britain, with a view to getting some ideas on how
to switch from agro-based industries to manufacturing.
3. Britain is still the most important example of the
industrialisation of a nation. Indeed, it was the British
who gave meaning to the word industry. You have had your
ups and downs, of course. But lately we noticed you are on
your way up again. We are very happy regarding this
turnaround because not only can we learn much from you but
we may probably be benefitting from your success. Britain
was once the biggest investor in Malaysia. There is no
reason why you cannot regain, at least, some of the past
glory.
4. Malaysia's ties with Britain are historical. There
were a few bad patches during the colonial period but by and
large the memories are quite pleasant. We do not deny that
you did a much better job as colonial master than a lot of
others. It is to you to a large extent that we owe our
present civil service system, the opening up of our country
and the development of our industries such as rubber and tin
which subsequently became the main source of our wealth.
5. We regret very much that the advantageous position that
you had when we gained independence was not exploited by
you. But partly this was our fault. We Malaysians look up
to you so much that you must have felt taller than you
really were. It took the shock of dealing with a reputedly
abrasive personality to correct an out-dated patron/client
relations. Now I believe we understand each other better
and there should be no looking back. We, Malaysia and
Britain, should get along well as two nations with good and
even fond memories of the past, and a bright interdependent
future. Malaysia, of course, is not in the same league as
Britain, but young nations do tend to take equality
seriously.
6. As I said just now, Britain is still the best example
of the industrialisation process of a country. There were
many factors which led to the industrialisation success
story of Britain. Entrepreneurship and innovativeness were
certainly among them. But so were low wages and even child
labour. The early successes were no doubt due to some or
all these factors. Once success and strength was achieved,
British industries were in a much better position to face
the competitors and to deal with the labour problems
following upon extensive unionisation of the work force.
7. I am not saying that Malaysia, which is just beginning
to industrialise, should not face competition or should
resort to child labour. But people should understand if we
have to subsidise our industries and our labour laws should
be less liberal i.e. be more in keeping with labour laws in
the early stages of Britain's industrialisation.
8. As it is, Malaysian labour laws were lifted directly
from contemporary British labour laws and we are now
expected to practice the very latest in liberal philosophies
-- which even the current British Government is discarding.
The end result may be failure to industrialise and to
compete, which will mean that our people, including the
workers, will never enjoy higher standards of living. We
want to learn from Britain but we must acknowledge that our
present state of development is only comparable to that
of Britain of 40 years ago. We cannot therefore indulge in
the luxuries of present day Britain. And people should not
expect us to. If we appear in any way restrictive it is
because others were even more restrictive when they were at
our stage of development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
9. You may have heard about our Look East Policy. Some
have made the worst possible interpretation by saying that
Look East meant giving all contracts and buying all goods
from eastern nations like Japan and Korea. We have
explained adnauseam that the policy means learning the work
ethics, management methods, business practices and
Government/business partnerships in Japan and the successful
NICs of the East. We have not ceased to look at the West.
The fact that we continue to have some 100,000 Malaysian
students in Western countries as compared to 500 students in
Japan is clear testimony of this. But we really cannot
afford the luxury of 35 hour weeks, old school-ties
management, antagonistic Government/business relations, etc.
if we want to industrialise successfully.
10. British business really have nothing to fear from our
Look East Policy. It did not motivate our Buy British Last
Policy. Buy British Last was the result of Britain's lack
of appreciation of the millions of Pounds we have been
pumping into the British economy through fees and living
expenses of our students in this country. Happily this
problem was resolved and the Buy British Last Policy was
dropped even before Mrs. Thatcher visited Malaysia in 1985.
This does not mean that we are going to buy British first.
It does mean that British goods will compete on equal terms
with everyone else's. There will be no discrimination. So,
may I repeat, Buy British Last Policy is dead and has been
buried for good.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11. The industrialisation programme of Malaysia cannot be
carried out by Malaysians alone. We still lack the know-how
and even the entrepreneural skill. We accept and welcome
foreign participation. We certainly welcome British
participation - you happen to speak the language we
understandand we still speak that language reasonably well.
Your virtues and even your vices are known to us and we are
not uncomfortable with them. Hence there will be no
surprises. We do hope that along with some of your selling
missions should come investors as well, ready to
participate in our industrialisation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
12. The collapse of commodity prices in 1986 dealt a heavy
blow to our economy and our industrialisation programme.
But it opened our eyes to the foolishness of being dependent
on primary products alone. We accept now that commodities
will never regain their old price levels. And so the
moderate recovery we are experiencing now is handled with
greater wariness.
13. Nevertheless there is economic recovery with every
indication that it is going to continue. The stock market is
experiencing a minor boom as foreign funds flow in to take
advantage of low prices. The effective though involuntary
devaluation of the Malaysian Ringgit has made Malaysian
industries and products more competitive. The Ringgit has
also depreciated against the Pound Sterling -- making the
country attractive for British investments. Consequently
the manufacturing sector recorded a growth of 6.8% in 1986.
14. To stimulate investments further the Government has
removed certain conditions attached to foreign ownership
and jobs. Hundred per cent ownership will be easier and
more expatriates can be employed. In addition ownership of
property has been liberalised. Details are available with
the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) which
has a British Investment Advisor stationed in its
headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and an office here in London.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
15. We have been told on several occasions that the
Malaysian industrialisation policy is unwise and
unrealistic. We have been asked why should we go into heavy
industries and why we should manufacture motor cars.
The Malaysian car has been called a Malaysian nightmare and
it is losing money, argues its critics. But how many new
motor car industries even in developed countries make money
the first few years of their existence? In fact, quite a
number of new car factories went under without selling
hardly one car. Companies making aeroplanes fold up even
faster. What I am trying to say is that industries fail and
industries succeed. It is a bit too early to say that the
Malaysian industrial policy is wrong. In any case it
should really not concern others, particularly foreign
industrialists. Let Malaysians muddle their way through
but do take advantage of their policy. Whatever may be
our faults, we have honoured our debts and are not
bankrupt. And with reserves equivalent to seven months of
retained imports, we are not likely to be. I assure you that
you will be safe in Malaysia.
16. Among policies which might interest you is the
privatisation programme. Indeed, we were into privatisation
earlier than Britain, but I must admit that implementation
is rather slow. The Malaysian Telecoms has been privatised.
The Malaysian Railways will be privatised, for $1 Malaysian
Ringgit only. So will be the various ports, highways, power
and other public utilities. Foreigners are welcome to
participate. I am sure, at least, a few of the 50 million
Britons can find some opportunity somewhere in the
privatisation programme in Malaysia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
17. The British are well-known for their spirit of
adventure. You are not afraid of far away places with
strange sounding names. Malaysia is neither far away nor
strange sounding. But we are just not seeing enough
Britons in Malaysia. Perhaps you find investing in Malaysia
still unattractive. Perhaps you worry about the so-called
Islamic extremists whom we trounced completely in the
1986 elections. Perhaps you cannot believe that we have
really discarded the Buy British Last Policy. But, you can
still come to Malaysia as tourists. You will be welcome
and it will cost you a fraction of your holiday anywhere
else. What you will see and experience will, I am sure,
convince you that at least some of what I say is true. At
the very least you would have enjoyed Malaysia and its
friendly, frequently English-speaking people.
Thank you.
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