MALAYSIA— Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, the Malaysian Minister for Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), has requested former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to provide additional information about investors interested in investing in staggering RM500 billion (approximately USD 107.186 billion) in Langkawi.
If the information is true, the Malaysian government will certainly “roll out the red carpet from the airport to the hotel” to welcome them, he said.
Tengku Zafrul’s comments were prompted by a news article published by Malaysian media outlet Sinar Harian, quoting Mahathir’s statement on 8 July, where he mentioned that a group had approached him expressing their intent to invest RM500 billion in Langkawi.
Highlighting the potential significance, Tengku Zafrul emphasized that if such an enormous investment is indeed forthcoming for Langkawi alone, it would set a new record in Malaysia.
“As the minister responsible for investments, if these investors really exist, we will definitely follow up and facilitate their entry.”
“I don’t mind who brings in the investment, whether it’s Tun M or the oppositions because if the investment comes in, the people will benefit.”
However, he reminded that Malaysia has never seen an investment as substantial as RM500 billion since gaining independence.
“Even during Tun’s tenure as prime minister, such a significant investment was never approved,” he clarified.
Tengku Zafrul further clarified that the highest approved investment in the country’s history was RM309 billion per year, emphasizing that this amount represents the total investments from various sources, not just a single investor.
Additionally, this investment is intended for the entire nation, not limited to a specific location.
Hence he requested Tun M to share more details about the investors, Even if investors want to invest millions, we welcome them with open arms.
“And now, if they want to invest RM500 billion, we will certainly roll out the red carpet from the airport to the hotel, ” he added with a touch of humor.
Misreporting of the investment amount
However, upon checking the original article on the Sinar Harian website, it has been corrected to state that the investment amount is RM500 million (approximately USD 107.186 million), not RM500 billion.
It appears that there was a misreporting of the investment amount by the news outlet.
In the article, Tun M, who is also the Chairman of the “Malay Proclamation”, highlighted that due to administrative weaknesses, the country has missed out on investment opportunities.
“There are people who wanted to invest, they met me and said they wanted to invest RM500 million in Langkawi. But they said no minister was willing to meet with them.”
