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PETALING JAYA: The intent of the government to consider the setting up of a special committee to monitor the progress of China’s investments in Malaysia has been broadly welcomed by the business community.
Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) president Tan Sri Low Kian Chuan said based on experience, foreign investors coming to Malaysia to set up companies and factories have to go through red tape that is time-consuming and costly.
He cited the example of a foreign company that came to Malaysia to set up a factory and went through all the approval procedures, which took over a year, and had to go through multiple ministries to get approvals.
“As land rights lie with the respective states, it was suggested that the special committee could look at the coordination between the federal and state governments.
“We hope the government can shorten the approval process from a year to three to six months,” he added, emphasising that a whole-of-government approach must be taken to move investment projects forward.
He used China as an example of a country where approvals for foreign investments are handled by officials who go to companies to help with paperwork from different departments, instead of foreign companies having to go to government agencies on their own.
“The special committee’s role should be to coordinate all approval elements and procedures. We suggest that the state Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) offices be reactivated as the coordinating unit.
“Instead of making frequent policy changes, Malaysia should create a pro-business environment by reducing red tape and making the approval process transparent,” he said.
The Federal Government established Pemudah on Feb 7, 2007. It has an essential role in assisting the government to strengthen legislation and enhance bureaucratic efficiency.
Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce president Loo Kok Seong is also in agreement with Low and has suggested that if the government wants to attract investments, it should form a special committee to expedite the approval process for foreign investments.
“The special committee can look into which procedures can be eliminated from the approval process to make it more simple and systematic.
“A simplified approval process would benefit not only Chinese investors but all foreign investors,” he said.
“The special committee can act as a one-stop coordination centre, giving advice on investments from different countries, helping with approval services, answering questions, and so on.”
During his trip to China, he said many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were interested in investing in Malaysia.
He said Malaysia has an advantage over Vietnam and Indonesia, besides its location, because it has a high level of Chinese language literacy.
The Belt and Road Research Centre of Malaysia chairman Datuk Cheah See Kian said the research centre has established a consulting service unit to assist Chinese companies with company registration and visa issues in Malaysia and noted that feedback showed that visa processing for Chinese investors could have been faster.
“Multiple departments handled foreign companies’ applications for the import of raw materials and staff visas, which were time-consuming procedures,” said Cheah, who also welcomed the government’s proposal for the formation of a special committee to monitor the outcome of Chinese investments in Malaysia.
He suggested that this committee include members from the private sector and multilingual experts so that the management of foreign investment approval processes can be done effectively.
Anwar’s official trip to China from March 29 to April 1 saw the Prime Minister witness the signing of 19 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with his counterpart Li Qiang.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/04/07/committee-to-oversee-chinas-investments-lauded