PETALING JAYA (Dec 9, 2013): With less than three weeks to go, local glove makers are calling for the government to halve its planned electricity tariff hike for industrial users to an average 8% rise instead of the proposed 16.85%.

"The new electricity tariff is extremely high. We appeal to the government to (reconsider) reducing the electricity tariff hike by 50%, not only for us (industrial users) but across the board including domestic users as well as commercial users," Top Glove Corp Bhd founder and chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai said at the Rubber Glove Industry 2013 media roundtable organised by the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association here on Friday.

Electricity users will from Jan 1, 2014 pay more for electricity, which averages 10.6% or 3.03 sen/kWh for domestic users, 16.85% or 6.91 sen/kWh for commercial users and 16.85% or 5.21 sen/kWh for industrial users.

"Everybody has a duty to give feedback and everyone must voice up in order to prevent the government from making a mistake. Their mistake is also our mistake if we just keep quiet and accept it. We have to appeal and we have to make suggestion," said Lim.

For Supermax Corp Bhd executive chairman and group managing director Datuk Seri Stanley Thai, he believes that the government should not increase the power tariff at all. "In my opinion, they shouldn't increase it, not even at 8%."

Rather, Thai said, the government should prioritise on addressing wastage and leakages in government departments, as well as cut expenditure and fight corruption, before reducing subsidies and collecting more revenue from the public.

To continue champion the rubber glove industry, Thai said, glove makers need a government that is proactive by setting a conducive business environment. "If the cost of doing business continues to go up, we will become less competitive," he added.

Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd managing director and CEO Datuk Lim Kuang Sia concurs.

However, he believes that by improving rubber technology and processing technology, as well as shifting towards automation from labour intensive industry, the local rubber glove industry can still maintain its pole position over the next 10 years.

Malaysia is the world's largest rubber glove producer, exporting 96 billion pieces a year to meet 60% to 65% of global demand.

"Rubber glove manufacturing is going to be a high-technology industry in the future and technology is the way going forward to mitigate rising cost," Hartalega Holdings Bhd managing director Kuan Mun Leong said.

He said the local glove industry still "has a very bright future".

-thesundaily