KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says local contractors should be given more opportunities to undertake construction jobs in the country as well as abroad.
He said the local contractors should be given a chance to show their expertise to develop skyscrapers, such as the Petronas Twin Towers, instead of hiring foreigners.
The Twin Towers were built by the Japanese and South Korean contractors, Dr Mahathir said.
Although local contractors don’t have the experience to build such tall buildings, he believes that local contractors have the experience and capabilities to do so.
“This in a way will help by preventing an outflow of money and reducing the country’s trade deficit,” Dr Mahathir said after delivering his keynote address at the 6th Malaysian Construction Summit 2014, here, yesterday.
He said if the money went out, Malaysia will have a deficit in trade balance and this would be reflected in the government’s spending as it may have to borrow.
“However, if the inflow of funds is good, the balance should be in our favour,” Dr Mahathir said, adding that the construction industry and the government should help keep the margin as low as possible.
Meanwhile, Masters Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) president Matthew Tee said the construction industry is poised for continued growth, given the orders in hand which will last for the next five years.
Tee said the industry enjoyed robust growth of more than double digits in 2012 and last year.
“The industry has recorded a historic high in terms of growth in 2012. With the implementation of projects, such as Mass Rapid Transit line 1, and as reported earlier, we are expecting the line 2 to come soon,” he said.