Tengku Zafrul: Transformation is vital to build resilience in Malaysia’s trade and industry sector

Tengku Zafrul: Transformation is vital to build resilience in Malaysia’s trade and industry sector

14 Oct 2023

Transformation is essential to build the resilience of the Malaysian industry and trade sector to continue to empower the national economy, said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) today.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said in a statement that the ministry has initiated a structural transformation of the manufacturing, investment and trade sectors where the positive spillover will benefit the business community, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the manufacturing sector and the people as a whole.

Miti also welcomed the Budget 2024 allocation for the ministry and 15 agencies under it, he added.

Tengku Zafrul said that since December 2022, Miti has started the transformation of the manufacturing sector which includes the introduction of new policies that cover the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP2030), the Chemical Industry Roadmap 2030 (CIR2030) and the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Framework IndustriNasional (i-ESG).

“In this regard, Miti welcomes the various measures in Budget 2024 that give provisions to implement various initiatives under newly launched Miti policies as well as existing policies,” he added.

With the projected value of the world’s halal industry set to reach RM22.34 trillion (almost US$5 trillion) by 2030, Miti welcomes steps in Budget 2024 towards shortening the halal certification process from 51 to 30 days in order to advance the halal industry, including increasing the export of Malaysian halal products to the world.

“This will be led by the Halal Development Corporation (HDC), a Miti agency, together with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim),” said Tengku Zafrul.

Based on the National Automotive Policy (NAP2020) led by Miti, he also welcomed the introduction of the Initiative to Encourage the Use of Electric Motorcycles for the People and this scheme is expected to help achieve Mission 3 of NIMP2030 which is the Drive towards Zero Carbon.

The electric motorcycle cash rebate subsidy will also benefit 10,000 electric motorcycle users whose annual income is below RM120,000 as eligible electric motorcycle buyers can enjoy a RM2,400 rebate until Dec 31, 2024.

“The implementation of this initiative involving an allocation of RM24.1 million proves the concern of the Madani Government in terms of inclusiveness in the use of new technology for as many people as possible, where the benefits of EV mobility are not only limited to cars,” said Tengku Zafrul.

Attracting investments, whether domestic direct investment (DDI) or foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as trade promotion is very important in the effort to rebuild the Malaysian economy, thereby increasing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

“Accordingly, to facilitate efforts to realise investment and trade in Malaysia, I will chair the Investment and Trade Action and Coordination Committee (JTPPP),” said Tengku Zafrul.

He added that DDI and FDI procedures will be facilitated starting from the application being received until the investment is realised.

“The JTPPP, which will report directly to the National Investment Council, will meet at least once every month to deal with the challenges faced by investors in a transparent, quick and thorough manner,” said Tengku Zafrul. 

Source: Bernama