PETALING JAYA: The Federal Government's decision to allow the majority of businesses to resume operations under the conditional movement control order (MCO) has the support of 59 Malaysian chambers of commerce and industry associations.
The presidents and chairmen representing the groups said that it was critical for business operations to resume and urged all state governments to collectively restart the economy due to the close interlinking of supply chains among states.
"We, as leaders of the major chambers of commerce and industry associations in Malaysia, are committed to ensuring strict adherence to the established standard operating procedures (SOP) by employers who are overall responsible for the health and well-being of their employees.
"At the same time, we also firmly believe that the decision taken by the Federal Government has been made based on sound data and considerations to strike a balance between public and economic health," they said in a joint statement on Tuesday (May 5).
Among the organisations that signed the joint statement include the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, Bumiputra Retailers Organization, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Malaysia Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia and Malaysia Retail Chain Association.
They noted that the government's decision was made to prevent the economy from further collapse as companies could no longer afford to remain closed as they continued to have financial obligations to meet, especially salaries to pay and to continue to provide employment for workers, thereby safeguarding the livelihood of the people.
"Commerce and industry are integral to Malaysia's economic and social well-being, and must be allowed to function in a continuous motion.
"We need to save millions of jobs and ensure the survival of enterprises now, but we can only do it if all parties stand united and act decisively to ensure business continuity and protect the well-being of the rakyat," they said.
Here is the statement in full:
Chambers of commerce and associations in Malaysia stand united in supporting Federal Government decision to restart the economy together
We, the presidents and chairmen representing 59 chambers of commerce and industry associations, declare our full support for the Federal Government’s decision and the media release dated May 4, 2020 by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, International Trade and Industry Minister, to allow majority of the economic sector and business activities to resume operations on May 4, 2020 under the conditional movement control order. We share the conviction that it is critical for business operations to resume concurrently nationwide and therefore urge all state governments to collectively execute the Federal Government’s decision and restart the economy together given the close interlinking of supply chains among states.
We, as leaders of the major chambers of commerce and industry associations in Malaysia, are also committed to ensuring strict adherence to the established standard operating procedures (SOP) by employers who are overall responsible for the health and well-being of their employees.
At the same time, we also firmly believe that the decision taken by the Federal Government has been made based on sound data and considerations to strike a balance between public and economic health. The decision was made to prevent the economy from further collapse as companies can no longer afford to remain closed while they continue to have financial obligations to meet, especially salaries and continue to provide employment for their workers which translates into safeguarding the livelihood of the rakyat.
Commerce and industry are integral to Malaysia’s economic and social well-being, and must be allowed to function in a continuous motion. We need to save millions of jobs and ensure the survival of enterprises now, but we can only do it if all parties stand united and act decisively to ensure business continuity and protect the well-being of the rakyat.
Therefore, we jointly sign this Joint Declaration,
Kuala Lumpur, May 5, 2020
1. Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) / Tan Sri Ter Leong Yap
2. Association of Marine Industries of Malaysia (AMIM) / Soo Jee Main
3. Building Materials Distributors Association of Malaysia (BMDAM) / Bill Lee
4. Bumiputera Retailers Associations (BRO) / Datuk Wira Dr Ameer Ali Mydin
5. Chemical Industries Council Malaysia (CICM) / Datuk Dr Abd Hapiz Abdullah
6. Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM) / Jonathan Reed, Cormac O’Rourke and Naeem Shahab Khan
7. Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Berhad / Renuka Indrarajah
8. Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia (DPMM) / Syed Hussein Al-Habshee
9. Federation of Malaysia Hardware, Machinery and Building Material Dealer Association (FMHMBA) /
Eric Koh Seng Kiat
10. Federation of Malaysian Fashion, Textile and Apparel (FMFTA) / Datuk Sri Tan Thian Poh
11. Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) / Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai
12. FMM Malaysian Food Manufacturing Group (FMM MAFMAG) / Raja Zalina Raja Safran
13. FMM-Malaysian Cosmetics and Toiletries Industry Group (FMM-MCTIG) / Lee Pang
14. Honda Malaysia Suppliers (HMSC) / Michael Khoo
15. Machinery And Engineering Industries Federation (MEIF) / Mac Ngan Boon
16. Malaysia Associated Indian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry Of Malaysia (MAICCI) / Datuk N Gobalakrishnan
17. Malaysia Medical Device Association (MMDA) / Yong Tuan Heng
18. Malaysia Medical Device Manufacturer Association (PERANTIM) / Leow Nyah Chai
19. Malaysia OSV Owners’ Association (MOSVA) / Mohamed Safwan Othman
20. Malaysia Paper Association (MaPA) / Sherina Soh
21. Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation (MARIC) / Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman
22. Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) / Datuk Garry Chua
23. Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) / James Loke
24. Malaysia Rubber Products Manufacturers’ Association (MRPMA) / Yeaw Kok Kwey
25. Malaysia Steel Association (MSA) / Tan Sri William Cheng Heng Jem
26. Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) / Datuk Aishah Ahmad
27. Malaysian Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Association (MACRA) / Datuk Andy Kwan
28. Malaysian Automotive Component Parts Association (MACPMA) / Peter Lim Yoke Cheong
29. Malaysian Association of Pharmaceutical Suppliers (MAPS) / Lim Teng Chyuan
30. Malaysian Ceramic Industry Group (MCIG) / Datuk John Chua
31. Malaysian Consortium of Mid Tier Companies (MCMTC) / Callum Chen
32. Malaysian Corrugated Carton Manufacturers’ Association (MACCMA) / Henry Low Sheong Boon
33. Malaysia Dietary Supplement Association (MADSA) / Muthu Kumar Shanmunghom
34. Malaysian Fire Protection Association (MFPA) / Michelle Hah
35. Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MICCI) / Datuk Tan Cheng Kiat
36. Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (MISIF) / Datuk Lim Hong Thye
37. Malaysian Oil and Gas Services Council (MOGSC) / Sharifah Zaida Nurlisha
38. Malaysian Organisation of Pharmaceutical Industries (MOPI) / Peter Rayar Sowrimuthu
39. Malaysian Petrochemicals Association (MPA) / Akbar Md Thayoob
40. Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) / Datuk Lim Kok Boon
41. Malaysian Pulp and Paper Manufacturers Association / Azaman Abu Bakar
42. Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) / Denis Low Jau Foo
43. Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) / Foo Chek Lee
44. Motorcycle & Scooter Assemblers And Distributors Association of Malaysia (MASAAM) / Goh Wei Ping
45. Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA) / Naguib Mohd Nor
46. Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) / Datuk Tan Yew Sing
47. National Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (NCCIM) / Tan Sri Ter Leong Yap
48. National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) / Danny Lee
49. Pan-Malaysia Lorry Owners Assocation (PMLOA) / Datuk Ng Koong Sinn
50. Perodua Suppliers Association (P2SA) / En Musa Zahidin Tan Sri Ahmad Zaidee
51. Proton Vendors Association / Datuk Dr Wan Mohamed
52. Real Estate & Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) / Datuk Datuk Soam Heng Choon
53. SME Association of Malaysia / Datuk Michael Kang
54. Steel Wire Association of Malaysia (SWAM) / Ernest Koay Chin Oon
55. Technological Association Malaysia (TAM) / Datuk Yam Teong Sian
56. The Cement & Concrete Association of Malaysia (C&CA) / Datuk Yeoh Soo Keng
57. The Electrical & Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM) / Siew Choon Thye
58. The Japanese Chamber of Trade & Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM) / Daiji Kojima
59. Toyota Suppliers Malaysia / Thesamany Tesaguru
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