MBAM seeks lower duties on heavy machinery

KUALA LUMPUR: Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) has called for the reduction of import duties for heavy machinery used to make Industrialised Building System (IBS) components.

“Heavy machinery used in the construction industry has high import duties ranging between 20 and 30 per cent,” said MBAM president Foo Chek Lee.

“Since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax two years ago, contractors have had to pay more to bring in the heavy machinery, on top of the very high import duties,” he said.

Foo was speaking after the opening ceremony of the inaugural MBAM OneBuild Exhibition 2017, here, yesterday.

Also present were Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, CIDB senior general manager Datuk Elias Ismail, MBAM immediate past president Datuk Matthew Tee Kai Woon and MBAM secretarygeneral Dennis Tan Soo Huang.

Foo explained that local suppliers importing heavy machineries were losing market share and seeing a decline in sales as they had to increase prices due to the import duties.

“We believe more large-scale implementation of the IBS would reduce our dependency on unskilled manual foreign labour and increase productivity and safety at construction sites,” he said.

This year alone, Foo said MBAM estimated a RM138 billion project rollout.

In the next three years, he added, the total project value would be in the region of RM350 billion.

When asked to comment on the 2018 Budget, Foo noted that the affordable housing, rural housing, hospitals, roads and infras- tructure upgrades, such as airports, were people-centric projects that would have significant multiplier effects on Malaysia’s economy.

He said these planned infrastructure spending would require more manpower to implement the projects within the time frame and budget.

“MBAM seeks closer engagement with the government to fine-tune policy on the hire of foreign workers for the benefit of all stakeholders. Ultimately, these are aimed at higher contribution to Malaysia’s economic growth,” he added. Ooi Tee Ching