Minister slammed over Anwar-Azmin infighting comment

PETALING JAYA: A minister was slammed for saying that foreign investors would choose other countries over Malaysia due to alleged PKR infighting between Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

PKR deputy information chief Sim Tze Tzin said he was baffled over Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof’s (pic) comment, and preferred to “let the facts speak for itself.”

“The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Malaysia has increased 73.6% in the first quarter of 2019.

“Malaysia has become a much more attractive place to attract FDIs. This is a remarkable success achieved by the Pakatan Harapan Government,” he said in a statement on Sunday (Aug 4).

Sim was commenting on Mohd Redzuan’s comment, that there was a possibility that investors would choose Vietnam over Malaysia due to the political “uncertainty” in the country, caused mainly by Anwar, who is party president and his deputy, Azmin.

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) supreme council member reportedly said that several investors had personally expressed concern over the issue, with one saying he might invest in Vietnam instead.

Sim pointed out that Malaysia’s strong fundamentals - such as an educated workforce, good infrastructure, governance and functioning democratic institutions - were what attracted FDIs.

“Serious investors will look at the long-term fundamentals of Malaysia. Their investment will go beyond multiple election cycles and changes in leadership in the government, ” he said.

He added that the agreed-upon succession plan by Pakatan component parties and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s repeated reiteration of his commitment to transfer power to Anwar was “the strongest testament of political stability".

As a minister who knows the facts and figures of the country’s investment environment, Sim noted that he had faith that Mohd Redzuan would not be influenced by hearsay from casual conversations.

“We believe his recent comments might be one of those careless remarks, ” Sim added.