KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that despite the level of involvement of government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs) in almost every sector of the economy, Malaysia’s manufacturing sector has benefited greatly from high levels of private sector investment.
During his opening address at the inaugural PNB Corporate Summit 2019, he said the sectors’s strong growth was underpinned by strong private investment.
“Multinational corporations from more than 40 countries have invested in over 5,000 companies in Malaysia’s manufacturing and related services sectors, encouraged by the country’s pro business environment.
“This has also been reinforced by investments by the domestic manufacturers. This is a clear indicator on the positive impact of allowing the private sector to take the lead,“ he said.
Mahathir also said that while GLICs and GLCs were important pillars of development, they needed to reevaluate their level of participation in Malaysian corporates.
“The expansion of the private sector is vital to spur growth by creating more opportunities for employment, enabling entrepreneurs to scale up their business and to bring in foreign direct investment to accelerate domestic growth,“ he said.
Nevertheless, GLICs and GLCs still had a part to play in Malaysia’s growth story, Mahathir said.
“ Each GLIC has a distinctive purpose. Unfortunately, despite the clear mandates given, these GLICs were previously subverted to serve the interests of self-serving and greedy leaders. The government has no business being in business.
“The GLCs must coexist in a space where they compete on a level playing field. GLCs should not crowd out and directly compete with the private sector, especially in non-strategic businesses,“ he added.
Meanwhile, during her welcoming remarks, PNB group chairman Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the PNB Corporate Summit was aimed at bringing the important issues facing the corporate sector to the surface.
“In this highly dynamic environment, Malaysian corporates needs to be well positioned to build the potential to rise up to face the complex challenges that this environment brings, to ensure sustainability to support the progress and development of our nation,“ she said.
Themed “Rebooting Corporate Malaysia”, the summit was organised by PNB Research Institute, the wholly owned research arm of Permodalan Nasional Bhd.
