THE government should keep spending on infrastructure projects and digitalisation, under Budget 2021, to keep the Malaysian economy going during the pandemic.
In a joint statement issued by three companies, they said the investments would boost connectivity, as well as the trading of goods and services.
“Such efforts are necessary to accelerate the economy once the pandemic comes under control. Infrastructure projects that have high multiplier effects include the (East Coast Rail Transit) ECRL and Pan Borneo Highway,” it said.
The companies which made the wish list were Advancecon Holdings Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd and Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Bhd.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Aziz is scheduled to table Budget 2021 on Nov 6.
To date, the government had announced six stimulus packages, amounting to over RM300 bil to keep the nation going while doing its best to keep the COVID-19 pandemic in check.
The organisations also urged the government to invest on green initiatives and address climate change for sake of the future.
“We hope the government will introduce new forms of tax incentives to companies like ours, which are involved in Solar Photovoltaic investment to accelerate our return on investment.
“Additional investment generated can be redeployed towards more Solar Photovoltaic projects in the country, to achieve the nation’s target of deriving 20% of power via renewable energy sources by 2025,” it said.
For the property sector, they urged the government to promote affordable housing initiatives and maintain low interest rate environment to boost sales.
On digitalisation, the companies urged the government to come up with initiatives to accelerate digitalisation process of the oil and gas industry, in the form of incentives and capital tax allowances for new machinery upgrades.
“We also hope for more subsidies and funds will be allocated for education and upskilling for those in the oil and gas sector.
“Apart from enhancing technical know-how, other important focus areas include health, safety, and the environment, all of which are important to forming a reliable talent pool of highly competent skilled labour that can drive the industry forward,” it said.
They added that investment in digitalisation can also boost automation in the logistics sector, which includes data management and analytics solutions.
“Higher operational automation and use of digital technologies would enhance efficiency and reliability of the logistics sectors, thus empowering industries to grow and become competitive globally,” it said. – Oct 26, 2020
