NEW YORK: Investment, Trade and Industry Minister (MITI) Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Aziz had on Thursday yesterday described his boss, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as Malaysia's top salesman.
The prime minister, he said, constantly works hard to promote the Malaysian brand, especially abroad to attract investments.
Tengku Zafrul cited an example during the Asean Summit in Jakarta and the hectic schedule Anwar had in Nanning, China, recently.
On his first day in New York during the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday, Anwar continued his 'salesman' role in bilateral meetings with several foreign leaders.
As early as 8.30am, Anwar, accompanied by Tengku Zafrul and the Malaysian delegation, took a 15-minute walk from the Conrad New York Midtown Hotel on 54th Street to the Harvard Club of New York City and Sofitel New York on 44th Street to once again become a salesman.
At the Harvard Club, he held a roundtable discussion with 15 representatives from leading Fortune 500 companies, including Airbnb, Amazon, AWS, Boeing, ConocoPhilips, and Kimberly-Clark, sponsored by MITI and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).
He shared the Madani Economic Framework, supported by the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030), the National Energy Transition Roadmap 2050 (NETR), and the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), which will serve as a guide in achieving the country's development goals.
After the discussion, Anwar said he appreciated the positive feedback and constructive input shared by the company representatives.
Later, he headed to Sofitel to attend another event. This time around, it was Invest Malaysia New York, organised by Bursa Malaysia with the theme "Regaining Malaysia's Lead in Asia."
He delivered a keynote address at the event, attended by fund managers and representatives of capital market companies in the US, and interacted with them in a Q&A session.
Also present were Bursa Malaysia Bhd chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar; Securities Commission chairman Datuk Seri Awang Adek Hussin; and Bank Negara, Governor Datuk Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour.
Starting his speech, Anwar shared Malaysia's background with its diverse population and later touched on economics, politics, and past failures in the administration of the country.
He said he had implemented administrative and economic transformations to put the country back on the right track, with a focus on reviving Malaysia's economy as it was before.
He invited international investors to come to Malaysia and assured them that the transformations he had carried out, including creating a friendly environment for investors and businesses, would benefit them.
He mentioned that this included rectifying past policy mistakes and actions that had led the country's development and progress, as well as the people, to suffer due to a decline in the average economic growth rate.
The prime minister said that for several years now, investment figures have declined.
"New economic sources that can drive growth were not given enough attention because there was more domestic activity, thus not fully exploiting opportunities in the global market.
"Therefore, I had no choice but to act in restructuring Malaysia.
"The priorities are threefold: Strengthening governance, restructuring the economy, and paving the way for our future," he said.
Anwar explained that political stability, coupled with the transformations he implemented, have begun to show results as investors began to show interest.
This included Infineon Technologies, a global semiconductor company from Germany, which agreed to invest US$5.4 billion over the next five years in building the world's largest 200mm silicon carbide fabrication plant in Malaysia.
The presence of Tesla, despite regional competition, as well as Amazon and Infineon, demonstrated its confidence in the administrative transformation and economic policies he has implemented.
Anwar's tasks as a salesman did not end with just two, as there were eight more tasks after that, all ending at 10.30pm.
Among them were three separate one-on-one business meetings, including one with Microsoft, and bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Thailand Strettha Thavisin, and Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani.
There was also an interview session with Bloomberg, and a meeting with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, who is also a former Secretary of State.
Yesterday marked the last day of the prime minister's assignment in New York, which included delivering the country's statement at the UNGA, delivering the Friday prayer sermon at the Islamic Cultural Centre in New York, as well as a meeting with the Malaysian diaspora before returning home.