Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim today said tycoons in the country are only rich because they built their business empires in Malaysia.

“All of them are rich because they are in Malaysia.

“If not for Malaysia, even if they have high qualification, they may not have become rich,” Shahidan told a press conference in Parliament this afternoon.

He was elaborating on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s speech in Parliament yesterday, in which the Permatang Pauh MP questioned the amount of taxes being paid by the country’s richest personalities.

However, Shahidan reiterated that such tax information is classified under the country’s tax regulations.

Shahidan used the example of the late tycoon Lim Goh Tong ( right ) in trying to illustrate what he said was “extraordinary opportunity to cari makan (make a living)” in Malaysia.

“When Lim Goh Tong arrived in Malaysia, he only had a pair of pants and shirt but he became rich in this country - he got a huge piece of land in Genting and a gambling licence.

“If it was in other countries, it would have been impossible,” Shahidan said.

Likewise, he said, even tycoons such as Robert Kuok who, is now based overseas, had their beginnings in Malaysia.

He said it was unimaginable in the past that Malaysia would be a land of opportunities but today, even people from the African continent were flocking to the country.

“Africans previously didn’t eat rice but now they often eat rice here because there are a lot of opportunities to make a living,” Shahidan added.