FMM president Soh Thian Lai said this in response to Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER) senior fellow Geoffrey Williams, who described such a move as “no longer relevant”.

Earlier, international trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, while speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, outlined an agenda to position Malaysia as a strategic country and a quality investment destination with the credibility to also act as a gateway to Southeast Asia.

“FMM is of the opinion that Malaysia can still offer new companies an entry and a springboard into the Asean market. Malaysia still has much capacity and potential to offer foreign investors.

“Not only is our infrastructure good, but our political environment is also stable and our banking system is sound.

“Malaysia also has all the necessary resources such as financing, manpower, security, business-friendly regulatory framework, and a strategic location that is less prone to natural disasters.”

According to IMD World Competitiveness Report (2022), Malaysia is ranked second after Singapore in the Asean region, while the World Bank estimates that Malaysia trades with 90% of countries in the world, higher than its transitional, regional peer groups.

However, Soh said there is a need to overhaul trade policies to revitalise Malaysia’s position in Asean.

This is especially important in light of declining net foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country since 2016 due to stiff competition from neighbours Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“As Malaysia moves towards achieving high-income status, much reform needs to be done, This would require greater investment in human capital and policies to encourage innovation.

“Infrastructure facilities and institutional quality also need to be enhanced,” he said.

Soh added that Malaysia had never lacked in terms of development ideas and planning.

“The problem has always been, and still is, in the implementation. This pertinent problem needs to be addressed,” he said.