Leaving EU will be bad, suggests Najib
Published on: Thursday, May 19, 2016
LONDON: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says both the United Kingdom and the global market will be badly impacted should it decide to leave the European Union (EU).This is because the UK formed an integral part of the common market."If Britain pulls out, it becomes less competitive. The economy is based on services, and this is the bigger share of Europe's economy.
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""If they are out of the EU, it will have a negative impact on the economy," he told a press conference here last night, in ending his working visit to the UK from May 13-18.It is understood that a referendum will be held on June 23 to decide whether the UK should stay or leave the EU.Najib had earlier stated that while not taking sides on the issue, he hoped for Britain to remain in the EU.Meanwhile, the prime minister said that overall, he was satisfied with his working visit to the UK and hoped for continuous engagements there to create awareness about the true condition of the Malaysian economy.
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He said the feedback from the UK-Malaysia Investor Showcase was positive with UK participants giving positive thoughts and comments about the Malaysian economy.Najib said this showed that the global market confidence, especially in the UK was positive, and would lead to increases in investments, not only in long term foreign direct investments, but also capital inflow into equities and the Malaysian economy.
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"The sentiment here, be it industry or government, is that the Malaysian economy is positive, although there were negative reports by some media," he added.He also said that the traditional relationship between Malaysia and the UK should not be taken for granted but given an added boost from time to time."The warm sentiment and positive attitude of the British government, private sector and industry continues to be at a high level towards Malaysia. They are pleased with our investments here and their own investments in Malaysia," he said.As for the private breakfast session with fund managers, he said a question was raised pertaining to skills and productivity in Malaysia.To this, Najib explained that the government was committed to growth and had paid close attention to talent and skills development, as well as productivity increases.He pointed out that Malaysia has a business friendly government which would support them in any way possible towards increasing UK investments in the country.As for his meeting with the new Muslim Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, during the launch of Khazanah Europe Investment Ltd (KEIL) last night, Najib said he had congratulated him on his election.He said the Mayor was pleased with Khazanah for having its European office in London and hoped for more investments and deals between Malaysia and the UK.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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