Negeri Sembilan strengthening services, tourism sectors

Negeri Sembilan is strengthening its services and tourism sectors as the main drivers of its economy as it could no longer rely on the manufacturing sector, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said.

He said Negeri Sembilan was striving to make the services and tourism sectors as the mainstay of its economy as quickly as it could as US President-elect Donald Trump's trade policy could hurt its economy.

Trump has mapped out his agenda to put America first by imposing heavy taxes on US companies that move their business operations overseas and encourage more businesses to move back to the US, Mohamad said, adding that Trump also planned to impose import duties on goods from foreign countries.

"Trump's policy poses a big threat to us as it will directly affect our revenue in the manufacturing sector," Mohamad said after chairing the State Executive Council here Wednesday.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), since last year, the growth of the services and tourism sectors have matched that of the manufacturing sector.

"However, I'm optimistic of the presence of foreign investors here with the large-scale central region development plan (Malaysia Vision Valley - MVV) and the redevelopment of Port Dickson in the offing.

"I hope no US companies will pull out from the state, but we can never say. However, we will not be in a quagmire as we still have investors from other countries such as Germany, South Korea, China and Singapore.

"With the MVV and Port Dickson redevelopment, Negeri Sembilan will be able to draw more investments," he said.

On the establishment of the Port Dickson Municipal Council, he said Port Dickson would be rebuilt as a resort town.

"We will be appointing 15 thinkers as advisory panel members to air their views on ways to transform Port Dickson into a systematic resort town, equipped with value-added amenities," he said.

As for the other districts, Mohamad said they were required to set up a tourism unit to manage, promote and create tourism products. - Bernama