Govt refutes PERC report on Najib
Written by Yong Min Wei, The Edge
The government has refuted a report by Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) which states that Malaysia, under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is heading towards instability.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan told the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, March 30, that the report was inaccurate and had in fact contradicted its own (PERC) report which indicated the risks were on the decline from January 2009 to January 2010 based on “all social political variables” in Malaysia.
“This clearly shows Malaysia is moving on the right track as a competitive destination for investment,” he said when replying to a question from Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Kuala Selangor-PAS) who wanted the minister to state whether the PERC report had affected Malaysia’s competitiveness as an investment destination.
Sagan pointed out that to ensure foreign investors had the right and up-to-date information involving the developments in Malaysia, the minister concerned regularly met foreign media representatives and the international business community here or during Malaysia’s trade missions abroad.
According to him, Malaysia was still a “choice investment destination” as showed by the investment figures in particular related to the manufacturing sector in the past three years, adding that the sector recorded RM59.9 billion investments in 2007, RM62.8 billion in 2008, and RM32.6 billion in 2009.
“We must have a positive attitude towards all the valid criticisms from within and outside the country. Such criticisms only go to show that Malaysia is of high international profile and is always being watched by the world,” he said.
Sagan also said the government was keeping tabs on reports that were “inaccurate, not objective and unfair” to Malaysia, stressing that such reports contained information that did not reflect the actual situation and could affect the nation’s image if not refuted.
He added that Pemudah, a special task force to facilitate business, would form working groups by the end of next month to focus on issues related to government procurement, labour and licensing and facilitation of businesses.
