KUCHING: As trade and business ties with Singapore are being enhanced, the Sarawak business community must be able to live up to the expectations of their Singapore counterparts, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
During an unscheduled pep talk at the end of the inaugural Sarawak-Singapore Business Forum and Expo last Friday, Abang Johari told a few hundred Sarawak entrepreneurs that Sarawak’s production of goods destined for export to Singapore had to be in volumes large enough to be economically viable.
“The participating Singaporean businessmen clearly indicated during the forum that they needed volume and this was a challenge that Sarawak had to accept confidently, the agriculture sector in particular.
“What I fear is that we are not able to cater to the volumes that they need. Therefore, you must be passionate about fulfilling the needs of Singapore’s market as my cabinet colleagues and I are passionate about exploring markets and developing business ties with Singapore,” Abang Johari said.
The forum and expo was held in conjunction with the official launch of the Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office (Statos) in Singapore, which is located in the heart of Singapore’s business district on Robinson Road.
A few hundred Sarawakian entrepreneurs and members of the Singapore business community, under the wings of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, attended the forum and expo which also featured exchanges of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and memorandums of agreements (MoAs) between both sides.
Abang Johari also pointed out that another factor Sarawak had to address was the question of compliance with Singapore’s standard of quality, although he was optimistic the issue of compliance could be overcome with the help of the Singapore Business Federation.
“Production, especially of food items, has to comply with Singapore’s standard if they are to be accepted in the market here. But the Singapore Business is willing to offer the service of auditing the processes of production on site. A successful audit would qualify local entrepreneurs with a certain certification that would enable them to enter the market. If we are able to meet Singapore’s standard, then I think we can meet the standards of other countries in this region and beyond,” Abang Johari said.
The balance of trade with Singapore, he pointed out, was in favour of the island city-state and the newly-enhanced relationship should present the opportunity for Sarawak to close the gap with more aggressive production of goods, in particular food items.
Abang Johari also said that Sarawak would turn to Pontianak in Kalimantan as the location of its next trade and tourism office, believing that the proposed relocation of Indonesia’s capital to Kalimantan would be a boon to Sarawak’s economy that should be taken advantage of, especially in food production.
Earlier, Abang Johari also met with members of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, led by its president Douglas Foo, in a closed-door session.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan who is also the Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, acting State Secretary Datu Jaul Samion and Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore, Dato Zainol Rahim Zainuddin were among those who accompanied the chief minister at the meeting.