CIMB climbs to a one-year high

Business & Markets 2013
Written by Esther Lee of theedgemalaysia.com
Tuesday, 07 May 2013 09:56
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KUALA LUMPUR: A representative of a Chinese umbrella body whose
members comprise key business leaders said the community’s
businessmen were not against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) although
there was a massive swing against the coalition in the just concluded
13th general election (GE13).
The deputy secretary-general of the Federation of Chinese Associations
of Malaysia (Huazong) Prof Chin Yew Sin said the backlash in Chinese
votes favouring the opposition in the polls could be due to BN’s
unfavourable choice of candidates.
“[The businessmen] support the PM [prime minister and BN chairman
Datuk Seri Najib Razak] ... only that they were not happy with the
selection of candidates by BN,” Chin said in comments on the GE13
results that saw a swing of Chinese voters against the ruling party.
This resulted in Chinese-based political parties in the BN being almost completely wiped out. MCA is down to seven
parliamentary seats while Parti Gerakan Rakyat and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) won one each.
Chin also said there was a misconception and general labelling that the Chinese community are supporters of the opposition.
“This is untrue because [the Chinese community] only want change and better representation at federal and state [levels].”
On MCA’s poor performance, he said the party has to go back to the drawing board.
“The party needs to take heed, from the signs of this election, the voice of the Chinese community and ‘reinvent’ itself, or risk
being rejected altogether in the next general election.”
In a response, Supermax Corp Bhd executive chairman and group managing director Datuk Seri Stanley Thai said the era of
race-based politics is obsolete in Malaysia and thus should not be practised going forward.
“Policies implemented by federal and state governments must be inclusive of all Malaysians.”
Thai, the founder and major shareholder of the country’s second largest medical glove maker, also expressed his
disappointment with the outcome of the GE13 results and alleged electoral fraud.
To a question on whether the defeat for Pakatan Rakyat in the election would change his business plans here, Thai said that
as a global investor, the group is flexible.
“Like many investors and global entrepreneurs, government budgets and its investment policies play an important role, for us,
in making future business investment decisions and going forward, we anticipate that the cost of doing business in Malaysia
will continue to increase and thus it may not be able to maintain global competitiveness,” he said.
“Indonesia is fast catching up as a more favoured investment destination and if the Malaysian government is not serious in
tackling corruption and not reforming itself to become more efficient and if it does not effectively use public funds, very soon,
everything that Malaysia has — will be taken over by Indonesia many times over.”
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Social Sciences deputy dean and associate professor Sivamurugan Pandian said he
feels that although the Chinese community has received a lot of assistance, it wants equality.
“I think the Chinese feel they already have economic power and would want to have more power within the political
framework.”
Prominent businessman Low Taek Jho, known to be a close ally of Najib, said the federal government needs to quickly and
responsively shore up investor confidence on the back of a buoyant market post-GE.
“The market is up, the ringgit has jumped and is very strong. This will serve as a basis for attracting even more FDI. We see
a very positive outlook for business in Malaysia.”
Low, better known as Jho Low, said the federal government has a good track record of being business friendly.
“Businesses look at consistency in policies that contribute to growth.
“They also seek a certain level of responsiveness from a government — to changing needs driven by global market
conditions,” he said.