Credit : Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof's X
KUALA LUMPUR, October 28 – Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof today encouraged local entrepreneurs to keep exploring international markets and sharpen their competitiveness, during a meeting with a delegation from the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia (PPHM).
The delegation was led by the federation’s national president, Tan Sri Ir. (Dr.) Lim Hock San, and was received at the Parliament Members and Administration Building, Fadillah said in a post on his official X account.
“The meeting served as a platform to exchange views on current issues, particularly those related to economic development, business opportunities and the growth prospects of local industries,” he wrote.
Fadillah, who is also Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said he urged business owners to broaden their reach beyond Malaysia’s borders. “I also encouraged local entrepreneurs to continue exploring international markets, expand their business networks and increase their competitiveness, while supporting the government’s efforts to strengthen small and medium industries (SMIs) as a driver of the country’s economic growth,” he said.
The post, tagged #MadaniBekerja and #MalaysiaMadani, was accompanied by photographs of the meeting. One shows Fadillah and Lim holding a framed souvenir together, flanked by members of the federation’s leadership, while another shows both sides in discussion around a conference table.
The Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia is one of the country’s largest Chinese community organisations, with more than 255 member associations nationwide, according to earlier reports on its activities. Lim, a businessman who is also Group Executive Chairman of property developer LBS Bina Group Berhad, has led the federation and also serves as rotating chairman of the ASEAN Federation of Fujian Associations, which brings together Hokkien communities across the region. Under Lim’s leadership, the federation has worked to promote Hokkien culture and to build business links between its members and counterparts in ASEAN and China, including through the inaugural ASEAN Federation of Fujian Associations Congress held in Kuala Lumpur.
Small and medium enterprises form the backbone of Malaysia’s economy, and the government has repeatedly highlighted the need for local firms to move up the value chain, adopt technology and tap export markets to drive growth under the Malaysia MADANI agenda. Speaking in Kuching in late 2025, Lim said the federation would roll out a series of activities to promote Hokkien culture on a larger scale, and noted that the ASEAN Federation of Hokkien Associations had held its inaugural general meeting to help unite Hokkien communities in ASEAN countries, according to a Borneo Post report.
Beyond the federation, Lim holds a range of community and business roles, including president of the Federation of Malaysia Lim Associations and honorary president of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, according to his corporate profile. Fadillah is the Member of Parliament for Petra Jaya in Sarawak, and his ministry oversees policy on the energy transition and the water sector, areas where the government has called for greater private sector participation.
Fadillah did not say whether any specific proposals or follow-up programmes were discussed with the delegation.
Source: Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof on X
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