Published: Sunday November 15, 2009 MYT 2:00:00 PM
Updated: Sunday November 15, 2009 MYT 2:02:18 PM

Job losses from New Automotive Policy compensated in long term: Mustapa

By NELSON BENJAMIN

SINGAPORE: International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamad feels that jobs lost in the short term due to the implementation of the New Automotive Policy (NAP) will be compensated in the medium and long term.

He said that policy was being implemented to ensure the safety of lives and also to develop the country’s own automotive component industry.

“We are aware of the business interest but all this was explained when we discussed the matter with industry members.

“Anyway this policy does not take effect immediately and there is still room for people to improve,” he said, adding that to develop the automotive component industry, the country needed more companies to set up base in Malaysia and export.

Mustapa added that while Malaysia was already exporting components to other countries, there was plenty of room for further improvement.

“Once the local component industry develops, all the short term job losses will be compensated in the long run.

“Yes, there will be glitches here and there but with some adjustments, this will benefit the country,” he said, adding that he did not believe that 100,000 jobs would be lost when the NAP ruling comes into effect in 2011 when there would be a ban on the import of used car spare parts.

“Asked whether the government might reconsider the decision, he said that the policy was in place but it would be done gradually.

Mustapa was speaking to The Star in the sidelines of the Apec Summit in Singapore.

On Saturday, during a protest, Johor Used Car Spare-Part Dealers Association committee Ng Keng Heng said the ban would cause major problems not only for many dealers but also for owners of old cars. He claimed that there were more than 5,000 used car spare-part dealers around the country and the ban would probably kill the industry completely, with about 100,000 jobs lost.

Ng added that the Government should have done proper studies before deciding to implement the ruling.

Malaysian Industrial Development Authority director-general Datuk Jalilah Baba said that at this point it was still too premature to talk about job losses as the main reason for the NAP was to improve services.

“We want industry players to upgrade their facilities and standards as well,” she said.