RM10b in private investments till April; others far behind

Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir

Kuala Lumpur: Sabah was the most successful state in attracting private investments in the first quarter of this year, followed by Selangor, Johor, Sarawak and Terengganu, the Dewan Rakyat was told Wednesday.

Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir, said private investments in the period in Sabah totalled RM10 billion, Johor (RM2.6 billion), Sarawak (RM2.3 billion) and Terengganu (RM1.4 billion), although the figure for Selangor was not stated.

"This shows that states under Barisan Nasional (BN) administration showed good performance in attracting investments," he said in reply to a supplementary question from Azmin Ali (Gombak-PKR).

Mukhriz attributed the high investments in Penang and Selangor - two states ruled by the opposition alliance - to the infrastructure previously developed there by the BN.

"These two states are investment destinations due to their complete infrastructure such as ports, roads, universities and utilities, which were definitely due to the efforts of the previous BN administration," he said.

To a question from Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (Lenggong-BN) on the country's latest investment performance, Mukhriz said Malaysia attracted RM17.9 billion in investments, including RM10.1 billion in domestic investments, for 268 projects in the manufacturing sector between January and April this year.

Last year Malaysia received investments worth RM56.1 billion in the manufacturing sector involving 846 projects, he said, adding the country also attracted RM32.9 billion in Foreign Direct Investments compared to RM29.3 billion in 2010 and RM5 billion in 2009. 

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