Mahathir pledges to remove obstacles faced by investors

TOKYO: The government will remove obstacles to doing business in Malaysia, especially for foreign investors, in order to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The prime minister said Putrajaya would also enact new laws that would facilitate the private sector doing business in Malaysia and would do away with oppressive laws that hinder businesses.

“You can be assured that this government will be helping you to succeed in your business. If you come to do business in Malaysia you are our guest.

“We will look into your problems and resolve these problems so that you can do business in Malaysia feeling very comfortable because the government is your friend,” he said when addressing about 600 participants at the 36th Japan-Malaysia Economic Association (Jameca)-Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (Majeca) Joint Conference and Malaysian Business Forum here Tuesday.

Mahathir said he would also uphold the rule of law so that businesses would be protected by the laws of the country.

“There will be no discrimination against either local or foreign investors. Malaysia is always known for its freedom to do business. We are not restrictive to the degree that will force foreign investors to avoid coming to Malaysia.

“FDI has a role to play in rebuilding the Malaysian economy. We will be very free, very business friendly and very accessible to businessmen whether they are domestic or foreign,” he said.

Mahathir said the business community would find his administration is willing to help their businesses succeed.

“The reason why this government is business-friendly and willing to help the business community is because it creates wealth. The government by itself cannot create wealth,” he said.

Mahathir said Malaysia now needed more investment in high technology and information technology-based industries that he believed would further enrich the country.

“I hope that Jameca will once again focus on Malaysia. Malaysia is waiting to be your profit centre. I promise you that the government will look upon you as a guest who should be treated well by us as the host,” he said.

On the Budget 2019 tabled in Parliament on Friday, the prime minister said it would be able to reduce Malaysia’s financial woes.

“To the surprise of everyone, despite our financial constraints, we were able to produce and introduce a budget that is slightly expansionary, with a deficit of only 3.7%. We can tackle the deficit. Despite having problems, we have found ways to rebuild the economy of the country and the administration of the country.

“We believe that we can improve further and we would be able to run the country in a way that is acceptable to foreign people who have interests in Malaysia,” he said.

Source: FMT