MELBOURNE : Malaysia is playing host to a lot of Chinese business leaders from many parts of the world, including China, Indonesia, the United States, Singapore and Australia, to do business not only with Malaysian Chinese, but all Malaysians who understand Chinese business ethics and values.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said many of these
businesses use Malaysia as a platform to launch their products and
services into other English-speaking markets such as India and the
Middle East because of Malaysia's multilingual population and cultural
connections with many parts of the world.
In his keynote address at the 4th World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF)
here Monday, Muhyiddin said Malaysia was blessed with 24 per cent, or
seven million Malaysians who are ethnic Chinese who could speak
Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Fuchow and other dialects.
He said Malaysia was the only country outside China with a complete Mandarin education system available to its population.
He also added that there were many Malaysians of non-Chinese
background who study in Mandarin schools, which is useful for Malaysia
to create a good link with the Chinese world of some 50 million overseas
Chinese, and over 1.3 billion Chinese nationals.
"Apart from the ability to converse and understand, there are many
extensive business connections in trade and investment as a result of
the substantial Chinese population in Malaysia," he said.
Citing the example of Robert Kuok as one of the most famous
Malaysians who business empire spans beyond Southeast Asia and China,
Muhyiddin said Kuok was just one of the thousands of Malaysian Chinese
who has succeeded in Malaysia and went on to build businesses overseas.
Recalling the 2008 financial crisis, Muhyiddin said two groups of business community seemed to be better insulated against the financial manipulation and one of them was the Chinese or Overseas Chinese-led business entities apart from those in halal business.
He told the forum, first time being held outside Malaysia, that it
was an advantage to have a strong link with the Overseas Chinese all
over the world.
Most people look at them as the link to China but missed the equally
important link between the Overseas Chinese in other countries, he said,
adding that this importance was most prominent among Asean countries,
home to over 60 per cent of the Overseas Chinese population.
"Our histories have shown that even before formal state relationships
are established, trade among the Overseas Chinese population are
already thriving in all instances.
"In the old days, any Chinese who is new to a place can walk into any
Chinatown and get help in finding shelter, job and even access to
credit.
"In this modern day and age, people don't walk into Chinatowns
searching for jobs anymore. Instead, they walk into one of the many
Chinese Chamber of Commerce looking for business contacts and
opportunities," he said.
Muhyiddin said "trust" was a bankable trait, especially the trust
among Chinese businesses, and it was well-known that a handshake between
two Chinese businessmen was as good as a co-contract.
"Trustworthiness will be welcomed, a rich man with questionable
integrity will be shunned. The wonderful thing about this
trustworthiness is, it transcends national boundaries," he said, adding
that a Chinese businessman in mainland China and an Overseas Chinese
businessman from anywhere in the world would share the same values in
business and trade.
Muhyiddin said Australia, which is geographically close to Asean and
China, and has a substantial population of Australian Chinese, was
naturally well positioned to grow together with Asean and China.
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