Chinese Malaysian businessmen have not shied away from investing domestically as there was no drastic increase in investments to China from the community in recent years, a bilateral trade group said.

Ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in a renewed round of criticisms against his handpicked successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier this week has blamed the latter for mismanaging the country's economy.

The 82-year-old ex-premier said that he had been told by many Chinese Malaysian businessmen that they would rather invest in China than domestically.

The Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce however begs to differ.

"It has no direct connection with Abdullah who came to power three years ago because our investments in China have been going on for a long time and it is not a sudden phenomenon," the chamber's honorary president Tan Kai Hee said when contacted.

"China's market is huge and there are a lot of opportunities. The saying 'where there are sweets, there are ants' is true on this score."

Encouraged by government

Tan pointed out that investments from Chinese Malaysians have indeed reduced slightly of late as some of them have shifted to Vietnam, which offers better business opportunities and low production cost.

He described Mahathir's statement as "not so good", arguing that the business community did not intentionally invest in China, but that it has been an exercise encouraged by the government.

Tan - who himself has strong business ties with China and runs traditional herbal and pharmaceutical products manufacturer Hai-O Enterprise Bhd - said it was always better to invest domestically if there are opportunities available.

"I have been investing in China and is so familiar with that place, but frankly, it's not always easy to invest there because we are subject to their local laws and policies all the time," he opined.

Saying that the government should implement more business-friendly policies to attract Chinese Malaysian businessmen, he however said the government should not discontinue to encourage the business community to invest in China.

Chinese-based ruling parties have also responded Mahathir's remarks and dismissed his claim.

9MP being implemented

William Cheng, president of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCIM), said he hoped the government can carry out projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan as soon as possible in order to boost the economy.

On Mahathir's remarks, Cheng was quoted in Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau as saying that the government has been encouraging businessmen to invest abroad not just in China, but also in Vietnam, the Middle East and Russia.

He said the ACCIM, the umbrella body representing the business interests of Chinese Malaysians, had met with Abdullah in the past and voiced out their problems.

However he said the discussion was not meant for public consumption.

For the past six months, Mahathir has been attacking Abdullah's three-year-old administration, accusing him of economic mismanagement, corruption and nepotism.

On Sunday, both the leaders met for two hours - on what was to be a reconciliation meeting - but soon after that meeting, Mahathir renewed his attacks.

Abdullah meanwhile responded to the new wave of criticisms yesterday, likening them to "doses of venom".

He also rejected Mahathir's claims that Malaysia's economy was going down with no new projects implemented in two years.

The prime minister said that projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan had just entered the seventh month and some are being implemented.