M'sia Can Attract Investors As Trade Unions Are Responsible - Mahathir

KLANG (Malaysia), Dec 15 (Bernama) -- Despite the presence of a large number of trade unions, Malaysia can still attract many investors because the unions adopt a responsible attitude, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He said trade unions in Malaysia did not resort to strikes indiscriminately to fulfill their demands but were more keen to hold negotiations with the employers. Speaking at the convocation of the WIT College, here Wednesday, Dr Mahathir said there was a need to enhance capacity and skills among the workers in Malaysia so that they would receive better pay because of their work quality. "If wages were raised without a high quality of work, production cost would go up and this would reduce investment flow and subsequently there won't be rapid economic growth," he said. Malaysia could not compete with other countries such as China and Vietnam in wooing investors because of the lower production cost in those countries, he said. "Thus, it is hoped that Malaysian workers can be trained for industries producing high value products so that they can enjoy better pay," said Dr Mahathir. He said although workers could be sent for training to enhance their efficiency and skill, it was also important to improve their work attitude so that they could give their best contribution in their work. He said they should emulate the workers in Japan and South Korea who were not only trained but were diligent to the extent that they would be ashamed if their work did not meet the quality specified. Dr Mahathir said with the role played by skills training institutions such as the WIT College, he was confident that Malaysia could emerge as a developed nation by 2020. At the convocation, 710 full-time and part-time students received their diplomas and certificates from Dr Mahathir. -- BERNAMA Malaysia