Volume 30 ● Issue 3 ● July — September 2019 1

Inside this issue: MITI Consultative Dialogue (MCD) 2019 1

Reimagining Malaysia Electricity Supply Industry 2

Foreign Labour Policy and Guidelines for the Manu-

facturing

2

Meeting with MIDA on Industry Consolidation 2

MISIF Meets MARii and OEMS 3

MISIF Dialogues with OEMs 3

Briefing by Gas Malaysia Berhad 4

Dialogue with Energy Commission on TPA 4

Corrosion on Metal for Construction 5

Investigation Concerning CRC Imports of Width More Than 1300mm

5

MALAYSIAN IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY FEDERATION

(COMPANY NUMBER 76350P)

A Quarterly Newsletter of Malaysian Iron & Steel Industry Federation

Chairman: En. Roshan M. Abdullah

Secretariat: Ms. Ng Mor Kiang

Published by:

Malaysian Iron & Steel Industry Federation

No 28 & 30E, 5th Floor, Block 2, Worldwide Business Park

Jalan Tinju 13/50, Section 13, 40675 Shah Alam,

Selangor, Malaysia

Phone: 603-55133970 Fax: 603-55133891

Website: www.misif.org.my Email: enquiry@misif.org.my

Artwork and Design by MISIF Any materials extracted from Berita MISIF or reprinted should con-tain an acknowledgement to MISIF or its acknowledged source. No Permit: PP16672/10/2012 (030924)

CHAIRMAN: MR. PONGSAK PADUNGKARN

Berita MISIF Editorial Committee

MITI Consultative Dialogue (MCD) 2019 MITI Consultative Dialogue 2019 was offici-ated by YB Datuk Darell Leiking with pres-ence of representatives from the national and international chambers of commerce and business and industry associations. YB Minister made announcements of two ma-jor MITI’s initiatives to establish greater syn-ergy between public and private sector. He highlighted the need to go back to basics of rethinking trade and investments, and in-dustrial policies. The first being formation of “Friends of MI-TI” and the second initiative being the “Consultative Group of Industrial Develop-ment. The consultative initiative is to pro-vide a platform for industry players to be involved in the policy-making process. YB Minister urged industry players to continu-ously give constructive feedback to improve the policy-making process and regulatory framework. The MCD 2019 will be a month long pro-

gramme to gather feedback from the private

sector in the industry.

YB Datuk Darell Leiking ad-

dressing the attendees on

“Rebuilding Malaysia Togeth-

er“.

YB Deputy Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming gave a briefing on “MITI’s Role in the New Malaysia”.

Volume 30 ● Issue 3 ● July — September 2019 2

Reimagining Malaysia Electricity Supply Industry MyPower organized a two-day forum with key stake-holders on 19 and 20 August 2019 to provide opportu-nities for participants to share industry insights and needs, to develop the vision desired for MESI 2.0 and to identify building blocks that must be in place to boost industry efficiency and empower consumers. MISIF was represented by the Chairman of the Energy and Utilities, Mr. Cheong Khai Kong and Council Mem-ber Mr. Ooi Peng Yeow. Held at Cyberview Resort & Spa, the forum was attended by stakeholders from industry associations, MESTECC, ST, SEDA, TNB, Khaza-nah, investment banks, IPPs, solar energy providers, etc The 2-day event began with opening remarks by the MESTECC Minister YB Pn Yeo Bee Yin, followed by briefing on the overview of forum in finding a delicate balance between energy security, sustainability and affordability. The Forum introduced and acknowledged the current status of MESI and discussed industry’s strengths and weaknesses in order to prepare the in-dustry on the implementation of MESI 2.0.

Meeting with MIDA on Industry Consoli-dation MISIF held a meeting with MIDA on 3 September 2019 with presence of Dato’ Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan (Chairman), Dato’ Azman Mahmud (CEO) and En Mo-hamad Ismail Abu Bakar (Executive Director of Manu-facturing Development). MISIF Council was represent-ed by Dato’ Lim Hong Thye, Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian Lai, Mr Chow Chong Long, Mr. Mark Lim, En. Roshan M. Abdullah, Mr. Tee Choon Hock, Dato’ Lawrence Lim, Mr. Kenny Ten and Mr. Loke Kin Leong. MISIF briefed MIDA on the key objectives for consoli-dation to achieve higher operating efficiencies, build financial strength to chart future paths to embrace high technology to produce higher grade of steel and new products, and to become a stronger entity global-ly and regionally. MISIF hoped that MIDA, MITI and MOF could facilitate by providing incentives that in-duce and expedite the progress of the consolidation initiative. MIDA viewed that the consolidation exercise should be industry-led and is prepared to engage with interested parties that come forth to undertake this exercise.

Dato’ Lim highlighting the concerns on excess capacities to Dato’

Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan and Dato’ Azman Mahmud.

Foreign Labour Policy and Guidelines for the Manufacturing MITI engaged with industry stakeholders on Foreign Labour Policy & Guidelines for the Manufacturing Sec-tor on 27 August 2019. The programme was aimed to update the industry on foreign labour policy, the application process of recruiting foreign workers as well as to get feedback from the industry on the issues and challenges with regard to manpower requirement. On the policy and management of foreign workers, Ministry of Human Resource (MOHR) highlighted the legislation governing foreign workers that set the mini-mum standard for all employer to comply, while the processes by Jabatan Tenaga Semenanjung Malaysia (JTKSM) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) is to control the hiring of foreign workers while ensuring local citizens are given the priority to fulfill the require-ment. The implementation of multi-tier levy mechanism (MTL) was also highlighted as one of the ways to re-duce foreign workers dependency. MIDA, MPC, MIDF and MARii also briefed on automation incentives, lean management, automation incentives, soft loans for automation, and industry placement, respectively, while MITI highlighted the national incentives on In-dustry 4.0.

Business owners urged the authorities to allow em-

ployers to get replacements for foreign workers who

had returned to their home country without having to

go through the inconvenience of new application pro-

cess that also incur further costs.

The industry also expressed concern that the govern-ment’s target to wean the dependency on foreign la-bour to 15% by 2020 may not be realistic. This bench-mark has not considered the number of undocument-ed foreign workers who are presently employed. Hence, the needs of employers in manufacturing sec-tor must be carefully assessed on case-by-case basis to ensure the manufacturing operations are not affected.

Volume 30 ● Issue 3 ● July — September 2019 3

MISIF Meets MARii and OEMs MISIF had the opportunity to engage with Malaysia

Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) and

the automakers (PROTON and PERODUA) on 8 July

2019 in MARii’s office, Cyberjaya.

The engagement session was requested by the three

tripartite groups (Cold Rollers (CRC), Steel Sheet

Coaters and the Steel Service Centres) to delve further

into the process and procedures of working with the

major automakers and on the avenues of usage of

steel-related materials available locally.

A total of 24 member companies’ from MISIF attended the session. Dato’ Madani Sahari, Chief Executive Officer of MARii chaired the session while MISIF was led by Mr. Loke Kin Leong, Chairman of the MISIF Steel Service Centre Group.

MISIF members at the dialogue session.

Mr. Loke Kin Leong, Dato’ Madari Sahari, En. Borhan Din of

PERODUA and Tn. Hj Hamizan Osman of PROTON

MISIF Dialogues with OEMs Following the dialogue with MARii on 8 July 2019, the three interested parties of MISIF (CRC, Steel Service Centres (SSC) and Steel Sheet Coaters) held a meeting with PROTON on 8 August 2019 and PERODUA on 6 September respectively to discuss the following:

• To identify parts using local materials and establish percentage of local content;

• To propose solution to increase local mills percent-age.

▲ Tn. Hj Hamizan (third from right) leading the

discussion for PROTON. Representatives from

MARii were also present.

►En. Borhan Din (far right) leading the discussion

for PERODUA.

Volume 30 ● Issue 3 ● July — September 2019 4

Briefing by Gas Malaysia Berhad In view of the Third Party Access (TPA) regulations, Gas Malaysia Berhad (GMB) would need to undergo the transformation required under the new gas supply environment. Among others, the separation of GMB into two separate entities which are Gas Malaysia Energy and Services Sdn Bhd (GMES) under the Shipping Licensee and Gas Malaysia Distribution Sdn Bhd (GMD) under the Distribution Licensee. All related GMB assets would need to be transferred to GMD and new agreements would be entered into, including the new Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) between customers and GMES. GMB Director of Commercial, En. Shahrir Shariff, together with General Manager of Marketing En. Mohamad Farid Ghazali and En. Khairul Akmal Zainal Ariffin, Senior Manager Marketing (Central/

From left, En. Shahrir Shariff, En. Mo-

hamad Farid Ghazali and En. Khairul

Akmal Zainal Ariffin with MISIF mem-

bers at the dialogue session with Gas Ma-

laysia.

Eastern) held a discussion and gave a short briefing on 20 August 2019 to inform the relevant committee members of MISIF on: • what is TPA; • the changes that TPA brings; • the key terms in the new GSA. A total of 12 representatives from member companies attended the session led by Mr. Cheong Khai Kong, Chairman of MISIF Energy and Utilities Committee.

Dialogue with Energy Commission on TPA In relation to the Third Party Access (TPA) regulations, MISIF held a

dialogue session with Energy Commission on 26 September 2019 in

Energy Commission’s office in Putrajaya.

A total of 15 participants representing MISIF member companies

attended the session led by Mr. Cheong Khai Kong, Chairman of MISIF

Energy and Utilities Committee. Ir. Abdul Rahim, Chief Operating Officer

of Energy Commission chaired the session.

The dialogue session was held for members to get a better

understanding on TPA and to discuss further the concerns of industry

players on TPA regime.

Mr. Cheong Khai Hong giving his views

to Ir. Abdul Rahim. Looking on are En.

Rumaizi, Deputy Director of Third Party

Access Unit of EC and Mr. Mark Davis of

Bahru Stainless.

Volume 30 ● Issue 3 ● July — September 2019 5

Corrosion on Metal for Con-struction "Corrosion on Metal for Construc-tion" was addressed at the MISIF two-day training course on 4-5 Sep-tember 2019. The course was conducted by Dr. Sheikh Abdul Rezan Sheikh Abdul Hamid and Dr. Tuti Katrina Abdullah from School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Dr. Sheikh Abdul Rezan and Dr. Tuti Katrina shared their knowledge on various forms and causes of corrosion. From their experience and research cases, they provided participants with techniques and methods to identify cor-rosion and measures that could be adapted to control corrosion. Construction steel products are widely used in the build-ing and automotive industries, in mechanical engineering and in consumer goods. Except for mechanical engineer-ing, steel is usually protected against corrosions by zinc or zinc based coating or various other methods. This course is designed to provide participants with the basics for understanding the fundamentals of corrosion and coating. The participant should be able to recognize the various forms of corrosion, what has caused the cor-rosion and be able to identify the best method to control corrosion. Among the topics covered during the course : • Corrosion of construction steel; • Corrosion science basics; • Corrosion rates and prediction of corrosion in con-

struction steel; • Environmental effects on corrosion of steel; • Corrosion prevention; • Forms of corrosion; • Surface engineering on construction steel; • Anodizing; • Hot dip galvanizing; • Corrosion resistant paint on construction steel; • Stress corrosion cracking in stainless steel; • Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor

deposition (PVD) on construction steel; • Surface treatment (carburizing, nitriding, carbonitrid-

ing) on construction steel; • Material selection for corrosion control in construc-

tion steel.

Dr. Rezan and Dr. Tuti providing solu-

tions during the Q& A session.

Participants at the training course.

Investigation Concerning CRC Im-ports of Width More Than 1300mm The Government of Malaysia had completed the preliminary determination of anti-dumping inves-tigation concerning imports of cold rolled coils of iron or non-alloy steel (CRC), of width more than 1300mm from the People's Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea and the Socialist Repub-lic of Vietnam as provided under Section 23 of the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act 1993 (the Act) and found that there were suffi-cient evidences to continue with further investi-gation on the importation of CRC from the al-leged countries. The Government had decided to impose a provi-sional measure anti-dumping duties ranging from Nil to 26.39% to be applied on imports of subject merchandise from the alleged countries and was effective not more than 120 days from 27 August 2019. The provisional measure would exclude tin mill black plate and subject merchandise imported for the purpose of automotive and finwall trans-former end usage. The investigation had been initiated in accord-ance with the Act and Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Regulation 1994 on 29 March 2019 based on a petition filed by Mycron Steel CRC Sdn. Bhd. on behalf of the domestic industry producing the like product. Interested parties, such as importers, foreign producers/exporters and associations related to the investigation could have access to the non-confidential version of the report on the Prelimi-nary Determination by submitting a written re-quest to the Trade Practices, Ministry of Interna-tional Trade and Industry (MITI).