Speech by Lim Guan Eng to Malaysian professionals and students in Melbourne on Sunday, 25^th March 2012: 

Malaysia should reduce the maximum personal income tax rate of 25% to 15% for expert professionals in critical high-tech ICT and knowledge intensive sector in sunrise industries 

Malaysia should consider reducing the maximum personal income tax rate of 25% to 15% for expert professionals in critical high-tech and knowledge intensive sector in sunrise industries not only to retain existing talents but also attract new talents. Expert professionals in these critical sectors include bio-tech, bio-chemistry and bio-physics, electronic and renewable energy as well as certain services sector such as ICT and software applications.

For Malaysia is to make progress or grow in these sectors, there must be a culture of innovation and creativity which can only be achieved with the presence of these talents. Innovation has been identified as the driving force that can propel Malaysia to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income economy.

Despite the establishment of the Talent Corp by the Malaysian government to attract talented Malaysians to return home, Malaysia is continues to face brain drain rather than brain gain. Talented Malaysian from all races, including both Malays and non-Malays, can be found working in the Middle-East and Western countries. An estimated 75,000 Malaysians comprising mainly of talented professionals and students live in Victoria alone, where Melbourne is located.

One of the few successes of attracting back talented Malaysians to return home was persuading Mr KS Phua of Taiwan Phison, the inventor of pen drives, to return to Malaysia by investing in Penang. However further incentives must be provided if Malaysia wishes to retain our best and brightest as well as attract new talents. One of the incentives would be to reduce the maximum personal income tax rate of these professionals from a maximum of 25% to 15%.

If Western Australia Refuses To Allow Its Own Australian Company Lynas To Set Up A Rare Earth Processing Plant, Even Though Australia Is 23 Times Bigger Than Malaysia, Should Not The Malaysian Government Learn From The Lessons Behind The Australian Government's Refusal?

If Western Australia refuses to allow its own Australian company Lynas to set up a rare earth processing plant, even though Australia is 23 times bigger than Malaysia, should not the Malaysian government learn from the lessons behind the Australian government's refusal?

Australia has a land mass of 7,682,300 sq km as compared to Malaysia 329,613 sq km, a factor of 23.3 times. Despite being 23.3 times bigger than Malaysia, there is no room for Lynas to build its rare earth processing plant, even though the rare earth ore is mined from Mount Weld, Western Australia. Instead the rare earth ore mined in Western Australia will be transported thousands of miles away to Kuantan, Malaysia to be processed.

The Western Australian government has repeated its refusal to allow any waste residue, which is radioactive, generated from processing the rare earth to be returned to its source in Western Australia. I have explained to the Australian media that if the Australian government can refuse to allow its own rare earth ore taken from Western Australia to be processed in Australia or allow the treated waste residue to be returned at source, why should Malaysia take the risk and expose Malaysians to such danger. Whilst economic progress is important, any responsible government should never put profits before health or environmental safety.

*Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister