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II. NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
[ II | II-A
| II-B | II-C | II-D
| II-E | II-F | II-G
]
F. Ministry
of International Trade and Industry
The mandate of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is to promote
and safeguard Malaysian interests in the international trade arena and
to spur the development of industrial activities in order to further enhance
economic growth towards the realization of Vision
2020. The functions of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry
are:
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To plan and implement international trade and industrial policies;
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To promote local and foreign investment, and to coordinate and facilitate
industrial development;
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To promote and facilitate export of Malaysian goods, by strengthening bilateral,
multilateral and regional trading cooperation;
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To increase national productivity through management training programmes,
the development of entrepreneurs and management consultant services;
To assume those functions, eight major divisions were established in the
Ministry of International Trade and Industry. In addition, the Ministry
has six agencies for further enhancing the implementation of its specific
operational activities, including:
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The Malaysian
Industrial Development Authority
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The National Productivity
Centre
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The Malaysian Trade
Development Corporation
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The Malaysian
Industrial Development Finance
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The Malaysian
Technology Development Corporation
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The Small
And Medium Industries Development Corporation
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has assumed a proactive
role, both in local and international forums, in addressing environmental
issues. Those include the Montreal
Protocol with regard to the depletion of the ozone layer, the Basel Convention
on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal,
the Framework Convention on Global Warming and the Convention on the Conservation
of Biological Diversity.
International action taken to address those issues will inevitably affect
Malaysian industries, either directly or indirectly; towards that end,
the industries have taken positive steps towards implementing the respective
international Conventions. Industries using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
and halon have been informed of the Malaysian country programme which targets
the year 2000 as the phase-out date. In collaboration with other relevant
agencies and departments, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry
has organized seminars and workshops to inform affected industries to phase
out CFCs and halon in a systematic manner. The active role of the Ministry
of International Trade and Industry in international forums has resulted
in additional funds of US$ 2.3 million being obtained for assisting industry
to gradually phase out CFCs and halon.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has also been in constant
contact with companies and trade associations, especially the Federation
of Malaysia Manufacturers, to keep them informed of the latest developments
that will affect industrial growth. In addition, a Technical
Advisory Committee was established in the Ministry of International Trade
and Industry to evaluate applications to import CFCs. The Committee takes
into account such factors as a company's past consumption of the controlled
substances and the availability of substitutes. The Customs
Department, under Customs Order
(Amendment), 1989, records and monitors the imports of ozone-depleting
substances to ensure that their use remains below 0.3 kg per capita. The
Committee also controls the approval of permits for all CFC imports by
industry.
Recognizing the importance of proper and systematic disposal of toxic
and hazardous wastes, on 8 October 1993 the government acceded to the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
and Their Disposal. The Department
of Environment has taken measures, as required under the Basel Convention,
to differentiate between wastes imported for recovery and those imported
for disposal or dumping. The Customs Department, under the Customs (Prohibition
of Import) Order, will monitor imports of wastes.
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