‘A very dangerous game’: Anti-China sentiment echoed in Najib’s home state ahead of Malaysia election
(Channel News Asia) – For the first time in more than 10 years, Chan Thong Wai managed to cut himself a deal with a big contractor from China.
After a year, his construction project is already completed and he is now counting the days until the final payment promised later this month. Then it is over.
No more business with China.
“I won’t touch it. It’s very difficult. The price is very bad and the payment is very slow,” said the 49-year-old entrepreneur from Kuantan, where a growing presence of China-backed megaprojects splits voters ahead of Malaysia’s fiercest political battle in decades – the 14th general election on May 9.
Chan has been waiting to be paid for six months. Yet he counts himself luckier than several businessmen in the state capital of Pahang who never received any payment for their work.
Unlike other foreign developers, the 49-year-old supplier said his Chinese client rarely provides documents to guarantee payment for his service.
“It’s a very dangerous, very high-risk game. No documents. No advance payment,” he told Channel NewsAsia.
“When I asked for a contract, they said: ‘You want to do it. Do it’.”
Chan is one of the local entrepreneurs subcontracted by Chinese companies to develop the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP) on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
