Measure incentives by what rakyat get back

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]FMT reader Rosana Jeffries says Malaysians are right to ask a simple question.

[00:00:06]When the government gives tax breaks, [music] grants, or incentives to big investors, what do the rakyat get back?

[00:00:12]The question follows a recent podcast by former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, who asked whether public value is being handed over to companies that already have money.

[00:00:22]Rosana says the concern is fair. If taxpayers are asked to give something today, they deserve to know what Malaysia will receive tomorrow.

[00:00:32]But she says the debate must not stop at whether incentives look like help for big companies.

[00:00:37]Malaysian Investment Development Authority chairman Tengku Zafrul Aziz has argued that the real test is whether incentives give Malaysia an appropriate return.

[00:00:46]Rosana agrees.

[00:00:48]Incentives, she says, are not gifts.

[00:00:51]They're bargaining tools. A tax break for a foreign investor, a duty exemption for a car maker, or a special deal for a company with capital must be tied to something bigger.

[00:01:02]That means better jobs, higher skills, local supply contracts, exports, technology transfer, and opportunities for the next generation.

[00:01:11]Tengku Zafrul has said incentives should be linked to clear outcomes, such as high-value jobs, domestic supply chains, industrial clusters, inclusivity, [music] and sustainability.

[00:01:22]Rosana says that is the right principle.

[00:01:24]But it must come with public accountability.

[00:01:27]Malaysians should be able to see the scoreboard.

[00:01:31]How many locals were hired? How many were trained? How many Malaysian companies became suppliers? Have wages improved?

[00:01:39]Was technology transferred?

[00:01:41]If the answer is yes, she says, then the incentive is already an investment in ordinary Malaysians.

[00:01:47]If not, it is just a giveaway.

[00:01:50]Rosana points to Intel as an example of the kind of long-term spillover Malaysia wants.

[00:01:56]Intel Malaysia began in Penang in 1972 with just 100 [music] employees. Today, its Penang operations are Intel's largest and most diverse site outside the United States.

[00:02:09]Rosana says the real story is not just the factory.

[00:02:12]It is the worker who starts on the production floor, >> [music] >> learns global standards, becomes a manager, and later helps build a local company or supplier base.

[00:02:22]That is when foreign investment becomes Malaysian [music] capability.

[00:02:27]She says the same test should apply to Malaysia's electric vehicle policy.

[00:02:31]Incentives have helped bring in more EVs and given buyers wider choice.

[00:02:36]But Malaysia cannot remain only a market for imported vehicles.

[00:02:41]If the country wants to build an EV industry, car makers must be pushed to invest in local production, part suppliers, servicing workshops, charging infrastructure, and worker upskilling.

[00:02:52][music] Otherwise, the rakyat may see only higher prices and fewer choices without the jobs and industry growth to justify the policy.

[00:03:02]Rosana says the issue is not whether incentives are good or bad.

[00:03:07]Ordinary Malaysians are not against foreign investment. [music] They are against deals that do not clearly benefit them.

[00:03:14]Public support must produce public value. And that value must be measured not by what investors receive, but by what the rakyat get back.

[00:03:25]Read the full letter only on FMT.