Dr M invites Japan to invest in Malaysia

TOKYO: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has invited Japan to partner Malaysia in the development of the Southeast Asian country.

The Malaysian prime minister extended the invitation in a meeting with leaders of major Japanese economic organisations here on Tuesday.

He said the new government in Malaysia which he led would be business friendly.

“We are not going to have too many bureaucratic hindrances or procedures that would deter foreign investors,” Dr Mahathir said.

He said investors must tell the government what was it that got in the way of their investment in Malaysia.

“The Malaysian government will give due consideration to your problems and try to resolve them,” he said.

The meeting was attended, among others, by top officials from companies such as Panasonic Corporation, Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation, Hitachi Ltd, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Honda Motors Co. Ltd, Marubeni Corporation and Japan Airlines Co. Ltd.

Dr Mahathir said that besides Foreign Direct Investment, Malaysia would like to learn how “to produce things by ourselves”.

“For that, we need Japanese technology which is very advanced. And coupled with Japanese work ethics, Malaysia will be able to develop much faster,” the prime minister said.

He expressed hope that Japanese investors would set up more manufacturing plants in Malaysia, providing more jobs for Malaysians in the process.

“One of the challenges that we have is unemployment. We need new investments from abroad so that jobs can be created for our people,” he said.

Dr Mahathir’s three-day working visit to Japan ends yesterday.