DECISION TO GO INTO HEAVY INDUSTRIES HAS PAID OFF, SAYS MUHYIDDIN

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

RAWANG (Malaysia), April 22 (Bernama) -- The decision made by the government in the past to venture into the heavy industries is now paying off well for the country, says Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin.

He said the policy mooted by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had
created plenty of job opportunities for the people.

"As we had confidence in our own capacities, the idea was born for creating
the industry and with it came the companies like Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn
Bhd (Perodua) which has 10,000 workers," he said here Thursday.

Speaking at the Line-Off Ceremony for carmaker Perodua's 1.7 Millionth
Vehicle In 17 years, Muhyiddin said such a policy saw Malaysia's capacity to
venture into the heavy industry and not remain a producer of simpler goods.

He said now the country not only had vehicles that met the standards but
also their own special qualities such as attractive designs from government
owned companies like Perodua and Proton.

With the policy, plenty of business opportunities were also open to vendors
to produce components needed for the production of the cars, he added.

Muhyiddin also called on the vendors to continue to work towards retaining
or enhancing the quality of the components they produce so that the cars would
be marketable worldwide.

Also present at the event were Minister of International Trade and Industry
Mustapa Mohamed and Deputy Minister of Human Resources Senator Maznah Mazlan.

The 1.7 millionth vehicle, an Alza standard variant, was rolled out at a
simple yet significant ceremony for the company Thursday.
-- BERNAMA