Winners cannot win alone
Humble Malaysian products going places with a helping hand from China.
THERE is big money in the taste and aroma of the Malaysian white coffee.
The first quarter of this year saw US$51mil (RM215mil) of white coffee flooding the China market via Alibaba.com.
This is no small feat considering the fact that white coffee only started to penetrate the China market four to five years ago. Business is about numbers as well. Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan says the market in China with a population of about 1.4 billion is just huge.
There are many brands of white coffee in this cross border trade, he says.
Ong says those keen to venture into business overseas can go to Matrade (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation) to find out the requirements for different types of business and the help available.
While taste is subjective, the International Trade and Industry Minister II says the consumer market for Malaysian goods in China is very encouraging and that now is just the beginning.
He says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was very encouraged and happy when the white coffee success was highlighted to him during his visit to e-commerce giant Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou in May.
Ong who was in the delegation says Malaysia’s durians, especially the Musang King, and bird’s nest are also very popular in China.
There are eight types of Malaysian fruits in the China market and pineapple will be in the list soon.
“Some of our Malaysian biscuits are also selling very well in China.”
He points out that overseas market, and not just China, should be on the radar of Malaysians.
“We must find our space in this borderless competitive landscape by making sure we are ready and go in as a team in order to compete well. As multi-ethnic Malaysians, we should build on our respective talent and strength and team up to face the world.
“We must set our vision on the big picture and not view things from a zero sum game perspective or along racial line,” he says.
Apart from earning foreign exchange, Ong says many businesses and jobs can be generated locally at the same time.
“With that, we can feed our families and send our children to school and universities.”
While the continuous insistence on stability, harmony and peace in the country may be trivalised by certain quarters, Ong points out that this is the foundation for the country.
At the MCA annual general assemby next month, Ong says the 68-year-old party will again take the opportunity to reinforce the message of the need for the community to see the bigger picture.
MCA being part of the ruling coalition is using the platform to help meet the needs of the community especially in providing education and economic opportunities.
Ong says MCA’s Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) each has an enrolment of about 26,000.
The 48-year-old TAR UC and the 15-yearold UTAR boast 180,000 graduates and 50,000 graduates respectively to date.
Both institutions of higher learning have made private tertiary education affordable for lower income families.
Some of the graduates are also doing well abroad.
“This is a borderless world. A person who is equipped with skills and knowledge plus a right attitude can go anywhere to make a living, for employment or business.
“They can always choose to return to contribute after gaining experience abroad. This is a free world,” Ong says of the increasing mobility among the younger generation like migration.
Opening up new growth areas in Malaysia is also important, especially in improving the economic status of the people in rural areas.
Ong, who is Tanjung Malim MP, says the upcoming new car manufacturing plant in his constituency is set to provide 20,000 jobs for the people upon its completion five years from now.
This, he says, is in addition to various facilities in the supply chain, which is a catalyst for businesses and jobs.
The plant has a production capacity of 400,000 cars a year for the local market and China and Asean markets as well for a start.
“China boasts 28 million car sales annually and the market is huge,” Ong says.
In June, DRB-Hicom Bhd sold 49.9% stake in Proton Holdings Bhd to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group for RM460.3mil.
He says Geely has the technology and Malaysia taps into China’s research and development (R&D) for the state-of-the-art plant, adding that China’s R&D which involves very huge investment is something Malaysia cannot support at the moment. “Winners can never win alone.”
Ong says Malaysians are generally a talented lot and have good business acumen.
He cites the case of a goldsmith in a northern state who manufactures jewellery for the Middle East.
“The gold bars came from the Middle East. The goldsmith turns them into jewellery and sends the value-added goods back,” he says.