RM20bil aid for the people: the 6th economic stimulus package, Pemerkasa

 

PUTRAJAYA: The government has unveiled its sixth economic stimulus package, the RM20bil People and Economic Strategic Empowerment Programme (Pemerkasa), which, among others, will see targeted assistance given to the people and sectors still affected by the pandemic.

Focusing on 20 initiatives, Pemerkasa is also aimed at giving the economy a jump-start and to support business continuity, as the government reaffirms its commitment to care and listen to the people.

Unveiling Pemerkasa, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin identified five focus areas to promote economic recovery – control the spread of Covid-19, accelerating economic recovery, strengthening Malaysia’s competitiveness, ensuring inclusivity by reducing development gaps within regions and communities, and transforming the economy.

Of the RM20bil under Pemerkasa, RM11bil is fresh fiscal injection by the government.

Muhyiddin said among the efforts in driving economic recovery was to revitalise the tourism and retail sectors which had been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister said to alleviate the burden and to support the recovery of the tourism sector, the government would extend tourism tax and service tax exemptions on accommodation provided by hotel operators until Dec 31,2021.

“We will also extend tax incentives to tour companies until the year of assessment 2022, allow deferment of monthly income tax instalments from April 1 to Dec 31,2021 to companies in the tourism and industries such as cinemas and spas.

“The sector will also be provided entertainment duty exemption on admission fees to entertainment venues such as theme parks, stage performances, sporting events and competitions as well as cinemas in the Federal Territories, ” Muhyiddin said in a special address yesterday.

The scope of special relief on individual income tax of up to RM1,000 will be expanded to include expenses on travel packages provided by travel agents registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) while the HRDF levy exemption for affected businesses under the tourism and retail sector will be extended until June 2021.

Muhyiddin said in addition, the government had agreed to a one-off special assistance grant of RM3,000 to more than 5,000 tourism agencies registered with Motac.

The government will provide a one-off cash assistance of RM600 to homestay operators registered with Motac, which is expected to benefit more than 4,000 Malaysian Homestay Programme hosts or entrepreneurs.

“When most of us are vaccinated, the government will consider allowing interstate travel in stages and may even establish a special green lane for border travel involving air transport.

“At the moment, the government will need time to assess all the necessary aspects and weigh the risks before a decision is made, ” he said.

To assist cash flow and reduce operating cost for hotel operators, theme parks, convention centres, shopping malls, local airline offices and travel and tour agencies, a special discount on electricity bills of 10% will be extended for another three months until June 30.

The total cost borne by the government for this extension is RM135mil.

The Prime Minister said the Perikatan Nasional government remained committed to moving forward in planning various economic recovery strategies for the well-being of the rakyat.

“The government has done its level best to ensure that no groups are left behind from receiving government’s benefits.

“Perikatan as a caring government always listens and cares about the well-being of the people.

“This trust will be shouldered responsibly and sincerely for the sake of the people and the nation, ” he added.

Muhyiddin also urged the public to register for the Covid-19 vaccination, advising all not to delay because the sooner people get vaccinated, the sooner everyone can enjoy a normal life.

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Pemerkasa: Something all can look forward to

 

  PETALING JAYA: The government’s People and Economic Strategic Empowerment Programme (Pemerkasa) includes hiring incentives and micro credit facilities to give a leg-up to the economic sectors most affected by the pandemic.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government would allocate RM700mil to extend the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 for another three months, targeted at the tourism, wholesale and retail sectors.

Other sectors that were not allowed to operate during the movement control order would also benefit from this, he added.

“This initiative is expected to benefit 400,000 employees and 37,000 employers, ” he said.

Muhyiddin said the government would also enhance the PenjanaKerjaya 2.0 initiative under the Social Welfare Organisation (Sosco) by expanding the scope of hiring incentives to include temporary and gig workers.

This will include an allocation of RM300mil to assist 60,000 workers, where each worker will receive RM600 per month for a maximum of six months.

Employers offering short-term employment or gig service platforms registered with Socso will receive RM200 for each worker they hire.

The government will also extend the duration of PenjanaKerjaya’s apprenticeship programme to six months, where trainees undertaking this programme will be given an incentive of RM800 during their apprenticeship.

He said the government would continue to support the business continuity, especially local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We will continue with the Prihatin Special Grant 3.0 (GKP) initiative to support businesses to recommence operations. Every eligible micro SME will receive a one-off assistance of RM1,000, ” he said.

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“Micro SMEs that have not received the GKP prior to this can apply for GKP 3.0 beginning April 1. GKP 3.0 is expected to benefit more than one million entrepreneurs.”.

He added that the government would increase the allocation for small-scale projects in 2021 from RM2.5bil to RM5bil..

“Among the types of small-scale projects which will be reserved for G1-G4 class contractors are the repair of public infrastructure and facilities damaged by floods, road repairs, social amenities, repair of strata housing including the replacement of elevators at public housing, and constructing stalls in municipalities, ” he said..

The government would also simplify procurement procedures to expedite the implementation of projects, he added..

Under Budget 2021, the government approved an allocation of RM1bil for micro credit financing facilities..

As such, Muhyiddin said the government would provide an additional RM500mil for micro credit financing through programmes under Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), the National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (Tekun Nasional), Mara and SME Corp..

“Through BSN, a fund of RM300mil will be made available with a financing limit of up to RM50,000 and the interest rate reduced from 3.5% to 3%. The loan tenure will be for five years and loan repayments will only commence after the sixth month..

“For entrepreneurs from the informal sector, Tekun Nasional will be providing an additional fund of RM60mil, especially for the Informal Financing Scheme with a financing limit of up to RM5,000 for small businesses operating from homes, night markets and wet markets..

“The Tekun Mobilepreneur programme will also be expanded to finance the repair or purchase of new motorcycles with a financing value of up to RM10,000..

“To complement this initiative, locally assembled motorcycles with an engine capacity of 150cc and below will be given a 100% exemption on excise duty from April 1 to Dec 31 this year, ” he said..

Financing assistance of up to RM20,000 will also be provided for repairing vehicles and up to RM50,000 for the purchase of vans or lorries under the POS-prenuer programme from Tekun..

“Through Mara, the Prihatin Micro Business Financing Scheme will be implemented, focusing on assisting 1,000 bumiputra micro SMEs in sustaining their business..

“A total of RM50mil will be allocated with a financing value of up to RM50,000 at an interest rate as low as 3%, ” he said..

“Additionally, SME Corp will provide RM50mil to assist local SMEs to obtain financing of up to RM250,000 at an interest rate as low as 3%.”.

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World Bank: Malaysia needs to do to achieve high-income status, but at a slow pace

Malaysia is likely to make the transition from an upper middle-income economy to a high-income economy within the next five years despite setbacks from the Covid-19-induced recession, says a new World Bank report.

However, according to the “Aiming High: Navigating the next stage of Malaysia’s development” report, Malaysia is growing slower than many countries that have achieved high-income status in the past.

“Compared to many other countries that have graduated from middle-income status, it has a lower share of employment at high skills levels and higher levels of inequality.

“And compared to countries in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Malaysia collects less in taxes, spends less on social protection and performs relatively poorly in terms of measures related to environmental management and the control of corruption, ” it said, adding that many of these fault lines were exposed during the pandemic.

Malaysia, it said, had been severely affected by Covid-19, adding that it would take “several years before the scars of the pandemic are fully erased”.

The 196-page report is expected to be launched today by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in a virtual event that will also see Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad delivering his special address on Malaysia’s next development plan.

The report said policies that had enabled Malaysia to successfully transition from low to middle-income would need to be adapted to meet future challenges, adding that these policies and institutions which had worked in the past might no longer be appropriate.

Malaysia’s transition, it said, was also subject to a number of significant downside risks, especially the high level of uncertainty over what would be the “new normal” after Covid-19 and how this would impact the country.

“The Asian Tigers that achieved high-income status in past decades did so in a more benign international environment.

“Malaysia faces not only a global pandemic and a worldwide recession but also a looming international debt crisis, a heightened risk of a resurgence in trade disputes, the potential unravelling of global value chains, and the impact of disruptive technologies that will change the nature of comparative advantage, ” it said.

Domestically, Malaysia also faced ongoing political uncertainty and a significant increase in government debt from financing the economic measures to help the rakyat during the Covid-19.

While it was normal for Malaysia to experience decelerating growth before Covid-19 as it achieved a higher level of development, it appeared to have slowed down more than it should have relative to its potential.

“The country must adopt a new course for greater knowledge-intensive and productivity-driven growth. In this context, the Covid-19 crisis might usefully provide an opportunity to undertake much-needed reforms, ” it said.

The report also noted that as Malaysia positioned itself for the next phase of development and beyond the pandemic, many of the issues related to this transformation were being addressed and discussed, including through the 12th Malaysia Plan and the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

“With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and its potential to depress growth into the future, issues related to Malaysia’s readiness for the future have become even more significant, ” it added.

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Quality better than quantity in foreign investments 

World Bank Malaysia cht
 

 

 
KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia looks to transform its economy, there is also a need to reorient its practices and policies to attract quality foreign investments that would help the nation achieve its aspirations.

According to World Bank Group lead economist for Malaysia Richard Record, (pic below) the country is now focusing more on quality investments rather than in quantity.

 

“It is becoming clear that Malaysia is now looking to attract a different type of investment. In the past, Malaysia was at a low level of development and there was a lack of capital. So foreign investment was an important source of investment.

“Now, it’s less so about that, and more about the types of technology, management practices, job creation and opportunities to move into new areas of competitive advantage.

“So Malaysia is looking for something a little bit different from foreign investment now and there’s an opportunity here to rejig some of the policies towards that attraction of quality investments, ” he said.

These reforms include improving speed and transparency in investment approvals and incentive offerings.

Record noted that moving towards an automated approval process would put Malaysia at the forefront.

There is also a need for a more coordinated promotional effort. While Malaysia has a lot to offer investors, Record noted that there were many institutions competing in parallel. Thus, a more coordinated approach would yield a higher return on investment.

According to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report, the inflow of FDI into Malaysia dropped by 68% last year.

However, Malaysia is not an isolated case as the report noted that global FDI collapsed in 2020, falling 42% to an estimated US$859bil from US$1.5 trillion in 2019.

“Malaysia is a highly open economy and is exposed to international business cycles. So it is inevitable that we saw a reduction in investment flows to Malaysia last year, ” said Record.

Meanwhile, World Bank Group country manager for Malaysia Firas Raad noted that Malaysia’s fiscal position coming out of the recovery will be somewhat constrained.

Hence, there will be a higher reliance on private investment.

“We are in a highly competitive environment because every government around the world is trying to attract investments. So this is where serious reforms and initiatives have to be implemented to make sure that Malaysia’s offering is really competitive with the countries we see in the region, ” he said. 

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When racism is not simply black and white

 

Climate of fear: Anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment have risen to historic levels during the Covid-19 pandemic. — AFP

 

“IT’S wrong, it’s un-American and it must stop”, President Joe Biden called out the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the pandemic on Thursday.

“Too often, we’ve turned against one another, ” the president said, denouncing the “vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans, who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.”

Biden noted that the attacks are happening despite the fact that “so many of them, our fellow Americans, ” are health care workers working on the front lines of the pandemic.

“And still, still, they are forced to live in fear for their lives, just walking down streets in America, ” he said.

Many on social media were quick to thank Biden for addressing the issue, saying that “words matter, ” and compared his rhetoric to that of former President Trump, who referred to Covid-19 as “China virus, ” among other derogatory terms.

Although this was not the first time Biden had highlighted it – in his first week in office Biden had issued a memo condemning racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – this wave of violence had remained relatively low profile because it didn’t fit neatly into the standard narrative of race in America.

As Korean American writer Jay Caspian Kang put it in his article in The New York Times, many people don’t realise that Asian Americans comprise people of different ethnic backgrounds “who do not speak the same language and, in many cases, dislike one another.”

Then there is the perception of racial violence in the US as "simply black and white", he added: “What doesn’t exist now is a language to discuss what happens when the attackers caught on video happen to be black.”

There is also a problem of tracking these crimes, which are believed to be under-reported by victims wary of dealing with the police or contributing to the criminalisation of African Americans.

A new report published this week found that while hate crimes fell overall by 7% in 2020, Asian Americans experienced a 150% surge in attacks.

In July 2020, there were more than 2,100 anti-Asian American hate incidents that were directly related to the pandemic. According to Stop AAPI Hate, a tracker supported by Asian American advocacy groups, many of the incidents they tracked included a perpetrator using language similar to Trump’s.

Question of identity

Kiwi Wongpeng was stopping at a traffic light in suburban Cleveland when a man pulled up beside her and motioned for her to roll down the window.

“Get out of my country – that’s an order!” he shouted from his pickup. After a pause, he added: “I’ll kill you.”

It wasn’t her first brush with racism. But she had never heard something so direct and violent until last April, as cities around the country were shutting down amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The man, she believed, must have mistaken her for Chinese and blamed her for the virus that was first detected in Wuhan, China.

“I’ve felt scared for not just myself, but my community and Asians all over this country, ” said Wongpeng, 34, whose family immigrated to the US from Thailand 20 years ago and runs a Thai restaurant.

Anti-Asian hate crimes climbed in 15 of the 16 cities in the past year, with New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle and San Jose experiencing the most significant increases and their highest tallies in at least five years.

Chinese and Korean restaurants vandalised with anti-Asian epithets and stereotypes – “stop eating dogs, ” said the graffiti on a New York noodle shop. Elderly Asian Americans were shoved on the street in broad daylight. And a Burmese refugee and his children were attacked by a man with a knife.

Brian Levin, director of the Cal State center, described the growth in hatred as one of “historic significance for the nation.”

“Opinion polls, derisive online activity, harassment and crime data have converged to show a vast spread and increase in aggressive behavior toward Asian Americans, ” he said.

In New York, where the number of anti-Asian hate crimes jumped from three to 28, all but four were related to the coronavirus. Many of the 2020 incidents in New York – and across the country – occurred in the early days of the pandemic, when fears ran highest.

That February, an Asian American woman wearing a face mask in a Manhattan subway station was kicked and punched by a man who called her “diseased.”

In March, an Asian American man walking with his 10-year-old son was followed and hit over the head by a stranger who assailed him for not wearing a mask.

In April, an Asian American woman in the Bronx was attacked on a bus by a woman and three teenage girls who hit her with an umbrella and accused her of starting the pandemic.

“There’s no question about it: All Asians feel extra vulnerable because the attacks have definitely increased, ” said Don Lee, a community activist in Brooklyn. “The harassment, the pushing, the shoving.”

The most comprehensive national data on hate crimes comes from the FBI, which defines them as offenses “against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.”

The FBI, which relies on voluntary submissions from law enforcement agencies, is not expected to publish figures for 2020 until November. But all indications suggest it will prove to be a record year for hate crimes targeting Asians.

While most of what is known so far comes from major police departments that have released their own data, Levin said that some of the worst anti-Asian hate crimes occurred in smaller cities – including the attack on the Burmese refugee and his two sons.

Last March, 34-year-old Bawi Cung was grocery shopping at a Sam’s Club in Midland, Texas, when a man grabbed a knife from a nearby rack. Cung was slashed on his face, his 3-year-old was stabbed in the back, and his 6-year-old was stabbed in the face. A Sam’s Club employee intervened, tackling the suspect, 19-year-old Jose Gomez, who was indicted on hate crime and attempted murder charges and is awaiting trial.

“Gomez admitted, he confessed to trying to kill the family, ” said Midland Dist. Atty. Laura Nodolf.

“He thought that they brought the virus here and were trying to spread it” and that “all Asians must be from China.”

“Most people think hate crime, white sheets, white hats, going after someone who is of African descent, ” she said. “This is a whole new dynamic.”

The police department data do not include harassment, which has been vastly more common but is not considered criminal.

Stop AAPI Hate logged 1,990 anti-Asian harassment incidents and 246 assault cases in the 10 months after its launch in March 2020. The victims who Stop AAPI Hate tracked were largely Chinese Americans – 40% – and Korean Americans – 15%.

“That and victim statements tell us that people are likely targeting people who they believe are from China. Covid-19 did not start in Korea, but racists aren’t always accurate, ” stated Stop AAPI Hate.

Historical hatred

Anne Anlin Cheng, a professor of English and American studies at Princeton, believes there is a historical root to the anti-Asian violence spike in the past year.

“This recent onslaught of anti-Asian violence can partly be attributed to former president Trump, who spoke non-stop of the ‘Chinese virus’, but he could not have rallied the kind of hatred that he did without this country’s long history of systemic and cultural racism against people of Asian descent, ” she wrote in The New York Times.

She pointed out that Asian-Americans exist in “a weird but convenient lacuna in American politics and culture.”

If they register at all on the national consciousness, it is either as a foreign threat (the Yellow Peril, the Asian Tiger, the Spy, the Disease Vector) or as the domestic but ultimately disposable prism for deflecting or excusing racism against other minorities, she noted.

What many are not aware of is that our histories are more entangled than how we tell them, she said.

Few people know that many of the same families that amassed wealth through slavery also profited from the opium trade in China, she explained.

“Or that at least 17 Chinese residents were the targeted victims of one of the worst mass lynchings in American history in Los Angeles’ ‘Negro Alley’ in 1871; or that America’s immigration policy and ideas of citizenship were built on top of laws like the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese labourers from immigrating to the US for 10 years.”

Mari Cobb, a 26-year-old immunology and genomics research lab technician at the University of Chicago, said she has watched in dismay as hatred even hit her. Her mother is Japanese American, and her father is white, which she said is how people usually see her.

This January at a Taco Bell, she was refilling her cup at the soda dispenser when a man approached her.

“The Oriental touched the dispenser!” he yelled. “Stop her! She started this whole thing!”

The reference to Covid-19 was clear.

Cobb later shared her story on Instagram, and eventually it was featured on standagainsthatred.org, a testimonials site launched recently by the advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

“Growing up, my mom told me this could happen, ” Cobb said. “But I think my white privilege has prevented me from experiencing a lot.”

In an era of growing activism against racism, she said that concern shouldn’t be limited to Black and Latino communities.

“There’s been an increase in more people trying to actively become anti-racist, and I think that’s great, but I also think you need to include Asian people in that conversation.” — Los Angeles Times/TNS/Agencies

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Malaysia, Asean to benefit most from China’s new economic strategies

Beijing's 14th five-year economic plan and 2035 goal promise a new era of development for China and the greater wealth for the world.

Momentous meeting: China’s top political advisory body wrapped up its annual session recently. — Xinhua

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CHINA’s most important meetings of the year – “Two Sessions” – have unveiled Beijing’s medium- and long-term economic goals and strategies that experts believe will not only boost China’s quality development and modernisation but will also benefit the world, in particular Asean.

As Malaysia is part of the 10-nation Asean, China’s biggest trading partner, it will gain from Beijing’s strategies as long as Putrajaya continues to embrace foreign policies deemed as friendly – or at least non-toxic – towards Beijing.

The “Two Sessions” or Lianghui refers to the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The NPC is the Parliament where laws and policies are adopted, while the CPPCC is the top political consultative body comprising the Communist Party of China (CPC) and other interest groups that provide policy input for the NPC.

At the start of the NPC in Beijing on March 5, Premier Li Keqiang, while unveiling the 14th five- year plan (2021-2025), announced that China had set an economic growth target of more than 6% for 2021 – with emphasis on high-quality development, green economy, modernisation and innovation.

The GDP of China, the first country to be hit by and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, grew by only 2.3% in 2020. Still, China was the only major economy to post growth last year.

Li also announced that China – the world’s second largest economy in the world – wants to double the size of its economy to 202 trillion yuan (RM128 trillion) in 2035, from 102 trillion yuan (RM64.5 trillion) in 2020.

Over the next five years, Beijing will aim to keep unemployment low, strive for 7% annual growth in research and development spending and forge a new development pattern.

China also aims to become an advanced manufacturing powerhouse by 2025. This involves upgrading its manufacturing capabilities in rare earth, robotics, aircraft engines, new energy vehicles, high-end medical equipment and innovative medicine, aviation, high-speed rail and industrial applications of the BeiDou satellite system.

Ultimately, China wants to reduce reliance on foreign technologies and enhance competitiveness against the United States after being trapped in a long and acrimonious US-initiated trade war.

According to a Xinhua commentary, the CPC wants to lay the foundation to transform China into “a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful” by the middle of the 21st century.

To double its GDP, China needs to achieve an average annual growth rate of 4.7-5.0% in the next 15 years, according to estimates of economists.

Prof Justin Lin Yifu, a top economist in planning Beijing’s poverty eradication programmes, projects that China will become a high-income nation by 2025.

The dean at the Institute of New Structural Economics of Peking University told Chinese newspaper Global Times that his optimistic prognosis “is based on China’s complete industrial chain, rich industrial range and advantages in new technologies, including 5G and artificial intelligence”.

Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told Global Times the five-year plan has taken into account risks and challenges, particularly those posed by the US and its allies that try to contain China’s rise and technology advancement.

Despite challenges ahead, Beijing has demonstrated that it is capable of achieving targets. A good example is shown in the eradication of extreme poverty in 2020, achieved on the back of economic disruption induced by Covid-19.

While China’s economic strategies aim primarily at developing domestic growth, they are seen as benefiting investors and foreign nations.

“Given the size of the Chinese economy and the important role it plays in the global economy, the 14th Plan also offers a bright spot for the global economy in this difficult time, ” Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute, told Global Times.

Indeed, China has contributed about 30% in global economic growth on average over the past 20 years. Within the next five to 10 years, China is expected to contribute 25-30% to global economic growth, says Gobal Times.

Christina Zhu, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, notes that Beijing plans to increase spending on fundamental research by 10.6% this year and encourages manufacturers to invest in research and development by offering greater tax benefits.

“China will further open up its domestic market to foreign businesses and investors. It has lifted restrictions in areas such as high-end manufacturing, new energy and service industries, and has committed to trimming down the negative list and providing a level playing field for foreign enterprises, ” she writes in a note.

Foreign trade stability and growth in foreign investment are critical to China’s ambition for greater connectivity with the world economy, she adds in the note also issued to Sunday Star.

Judging from what China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said, Malaysia and its Asean neighbours can expect to enjoy preferential treatment from China.

Last Sunday, Wang Yi told a press conference: “China is willing to work with Asean to build an even closer community with a shared future and another 30 years of even greater cooperation.

“In the new development stage, China is like an express train with greater driving force and load capacity. China welcomes all countries to get on board and move towards a future of shared prosperity.”

Locally, the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) sees Asean becoming a strong beneficiary of Beijing’s economic plan and goals.

“With China regaining its strong growth momentum in 2021, its economic strategies will help to support Malaysia and Asean’s economic recovery from the pandemic, ” says Tan Sri Ter Leong Yap, president of ACCCIM.

The trade group sees China as intensifying external connectivity via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of President Xi Jinping to accelerate China’s involvement in international trade.

Touching on Malaysia, ACCCIM notes that China has become Malaysia’s largest trading partner for the 12th consecutive year in 2020, with total trade valued at RM329.8bil or 18.6% of Malaysia’s total trade. Exports to China accounted for 16.2% while imports from China stood at 21.5%.

In 2020, China’s investment in Malaysia jumped 43.8% to RM5.8bil to become Malaysia’s sixth largest foreign investor.

“China’s long-term sustainable economic growth and greater emphasis on quality and technology-driven investment will open up more trade and investment cooperation in the areas that can help Malaysia’s industrial development.

“China’s signature BRI can continue to be a catalyst to spur more China investment to Malaysia and Asean, ” Ter tells Sunday Star.

The growing influence of China on the global stage will boost China-Asean economic cooperation, which can be further cemented by the signing of the 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), he adds.

Malaysia’s development focus on IR 4.0, digitalisation, 5-G technology, e-commerce, green investment, renewable energy, electric cars and smart transport infrastructure also means that both nations can work together to foster win-win deals.

Ter opines: “Malaysia can learn a lot from China in high technology, digitalisation, agri-tech and the building of smart and eco-industrial parks.

“We hope that the Prime Minister’s planned visit to China could further strengthen bilateral relations, taking it to a new level of win-win partnership. Both countries have come a long way in deepening trade and investment flows, enhanced connectivity and people-people exchange.”

For Prof Datuk Dr Chin Yew Sin, China’s BRI strategy under its 14th five-year plan could help Beijing achieve its economic targets.

“Between 2013 and 2019, China had signed with 138 counties, including Asean countries, for a total of 790 BRI projects. These overseas BRI projects undertaken by China will help spur the economic growth rate of China by about one per cent annually.

“The BRI projects implemented in Malaysia and other Asean countries will enhance the economic growth rates of these countries also, ” says Dr Chin, adviser for the Global One Belt One Road Association (Asia Pacific Region).

Dr Chin believes China’s demand for Asean’s natural produces and manufactured products will be even greater when it overtakes the US to become the largest economy in the world before 2035.

“By then, Malaysia will be able to export more of its electrical and electronic products, palm oil, rubber, oil and gas, timber products and others to China due to a higher demand of these goods.

“In addition, Malaysia will be able to attract more direct investments from China because of its long-standing good relationship with China, ” he adds.

Malaysia was the first Asean country to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1974 and Beijing has never failed to repeat its gratitude to Malaysian leaders at meetings, Dr Chin notes.

Datuk Keith Li, a mainland Chinese business leader in Malaysia, shares the views of his Malaysian counterparts.

“China will definitely focus more on the Asean market since the bloc is China’s biggest trading partner amid the pandemic. Moreover, China’s current ties with the US, Europe and Australia are tense, ” says Li, president of the China Entrepreneurs’ Association in Malaysia.

He adds: “There will be more to be done when the RCEP is implemented. China is expected to help Malaysia build a high-speed railway, an essential link with other Asean countries” Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Singapore. This will also facilitate China to enhance economic cooperation with Asean in tourism, trade, logistics and communication.”

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STILL AMRICA FIRST IN TRADE

DOMESTIC TOURISM SOP UNDER CMCO; ‘Follow SOP even after jab’

THE government announced that Selangor, Johor, Kuala Lumpur and Penang will join Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Sarawak* under the conditional movement control order from March 5-18, while Melaka, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Putrajaya, Labuan and Perlis are in the recovery MCO category. With the relaxation of movement restrictions, the travel sector has reopened, including wellness centres and spas, recreational parks, art galleries and theme parks. * (until March 15).

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‘Follow SOP even after jab’

As the national immunisation programme to battle Covid-19 enters its second week, health experts say those who have been vaccinated still need to observe the standard operating procedure to protect the community in general.

As of March 11, a total of 249,909 jabs have been administered, mostly to frontliners.

The government targets herd immunity with 80% of the population vaccinated by next February.

Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said those vaccinated would still need to observe the SOP such as wearing face masks, practising physical distancing and sanitising their hands to protect others who have yet to be vaccinated.

 

 Such measures were necessary because it has yet to be established how effective each of the vaccines would be against any new mutations of Covid-19.

“We will also likely require booster jabs to protect against new mutations. For now, we can assume that observing the SOP is needed until the pandemic is declared over or if a cure is available, ” he said.

Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah concurred, saying “there are several unknowns which make wearing a face mask and social distancing important to protect the community”.

“Only a handful of vaccines can claim to give complete protection.

“This may seem counterintuitive but vaccinated people may still transmit the virus, even if they do not display the symptoms, ” he said.

However, Dr Raj said whether one still needed to follow the SOP after herd immunity was achieved was still “too early to tell”.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in its updated guidelines, states that those who have been fully vaccinated can attend indoor gatherings with other fully vaccinated people without wearing face masks.

The guidelines say that those fully vaccinated do not need to stay away from others or get tested for the virus even though they have been around someone who has the virus, unless they develop symptoms.

But the CDC adds that if a person lives in a group setting and is around persons who have the virus, they should stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if they do not develop symptoms.

Universiti Malaya epidemiologist Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, who heads the Independent Covid-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee, said the SOP needed to remain in place while the vaccination programme was ongoing until infection levels became very low

“This is to buy time while herd immunity is being built.

“It takes time for individuals to build up sufficient immunity to resist the virus as many of these vaccines require two doses and it takes a few weeks for the body to respond adequately after each dose.

“It will be prudent not to rush to lift all travel restrictions too soon, ” he said.

Even if herd immunity is achieved, Prof Awang Bulgiba proposed easing the SOP gradually, instead of lifting it at one go.

“We need to establish through epidemiological studies that herd immunity is building up and that it is sustainable.

“Once herd immunity has been established, the SOP can be eased gradually and we can return to pre-pandemic norms, ” Prof Awang Bulgiba said.

He also recommended that the government set up a Voluntary Vaccination Registry to follow up on 50,000 people who have been vaccinated for two years, citing a case in Brazil where a resurgence of cases was seen.

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