HANOI (Vietnam): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has hit out at those who advised him "not to travel too much", saying that they are clearly unaware of the hard work he has done to lure investment into the country.
He said as a trading nation, Malaysia needs investment because without it, the country cannot solve problems related to employment, create job opportunities or improve the economic capabilities of the country and the people.
"Investment can help accelerate the development (of the country). Some people ask do I need to keep travelling abroad. Some simply say I shouldn't travel too much.
"They didn't know that I usually travel and reach the destination in the evening.
"Even before checking in to the hotel, I had to attend a couple of meetings plus the pre-council meeting with the ambassador.
From 7am onwards, there were several bilateral meetings for me to attend. That's what I did, and when I returned, I went straight to work.
"I didn't even take a day off to play golf," Anwar told the Malaysian media after delivering a keynote address at the 2nd Asean Future Forum here on Wednesday (Feb 26), which was also attended by his counterpart Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam and Christopher Luxon of New Zealand, as well as Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos Horta.
The keynote address was part of Anwar's schedule during his two-day working visit to Vietnam, which was the first after Malaysia officially assumed the Asean Chairmanship in January.
Anwar arrived here at 7.10pm on Tuesday and went straight to pay a courtesy call to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, at the party's headquarters.
Anwar and Lam spent about 30 minutes discussing various matters related to bilateral diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Besides Lam, Anwar also paid a courtesy call on Timor-Leste President, José Ramos-Horta, later that evening to discuss similar matters related to bilateral relations.
After the courtesy call on Ramos Horta, the Prime Minister spent time chairing a pre-council meeting with the Malaysian delegation before ending his busy day.
As early as 7.30 am (local time) today, Anwar led the Malaysian delegation in a breakfast meeting with the Vietnamese delegation led by the country's Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh, where issues of common interest were the concern of both parties.
Anwar then rushed to deliver the keynote address at the Asean Future Forum, before holding an exit press conference with Malaysian media who were covering his visit to the Southeast Asian country.
Before departing for home, Anwar still managed to pay a courtesy call on the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong.
According to Anwar, after this, Malaysia will receive visits from leaders from South Africa in March and from China, in April.
"In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping will come to Malaysia and when he comes, he comes with a big delegation of business people, dozens and hundreds of them, to explore (business and trade) opportunities in Malaysia," he said.
On Tuesday (Feb 25), Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that Malaysia had recorded approved investments totalling RM378.5bil in 2024, which is the highest in the country's history.
He said this was an increase of 14.9% year-on-year and the total investment reached 6,700 projects across key sectors.
The total investment was expected to create more than 207,000 new jobs, thus strengthening Malaysia's position as a leading investment destination, he said.
Despite ongoing global economic challenges, Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia continued to attract significant investments, with domestic investment (DI) contributing RM208.1bil (55.0%) and foreign investment (FI) contributing RM170.4bil (45.0%).
Foreign investor confidence in Malaysia remains very strong, with strategic investments coming from five major countries, namely the United States (US) leading with RM32.8bil, followed by Germany (RM32.2bil), China (RM28.2bil), Singapore (RM27.3bil) and Hong Kong (RM7.4bil). – Bernama
