Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR.
MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : DEWAN CEMERLANG 2, THE MINES,
KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 18/10/99
Tajuk/Title : THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE
"SMIDEC ANNUAL SMI SHOWCASE '99"
First of all, I would like to thank the Ministry of
International Trade and Industry (MITI) for inviting me
to officiate the opening of 'SMIDEC Annual SMI Showcase
`99'.
2. It is indeed heartening to note that the country
has come out of the woods after undergoing an economic
turmoil to an unprecedented degree. Malaysia's so-
called unconventional measures and strategies in
addressing our economic crises were severely criticised
by the international financial institutions and so
called experts. But these measures have proven to be
appropriate and effective, for overcoming our financial
problems and economic fundamentals.
3. I am equally happy to note that whilst the economy
was put to the `test', confidence from the private
sector including foreign direct investors, remained
high. This is evidenced by the continued inflow of
foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country's
manufacturing sector, even at the time when the country
was registering negative growth. These are the real
investors who know the actual situation of the country
and who have taken a long-term view of the country's
fundamentals and potentials. Therefore, existing
foreign investors remain committed to their investments
and have in fact continued to expand and diversify
their operations into higher technology and more value
added including R&D activities.
4. These are the type of FDIs which we are interested
in attracting into the main economic sectors of the
country and these are the investors whom we like to
work with, in advancing further our industrialisation
programme. This is because developments in these
sectors will determine the long term economic growth
and sustainability of the country, as they contribute
greatly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to
exports, employment, technological and skills
development, development of small and medium industries
(SMIs), which are all critical components of a
country's industrial development.
5. The SMI sector assumes an important role in
deepening and broadening the country's industrial base
through the supply of essential parts and components,
and related services to the large companies and MNCs.
SMIs having strong linkages with domestic economy are
also training ground for the development and nurturing
of entrepreneurial skills. This sector has also been
recognised as a vehicle for developing Malaysian-owned
companies and Malaysian owned brand names and designs
(OBM and ODM).
6. The theme chosen for this Showcase, 'Forging Ahead
in Challenging Times' is both apt and timely as the
country recovers from the economic crisis, and is set
to forge ahead toward the next millennium. SMI sector
being the backbone to the economy need to bolster their
performance and profile in order to meet the challenges
of the new economy.
7. Rapid globalisation of the world economy presents
unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities for
Malaysian companies, in particular the SMIs. To survive
and thrive in such a volatile global market place, SMIs
must be prepared to change -- change in the mindset and
change in the way of doing business as well as the
manner with which business is conducted. If the success
of doing any business today is determined by one's
flexibility, adaptability, responsiveness to changing
market requirements, doing business in the next century
is about making changes in `real time' made possible
with the application of information and communication
technology (ICT).
8. The economic downturn has been a bitter lesson to
many of our domestic companies, especially the SMIs.
The resilient and the competitive came out of the
'test' leaner and in better shape to face competition.
However, SMI companies need to realise that in future
there are different sets of challenges to be
encountered and companies must quickly acquire the
innovative and entrepreneurial skills to transform
these challenges into opportunities.
9. Our economy in keeping with the trend is gradually
transforming itself into a knowledge based economy
(K-economy) in which brain power rather than brawn will
be the determining competitive advantage. In a K-
economy, where the main activities are focussed on the
high value added and knowledge-based activities such as
product and process designing, product/process
development and improvement, innovation and other R&D
activities, size and scale of operation do not matter
as much as before. Both large and small companies stand
almost equal chance of achieving success. Indeed, it
has been proven by many success stories of
breakthroughs in technology, software designs and
development made by companies or entrepreneurs who
started very humbly and very small.
10. Therefore domestic SMIs should consider going into
more and more of this type of skill and knowledge-
intensive business activities where the start-up cost
is also low.
11. With the extensive application of ICT by our own
companies, the outreach of Malaysian-made products and
services can be extended to the global market, even
though they are intended initially to serve the
domestic market. Through E-commerce, products of SMIs
can not only reach the markets abroad faster but also
at lower costs. At the same time, it is the power of
ICT that has given the challenges of globalisation the
true meaning of doing business in a borderless world.
12. Against this backdrop, our local SMIs must rise up
to face the challenges and changes that are taking
place even while we are in this hall. Products produced
today must not only meet the needs and taste of
domestic market but should also adapt to consumers in
differing markets. What this implies is that SMIs need
to shift their focus from being production oriented to
market oriented.
13. Fundamental to achieving market acceptance and
penetration is of course quality and competitiveness.
At the very outset products and services must be able
to meet the rapid changes in international standards
and requirements in terms of price, quality, delivery
and costs. To be able to do this, SMIs should strive
to acquire new technologies and upgrade skills in core
competencies critical to achieving manufacturing
excellence. SMIs also need to acquire new capabilities
and new skills in order to be able to produce essential
parts and components to compete with the best in the
market.
14. Over time, Malaysian SMIs must graduate from
producing lower-end components and parts, to becoming
global suppliers of higher value-added intermediate
products. For Malaysian SMIs, this graduation from
domestic to becoming global suppliers should be
achieved as a matter of logical progression. The
global networking of Malaysia-based MNCs should be
fully capitalised to gain access into the international
procurement market.
15. I am happy to note that with the assistance of
MATRADE the Showcase this year has attracted several
foreign buying missions, representatives from
international procurement offices (IPOs) from Singapore
and Hong Kong as well as other foreign trade visitors.
These foreign trade visitors will also take part in the
Business Matching sessions with companies participating
in the Showcase.
16. To further strengthen this year's event, an 'ASEAN
Match-making Workshop' to foster linkages and joint-
ventures between large companies and SMIs is held back-
to-back with the Showcase. The Workshop provides an
avenue for those involved to meet, discuss and share
experiences in developing SMIs through establishing
smart business partnerships and joint ventures. The
networking and linkages established will contribute
towards strengthening ASEAN economic architecture,
turning the region once again into the most competitive
growth area in this region.
17. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to
wish every success to all participants of this year's
'SMIDEC Annual SMI Showcase' and hope that your
participation in these events will bring in new
business opportunities and networks for all of you.
18. I now have the pleasure in declaring the 'SMIDEC
Annual SMI Showcase `99' open.
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