Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR.
MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : HILTON HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 07/12/98
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF MALAYSIAN
STRUCTURAL STEEL
ASSOCIATION CONVENTION 1998
I wish to thank the organiser of this convention,
the Malaysian Structural Steel Association for inviting
me to address and declare open its two-day convention.
2. Steel industry and its progressive but consistent
development has always been linked to the success
stories of many developed nations. On this basis, the
idea of setting up our own steel company was mooted, way
back in 1982 under the Government's industrial master
plan. Perwaja was set up to be Malaysia's main producer
of steel products. Billions of ringgit has been spent
to enable Perwaja to realise the goal of becoming a
fully integrated steel mill producing high quality,
value-added steel products for the automotive,
engineering and construction industries.
3. It had not been a smooth passage but I would say
that the company is still heading in that direction and
with the support from all parties, especially those in
the construction sector, I am confident that it will be
able to achieve the objective for which it was set up.
4. Our ultimate aim is for Malaysia to be an
industrialised nation approximately 20 years from now
and this has been outlined in what we have designated as
Vision 2020. We should be developed not only in the
economic sense but also developed politically, socially,
spiritually, psychologically and culturally.
5. Vision 2020 is not merely a slogan but a framework
of action that would guide all Malaysians towards taking
the necessary steps for Malaysia to develop and prosper
in a balanced way. In order for the vision to
materialise, several things need to be done. These
include attitude and value changes, improvement on the
quality of workforce, application of science and
technology and the creation of a more dynamic private
sector.
6. Currently we are still in a state of economic
turmoil but the Malaysian economy has already shown
early signs of recovery and we should be among the first
South-East Asian countries to regain our dynamic growth.
The package of policy measures introduced under the
National Economic Recovery Plan (NERP) spearheaded by
the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) are now in
place and are achieving their objectives. The 1999
budget that was presented in October this year also
detailed the various measures that the Government will
take in order for our country to regain its high growth
pattern.
7. However, Malaysians cannot afford to just sit back
and wait. We may have stabilised the domestic, economic
and financial environment but many things can happen to
the international economy which can threaten our
stability and our growth. We must therefore develop
greater intrinsic strength through better management
practices and maximising all the resources at our
disposal. If we audit all the resources within the
country, including our financial capacity and skilled
manpower, and we apply them skillfully we should be able
to insulate much of our economy from the uncertainties
of the world environment. That way we can be much more
sure of achieving recovery.
8. In order for us all to sustain our economic
recovery efforts, all sectors must play their role in
the sectors that they are involved. The Government will
provide the administrative, policy and legal framework
for the private sector to succeed in whatever enterprise
they may be involved. The private sector must of course
seize upon the opportunities created and exploit them
fully. It is of utmost importance that all parties
continue to be committed towards the rebuilding of our
economy as expeditiously as possible. God willing, with
each of us pulling our weight and contributing to the
national effort, we will succeed.
9. The construction industry is one sector which will
always play a major role in our country's development.
Construction stimulates numerous manufacturing and
service industries which all contribute towards economic
growth. Such is the spin-off from construction that it
can be regarded as the foundation of many important
industrial activities. That is why the Government has
decided to revive numerous infrastructure projects in
order to facilitate economic recovery.
10. From 1964 to 1998, the construction industry
suffered four business cyclical setbacks, i.e, firstly
in 1968-69; secondly in 1976-78; thirdly in 1984-1987
and the current setback that the industry is facing
since last year.
11. Prior to the present economic turmoil, the growth
rate in the construction industry was approximately 10-
12 percent. However, this year, the construction
industry has experienced a negative growth of 19.2
percent. This contraction was due to the slower
infrastructure development and subdued performance of
the non-residential sub-sector. The virtual IMF policy
adopted by the previous financial authority in the
Government resulted in total stoppage of construction as
not only new loans could not be obtained, but approved
loans were also withdrawn. The construction industry
was labelled as a non-priority sector and was actively
discouraged.
12. Now Government wants to re-start the construction
sector but as far as the economy is concerned tangible
effect will only be felt when the funds are disbursed.
This will take a much longer time than mere decision-
making. The sector's contribution to reviving GDP
growth will only be seen in 1999. Nevertheless a start
has to be made now and the private and Government
sectors must collaborate in kick-starting the industry.
13. During the period of high economic growth, we saw a
tremendous amount of construction activities all over
the country. We were so busy that we did not stop to
think about what and how we were doing. We were
satisfied with the technologies we had acquired and did
not seek to improve or upgrade them. We made no effort
to develop our own technologies or even to acquire the
latest construction methods. When we found ourselves
without enough construction workers we merely imported
them. We did not seek to reduce reliance on labour by
developing less labour-intensive building methods and
technologies. As a result when the economic downturn
came, we were left with thousands of unskilled foreign
workers and outdated construction techniques. Our
losses were higher because of our high wastage, low
productivity, high labour content, long delivery period,
poor workmanship and often low quality products.
14. The pause that has been forced upon us should
enable us to reexamine the industry. We must now
consider how we can become more efficient and cost
effective. To do this we must look into how we can
truly industrialise the industry. The idea of doing
most of the work at the worksite is outdated. We should
be producing the components of building in factories,
using more automation, and precision. The component can
then be transported to the worksite and assembled.
15. Unless we do this our country will continue to be a
haven for immigrant workers. Currently, there are about
1.14 million legal migrant workers constituting 13
percent of the workforce. However, illegal immigrants
constitute another eight hundred thousand workers (with
four hundred thousand dependants). Overall they make up
approximately 2.3 million workers. Although they have
contributed to our economic growth the social and
financial cost is very high. We really cannot afford
the luxury, for indeed having foreigners work for us is
a luxury.
16. This scenario needs to be changed if we want to
move forward in the construction industry. The industry
must not be labour intensive. We must develop new
technologies which will reduce the need for unskilled
workside labour. The technology must be based on new
techniques which require minimal but highly skilled
labour inputs. These skilled workers can be trained
from our own local workforce and they should be paid
wages which are attractive.
17. The use of steel in construction offers
opportunities for factory fabrication of a sophisticated
kind. Most of the construction steel used presently are
embedded in concrete and require very little forming and
shaping. Even when steel rods are bent and shaped,
these are not required to be precise and depend largely
on workers with low skill. Yet these low-skilled
workers have to be highly paid.
18. Steel need not always be hidden inside concrete.
Steelwork can be exposed and shaped as to beautify
buildings and other structures. Bridges, elevated
highways and certain parts of buildings lend themselves
to such aesthetic use of steel. The skeletal framework
of buildings can be formed with steel girders with
scientific precision. While the cost may be higher but
the speed of construction would be greater and this will
expedite earnings. Besides, as more steel is used the
steel making industry would grow and cost would be
reduced.
19. Steel components of building should be pre-shaped
and manufactured in off-site factories. The component
parts which are precision-made should be transported to
the construction sites for assembly. This would
eliminate the necessity for shaping, bending and
fabrication at unsightly and cramped construction sites.
Factory-produced parts should be better in every way
than parts produced at worksites by relatively unskilled
workers.
20. There are presently in Malaysia a lot of highly
qualified and experienced steel fabricators. They are
capable of fabricating numerous products such as cranes,
modules and building parts. There is a need for them to
enlarge and enhance their capacities. The quality of
their fabricated products are of world standards. They
should all look into the construction industry in order
to identify more parts which they can fabricate. They
should also look abroad where fabricated parts are very
much in demand. Malaysia's costs are low enough and our
quality is high enough for us to be competitive in the
world market.
21. There is also a need for us to train more workers
in steel-based fabrication. Presently there are a
number of training institutions but from the speed such
trainees are snatched up by the industry in Malaysia and
abroad, it is clear that we are not producing nearly
enough. The steel people in Malaysia must put up
sufficient training facilities for all kinds of skills
needed in the steel industry.
22. The use of computers in the design and machining of
steel parts is increasing by leaps and bound. Mastery of
computer-aided design and manufacturing must be the aim
of all training institutions for the steel industry. The
Government has a duty to provide some of the training
but the private sector must also do its bit. Indeed
privately-owned training schools for computer
application in the steel industry and other metal
industries would be worthwhile investing in by those
involved in the educational business.
23. The steel-making industry cannot be successful
without adequate domestic demand for steel. To create
this demand and also to reduce cost we must use more
steel in the construction and fabrication industry.
Presently we tend to use more concrete. Although we can
produce enough cement to meet our needs, cement
production tends to destroy and disfigure our beautiful
limestone hills. We can reduce the demand for cement by
resorting to the use of more steel. With increased
consumption of steel we can have a viable steel
industry. And a viable steel industry will be a measure
of the level of our industrialisation even in the
Information Age.
24. We have seen that steel is a material that has been
used widely in other developed countries. These
countries have their own steel-making facilities
especially section mills. Their construction industry
does not rely solely on concrete as construction
material.
25. In the United Kingdom for example, up to 60 percent
of their buildings are based on structural steel. For
decades in the United States, the traditional method of
construction has involved structural steel. It is
abnormal for the consultants to specify material other
than steel for their projects whereas in Malaysia it is
otherwise.
26. If Malaysia is looking into the export market, our
construction industry must be able to compete in the use
of steel for fabrication and construction of all kinds.
27. Prior to 1996, all of steel sections (h-beams,
channels, angles) were imported. This could be due to
the unavailability of these products then. However,
since 1997 with the availability of locally produced
sections, there is no reason to use imported steel. But
our local industry especially the traders that stock
these materials do not seem to heed the Government's
call to use local material. In 1997, 300,000 metric ton
of steel sections were used in the country, of which at
least 70 percent were imported.
28. I hope the panel discussion that will be held
tomorrow will come out with constructive suggestions and
commitment from all parties. I sincerely hope that this
convention will be a catalyst towards all the relevant
parties in the construction industry to formulate a
strategy that will see structural steel be featured more
dominantly in our country.
29. On this note, I have the pleasure to declare open
this two-day convention.
|
|