As the general election is right around the corner, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed has urged the Chinese tycoons to support BN in the next national polls.

During a luncheon held by the ministry with the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) at a five-star hotel this afternoon, Mustapa asked for the support of the organisation based on the “good work” done by the government.

“So this election, of course it could be tough, but I think after all the good work that we had done, and with your support, of course...

“I’m saying this because I’m asking for your support, and hopefully you will not only support me and Barisan Nasional, but (the Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) as well,” said Mustapa to the top leadership of ACCCIM.

NONE ACCCIM president Lim Kok Cheong, deputy president Ter Leong Yap, Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Hua Zong) president Pheng Yin Huah, and Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Yong Poh Kon were among the guests at this event.

In addition, top officials of the ministry, including secretary-general Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, were also present so as to enhance the relationship between the ministry and the Chinese businessmen.

The Jeli MP also jokingly said that Pheng, who is from Pahang, is a “winnable candidate” for BN.

“Make sure you bring a clean sweep in Pahang for BN... I was told that you’re a winnable candidate,” he quipped.

Mustapa, who also served as a minister during the period when Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi were prime ministers, claimed credit for himself in terms of key performance index (KPI) as a minister.

He said that Najib had met him this morning to review his performance, and found out that he did “quite well” with the assistance of the officers of the ministry.

“I had never gone through this experience in my life under Mahathir and Pak Lah. I never had to appear one-on-one with the boss.

“So I have to do that twice a year. My turn was this morning, and I did quite well,” he added.

‘Delay minimum wage for micro-enterprises’

Meanwhile, ACCCIM had submitted a memorandum with 17 items to the minister. Among them are the issues raised following the implementation of the minimum wage and the Competition Act 2010.

Speaking to the press later, Lim urged the government to solve the problem caused by the minimum wage policy, otherwise it would cause huge problems to the micro-enterprises from July 1 this year.

He said that the policy currently was only implemented on the large, small and medium-enterprises (SMEs), which only consist of about 20 percent of all the industries, but the micro-enterprises consist of 77 percent of the total.

ACCCIM had listed nine recommendations regarding the implementation of minimum wage, and proposes a 12-month delay for the implementation of the wage policy for non-professional micro-enterprises.

“To mitigate the financial burden of the minimum wage for SMEs, ACCCIM proposes that SMEs with a chargeable income of less than RM1,000,000 per year should be levied a corporate tax rate of 18 percent, to cushion the effect and to sustain their business,” it added.

Among other issues raised in the memorandum were the shortage of workers, a concept paper on a cluster industry park in Burma, and to further promote Port Klang as a regional wholesale city.

Speaking to the press later, Mustapa said that the ministry will form a special committee to look into the issues raised in the memorandum, and claimed that the government will always listen to the Chinese businessmen.

When asked to comment about a report by Germany’s Oeko Institute stating that the Lynas Advance Materials Plant’s (Lamp) plan to recycle rare earth waste is not feasible and the progress of Lynas in obtaining its permanent disposal facility, Mustapa said that those issues will be answered by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.