The Kelantan state government has appointed a Singaporean Chinese professor as an economic adviser to oversee trade ties between the state and China.

Lin Siang Xiong, 59, was born in China. He studied in Singapore during the 1950s and is now based in the island state. He is also an artist, entrepreneur and researcher.

Lin's website states that he also holds several positions in China including being appointed by the Henan Provincial Government to be the international consultant for the New District in the eastern part of Zhengzhou. Apart from this, he also holds the post of executive advisor for the International Advisory Committee for Foreign Trade & Economics of Henan.

In an interview with Sin Chew Daily today, Lin said the statement by the PAS government in Kelantan that 'helping us is helping the people' had impressed him and motivated him to accept the position.

He said another reason was that the people in Kelantan were honest and hardworking.

"The most important thing is that the state has very rich natural sources which has yet to be fully explored," he added.

PM's policy

Kelantan special committee on international relations and investments chief Zulkfli Mamat said Lin's appointment was to help the Kelantan government liaise with business networks in China.

He said the state government views China as a potential trading partner and hence wants to focus on fostering closer ties with that country.

"We hope to get more valuable information on Chinese trade and help the business community here to have direct contacts with China," he told malaysiakini today.

"The Prime Minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) has supported Malaysia-China relations, so we want to take advantage of this policy," he said.

Zulkfli, who also heads the state's trade and industry and human resources committee, said mining and agriculture, particularly paddy, as well as general trading are the main sectors to be focused on.

"We hope Kelantan would be able to be a regional trading centre later," he said, adding that the state government was also interested to explore the markets in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

A delegation from Kelantan will go to China to sign a mining agreement with a company there on Nov 22.