The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) hopes the government will not introduce additional taxes on the manufacturing sector when tabling the 2026 budget.
Its president, Soh Thian Lai, said excluding additional taxes would give the sector some breathing space and allow businesses to focus on their activities amid rising operational costs and global uncertainties.
“Just leave the money in the economic system. Let the money flow inside the economic system. If the government keeps on taxing the industry, it will not be able to make profits,” Soh told a press conference during the release of the FMM Business Conditions Survey for the first half of 2025 here today.
He urged the government to understand the needs of industry players and provide room for them to focus on business growth while continuing to contribute to national revenue.
Soh also said FMM had proposed that the government set up an Asean supply chain coordination council to connect and strengthen regional supply chains.
“This is so that the whole Asean supply chain gets connected through the council. This is a big opportunity, as we are able to enhance revenue generation through the Asean supply chain council,” he said.
According to him, such a coordination network will allow Asean countries to maximise potential through reshoring or nearshoring.
He said that with the assistance of Asean governments, the private sector, especially those involved in business-to-business transactions, could further enhance their capabilities.
“We can work with Thailand and Vietnam to source some of our intermediate goods. This is one of the strategies that we can work on to enhance our supply chain system,” he said.
Soh said the federation would hold its first meeting with the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) to discuss the proposed idea on Sept 23.
