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Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) is looking to set up the Sabah Economic Union (SEU) in order to strengthen the association’s role as a key core in making Sabah an important connecting point for economic trade in the region.

Its President Datuk Frankie Liew said: “In order to consolidate and strengthen our role in this key core, we will also form alliances with other local business associations to complement each other’s advantages and exert greater benefits in various fields.” 

He said this in his speech at the association’s annual general meeting, recently. Also present were SCCC Honorary Advisors Datuk Prof NK Foo, Datuk Soo, Datuk George Lim and Legal Honorary Advisor Shanty Chong.

He added that SCCC will join forces with the Sabah Small and Medium Enterprises Association (SME) and Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce Sabah Branch (MCCC Sabah),

Malaysian Maritime Silk Road Association, the Sabah Maritime Silk Road Association and the Sabah Tourism Association to form the union. 

Additionally, he said SCCC will undertake business matching to closely connect China and Asean countries, to ensure that Sabah is put at the connecting point for economic trade as well as fields of education and information technology

He said the SEU is planning to organise the 2023 Sabah Chinese Economic Conference in August, which will look into several economic sectors, challenges and difficulties in Sabah and provide some solutions and recommendations to the state government to improve it .

He said that the SCCC will continue to maintain contact and establish partnerships with China, but also travel to Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and other Asean countries to establish a larger alliance and business network. 

In addition, SCCC has also extended its wing to China and established the Hubei branch, which became the local arm of the association, making Sabah a record for the first business association in Malaysia to set up a branch in China.

He said it was also significant proof that the strength of SCCC has been recognised by many as the establishment of the Hubei branch became a hot topic during a high-end business matching event in Kuala Lumpur. 

“Hubei is just the beginning. If there are opportunities in the future, we will cooperate with the right candidates in more suitable provinces and cities to open more branches and strengthen our peripheral arm strength,” said Frankie. 

He said although the SCCC has only been established for a few years, it moved at a fast pace despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

However he said the US-China trade war has yet to see an end, where various sanctions and trade strategies have caused a severe impact on the global industrial chain as well as high interest rates, and a weak Malaysian ringgit.

He explained it has led to increasing business costs for the business community and brought many challenges to businessmen.

“In the past year, the world has also set off a world-shaking change in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology, and many industries have been affected.

“In addition to large companies and enterprises with better buffer capacity and adaptability, small and medium-sized enterprises can be said to bear the brunt.

“Therefore, we hope that the Government can provide more support in assisting merchants and enterprises to strengthen the use of technology and increase the purchase of related software and hardware equipment, so as to promote enterprise transformation, digitalisation, and technology.

“At the same time, it is also necessary to increase assistance and support for entrepreneurship grants.

“We also fully support the unity government’s clean and prosperous policy, improve government efficiency, and govern in a fair, open, and transparent manner,” he said. Frankie also mentioned the tense situation between the US and China in the South China Sea.

He pointed out that Malaysia’s neighbour, the Philippines, allowed the US military to use four more military bases, including Barra, which is not far from the coast of Kudat that poses a lot of instability to the region.

Many people are also worried that the intervention of foreign military forces may cause tension with extremists and militants in southern Philippines, and affect regional peace.

Meanwhile, the council passed amendments of the SCCC constitution to include “affiliate members” during the meeting.