Zafrul’s experience expected to come in handy
PETALING JAYA: Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s experience as a banker and finance minister would come in handy to restore Malaysia as a top trading nation, says a business group.
To quickly stimulate domestic and foreign direct investments, the group said the new International Trade and Industry Minister needs to recapitalise several of its existing and working initiatives with more funds to allow companies to expand and automate.
Malaysian Consortium of Midtier Companies president Callum Chen said among the initiatives are business loans guaranteed by the Finance Ministry’s Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP), reinvestment allowance (RA), Domestic Investment Strategic Fund (DISF), the Capital Allowance (Automation CA) incentive and Smart Automation Grant (SAG).
“We do not need many strategies, but a few industry-forward grants that have proven to work well.
“They allow the government to recapitalise and add more funds to the system,” he said.
Chen said the SJPP grant, which has since been opened to mid-tier companies, should be increased from Rm20mil to Rm30mil per company; extend the reinvestment allowance (RA) to 2027 and increase it from 60% to 80% on the capital expenditure incurred during the assessment year.
“The increased working capital will allow companies to buy new machinery, land and buildings, where the whole business spectrum will be stimulated,” he said.
Citing the success of the SAG, which was increased from Rm100mil to Rm250mil previously, he said the automation grant was used quickly because it was something businesses needed.
“That pushed companies to go allin on automation, with a significant return on investment in the long run,” he said, adding that the SAG should be increased to a Rm1bil matching grant.
“When there is Rm1bil each from the government and businesses, it will create a great impact to move the economy quickly,” he said.
“While business opportunities do not wait, the new minister should implement recapitalisation fast to compensate for lost time and opportunities lost to other countries in the region.
“Let’s recapitalise these grants and funds and open them up to the industry again. The banks, which are still flush with money and need business, will be happy as these facilities are governmentguaranteed.
“This will also augur well in the year-end market as we usher in the brand new year,” he said.
Despite being small, Chen said Malaysia used to rank 18th among the largest trading nations.
“We are now at 25th. The first step is to re-establish our position.
“More importantly, we need to drive sales – we need to rejuvenate the economy and encourage domestic direct investment (DDI), driven by the mid-tier companies,” he said.