I refer to Foreign is better? Think Again

by A Concerned Malaysian. His defence of the Ministry of International Trade and Tourism (Miti) and the government and cries against foreign investment are hugely naive and disturbingly self-destructive

Like it or not, addiction to foreign investment is a fact of life in developing countries, particularly Malaysia. Foreign investment not only provide needed capital but the standards that foreign investment establishes keep an economy in tune with the rest of the world. To ignore it would inevitably result in implosion, for example in communist and dictatorial states.

The survey by the Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry Malaysia (Jactim) merely reflects the failures of government in its labour and industrial policies. Lack of meritocracy in education and job-opportunities has resulted in the flight of talented Malaysians, both non-bumiputra and bumiputra, to other countries. Poor government policies have resulted in poor upgrading of our industries and labour standards.

The fact that foreign investment is opportunistic is beside the point. Foreign investment is not here to make life better for our citizens. Ultimately it is up to each citizen to better themselves to become competitive and attractive enough to be hired as workers. The government has a role to enable workers to take advantage of foreign investment but the Malaysian government has made huge compromises in economic realities in the name of short-sighted social equality.

Things foreign may not necessarily be all good but to isolate oneself and be ignorant of the actual causes of our malaise is even worse. Koreans can make the same car that Proton does at half the price. Chinese workers can produce electronics at twice the speed as Penang workers and at half the wage. The fact that unreliable foreign workers can do the jobs available in this country is merely a signal of the standards of our labour pool and industry standards.