MoU paves way for collaboration with China
KOTA KINABALU: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed here yesterday holds promise of more Sabah goods penetrating the China market, attract China investors and confirms Sabah's premier economic position in the Asean sub-region of BIMP-EAGA.
Sabah government-owned industry promoter POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd's MoU with the CAIQTest Innovation (Malaysia) Service Centre (caiqtest.my) will lead to, amongst others, the setting up of a food testing and certification centre at Lahad Datu, where POIC Sabah is developing a regional processing and logistics hub.
It also seeks the formalization of procedures easing the certification of products aimed for the huge China market, including agro-based, aquabased, edible oil, bird nests and downstream food products.
CAIQTest is the window of the China Academy of Inspection and Quarantine in Malaysia. The centre provides consultation, training, testing, inspection, filing and traceability services for Malaysia's agriculture products, aquaculture products, and the health food, cosmetics and other high quality good produced by small and medium enterprises targeted for export to china.
Selangor-based CAIQTest facility was established in September 2019. Its proposed centre in Lahad Datu is seen as a new channel for Sabah manufacturers to better understand the China import market, its regulations, procedure and to potentially increase the volume and variety of Sabah exports to China.
The signing, carried out virtually because of the movement control order restrictions, was witnessed by POIC Sabah chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee in Kota Kinabalu and via video conferencing with Datuk Yong Tet Shing, the executive director of the Malaysia China Business Council (MCBC), in Kuala Lumpur (representing Dato' Sri Tiong King Sing, chairman of MCBC).
Other dignitaries who witnessed the proceedings on-line were His Excellency Liang Caide (China consul-general in Sabah) and his Head of Commerce Ms Li Ai Li, Tan Sri Andrew Liew (president, Sabah United Chinese Chamber of Commerce), Datuk Karim Bujang (president of Sabah Swiftlet House and Birds' Nest Industry Association) and Tan Sri T C Goh (president, Federation of Malaysia Chinese Associations - Huazong), Datuk Madiyem Layapan (CEO of Invest Sabah Bhd), Datuk Lee Swi Heng (vice president, Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Muhidin Ismail (director of Agriculture), Tommie Philip (director of DIDR), and Dayang Noralizah M Yassin of MIDA.
CAIQ Test's chief executive officer, Dr Ch'ng Soo Ee signed for her company while POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd's signatory was its CEO, Gwendolen Vu.
Commenting on the MoU, Yong said CAIQ was invited to explore being a part of a one-stop service provider in east Malaysia because the two states therein – Sabah and Sarawak – combined for most of bird nests, edible oils and aquaculture products produced in Malaysia.
"The states are also neighbours to Indonesia's Kalimantan and Sulawesi provinces where crude palm oil and bird nests are also produced in abundance."
In welcoming the MoU, Gwendolen said the wide range of testing and related services CAIQTest are known for will strengthen the manufacturing value chain in Sabah.
"Investors and manufacturers with the China market in mind will have a greater incentive to invest at POIC Lahad Datu because of the park's superior infrastructure and port facilities, and also being at the centre of abundant resources of the territories of BIMP-EAGA and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), comprising Asean member nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand."
She said POIC Lahad Datu had in recent years expanded from being an oil palm-based industrial park to include investments in port and logistics, bio-refineries, oil and gas, agriculture, aquaculture food products and related small and medium enterprises.
In the MoU, POIC Sabah will seek improvement, in the next few years, to sea and air connectivity out of Lahad Datu.
Sabah is Malaysia's major producer of natural cave bird nests and nests from swiftlet houses. The development of farmed bird nests has led to sizable production of edible nests.
CAIQ Test is no stranger to Malaysian authorities, having had collaborating activities with Matrade and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.