Go big, dominate market, Dr M tells industries

 

Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia must become major producers of goods, similar to the glove makers during the height of the pandemic. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia should look beyond foreign direct investments (FDI) to develop the economy, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir said Malaysia was among the first nations to industrialise through FDI but there was a struggle to attract these investments now as other countries were offering cheaper labour and better tax incentives.

The Langkawi MP said the nation needed to “go big” into major industries and dominate the market, citing the boom glove makers experienced at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Today, Malaysia is the biggest supplier of gloves in the world. But we missed the opportunity to become the biggest producer of other rubber products in the world. We make tyres for motor vehicles, but we supply only a small number.

“Besides tyres, there are hundreds of rubber products which sell by the millions. We need to go into them in a big way. We also produce palm oil, but we largely export the oil raw. It is time that we add value to our palm oil export,” he said in a blog post.

The Pejuang chairman said Japan, South Korea and China had grown their economies without being heavily dependent on FDI, by going into industries monopolised by other developed countries.

Among the advantages these countries had were a big domestic market, low-cost labour, and supportive governments that legislated the necessary laws to protect local products while offering cheap loans and even land.

“The Korean car, for example, was not of international standards. But, supported by the local market, the industry grew and was able to be mass-produced. With the advantage of cheap labour, the cars became acceptable to the international market,” he said. - FMT