Give liberalisation a go, says Talip

KUCHING: People should view measures taken by the government to liberalise the economy as a refinement of the previous policy.

Giving this suggestion was SEDC (Sarawak Economic Development Corporation) chairman Datuk Talip Zulpilip when met at his office in Menara SEDC yesterday.

“My immediate reaction to liberalisation is to give it a go. To me, the general definition of liberalisation is removing what is not beneficial in a system and retaining what is beneficial. So, the government’s move to implement liberalisation is really welcome,” he said.

Speaking on the abolishment of 30 per cent equity-holding for Bumiputeras in Malaysian companies, Talip said the provision had been misinterpreted by many for so long.

“People think that this provision means that we are getting free 30 per cent in a company’s holding, when in reality it is not. It is a means to help Bumiputeras gain economic strength.

“However, the economy needs to have structural transformation so that it can become more vibrant and competitive, in keeping with globalisation. The same goes with the liberalisation of the local financial sector, which will make it more agile and respond better to the international financial system,” he said.

Talip, who is also Jepak assemblyman, stressed the importance of attracting FDI (foreign direct investment) to boost the local economy, particularly in manufac-turing and property purchases.

“Liberalisation will allow foreign companies to set up and operate their factories in Malaysia, thus injecting more investments into the local economy. In addition, these factories will further create value-added services that will benefit the local community.

“It is actually a win-win situation for us,” he added.

Nevertheless, Talip pointed out that the approach towards liberalisation would be selective and sequenced to ensure maximum benefits to the country.

“It (liberalisation) will be supplemented with sufficient safeguards to ensure that the overall intermediation and system remain intact, effective and sound.

“Of course, with liberalisation, comes the responsibility of maintaining the quality of our services to be efficient and prompt,” he concluded.

The liberalisation measures, which were announced on Monday, stated that the rule requiring initial public offerings to reserve 30 per cent of stocks for Bumiputeras will be abolished and regulatory approval for foreign property purchases to be neutralised.

Borneo Post
02/07/2009

Search

Statistic

	Today	23
	Yesterday	453
	This week	823
	This month	2362
	All	343920

Visitors Counter