KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is tightening safeguards to protect local industries from unfair competition while strengthening its position as a competitive investment destination, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said the ministry remains committed to defending the country’s economic and industrial interests, particularly amid concerns over cheap imports and the growing dominance of Chinese manufacturers.
“To maintain balance in the domestic economy and address the influx of products from China, Miti has introduced several measures and policies,” he said in a parliamentary written reply.
He said several policies are in place to balance the domestic economy and prevent the market from being flooded by imported products.
These include extending the moratorium on new licences and applications in the local iron and steel industry, and implementing the Steel Industry Roadmap 2035 to stabilise, restructure and decarbonise the sector in line with Malaysia’s net-zero 2050 target.
He added that semiconductor diplomacy has become a key pillar of the National Semiconductor Strategy, with the ministry working closely with the Foreign Ministry to build a more resilient regional and global semiconductor supply chain.
This effort, he said, is also intended to reduce reliance on dominant players, including China.
At the same time, the ministry and Khazanah Nasional Berhad are developing a long-term strategy to strengthen industrial resilience and respond to global economic trends, including potential negative impacts from China’s market behaviour.
He said the ministry, through the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), continues to connect Chinese multinational corporations with local companies through raw material sourcing, technology transfer and knowledge-sharing programmes.
This includes hosting supply chain seminars and running vendor development programmes to help local firms move up the value chain.
Mida, he said, also imposes certain conditions on investors to ensure meaningful spillover to the domestic economy, such as collaboration with local service providers, participation in vendor development initiatives, industrial training, and partnerships with local universities and research institutions.
To support local businesses, the ministry is also monitoring risks of price wars that could hurt small and medium enterprises, while providing access to targeted grants such as the Domestic Investment Strategic Fund, Smart Automation Grant, SAG Madani and the Industry4WRD Intervention Fund to improve productivity and automation.
Tengku Zafrul said trade remedy actions will continue to be used when necessary to keep the domestic market fair and competitive.
These measures are carried out under Malaysia’s anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards laws, and are aligned with the country’s obligations under World Trade Organisation agreements.
He noted that Parliament had approved amendments to the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill 2025 in August, strengthening Malaysia’s trade remedy framework and enabling firmer action against unfair trade practices.
He was replying to Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN–Pasir Mas), who raised concerns over China’s economic dominance, price wars hurting MSMEs and the impact on sectors such as technology, transport and construction.
