Yong (second left) presenting a drawing of the Double Blue Holes at Darvel Bay painted by Professor Dato’ Dr Wilson Yong Tung Yung (third left) to Tiong. Also seen is Goh (left).
KOTA KINABALU: The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has backed a proposal to set up a Belt-Road Centre in Sabah to facilitate business, investment and trade between China and Sabah.
The proposal was mooted by assemblyman Datuk Yong Teck Lee during a welcoming dinner for Tiong, who is leading a 15-member delegation for a seven-day working visit to Sabah beginning Wednesday.
To be privately funded, Yong said the Belt-Road Centre could complement the efforts of the various government departments and agencies in strengthening trade with China and increase the exports of Sabah products to China.
“The name ‘Belt-Road’ is chosen because the policy of One Belt, One Road is most familiar to China people.
“When ready later this year, this centre will invite partners to take advantage of the networking and market accessibility that the centre offers,” he disclosed.
In fact, he said the first two associations on Maritime Silk Road to be formed in Malaysia in 2015 originated from Sabah, namely the Sabah Maritime Silk Road Society and Malaysia Maritime Silk Road Society.
Earlier, Yong, who is also the chairman of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, said Sabah was on the verge of post-pandemic economic recovery because both the federal and state governments have started to position Malaysia and Sabah for a full and strong recovery once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
“As such, the working visit of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, to Sabah is perfectly timed because now is the time for us in Sabah to plan and take action in preparation for the end of the pandemic.
“We should not wait until the pandemic is over, and only then we scratch our heads wondering what to do.
“The Sabah business community needs all the help we can get at all levels of government and the private sector.”
Yong said Tiong, who also chaired the Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC), and his team would be helpful in Sabah’s economic recovery because MCBC has good, official standing in the eyes of China.
“As we all know, the country that can most benefit Sabah in terms of trade is China.
“In fact, China is the biggest contributor to global economic recovery because China is the world’s biggest economic engine, the largest consumer of trade and the largest source of tourists.”
Furthermore, he said China has already recovered from the pandemic.
As for Sabah, Yong said the State is strategically located in the centre of Regional Comprehensive Partnership (RCEP) that was launched in November last year.
He said RCEP was the biggest economic block in the world, consisting the ten ASEAN countries as well as China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand which together constituted one-third, or USD25 trillion, of the global economy and 30 percent, or 2.3 billion people of the world’s population.
As such, he proposed for the Belt-Road Centre to be set up in Sabah to help facilitate business, investment and trade between China and Sabah.
In response to the proposal, Tiong said he would fully support the setting up of the Belt-Road Centre in Sabah as it would augur well for the future development of the State.
He requested Yong to form a committee for the proposed Belt-Road Centre and discuss with MCBC executive director Datuk Yong Teck Shing and the chief executive officer on setting up the centre, adding that the council has a committee for the Belt and Road Initiative and another for Trade Promotion and Policy.
“A lot of policies may not suit the present market or business climate.
“We want to hear your views and suggestions on how to make things better so that we can materialize the Belt and Road initiative for Sabah.”
Tiong also informed that China remained Malaysia’s largest foreign investor in the manufacturing sector for four consecutive years since 2016, with 32 foreign direct investments (FDIs) amounting to USD 452.43million approved in January to June 2020.
He said China is also our country’s largest trading partner for the 11th consecutive year in 2019, with trade valued at RM316.6 billion.
He said total trade volume between Malaysia and China was valued at RM330 billion in year 2020, an increase of 4.2 percent compared to year 2019.
Tiong’s working visit to Sabah includes separate meetings with the Sabah Chief Minister, the three deputy chief ministers, other ministers and the Consul General of the Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu, briefings by Invest Sabah Berhad and the Sabah Economic Council and POIC Sabah.
The delegation is also expected to visit island resorts off Kota Kinabalu.
Among the delegates are Senior Deputy Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Sallehhuddin Bin Hassan, Tan Sri T.C. Goh and Datuk Philip Yong Chiew Lip, who are Sabah-based directors of MCBC.