What is crucial now is a 21st century version

In 2016, Malaysia continued to nurture a strong economic relationship with China 

In year 2017, Malaysia’s economy gained momentum throughout the year

During and after the pandemic, our business ecological environment and companies’ operation practices have seen tremendous changes. Moving forward, we should focus more on re-examining the advantages we have, maintaining or strengthening them while adding new leads to further attract good foreign investment.

We need to accept that the pandemic has brought irreversible changes to the entire business environment. So it is necessary for business leaders to adjust their mindset accordingly to steer the company in the right direction. 

We have often talked much about the crises and threats we face in the past two years. Now, let's look further into discovering the underlying opportunities to fully capitalise on them amid the current "dual war" situation - fighting a global health crisis and a war.

The general public has opposed the GST because many do not understand how it works. In reality, the SST is included in the cost of a product but not stated on the invoice. Many people are not aware that they have been paying the SST. It is a different case for the GST, which, in contrast, is much more transparent, as businesses are required to state clearly the taxes levied on each invoice. However, this has led to the public misconception that blamed the increasing prices on the GST.

We must not regard digitalisation as the sole objective, as it is just a supporting tool, one that helps us improve the quality of our products or services, increase efficiency, reduce manpower or help make the delivery process to customers more smoothly.

High operating costs and cash flow problems have always been among the top issues affecting companies, while the raw material price increase is a major factor affecting their cash flow. All these are compounded with the continuously weakened ringgit, making things worse for companies.

We know that when the economy improves, people's livelihoods will naturally improve, especially in terms of rising prices. Besides, the political situation will also stabilise. So, it is of utmost importance for the new governments to stabilise and revive the economy and restore the confidence of foreign and local investors.