Slide 1: CONTRABAND/ COUNTERFEIT ISSUE: A WORRISOME TREND AFFECTING FOREIGN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN MALAYSIA
On 26 October, a Contraband Forum was organized by the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). Key representatives from several multinational organizations such as Philip Morris Malaysia, Microsoft Corporation, Pfizer Malaysia, eBay Inc. and Shearn Delamore spoke about the impact of illicit trade on their businesses and pledged to work together with the relevant authorities to curb these activities through the sharing of international best practices and approaches.
Slide 2: CONTRABAND/ COUNTERFEIT ISSUE: A WORRISOME TREND AFFECTING FOREIGN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN MALAYSIA
Present at the forum were over 40 representatives from various Ministries such as from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives (MTDCC), Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC), Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Marine Operation Force, Royal Malaysian Customs, and other law enforcement agencies who participated in the discussion and took the opportunity to understand the issues and challenges facing the non government sector in battling this issue.
Slide 3: CONTRABAND/ COUNTERFEIT ISSUE: A WORRISOME TREND AFFECTING FOREIGN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN MALAYSIA During the session addressing contraband tobacco products, Richard James, Director of Corporate Affairs, Philip Morris Malaysia said, “One of our biggest challenges today stems from the illicit trade in cigarettes where it is has reached a record level of more than 37% of the total industry as at 2009. The latest results from the Illicit Cigarettes Study indicate an even more startling figure of 39.7%. This means that four out of every ten packs of cigarettes are illegal and this increasing trend in contraband has resulted in a 11% decline of the legal industry volume.”
Slide 4: CONTRABAND/ COUNTERFEIT ISSUE: A WORRISOME TREND AFFECTING FOREIGN INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN MALAYSIA
To address the contraband cigarettes issue, Richard called for a dedicated enforcement agency to conduct raids and seizures at all ports of entry and retail, stiffer penalties to deter smugglers including mandatory imprisonment and a prudent approach to tobacco excise tax to minimize wide price differentials between legal and illegal cigarettes. The Contraband Forum comes at a timely occasion amidst calls from the private sector for Malaysia to restore foreign investor confidence and to retain a conducive business environment in light of the country’s economic development goals.
