Media Statement 
by DAPSY Acting National Secretary, Loke Siew Fook
on Wednesday, September 25, 2002 
in Petaling Jaya

Foreign Minister or even the Prime Minister himself must work out all the necessary diplomatic means to get the US government to de-list Malaysia from the “terrorist-risk” countries and the Canadian government to retract the visa regulations imposed on Malaysians.

The blacklisting of Malaysia as one of the 15 “terrorist risk” countries by the US Immigration and the imposition of visas for Malaysians entering Canada has no doubt branded and strengthen the notion that Malaysia is now a terrorist hotbed, an Islamic country nestling Islamic militants and not a safe place to be among the international community especially the foreign investors and tourist. 

These developments are a major blow to Malaysia’s international image especially at a time when our country’s international competitiveness has slipped to 26^th position, one of the weakest among competitive economies in Asia. It will also not help to push up the low Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to Malaysia, which only amounted to RM 3 billion in 2002. 

The unfair portrayal of Malaysia’s international image by the US and Canadian government has totally overshadowed the incentives announced in the Budget 2003 by Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad last Friday to lure foreign investors to Malaysia. 

One of the strategies in Budget 2003 was to attract more foreign Operational Headquarters companies (OHQs) and Representative Offices to set up their operations in Malaysia. The incentives given to these foreign companies are 10 years tax exemption and tax-free for expatriates on income form services rendered abroad. 

The government must realize that tax incentive alone is no longer attractive for foreign investors to invest in a particular country especially at a time when most of the developing economies in Asia are also giving similar incentives. Other factors will be taken into consideration by foreign investors such as the international image of the country, security factors, political situation and others non-monetary incentives. 

All thinking Malaysians will agree that our country is still one of the safest and harmonious places to live in and all the hype about the terrorist threats are unfounded. The problem is such a negative branding and image of Malaysia will scare off investors who are not familiar with the real situation in Malaysia and only depend on foreign media to judge the situation of the country. 

In view of such developments will hamper the chances of Malaysia attracting further foreign investments, the Foreign Minister or even the Prime Minister himself must work out all the necessary diplomatic means to get the US government to de-list Malaysia from the “terrorist-risk” countries and the Canadian government to retract the visa regulations imposed on Malaysians.