Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SHAH ALAM, SELANGOR
Tarikh/Date : 22/02/91
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF CANON OPTO
MALAYSIA SDN. BHD.
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It gives me much pleasure to be here today to officiate
the opening of Canon Incorporation's first manufacturing
plant in Malaysia, Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad.
I am also happy to note that in less than a year after
starting production here in Shah Alam, Canon launched its
second facility in Malaysia, Canon Electronic (Malaysia)
Sendirian Berhad, at the Prai Industrial Estate in Pulau
Pinang. This positive step by Canon demonstrates very
clearly the attractiveness of Malaysia as a manufacturing
base for such precision products.
2. Another proud record for Malaysia is that this factory
has expanded into the production of lens shutter cameras
from the polishing of optical lenses and prisms a year ago.
I am also told that this plant has managed to earn the sta-
tus of being Canon's second plant outside Japan to manufac-
ture lens shutter cameras, after the one in Taiwan.
3. The successes by Canon in Malaysia, I believe, is not
an isolated case. In fact, success stories of foreign com-
panies in Malaysia seem to be the norm since Malaysia over-
came the recession.
4. While these success stories abound, we also see a par-
allel escalation of Japanese interest in Malaysia. From 44
project applications with Japanese participation in 1986,
the number of applications received last year increased to
229 or more than five times the 1986 total. Even more im-
pressive was the proposed Japanese capital investment which
shot up from $285 million ringgit in 1986 to $6,738 million
ringgit in 1990, more than 23 times the 1986 volume.
5. While all these numbers and figures are encouraging,
more attention should now be directed at the quality of man-
ufacturing projects that are being set up by Japanese inves-
tors in Malaysia. A growing area of concern among the
business communities in the Asia Pacific Region, especially
among the ASEAN countries, is that of technology transfer.
Technology is much needed to spur our economies towards a
higher level of industrialisation and to develop our
workforce into one that can handle the changing demands of
industry. We believe that Japan can provide that technol-
ogy.
6. It is our hope that the Japanese multinationals in this
region will pass on some of their technologies to local com-
panies. There should not be too much concern over any ad-
verse effect of doing this for the Japanese companies since
it is a fact that Japanese technologies are not static.
They advance very rapidly and as a result the technologies
transferred to Malaysia will not be in a position to chal-
lenge the latest in Japanese technologies.
7. The benefits for the Japanese companies are in being
able to source components and have the vendors network lo-
cally which will reduce costs. Japanese companies can work
together with Malaysian manufacturers to develop products
which can meet the stringent requirements of export markets.
This co-operation can even be further extended into the im-
provement of product price and delivery time. Although ef-
forts to work together with Malaysian companies have been
going on for some time, they are however not on a large
scale. However there have been cases where Japanese compa-
nies have sent their own engineers to Malaysian manufactur-
ers to help them improve production capabilities and
quality. This is encouraging.
8. Malaysian companies, on the other hand, have been said
to be reluctant to invest in additional machinery and even
to shy away from taking investment risks. Local companies
should take advantage of proposals for co-operation by
Japanese companies. Such proposals for co-operation can
also come in the form of joint-ventures between Japanese
components and parts suppliers and Malaysian companies,
where the risks are shared and technology transfer
progresses in a more organised fashion.
9. I have been told that a Japanese company producing au-
dio products in Malaysia have steadily increased its
Malaysian content from 18% when it started in late 1988 to
52% by late last year. This company has also developed a
total of 113 suppliers in this region, about half in
Malaysia and the rest in Singapore. About 60% of the 113
companies are Japanese-affiliated, indicating that the con-
cept of technology transfer through joint-venture is feasi-
ble.
10. Besides developing local suppliers, other ways in which
Japanese companies can integrate themselves into the
Malaysian business network is to continually attempt to
source raw materials and intermediate inputs such as sub-
assemblies locally and to set up more integrated projects in
Malaysia.
11. The rapid growth and economic dynamism of this region
is undeniable. South-East Asia is also an integral part of
the East Asian Region which has a population of nearly 2
billion people or 37% of the world's population, represent-
ing a huge potential market. Japanese business enterprises
in this region will be a growing presence, and a long-term
one and this presence will only thrive in a politically sta-
ble and economically sound environment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
12. Malaysia provides this environment. The Government of
Malaysia has been consistently successful in ensuring poli-
tical stability, sound economic policies and good
infrastructure, including an educated and trainable work
force. But the development and training of this workforce
must be undertaken largely by the companies themselves.
They should spare no effort to inculcate good work ethics
and a culture that places a high value on company loyalty
and productivity. Where Malaysian workers have been
inculcated with good ethics they have proven to be good and
highly productive workers. It is hoped that their produc-
tivity will be fairly rewarded. It is the Government's hope
that Malaysians will gradually earn better income without
hurting the profitability of the companies. The Government
will work to ensure that investors in Malaysia will never
regret their decision. I feel that Canon has no regrets.
Ladies and gentlemen,
13. With these words I now have much pleasure in declaring
open this Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
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