Malay group: Profiteering is not a racial issue
Chai Jian MeiPublished: Feb 12, 2015 4:14 AM | Updated: Feb 12, 2015 4:21 AM
Malay Businessmen and Industrialists Association of Malaysia (Perdasama) vice-president Naim Mohamad said ongoing debate on profiteering should not be viewed through racial lenses.
Malay Businessmen and Industrialists Association of Malaysia (Perdasama) vice-president Naim Mohamad said ongoing debate on profiteering should not be viewed through racial lenses.
At a press conference yesterday, Naim said profiteers comes in all shades and there is no data on the ethnicity of Malaysia's business owners to draw such conclusions.
“Not only the Chinese do business, the Indian-Muslims , the Malays also do business.
“I think the right statement is that we don’t want unnecessary profiteering when all other costs have come down, (those) profiteers are still making money and giving hardship to Malaysians,” he said.
Naim (seated left in photo) said this in response to a question on Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent Facebook post urging Malays to boycott Chinese businesses to compel them to lower prices.
He was speaking to reporters during a press conference by Perdasama and the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) to announce their joint venture to participate in the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in April.
Naim stressed that he had not read Ismail Sabri’s allegedly inflammatory comments, but had read the Prime Minister's Department’s response to the issue.
Asked whether he thought Ismail Sabri should apologise, Naim said that the decision lies with the minister himself.
“He has a right to his opinion, he has a right to say whatever he wants to say, (but) people will have to evaluate whether he says it right or not.
“It’s up to him. If he thinks that he has said something wrong, then he should apologise, if he feels right, (then) he is entitled to his own opinion.”
On whether lower electricity tariffs would help keep cost of living down, Naim said there should be a yardstick to govern the prices of goods, where traders of all races agree upon.
“We (traders) need to discuss together and look after other people’s feelings. If the cost of burning fuel has come down, I think we (business owners) should evaluate and give the value back to the people,” he said.
Bumi businesses’ China venture
Meanwhile, MCCC and Perdasama announced that the Malaysian delegation to the Canton Fair would involve about 100 bumiputera entrepreneurs.
This is the second time the two groups have collaborated for the Canton Fair, one of China’s biggest trade fairs involving 60,000 booths.
“On the part of MCCC, this is a rare opportunity for us to bring bumiputera entrepreneurs to China, in line with our 1Malaysia concept.
“For Malay entrepreneurs, this could possibly be a whole new business opportunity for them, which is completely different from doing business locally,” said the spokesperson.
Naim has expressed hope that this year’s trade fair would be as successful as the year before.
“Hopefully this expo will continue to strengthen the diplomatic relationship between Malaysia and China, which we have had for 40 years,” he said.
At a press conference yesterday, Naim said profiteers comes in all shades and there is no data on the ethnicity of Malaysia's business owners to draw such conclusions.
“Not only the Chinese do business, the Indian-Muslims , the Malays also do business.
“I think the right statement is that we don’t want unnecessary profiteering when all other costs have come down, (those) profiteers are still making money and giving hardship to Malaysians,” he said.
Naim (seated left in photo) said this in response to a question on Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent Facebook post urging Malays to boycott Chinese businesses to compel them to lower prices.He was speaking to reporters during a press conference by Perdasama and the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) to announce their joint venture to participate in the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in April.
Naim stressed that he had not read Ismail Sabri’s allegedly inflammatory comments, but had read the Prime Minister's Department’s response to the issue.
Asked whether he thought Ismail Sabri should apologise, Naim said that the decision lies with the minister himself.
“He has a right to his opinion, he has a right to say whatever he wants to say, (but) people will have to evaluate whether he says it right or not.
“It’s up to him. If he thinks that he has said something wrong, then he should apologise, if he feels right, (then) he is entitled to his own opinion.”
On whether lower electricity tariffs would help keep cost of living down, Naim said there should be a yardstick to govern the prices of goods, where traders of all races agree upon.
“We (traders) need to discuss together and look after other people’s feelings. If the cost of burning fuel has come down, I think we (business owners) should evaluate and give the value back to the people,” he said.
Bumi businesses’ China venture
Meanwhile, MCCC and Perdasama announced that the Malaysian delegation to the Canton Fair would involve about 100 bumiputera entrepreneurs.
This is the second time the two groups have collaborated for the Canton Fair, one of China’s biggest trade fairs involving 60,000 booths.
“On the part of MCCC, this is a rare opportunity for us to bring bumiputera entrepreneurs to China, in line with our 1Malaysia concept.
“For Malay entrepreneurs, this could possibly be a whole new business opportunity for them, which is completely different from doing business locally,” said the spokesperson.
Naim has expressed hope that this year’s trade fair would be as successful as the year before.
“Hopefully this expo will continue to strengthen the diplomatic relationship between Malaysia and China, which we have had for 40 years,” he said.
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