Malaysia Does Not Solely Depend On China For FDIs - Treasury Sec-Gen

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia) April 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia receives foreign direct investments (FDIs) from various countries and does not depend solely on China, said Treasury Secretary-General Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah. Refuting claims that Malaysia was overdependent on China, he said, the country's net FDI inflow of RM39.2 billion last year included investments in various sectors from India, Germany, Japan and Singapore, among others. "The FDIs that enter this country are diversified, but there are those who claim we depend too much on China. We (Malaysia) get investments from various sources. The most important thing is, why do investors want to come to Malaysia? The key reasons are a strong economy, a good infrastructure and, most importantly, the country's stable political climate; if there is chaos, who would want to invest here? “Foreign investors choose to invest in Malaysia as they prefer to conduct their businesses in countries that are peaceful and calm,” he said in his message to almost 1,000 federal civil servants in Sarawak at the Ministry of Finance programme, #MOF Bersama Rakyat, here Monday. Mohd Irwan added that in terms of financial management, Malaysia was on a strong economic footing, with Central Bank of Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia raising the economic growth forecast for the nation this year to 5.5-6.0 per cent. He pointed out that the country's strong economy allowed the government to announce an additional increment to the 1.6 million government employees effective July 1 as well as deciding to boost the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) payout for the various categories. “The decision to increase the BR1M payout was due to the strong economy and rising oil prices in the global market. After the government receives a higher amount of petroleum tax and dividends, it will give back to the people. “However, there are those who say Malaysia will go bankrupt soon; if so, the government won't be paying the salaries of its employees,” he added. At the event, Mohd Irwan also urged civil servants to act as a channel to spread the truth on the country's economy to the rakyat. "Civil servants are often in touch with the public so they must possess the correct information to spread 'first-hand’, as the information on the Internet may have been filtered or exaggerated. Therefore, we must be wary of any information acquired,” he added. -- BERNAMA