PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to speak with electric car giant Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk today.
The Prime Minister said this when asked by reporters after a dialogue session with enforcement agencies here yesterday.
On July 7, Anwar revealed that he would be speaking with Musk to explore ways the billionaire could increase his investments in Malaysia.
Anwar said that Musk, who also owns Twitter, had asked to meet to discuss the matter.
On March 1, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz also said his ministry had approved Tesla’s application to import battery electric vehicles (BEV) to Malaysia.
Tengku Zafrul said Tesla will set up a head office in Malaysia, introduce Tesla’s “experience centres”, service centres and establish its “Supercharger” network.
During the dialogue with members of the enforcement agencies, the Prime Minister said the government is focused on getting more investments into Malaysia to boost the economy.
For the first quarter of 2023, Malaysia received investments worth RM7.1bil with economic growth higher than that of China, Singapore and Indonesia, he added.
He also said a business delegation from Hong Kong had expressed interest in exploring investment opportunities.
“If we can attract investment, we will be able to resolve our economic issues,” he said.
Anwar said he is aware of the problems due to the ringgit’s depreciation, saying that this is due to low interest rates.
“If we increase the interest rate, it will burden the people, but if we do not do so, the ringgit’s value will drop slightly.
“So, if you ask me, between the drop in ringgit and burdening the people, I will choose to ease the people’s burden,” he said.
