Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE MAHSURI INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITION CENTRE,LANGKAWI, KEDAH
Tarikh/Date : 16/08/96
Tajuk/Title : THE 2ND WORLD FUJIAN CONVENTION AND
MALAYSIA-FUJIAN INVESTMENT AND
TRADE EXHIBITION
1. Firstly, let me bid you a warm welcome to
Malaysia particularly to the legendary isles of
Langkawi. It is indeed a great honour for Malaysia
to be chosen as the venue for the Second World
Fujian Convention.
2. I am sure this gathering would not only help to
foster friendship and strengthen ties among Hokkien
Chinese throughout the world but at the same time
help them to forge better cooperation in the fields
of economics, culture and social. In conjunction
with this convention I am told that a Malaysia-
Fujian Investment and Trade Exhibition is also being
held. I hope this exhibition will enable
participants to get better insights into the
investment policies and trade potentials of Malaysia
and the Fujian Province. We certainly welcome
Hokkien Chinese the world over to invest in
Malaysia.
3. As you are aware, Malaysia is a multi-racial,
multi-religious and multi-cultural country. While
many other multi-racial countries have to grapple
with the problems associated with being multi-
racial, Malaysia is free of the kind of violent
conflicts which characterise most multiracial
societies. The different races in Malaysia live and
cooperate well with each other. We learnt a big
lesson from the one race riot in 1969, and decided
that there is nothing to be gained from racial or
religious violence. While we would not claim that
race relations in Malaysia is ideal, but by
comparison the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans,
Kadazans and others, that make up the racial
composition of this country, are more able to live
together harmoniously and in cooperation with each
other than those in many other multi-racial
countries.
4. One major reason why we have been able to
remain peaceful and stable is because Malaysians are
tolerant people. While the Malay language is the
national and official language and the Malay culture
predominates, the languages and cultures of the
other races are preserved. We accept that people do
not want to forget completely their roots. But we
also know that in Malaysia the different roots of
the people do not affect their loyalty to the nation
and their identification with it or the other
citizens of this country. In short whether they are
Fukienese or Cantonese or Hakka or Tamil or Telegu
or Malay or Iban, they are all Malaysians with a
common focus of loyalty and a common national
culture.
5. A manifestation of this tolerance is the
building of temples and churches side by side with
mosques, the existence of Chinese and Tamil schools
and the availability of Chinese and Tamil newspapers
and magazines. We do not forbid the use of the
languages and cultures of non-indigenous citizens
nor do we insist on the adoption of indigenous
names.
6. Malaysians are justly proud of the fact that
their country is a genuinely multi-racial country.
All the various races have not only enjoyed the
fruits of stability but they have also enjoyed the
nation's rapid economic development and prosperity
resulting from it. It is true that there are
affirmative actions taken by the Government in
favour of the Bumiputeras, but this is necessary to
correct the imbalance among the various races
created by the divide and rule policy of British
before. These affirmative actions are accepted by
the various races because they all deem it fair that
everyone should have a fair share of the wealth of
this nation. Not only have they all accepted but
they have helped make the policy a success. Today
the disparities in the economic development of the
races are less prominent. And racial harmony as
well as economic growth are the results.
7. The Asian Pacific region is experiencing a
dynamic economic growth. Within the region itself,
countries of the ASEAN group are showing growth
performance far exceeding those of other areas in
the world.
8. Within the ASEAN region Malaysia still stands
out as a growth centre offering an investment
environment of stability, economic prosperity and
dynamism. Many companies from leading industrialised
countries have set up ventures here and have
identified Malaysia as a spring board to meet the
challenges of the expanding markets in the Asia-
Pacific region and also as a centre for exports back
to America and Europe.
9. To those of you who wish to expand your
business interest in the Asia Pacific region you may
wish to examine the potentials that Malaysia offers.
10. Malaysia is an attractive base for businessmen
seeking to expand into and to take advantage of the
potential that the Asia-Pacific region offers. The
factors that contribute to Malaysia's investment
environment include political stability, high
economic growth, efficient administration, a
trainable, adaptable and productive work force and
well developed infrastructure. Corruption here is
minimal and has not got in the way of economic
expansion. Bureaucratic hassle is rare.
11. Malaysia has always welcomed foreign investment
ever since it achieved independence in 1957.
Malaysia offers a package of tax holidays as well as
export and other incentives. The country also
offers a quality of life which expatriates find
comfortable. One hundred percent foreign ownership
of entreprises is possible if certain conditions are
met.
12. Malaysia subscribes to the free market system
where private enterprise plays a leading role in the
economy. We maintain commercial contacts with all
the countries of the world. Goods and currencies
have always been allowed to flow freely across our
borders.
13. In the last five years the Malaysian economy
grew at an average rate of 8.7 percent. This rapid
growth resulted in our per capita income rising from
RM6,099 in 1990 to RM9,786 in 1995. In addition,
the inflation rate remains below four percent. Thus
the relatively low wages compared to wages in
developed countries do not result in low living
standards. Low costs of production is thus
maintained in Malaysia without denying our workers
reasonable lifestyles.
14. This remarkable performance of the economy is
not by accident but is the result of judicious
implementation of carefully thought out pragmatic
policies and programmes.
15. Our policies have been so successful that today
we are experiencing labour shortage. The need to
update and provide adequate infrastructure has
resulted in a balance of payment deficit, as massive
projects and new industries require imports of
sophisticated capital goods and construction
materials.
16. Faced with these problems, it has become
necessary to discourage labour-intensive industries
in favour of capital and technology-based industry.
The switch to capital and technology- intensive
industries and the promotion of large scale
manufacturing will hopefully overcome the current
problems of labour shortage and eventually deficits
in the balance of payments.
17. The Government has also initiated the setting
up of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) extending
from Kuala Lumpur to the new Kuala Lumpur
Internatinal Airport via the new administrative
capital, Putrajaya, which will be provided with
world class physical and information infrastructure.
Private sector multimedia companies will be
encouraged to set up their operations in the MSC to
undertake sophisticated manufacturing of goods and
services using the latest in Information Technology
and multimedia. It is our intention to make
Malaysia a regional IT hub.
18. Bilateral trade between Malaysia and the
People's Republic of China has shown fairly rapid
growth in the last six years. There has been almost
a three-fold increase in trade between Malaysia and
China between the period 1990-1995. Bilateral trade
between Malaysia and China was in Malaysia's favour
in the last three years. In 1995, the trade surplus
amounted to RM614 million.
19. In 1995, bilateral trade expanded further by
6.7 percent over 1994, with a total value of RM9,212
million. However, despite the expansion in the
volume of trade in 1995, China's share of Malaysia's
global trade declined from 2.8 percent in 1994 to
2.4 percent in 1995.
20. Malaysian exports to China has generally shown
an increasing trend over the last six years
recording a value of RM1,674 million in 1990,
RM5,062 million in 1994 and RM4,913 million in 1995.
21. China was Malaysia's tenth largest export
market in 1995. Exports to China was dominated by
primary commodity-based products such as palm oil,
veneer, plywood and particle board, animal and
vegetable oils and fats, crude petroleum, natural
rubber and latex and sawn timber.
22. China was the eleventh largest source of import
for Malaysia in 1995 accounting for 2.2 percent of
total imports. Imports comprised mainly textile
yarns and fabrics, telecommunications equipment,
flat-rolled products of iron and non-alloy steel,
vegetables, metallic and perozy salts, photographic
apparatus and equipment, semi-conductors, lime
cement and construction materials, crude vegetable,
electrical machinery and apparatus/parts and
commodities.
23. Investments from China in the Malaysian
manufacturing sector in terms of the number of
projects approved have generally been on the upward
trend though the number of projects approved is
still relatively small and insignificant. For the
period 1987 to April 1996, a total of 44 projects
involving capital investment of RM615.5 million from
China was approved.
24. There is good scope for industrial cooperation
between Fujian and Malaysia since Fujian together
with other coastal areas and provinces in China have
been the prime areas of destination for foreign
investments. During the period 1979 to 1993 it was
reported that Fujian attracted US$12.5 billion worth
of foreign investments or 5.6 percent of the total
contracted investments. In terms of gross domestic
product by region, the share of Fujian in 1994 was
the eleventh largest at 3.7 percent. However, the
average real growth in gross domestic product
between the period 1990 to 1994 in Fujian was the
third highest at 17.6 percent after Hainan and
Guangdong.
25. The Hokkien community in Malaysia has
contributed much towards the economic development of
the country. As with other dialect group they have
maintained their dialect and cohesiveness, while
being good Malaysians. Their linking up with
Hokkiens elsewhere should help to draw the attention
to this dynamic community and the business
opportunities in Malaysia. This Convention will no
doubt contribute towards this objective among
others.
26. On this note I have the pleasure to declare
open the 2nd World Fujian Convention and Malaysia-
Fujian Investment and Trade Exhibition.
|
|