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CONTENTS
CEO FOREWORD

2

MALAYSIA MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER

3

POST MCO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IRON ANDSTEEL INDUSTRY4THANK YOU NOTE FROM STEEL MEMBERS DURING MCO

5US LED TRADE TENSIONS WITH CHINA – NOW COVID-19
TRADE WAR?

6-12

MALAYSIAN STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

14-18

COVID-19 PANDEMIC: POTENTIAL IMPACT ON LOCALSTEEL BUSINESS

19-22

WORKPLACE TRAINING DURING PANDEMIC - ONLINETRAINING

23-24

ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE IN-HOUSE RECYCLING OF SW
204 SCHEDULED WASTES

26-27

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DURING THE
COVID-19 OUTBREAK

28-30

HOW COVID-19 AND THE MCO AFFECTS THE IRON ANDSTEEL INDUSTRY IN MALAYSIA

31-34

CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE AND HOT ROLLINGMILL TURNKEY SOLUTION

36-38

RAYA AT HOME DURING THE CMCO39

STEEL AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

40-41

LITTLE STEPS, BIGGER PRINTS

42-45

MSI WITH YOU

47-52

MSI BRIDGING GAPS

53-56

MSI TRU

57-59

ADVERTISEMENT RATES

60

CEO ForEwOrd
2020 has arrived and we were expecting toreach a milestone of a fully developed nation
but we missed the target by a few years still.
Looming a recession through trade wars, it
seems, while the real major catastrophe isan unexpected new norm. The Coronavirus
Covid-19 or otherwise known as SARS-CoV-2,
changed the world, especially Malaysia’slandscape where our government enforced
the Movement Control Order (MCO). The
MCO is a compulsory yet inconvenient ordernevertheless with the safety of the Rakyat as its
main motive following a Conditional category
to ease the economic situation later on.
The MCO did not classify the Iron and Steelindustry activities as “essential services” andwere not allowed to operate. However, it was
granted for idle maintenance. Nevertheless, weneed to realize the important roles of the Iron
and Steel industry in terms of input materials
for those industries listed as essential services.
These essential services can operate in the
short-term with inventory in hand, howeverwith the IMF forecasting a COVID-19 driven
pandemic recession, these essential services
need to be supported by the iron and steel
industry as their supplies will be depleted
overtime and similarly when the COVID-19
threat dies down, speedy economy recovery is
pertinent and strategic steps need to be taken
to ensure this. Furthermore, the iron and steel
industry that supports other industries as wellas the construction sector (an important sector
to bring about domestic driven economic
activities to assist faster recovery from astage of recession), needs to be within a shortperiod in order to pick up speed and increase
performance to meet the sudden demand.
With this in mind, the health of the iron and steel
industry during the application of MCO3 period,
indeed received support from the Government
and were allowed gradual resumption, followed
by a full recommencement right after.
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Malaysia’s economy
had already been slowing down with a GDP
growth rate of 3.6% in 2019 and Malaysia Iron &Steel was already in the stagnation phase for thelast 7 years. It was predicted that the pandemic
would lead to further rise in unemployment
as a corollary to the closure of businesses andstaff retrenchment. To address this situation,
MSI through collective engagement with theIron and Steel Industry have made several
recommended stimuli plans for the post-MCO
to the government.

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The uncertainty of the economy will force
the business to restructure its operations, aneed to deploy smart factories for exponential
drive, increase productivity throughdigitalization, focus on new productdevelopment and enhance
local talents. The Iron & Steelindustry may be able to bounceback from this pandemic
and we estimate that it may
need around 6-12 months to
get back on its feet. This is
an optimistic assessment.
Optimism is what is needednow!
MSI continues to welcome theIron & Steel Industry players
to join as members and bea part of the MSI fraternity.
We provide trade consultation
services, develop standard,
conduct Economic Research andprovide training to enhance theindustry. We also publish updates
on steel in our official journal
called ‘The Steel Advocate’ andon the first issue of the Steel
Advocate for 2020. We take theopportunity to welcome our new
YB Senior Minister of the Ministryof International Trade and Industry,
Dato Seri Mohamed Azmin bin Ali
along with YB Senator Datuk Lim
Ban Hong as our Deputy Minister.
MSI, together with the rest of theagencies under MITI will continue
to work closely to overcome these
disruptions and challenges by being
adaptable, considering all solutions,emphasizing on sustainability
efforts and with collaboration
between the Government and its
agencies along with the industry
players for recovery and thus regain
our economic success.

Jarrod Lim

Chief Executive Officer
Malaysia Steel InstituteMalaysia Movement Control Order3

Post MCO Recommendations for the Iron
and Steel Industry

4Thank You Note from

Steel Members During MCO

Well done Jarrod and your team,of your great efforts and sacrifice.
Keep it Up MSI
Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian Lai
Executive Deputy Chairman,
CEO of YKGI Holdings Berhad

Dear Jarrod & Leon, highly

Thank you very much Jarrod,

appreciate such immense &Leon and MSI team for all thetimely info sharing to all MSI

information & assistance during

members during MCO. See you

this difficult period

in Johor Bahru with cheers soon.
Mr Kevin Suh
Senior Vice President,
Kiswire Sdn. Bhd.

TQ Jarrod and team for working
tirelessly to look after the interest of
the industry and provide invaluable
information and guidance before
and during the whole process. Also

Mr Danny Ling
Chief Operating Officer,
King Hong Steel Sdn Bhd

Mr Loke Kin Leong
Assistant Director,
Nicom Steel Centre (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Thank you Jarrod, Leon and teamWe like to record our appreciation to Jarrod

members too

and Leon and all the team members of MSI for

appreciate

your kind efforts and great

their invaluable effort and guidance during theguidancedifficult times of the MCO.

Grace Yong
PR Executive Manager,
Alliance Steel (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Dato’ Sri Tai Hean Leng
Managing Director/
Chief Executive Officer of Masteel.

thank all participants for your sharingof experiences and issues which
we hv benefited very much. Muchappreciated
Mr Leong Hua Kooi
Federation of Malaysia Hardware
Machinery & Building Materials,
Dealers' Association (FMHMBA)

Thank you Jarrod, Leon and MSI team for all
the assistance during this difficult period.
Mr Mark Lim
Director,
Hoto Stainless Steel Industries Sdn. Bhd.

Thank you so much Jarrod and Leonfor your support and great effort.
Thank you mr Jarrod, mr Leon andteam for your relentless supportand helpfulness during this trying
period. Truly appreciate it

Mr Eric Leaw
Assistant Treasurer,
Malaysia Steel And Metal
Distributors' Association(MSMDA)

Ms Fanny Tan
Chief Operating Officer,
Mycron Steel CRC Sdn. Bhd.

Thank you
Mr Myoung Jong Whan
General Manager (Sales and Marketing),
POSCO-MALAYSIA Sdn. Bhd.

Jarrod and Leon and team, muchappreciated all your hard works andscarifies to help the industry in themost difficult time.indeed you allare our heroes.
Thank you all
Mr Michael Thong
Master Builders Association
Malaysia (MBAM)

great job done
Jarrod and team...

Thank you very much Mr Jarrod Lim
and team members, for all the support

Mr Ernst Koay
President,
Steel Wire Association of
Malaysia (SWAM)

during difficult period
Dato’ Ng Hook
Director,
Engtex Steel Industries Sdn. Bhd.

Thank you Mr. Jarrod Lim and teammembers...
Mr KH Ng
Director,
Grp Business Development
Admin Government and Project,
Alpine Pipes

5

US Led Trade Tensions with China
Now COVID-19 Trade War?
By Subash Bose pillai, Trade Practices and Advisory Services, MSI(Note: The views expressed are that of the writer/based on reports from various sources and, not the viewof the MSI/MITI)BACKGROUND

In the last four articles, we examined a few issues:• The global imposition of tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium by the US under Section 232 with exemptions for /modifications on some countries and the initial impact;• Imposition of Section 301 specifically on China;• The initiation of investigation by the US under Section 232 on autos and auto parts to be applied globally and the delayed
decision on autos;• Phase one deal reached; andWe ended by stating that the year 2020 will be another interesting year, given that Trump will be making choices for unilateral
trade/technology actions.
However, none saw this curveball in the form of COVID-19, unleash its fury and in one fell swoop changed the entire scenario
and shifted the focus. The US led trade tension is now but a drop in the ocean of global economic turmoil!
The US-China trade tension is also seeing an inflexion point with the COVID-19 pandemic in place.
This article will continue to look at US-China trade tension updates and at the same time look at the impact of COVID-19,
based on various studies/reports.
At the time of writing, things are still uncertain on the containment of COVID-19 globally, and the coverage of the updates has
been best captured till the time of printing.

UPDATE ON DEVELOPMENTS
US 232 Trade action on Iron & Steel and AluminiumCountries that imposed safeguard measures on Iron & Steel/Aluminium, that were taken to prevent trade diversion, maintained
their lists. Retaliatory actions too remain.
Impact on US Iron & Steel Industry – COVID-19
The lockdown in China has had an impact on steel demand, as China is the largest user, producer and exporter of steel. This
fall in demand in China has affected the US demand too, leading to cutting back in production as well as cancellation oforders. On a year-on-year comparison basis, as at end of March 2020, US steel capacity utilization dropped to a low 71.6%, by
US standards, and US steel production fell by a hefty 12.7% - due to the impact of COVID-19. The US Section 232 tariffs on steel
has successfully achieved its objective of curtailing imports of steel, with imports decreasing in 2018, 2019 and continuing
this trend in January-February 2020.
However, the COVID-19 is undoing the very objective of the global tariff action initiated by President Trump under US Section
232 on steel - i.e. to decrease imports and to achieve increase in capacity utilization to above 80%. Although there is still acontinued drop in imports, it is now for entirely different reasons – this time the drop in US demand leading to the drop in
capacity utilization.

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This trend is expected to continue until China’s economy picks up and the steel demand in China increases, and of course,
until the US gets itself out of the COVID-19 effects and the inevitable impact on the US economy – noting that the US leads
with the highest COVID-19 casualty.
US Section 301 Action
Exclusions under the US Section 301 Action:• 2 March 2020: The US Trade Representative (USTR) opened a window from 12 March-12 April 2020 to allow companies who

have received exclusions on 14 May 2019 to request for an extension of the exclusions for another year and at the same time forpublic comments. The products include:◆ Various steel tools, filtering machinery, AC electric products, microscopes and other equipment; and◆ Without this extension, an additional duty of 25% needs to be paid.
• 10 March 2020: USTR granted the first set of exclusion requests from the US$30 billion trade restriction instituted at 15% andlater reduced to 7.5% effective for a one-year period from 1 September 2019 to 1 September 2020.
• Products that may be in short supply listed under US Section 301 action and products that help curb the spread of thecoronavirus. These include soaps, sanitary wipes (toilet and similar paper, medical gloves, disposable hospital linens, gowns(including laboratory), articles of plastics & articles of other materials and surgical masks. The exclusion is applied retroactively
from 1 September 2019 – 1 September 2020.

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[Source: https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/us-china-trade-war-tariffs-date-chart]

US-China Trade War Update• China announced trade war exemptions on 79 products covering ores (rare earth, and range of precious metal)), chemicals &petrochemicals and certain medical products (medical disinfectants) effective 19 May 2020 for a one year period.
• It was also reported that the China wanted to re-negotiate the deal but Trump ruled out any re-negotiation for now. Trump is
maintaining that China should keep to the deal of buying US$200 billion of US goods despite global derailment of international
trade (demand-supply issues).
Hua Wei and IP Related(https://www.lexology.com;https://www.cnet.com/news/us-blacklists-8-chinese-tech-companies-over-human-rights-issues/)

8• In the last publication we noted that a “temporary general export license” (TGL) was given to US companies that allows current
Huawei customers to continue receiving support for existing devices. The original order in May gave existing customers a 90day license; it was then extended for another 90 days after that, until 18 November 2019. The US gave Huawei a further third90-day support window till mid-February 2020.
• 10 March 2020: US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) extended TGL till 15 May 2020 and has
requested for public comments.
• 13 March 2020: Trump signed into law, barring telecommunication carriers from using Huawei network equipment, including
other companies deemed a national security threat.
• 13 May 2020: Trump extended the ban on domestic telecommunications companies from using certain equipment madefirms Huawei and 70 affiliates to the Entity List deemed as national security.
• 15 May 2020: the US Department of Commerce announced that it would modify existing policy to prevent semiconductors
from companies produced using US software and technology from being shipped to Huawei Technologies.
• 18 May 2020: the validity of TGL was extended till 13 August 2020.
• 22 May 2020: BIS announced the addition of new 33 Chinese companies and institutions to the Entity List.

BOX
ARTICLE

PHASE ONE DEAL UPDATE[Lexology:https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1ad0addf-ddc9-432e-9eaf-fe8baa760263&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_
medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2020-0406&utm_term=] – as of 10 March 2020

15 January 2020: Phase One Trade Deal was announced between the United States and the People’s
Republic of China;
14 February 2020: The Phase One Trade Agreement entered into effect.
• The agreement covers structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime in theareas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreignexchange. We are already seeing some positive activities in China, particularly in the areas of agricultural tariffs
and standards, as China begins to disassemble some of its structural barriers to US exports.
• These activities include:◆ Signing a protocol that allows the importation of U.S. fresh chipping potatoes;◆ Lifting the ban on imports of U.S. poultry and poultry products, including pet food containing poultry
products;◆ Lifting restrictions on imports of U.S. pet food containing ruminant material;◆ Updating lists of facilities approved for exporting animal protein, pet food, dairy, infant formula, and tallow forindustry use to China;◆ Updating the lists of products that can be exported to China as feed additives;◆ Updating an approved list of U.S. seafood species that can be exported to China;◆ Announcing tariff exclusions for imports of U.S. agricultural products (http://gss.mof.gov.cn/gzdt/
zhengcefabu/202002/t20200218_3470901.htm); and◆ Announcing the reduction in retaliatory tariff rates on certain U.S. agricultural goods; certain items from 10% to
5% and other items from 5% to 2.5%. (http://gss.mof.gov.cn/gzdt/zhengcefabu/202002/t20200206_3466540.
htm.)• A new Bilateral Evaluation and Dispute Resolution Office, formed by the United States Trade Representative,
to monitor China’s commitments under the Phase One agreement and to work with Chinese counterparts toaddress disputes arising thereunder.
• COVID 19 concerns are slowing the progress on other implementation efforts, and will most certainly havea negative impact on China’s commitment to substantial additional purchases of US goods (especially
agricultural goods) and services in 2020. However, inspite of COVID 19, some thawing of the trade disputeappears underway.

END OF BOX ARTICLE

9

Phase Two Deal?

• For now it appears to be a wait and see with COVID-19 causing greater uncertainty. However, Trump appears to continue
his formula of ‘American interests first’ even with the COVID-19 pandemic. With phase one deal in libo due to COVID-19,
phase two deal looks more remote for now.

World Trade Organisation
WTO Dispute on US Section 232 Steel and Aluminium - Update• In June 2010, the WTO ruled in favour of the U.S on EU subsidies to Airbus.
• In September 2016, the WTO confirmed that the European governments not only failed to meet the compliance deadline
to remedy $17 billion worth of past subsidies provided to Airbus, but had since provided an additional $5 billion in illegal
aid.
• In July 2019 the US declined to engage in a settlement proposed by the EU and proposed retaliatory tariffs of US$11 billion.
• In October 2019, the U.S. was awarded the right to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion of annual EU imports in the case against
Airbus. The U.S. imposed partial tariffs on most Airbus aircraft, as well as on additional products such as cheese, olives andsingle-malt whisky.
• The EU intended to appeal but WTO Appellate Body ceased its operations on 10 December 2019 – thanks to Trump.
• On 4 March 2020 the US announced that certain products will be imposed with increased duties from 10% to 25%
beginning 5 March 2020 as listed under Annex I (A) & 1 (B) and beginning 18 March 2020 as listed under Annex I (C).
• In the meantime the EU is considering requesting the WTO to authorize US$12 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs in the
EU’s case on subsidies to Boeing by the US.
• The EU and the US have been battling for more than a decade over mutual claims of illegal aid to plane giants Boeing
and Airbus, with parallel cases at the WTO. Both sides have been caught paying billions of dollars of subsidies to gain
advantage in the global aircraft business – and yet they can point fingers at others for not complying with the WTO
Subsidies and Countervailing (SCM) Agreement.
• This tit-for-tat retaliation by the two large global economies seems to continue, oblivious to the debilitating impact of
COVID-19 on the global economy.

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TRUMP AND COVID-19 EFFECTS AND IMPACT[HTTPS://WWW.PIIE.COM/BLOGS/TRADE-AND-INVESTMENT-POLICY-WATCH/COVID-19-TRUMPS-CURBS-EXPORTS-MEDICAL-GEAR-PUT-AMERICANS-AND]• As each country is battling to contain the effects and impact of COVID-19, on both human lives and the economy, Trumpwith his standard formula of resorting to trade restriction/war has started on medical gear by imposing restrictions on
medical supplies exports related to COVID-19 treatment.
• President Trump, citing national interest as well as the need to curb hoarding, exploitative price gouging, and profiteering
by preventing the export of critically needed COVID-19 medical supplies, has invoked The Defence Production Act (DPA)
and restricted exports of respirators, surgical masks, and hospital gloves.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been tasked to limit American exports of such personal
protective equipment (including PPE) to Canada, Mexico, and a host of other countries. But Canada and Mexico arecountries that the US relies on for medical headwear, sanitizer, face shields, and protective garments that are in short
supply in the US. FEMA under DPA indicated that five products would become subject to US export restrictions (to sell
at least 80% of production in the US) effective for 120 days:◆ N-95 filtering face piece respirators;◆ Other filtering face piece respirators;◆ Elastomeric, air-purifying respirators, and appropriate particulate filters/cartridges;◆ PPE surgical masks; and◆ PPE gloves or surgical gloves.
• It has to be acknowledged that the US depends on imports for medical gear and their components. In 2019, the US
imported more than five times the amount of the same respirators, masks, and gloves from foreign sources as the Trumpadministration is now refusing to sell abroad• According to sources, the US was very slow to act and only on 17 March 2020 the Trump Administration removed trade
war tariffs imposed on Chinese imports of surgical masks and disposable respirators. It has to be highlighted that the
tariffs were imposed despite earlier objection from the US medical community that had warned the administration thatbringing hospital supplies into its trade war would impair the US preparedness for a pandemic.
• The US restrictive actions have also been extended on US-based production facilities in China - not to export to its
traditional customers – Canada and Latin America.
• However, on 7 April 2020, Trump announced a deal to allow US based companies to export a limited amount of its
medical products provided these companies continue to import from its factories based in China.
• It was also reported in the media that Trump had even diverted medical supplies going from China to Canada andGermany, to the US. Trump had also referred to COVID-19 as ‘a Chinese virus’, but later changed the tone as the US, facedwith a shortage, has had to depend on China for urgent medical supplies; it is also claimed that the US had threatened
India with action if India did not remove the export ban on certain drugs to treat COVID-19 patients – but later claimed
it was not a threat but a misinterpretation of what was said; India did however remove the export ban of the drug
temporarily to US as well as to some other countries.
• Fortunately, so far (April 2020), no country has taken retaliatory action against the US for its (the US) export restrictionof medical supplies. This is in stark contrast to the retaliatory action a number of countries took against the US when
they (the US) imposed Section 232 action on Iron, Steel and Aluminium. It has also to be acknowledged that as ofmiddle of April 2020 about 40 countries have also imposed export restrictions on medical supplies and essential items,
to safeguard their own interests. gets itself out of the COVID-19 effects and the inevitable impact on the US economy –noting that the US leads with the highest COVID-19 casualty.

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THOUGHTS FOR NOW• As many countries are struggling with the effects and impact of COVID-19, China has somehow managed to press a reset
button to restart its economy with caution. This includes a possible second wave of COVID-19 resurgence, if the lifting oflockdown is not managed properly as China tries to open its economic activities. With the global lockdown in its various
forms, to contain the spread of COVID-19, China is the first country to reset and kick start its economic activities.
• As expected the US is pointing a finger at China and China at the US on the cause of COVID-19 virus with:◆		 Some loosely based on scientific hypothesis, genetically based data – but still inconclusive; and◆		 Others on conspiracy theories that run emotionally strong but not supported by facts.
• Trump has even lambasted the World Health Organisation (WHO) for slow action to curb the spread and on 29 May
2020 announced that the US would be terminating its relationship with the WHO and cutting off financial support.
Although Trump alluded to WHO as the reason for the high casualty due to COVID-19 pandemic in the US, it has also
been domestically claimed that the US understated the gravity of the situation and was also slow in taking up front
preventive action.
• All scientists (probably backed by pharmaceutical companies) are also racing to be the first in finding a vaccine/a cure
for COVID-19 – however it is not very clear whether the primary motive is to save human lives or whether this ‘cure’ will
become the cash cow or yet again there will be conspiracy theories in promoting the vaccine.
• IMF says the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression in the 1930s
and forecasts that over 170 countries will experience negative per capita and 2021 would only see a partial recovery. It will
require joint global effort and cooperation.
• It is suggested that once the full threat of COVID-19 dies down, the whole global economy and the way of doing businessincluding the way of daily life too will be operating under a new normal. All are trying to grasp what the new normal willbe.

We have seen Trump again trumpeting ‘America First’, supporting unilateralism and moving against multilateralism. We
have yet to see Trump working towards global good. More importantly, will Trump turn the US-China trade war to US-Global
COVID-9 trade war? We hope not. It is still early. We have to once again wait as the game plan unfolds.
[Note: Sources quoted and where “no copyright infringement is intended”]

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13

Malaysian Standards Development
By Tracy Lee, Standards & New Technology, MSI

Introduction

Malaysian Standard (MS) is a consensus document developed by the Standards Development Committees within the
Malaysian Standards Development System and approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
MS(s) are generally voluntary in nature, developed by interested parties which is divided into 4 (four) categories of stakeholderinterests: general, producers, regulatory authority and users to ensure balanced representation. However, they can be mademandatory through referencing by regulatory authorities by means of regulations, local by-laws or any other similar ways.

About Department of Standards Malaysia

The Department of Standards Malaysia (Standards Malaysia) was established on 28 August 1996 with a statutory role in
National standardisation and accreditation governed by Standards of Malaysia Act 1996 (Act 549). STANDARDS MALAYSIA is
now one of the agencies under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
As the National Standards Body, their functions and roles are in line with the 11th Malaysia Plan. They spearhead Strategic
Reform Initiatives - Competition Standards & Liberalisation (SRI-CSL) under the Economic Transformation Programme as oneof the 12 identified National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) (Source: Standards Malaysia).
As a national accreditation body, they provide credible accreditation services to laboratories, inspection & certification bodies
for greater market access and global recognition for technical competence and quality assurance (Source: Standards Malaysia).

International and Regional Standardisation Activities

STANDARDS MALAYSIA represents Malaysia in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as an active member. For the steel sector, Malaysia participates as an observing memberin the following International standardisation activities:i)		 ISO/TC 17 Steel;ii)		 ISO/TC 17/SC 16 Steel for concrete reinforcement and pre-stressing; andiii)
ISO/TC 17/SC 17 Steel wire rod and wire products.
Besides that, Standards Malaysia also participates actively in regional standardisation activities, such as: Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (APEC-SCSC) and ASEAN Consultative Committee forStandard & Quality (ACCSQ).

14

How Malaysian Standards are made?
Below are the major MS development processes:

15

The development of a Malaysian Standard (MS) is detailed out as follows:i) New Proposal
An idea of having a new standard can come from anyone and the New Proposal (NP) Form is available in STANDARDSMALAYSIA’s website.
When submitting the NP form to STANDARDS MALAYSIA, sufficient information is required. Sometimes, the proposer will
be consulted during the NP assessment for better understanding and clarification. The proposer will be notified for any
unapproved NP and the project will not be initiated.
ii) Approval of Proposal
Once the NP is approved by the National Standards Committee (NSC). The new TC/Working Group (WG) is formed toundertake the project (if the scope is not covered under any existing TC/WG).
iii) Drafting
The MS is developed by TC (balanced representation among 4 (four) categories of stakeholder interests: general, producers,
regulatory authority and users) or WG (groups of experts).
iv) Public Comment (PC) and or Public Consultation
Once the draft Malaysian Standard (DMS) is prepared, it undergoes public comment stage for 60 days or public consultation
session. The public is encouraged to submit their views and inputs on the (DMS) by visiting the Unified Public Consultation(UPC) website. The public comment periods or public consultation sessions is an important stage for the interested parties(e.g. manufacturers, public authorities, consumers, etc. who never participated in the standard development) to commenton the draft.
There are three (3) types of comments applied:• General: general comments on the draft as a whole or comments that are neither technical nor editorial;• Technical: comments on the technical content of the draft; and• Editorial: purely on editorial, such as spelling correction, typo error or rewording to express the technical facts more clearly.
The comments are gathered, and the area of concerns are addressed and analysed by the TC/WG. The constructive
alternative show that the draft Malaysian Standard requires technical reworking. After updating the draft Malaysian Standard,
resubmission for Public Comment of another 60 days is required.

v) Publication and Sales of the MS
Following the approval of the Minister, a new MS number is assigned and the MS is then published. Upon the publicationof the revised MS, the old MS is obliged to be withdrawn. The MS(s) can be searched through: http://www.jsm.gov.my/web/
msonline. At the moment, the MS(s) can only be purchased as softcopy and hardcopy from Department of Standards Malaysia
either by walk in to the counter in Cyberjaya or email to: sales@jsm.gov.my. Online purchase will be available soon.
vi) Review of the MS
In principle, all MS(s) are subjected to review at least every five (5) years or earlier to ensure they are still current and kept inpace with new technologies. The maintenance of Malaysian Standards is carried out through the periodic review exercise.
STANDARDS MALAYSIA is committed to maintain the published Malaysian Standards [MS(s)] which adds to the Net Benefitof the Malaysian community. The review results can either be: confirmation, amendment, revision or withdrawal with orwithout replacement of the MS.
The timeline for MS to be developed range from 4 months to nine (9) months for adoption and up to 1½ years for indigenous
standard, which is very much dependence on the complexity of the standard.

16

Mandatory Iron and Steel Malaysian Standards for Construction Sector

As of December 2019, 504 of 5021 MS(s) were being made mandatory by the relevant regulatory bodies.
A total of 41 MS(s) for iron and steel construction materials (for 7302.10.0000 to 7325.10.20.00) which has high impact to thestructural integrity of construction structure are made mandatory by CIDB to ensure the end users are safeguarded.
These MS(s) were developed under different National Standards Committee as follows:i) NSC D on Building, Construction and Civil Engineeringii) NSC E on Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Energyiii) NSC F on Mechanical Engineeringiv) NSC H on Petroleum and Gasv) NSC P on Metallic Materials and Semi-finished ProductThe widely used MS(s) in construction sector are as follows:i) MS 146, Steel for the reinforcement of concrete - Weldable reinforcing steel - Bar, coil and decoiled product - Specification(Fourth revision)ii) MS 145, Steel fabric for the reinforcement of concrete - Specification (Fourth revision)iii) MS 1138 (series), Prestressing steeliv) MS EN 10025 (series), Hot rolled products of structural steelsv) MS 16120 (series), Non-alloy steel wire rod for conversion to wirevi) MS 2500, Roofing products from metal sheet - Self-supporting products of steel sheet - Specificationvii) MS 1462 (series), Metal scaffolding17Role of Malaysia Steel Institute (MSI) in MS Development Activities

The standardisation activities in MSI is under the purview of “Standards and New Technology” Division with the aims to:i) Promote the use of standards in the iron and steel industries, that will ensure only quality products are produced and usedin order to safeguard public safety, and to move the industry up the value chain;ii) Assist the iron and steel industry in the standards development activities; andiii) Facilitate a conducive environment for development of the iron and steel industry in Malaysia.
Since 2015, MSI has assisted and facilitated the development of Malaysian Standards based on request from the stakeholders,such as: Low-alloyed steels for machine structural use, alloyed spring steels, hot-rolled wire rods for pre-stressing steel bar
concrete and more, hot-rolled wire rods for prestressing steel bars of concrete and more, etc for the purpose of Certificate ofApproval (CoA) implementation, quality, environment and safety improvement. MSI is actively participating in the followingStandards Development Committee:i) National Standards Committee (NSC),ii) Technical Committee (TC); andiii) Working Group (WG).
In addition, MSI also provide consultations between industry players and higher learning institutions throughout the year on
the issues related to Malaysian Standards Development and its implementation and also to ensure that the mandatory MS(s)are always up to date.
For any enquiries on iron and steel MS related issues,
please contact: lee.hooi.lan@malaysiasteelinstitute.com (Ms Tracy)

COVID-19 Pandemic:
Potential Impact on
Local Steel Business

By Juliana Binti Ahmad,
Economic Research & Development, MSI

The pandemic outbreak of Corona Virus disease (COVID-19), newly emerged form of virus, globally spreading and did notexempt Malaysia from its spread. The fast spreading COVID-19 has left governments in an extremely difficult position with
tough decisions to make, especially so as they have never tread on such untouched troubled waters:• No cure: No known and medically proven medicines available to cure patients that have contracted COVID-19 – currently
on trial and error basis;• No vaccines: no readily available vaccines to take preventive measure against COVID-19;• Mode of Transmission: no one is absolutely sure how it can spread as there is no clinically available medical literature on
the mode of transmission – but there is absolute evidence, within just a few months or so, that COVID-19 can spread likewild fire if no action is taken to contain COVID -19 – lessons quickly learnt from COVID-19 spread in Italy, Spain and the US
where the death toll has surpassed China;• Test Kits: there is also no fool-proof (100% assurance) that if the swab test results showed negative it is absolutely
negative, and there is need for second follow-up tests to confirm the first test – it will take at least anything from 3-14
days to know for sure if one is infected or otherwise. Currently the most popularly method used is the Polymeraise Chain
Reaction (PCR) tests that help to detect the genetic information of the COVID-19 virus, the RNA – but not exactly perfect;• Symptoms: the symptoms of infection are not very obvious and while a person shows asymptomatic (no signs) ofinfection, the person could be already be spreading the virus to others unknowingly. However, as time passes there are listof signs that most infected patient will develop which include fever, respiratory related tiredness, dry cough, sore throat,
loss of smell, nasal congestion, diarrhea and body aches.
• Vulnerability to Loss of Life: However, what is worse is that, by the time a person shows the symptoms, the person
could be already infected and the person needs to be admitted for hospital care – not that a cure is available but to provide
support services to weather the COVID-19 down for recovery – which is highly contingent on the state of health of theperson – if the person is too old or has other health issues such as asthma, lung related issues, diabetic etc. the chances
are they will succumb to COVID-19 ending with loss of life. There is also no assurance that even if one is physically fit, theperson will not succumb to COVID-19.
What appears for the time being, based on clear experiences of some countries for example China, Taiwan and South Korea,
if there is a break in the transmission cycle, through quarantine, the spread peaks at lower levels and there is a good chance
to control the spread of COVID-19 and have early recovery. But again, there is a possibility of a second wave of infection whenmovement restrictions are lifted, if it is not fully monitored to ensure people follow social distancing, washing hands as often
as needed (with soap or sanitizer), and wearing masks. Currently China and Korea are facing such return of reported cases incertain cluster areas – creating greater uncertainty and making the light at the end of the tunnel barely visible.
This is where the government is faced with the dilemma whether:• To prevent widespread of COVID-19 and save lives by calling for a restricted movement except for only identified essential
services – thus shutting down other economic activities; or• Allowing for normal or minimal closure of all economic activities but stand to be faced with escalating COVID-19 cases,
higher death rates and putting undue stress on the medical services that may not be able to cope with increased COVID-19
cases.
As of May 8, 2020, the outbreak of the corona virus disease (COVID-19) had been confirmed in more than 229 countries. The
following captures the Malaysian scenario of COVID-19 infection:

19

As for Malaysia, the government has taken the policy direction of Movement Control Order (MCO). In brief these are theactions taken by the Malaysian Government:• March 16 2020: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announces a 14-day Movement Control Order (MCO) from March
18-31, 2020
• March 25 2020: Prime Minister announces second 14 days duration of MCO from April 1-14, 2020
• April 10 2020: Prime Minister announces that the MCO will be extended by another 2 weeks from April 15-28, 2020
• April 23 2020: Prime Minister announces the 4th phase of MCO from 29 April 29-May 12 2020 under phase 4 or so-called
Conditional MCO (CMCO), which allowed almost all economic sectors to reopen• May 10 2020: Conditional MCO extended for another 4 weeks from May 13-June 9, 2020.
• 13 May 2020: Greater movement was announced with the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Gawai Festival and Kaamatan Festival
celebrations coming in end of this May – allowing not more than 20 persons, provided SOP are followed.
• 10 June 2020: The Government has announced the 4th stages of the recovery plan, Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) which
took effect from 10th June till 31st August 2020. Under the RMCO, almost all social, religious, business and educational activities areallowed to resume in stages under strict SOPs. Another two stages in the recovery plan will be announced by the government which
will focus towards revitalising the economy to enable people to move forward in a new environment.

20

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Local Iron &Steel Industry

The iron and steel industry is a backbone to the industrial
value chain by supporting a wide range of other relatedindustries such as automotive, oil and gas and construction
sector which reflects major contribution of the iron and steel
sector to the economy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
many countries are taking steps to mandate partial/complete
lockdown as measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19
virus. Malaysia too has adopted similar strategy of social
distancing by imposing the nationwide MCO comprisingof five phases so far, with duration of two weeks per phase,started on March 18, 2020 after the first reported fatality fromthe disease on the March 17. Under the MCO, schools, nonessential services and factories are ordered to shut down
while only critical sectors like food and healthcare supply
chain and enforcement agencies were allowed to operate. As
such, the economic impacts of the extended MCO will andhas already severely affect the sectors that are classified as‘non-essential’ services. Nevertheless, the Government has
initiated partial opening of other sectors that were previously
considered as non-essential but needed to ensure thestability of the supply chain. Gradually opening up has also
been approved for construction, automotive, oil and gas,machinery and equipment, aerospace, and technical services
during the phase 3 MCO. On top of that, the government
has also allowed full opening of almost all business andeconomic activities beginning 8th May 2020 under theConditional MCO, with no restriction on operating hours
and total workforce. Those sectors that have been allowed toopen need to strictly follow SOP as prescribed by the Ministryof Health (MOH) and National Security Council (NSC).
In the effort to avoid human casualty due to the COVID-19
pandemic, the imposition of MCO has disrupted production
and operation of businesses across industrial and commercial
sectors that have not been given the green light to operate.
For the iron and steel industry, all operations initially were
not allowed to operate. Even before the announcementof MCO, impact on the industry was anticipated in 2020,
where the sluggish construction sector has dragged thedemand of iron and steel down whilst the imposition of
MCO. Enforcement MCO under COVID-19 pandemic further
added to the already poor state of affairs of the iron and steel
sector. Due to lower demand from key customers of steel
like automakers, construction and oil and gas drillers during
the MCO, the consumption is projected to shrink by 5060% in the next 12 months. This will deteriorate the capacity
utilization to less than 40%, increase the gap between thelocal and global benchmark gap for capacity utilization of
80%. Without the necessary government measures in place,industries will require 24-36 months to recover while bearing
uncertainties over the capabilities to service their existingloans and supporting operational costs.

Furthermore, by having to abide by the MCO regulations, thebusinesses are also faced with trade restrictions imposedby our government and also by most of the other countries,
which adds to the disruptions in the supply chain. Exporters
are currently facing production disruptions, logistics
problems and cancellation of orders as more countries are
implementing lockdown. A serious disruption also occurs
in raw material supply as many manufacturers are affectedby the lockdown regulations. For those intending to start
operations, delays of the shipment are expected to cause
manufacturers and traders looking for alternative supply
sources, which further delays delivery to customers resulting
in the loss of market share, for those who cannot wait fromtheir normal suppliers to source and find other alternative
sources of supply. Local producers in our own market may
also lose their market to foreign producers who have ahead start, where the mills have been able to continuously
operate their steel mills and did not face any lock down, forexample in China, Korea and Japan with the original intention
to at least maintain their customer base.
Slowing down of the economy with reduced demand,
leading to lower employment of workers to cut costs andlosses will have a huge impact on unemployment in the
country. Bearing this in mind, there will be a need, besides thepath of retrenchment, for companies to be properly embark
on a strategy post MCO, where companies need to try tobring down costs, increase innovation, minimize wastage
and improve productivity. In the short-term to save their jobs,
workers may probably need to take pay cuts to sustain theiremployment, or in the worst-case scenario, if they cannot
sustain the workforce through retrenchment with VSS
offers, depending on the financial health of the company to21

withstand non-operation or scaled down operations during
MCO.
Noting that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and
MCO regulations, the government has announced stimulus
package through Prihatin SME Economic Stimulus Package(PRIHATIN). Those initiatives unveiled by the government for
the PRIHATIN SME package are:• Wage subsidy worth Rm13.8 billion to all workers earning
RM4000 below;• Financial assistance through abolishment of 2% to 0%interest rate for RM500 million Micro Credit Scheme
under Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN);• Waiver of rental for premises owned by GLCs such as
PETRONAS, MARA and PLUS;• 25% reduction in foreign employees levy;• Moratorium on the submission of statutory documents;• Extension of Time (‘EOT’) for the submission of financial
statement;

supplies and internet connectivity; and• Provide soft loan facilities to the affected iron and steel
companies.
Nonetheless, the new normal that is suggested to bepracticed should not be seen as losses to the economy or topamper the iron and steel business in particular, it is rather
a transformation or way forward for the industry to remain
in operation and not call it a day and to remain competitivein the long term. The industry needs to also do their best to
consider what they need to do and the following are possible
steps that the iron and steel industry need to take or adopt,
depending on the state of individual operations:• Automation: As workers have to limit their physicalappearance in the workplace due to social distancing, it
may lead to bringing artificially intelligent machines androbots to replace human resources for more efficiency inthe future;• Digital meetings: Adopt digital meetings and webinars to
directly facilitate business processes;• Domestic supply chain: Industry to utilize domestic
supply chain in order to minimize the effect from global
shift in shocks in the procurement of supplies; and• Innovation: To look at different ways of doing things –think out of the box to break away from the normal wayof doing things to the new normal to gain advantage overcompetition.
There is also a need to further emphasize during and post
COVID-19 crisis, the relevance of Industrial Revolution 4.0(IR4.0) initiatives, as promoted by the government, for the
Malaysian industry sector to fast forward itself to be morecompetitive.

• Re-negotiation of employment agreements.
The support programs have mainly targeted the Small andMedium Enterprise (SME) more than the large corporations
like the iron and steel industry. For large corporations, theeligibility to qualify for PRIHATIN benefits is limited or none.
Knowing that the iron and steel industry is a high investment
sector, that supports a large workforce and has to service large
amounts of bank loans, there is an urgent need for the ironand steel industry to be considered for some government
support, to help sustain the local iron and steel industry atlarge. Based on the numerous issues faced by the industry
to sustain amidst the implementation of MCO and from thereview of other country’s government stimulus measures tocushion their large corporations, it is recommended for thegovernment to consider the following measures to the help
the iron and steel industry during and post MCO phase:• Relief/reduction/deferment for certain tax obligations;• Reinstatement of infrastructure projects and roll out new
construction projects;• Suspend eviction exercise, guarantees water and electricity

22

Workplace training during pandemic– Online Training
By Leon Lai, Human Resource Development

The
MalaysianGovernment
acknowledges the importanceof prevention and control of
the new coronavirus Covid-19
infection while sustaining the
economy and retaining theemployment of people during
the Covid-19 outbreaks in Malaysia.
Online training is not only an
important way to improve productivity
and employability of workers, but also aneffective
way to reduce the social contact of personnel during the
pandemic. In order to implement the online training, several
factors need to be considered i.e. recognition by authorised
body, availability of infrastructure, digitization of training
content and trainer competency. We’ve seen an elevatedinterest in virtual training through an increase in registrations
and attendance for webinars, virtual conferences andpodcasts during the Covid-19 pandemic. As training
programs and events shift online, this new normality has
driven the training industry to a new era where the relevant
matters are hereby notified as follows.

First, Free online training resources. During the epidemic,
it relies on online learning platforms. In areas and other key
epidemic-prone areas, it is foreseeing further increase inopening of online training resources and scope expansionof free courses. It is recommended to strengthen the policy
to support the retrenched workers and other key groups toparticipate in online training. Increasing the supply of free
training courses covering major industry processes and types
of work, and actively guiding and encouraging companies,
universities, colleges (including technical colleges) and social
training institutions to open online training resources for freeduring and after the outbreak, industries are encouraged tocarry out pre-job training for employees to be hired basedon various online training platforms during the pandemic
situation in accordance with their actual needs.

Second, improving the quality of online training resources bymaking full use of various channels such as portal websites,
mobile APPs, WeChat applets, etc. to improve the accessibilityof online training. Optimizing the registration process anduser interface of online training to improve the convenienceof online training. Next, updating and improving the content
of online training in a timely manner, and increasing thedevelopment of quality courses. Embedding infectious
disease prevention and control knowledge and other healtheducation contents in online training courses to improve thehealth literacy of workers. Strengthening the online support
service function of the online training platform, improving theuser evaluation feedback mechanism, and rationally setting
up online training courses, assignments, exercises, evaluationand other functional modules to improve the training effect.

Third, improving support services for online training by
relying on the online training platform, during the pandemic
period and large-scale awareness programme to enhance
the attractiveness of online training. Telco companies areencouraged to give preferential treatment to train during andpost pandemic. Improving the connection between online
training and employment service platforms during and post
pandemic, strengthening the integration of information on
the employment needs of local human resource markets,and encouraging companies to rely on online training
platforms for online recruitment to improve the quality of
employment post training. Through information-basedmeans to achieve full tracking management of the students'
learning situation and training effect, performing quality
post-training evaluation. Adopting new methods such as
big data portraits to guide workers participating in online
training to plan the employment direction after training.

23

programmes to be released in a timely manner, actively
respond to workers’ training demands to create awareness.

Fourth, increasing support for online training, increasing
support for the development of online training platforms,
establishing an online training account for employee, andconducting training points management, strengthening
the online and offline integration of skills training. Within
one year after the end of the pandemic, workers can givepriority to skills training in offline training venues such as
public training bases based on online training hours andcredits. Encouraging accredited training centres to include
online training credits as transferable credit hour, andprovide workers with bonus points and exemptions in therelevant qualification certification exams or recognition ofprior achievement based on the training credits. Encourage
the sharing of training resources such as teaching teachers,
course materials, and student information among online
training platforms.

Fifth, actively carrying out publicity and awarenessprogrammes by strengthening the policy promotion of online
training during the pandemic and improve social influenceand policy awareness, encouraging accredited centre todevelop online training public promotion programmeduring the pandemic. Information related to online training

24

Sixth, strengthening the organisation and implementation.
All related Government Ministries and agencies, universities,
training providers and industry associations are playing
an important role on responding to the pandemic, fully
understanding the importance and urgency of conducting
online training during the pandemic, and effectively helping
the industry to strengthen organisational leadership,clarifying the responsibilities of relevant departments, andensuring training participation and training effectiveness.
Industry association at all levels should give full support tothe advantages of organisational mobilisation and guidemore members to actively participate in online training.
The online training demand trends has been forced toincrease by the pandemic Covid-19 regardless of the pros andcons in using online training method. The trend is expected
to remain until the covid-19 can be put under control once a
vaccine is developed by scientists. Hence, it is expected thatthe online training will evolve to be more effective at lower
cost during this critical period.

Economically Feasible InHouse Recycling of SW 204
Scheduled Wastes
By IOP Specialists Sdn Bhd

The unique property of water as a universal solvent to dissolve various solutes results in the formation of wastewater after
every domestic and industrial applications. In Malaysia alone, the wastewater production is estimated to be 2.97 billion cubic
meters annually.
Depending on the industries and applications, the produced wastewater contains various physical, chemical or biologicalpollutants that are hazardous to the environment and nonetheless, our health. Hence, treatments to this wastewater toreduce the concentration of these pollutants to a safety level before releasing to the environment are inevitable.
The Department of Environment (DOE) under the wing of Malaysian government has enforced the industries in Malaysia
to treat their wastewater or sewage through the Environmental Quality Act. These industries are required to set up in housesewage treatment plants or safely transport the sewages to offsite treatment premises with licences issued by DOE.
Considering the constant production of sewages periodically, most industries opt to set up in house treatment plants insteadof the offsite treatment premises to reduce their financial burdens. These sewage treatment processes as illustrated in Figure
1 involve the coagulation and flocculation of the pollutants to form sludges using various chemicals. The sludges are then to
be extracted and the treated sewages will be treated using other water purification processes such as filtration. The collectedsludges are pollutants. They are highly undesirable as they may impart more harms to the environment. Consequently, thesesludges need to be properly handled and disposed.

Figure 1: A layman illustration of a typical sewage treatment process.

26

Nevertheless, the disposal of the sludges can be challenging and costly. Unlike wastewater treatments, sludges are notnormally treated in house by the industries. These sludges are commonly transported to licensed offsite treatment premises.
Consequently, additional costs are incurred to industries on top of the costs of in-house wastewater treatments.
Efforts and researches are being conducted to achieve sustainability in the management of the sludges using the conceptof reduce, reuse and recycle. As an example, sludges can be used in the building materials production and agricultural
applications after appropriate treatments. However, the industries may have difficulties to market these products produced
using sludges as these industries may not be familiar in that specific fields. Moreover, the treatment processes for thesesludges can be complicated and more costly. Further and in deep researches and studies are required to increase theeconomic value and efficiency in treating the sludges.
In the view of studying the reusability of treated sludges, scheduled waste of SW 204 with traces of metals obtained froma client of IOP Specialists Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia are pyrolyzed. The treated or pyrolyzed sludges are ball milled to smaller size
particles with higher surface area to volume ratio. Different weight ratios of the treated sludges are then used to filter
wastewater with very high turbidity or cloudiness originated from the same client that provides the sludges. As a result, theturbidity of the wastewater decreases significantly when the weight ratio of the treated sludges reaches 20 % as shown in
Figure 2.

Figure 2: Wastewater treatment using the treated sludges with 5, 10, 15 and 20 % of weight ratios to the weight of the wastewater.

The results from this preliminary study are promising and encouraging in treating the sludges to be reused in the wastewater
treatment. In order to further enhance the wastewater treatment capability of the treated sludge, an ongoing study is
being conducted to mix the treated sludges with another treated iron wastes, iron oxide particles with magnetic properties
produced by IOP Specialists Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia. Iron oxide particles are found to be able to adsorb heavy metals and organic
contaminants in the literature. On top of that, the iron oxide particles impregnated sludges can be magnetically separated
after the wastewater treatment.
This case study mentioned in this article suggests the potential of sludges to be reused by just a simple pyrolysis process.
The ultimate goal of this study is to achieve the reuse of the sludges as many times as possible through the in house pyrolysis
treatment by the industries illustrated in Figure 3. It is intended to largely reduce the cost borne by the industries in purchasing
the coagulants, flocculants and other sewage treatment chemicals.

Figure 3: The life cycle of sludges in sewage treatment.

27

Effective Business
Management During theCovid-19 Outbreak
By Madeline Kam, Industry Relations and Liaison, MSI

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11 2020, meaning
it is spreading to multiple countries concurrently. The pandemic is evolving at a really fast pace globally until the Malaysian
government imposed a movement control order (MCO) from 18 March 2020 until 12 April 2020. By doing so, the Malaysian
government hopes it may control the spread of the virus and reduce the number of outbreaks in the country. A lot ofcompanies are affected during the MCO as they are not allowed to operate. The government only allows operations ofessential services involved in the production of food, water, energy, communications and internet, security and defence, solid
waste and public cleansing management and sewerage, healthcare and medical including dietary supplements. To facilitate
economic functions, banking, finance, E-commerce and logistics companies, amongst others are also allowed to operate. 1
During this period of uncertainty, organizations should assess the impact of the MCO on their operations, financial
performance and legal liabilities that may arise. This is because social distancing measures, quarantines and restricted travels
may have an adverse effect on the economy. The worst scenario is that certain businesses may face financial problems,
resulting in, at best, Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) and at worst employee termination and eventual insolvency ofthe business. No doubt, following the crisis, organizations may still be able to function based on several key indicators ofbusiness management. Businesses need to make urgent changes to their current operations to emerge unscathed during
this unforeseen circumstance. As such, it is proposed that an organization should emphasize in its business management
model four important criteria as viz:a)
b)
c)
d)

Employee’s Safety
Infrastructure for Remote Work
Building and Securing of Liquidity
Communication

Employees'
SafetyInfrastructure for
Remote WorkBusiness
Management

Building andsecuring of liquidity

1

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/04/580558/mco-20-only-10-listed-essential-services

28

Communication

Employees’ Safety
Needless to say, the key asset for every organization is its
employees. Undoubtedly, the current Covid-19 pandemic has
a negative impact on the psychology of the workers. They
may experience emotions such as fear, anxiety, ambiguity
and uncertainty given the existence of numerous unknowns.
Therefore, it is imperative that organizations emphasize on
safety, health and job security in order to placate the feelingsof workers during this challenging times. It is proposed thefollowing actions be taken by management viz:i)

Humanistic Approach to Employee’s Problems■ Actively listen to employee’s concern■ Practice empathy.
ii) Healthy Business Operations Practices■ Preparation of guidelines on ways to handle
employees who are ill■ Identification of possibility of workers exposed to
Covid-19 at the workplace■ Improvement of the building ventilation system■ Provision of hand sanitizer for employees,
customers and worksite visitors■ Performance of routine cleaning and disinfection.
iii) Meetings and Congregations■ Avoidance of face to face communication■ Introduction of teleconferencing or videoconferencing for work related meetings■ Avoidance of unnecessary travels. 2

Infrastructure for Remote Work
The impact of the Covid-19 has forced many workers to work
remotely. Companies need to implement new ways for its
employees to work. For example, companies such as Google
and Microsoft encourage their staff to adopt a work-fromhome policy. Are employees able to operate productively
and staying safe at the same time? For modern techcompanies, majority of its staff are laptop users. However,for smaller firms, working remotely is only limited to email
and non-operational systems as their teams usually utilizes
desktop devices than laptops. In order to function effectively,
employees need to be equipped with the followings:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

A computer
A reliable internet connection
Teleconferencing applications
A dedicated workplace
A phoneSelf motivation and discipline
A strict routineCompanies need to also prepare themselves from unwanted
cybersecurity threats when working remotely. As employees
will be exposed to a greater risk outside from their workplace,all devices need to have strong password policy, disk
encryption and taking care of the devices. Companies may
also use the home monitoring app, which will highlightdevices with known vulnerabilities, outdated software or
firmware, or default passwords. 3

2

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html

3

https://www.welivesecurity.com/2020/03/16/covid19-forced-workplace-exodus/

29Communication
The global economy has been badly hit from this crisis as noone was prepared for this situation. Due to the total lockdown
as happened in Wuhan China and the limited lockdown as
is happening in Malaysia, companies must innovate ways
to continue as a going concern. Despite the lockdown,
companies need to communicate with various stakeholders
effectively. Thus, there is a need to resort to social media inorder to communicate differently across different channels.
Below are some points for any businesses to consider.

Building and securing of liquidityi) Create Personalized Email Messages to Different
Stakeholders
Top management is required to inform key
stakeholders the strategies that the company has
formulated in order to ride out the impact of Covid-19ii) Coordinate Emails Without Spamming Clients
All emails originating from the company should becoordinated so that recipients would not feel they arebeing spammed.
iii) Introduction of Alternative Media to Reach
Customers
It may be appropriate to introduce text messages as
this requires immediate attention.
iv) Creation of New Forums to Assist Customers
Efficiency
It may be timely to establish a customer/industry
resource group or publish articles. This resource group
may allow companies to share their views on how toreact to the crisis more effectively. 5
https://www.gainsight.com/blog/5-best-practices-for-crisis-communications-during-covid-19/

5Every business needs to remain liquid during this crisis andsufficient cash in their coffers is of primary concern. The
Covid-19 will have a negative impact on businesses thatare highly leveraged and those facing tough competition.
Companies without sufficient cash will face problems ingetting adequate supplies and may disrupt supply chain
network. An action plan is proposed to overcome this crisis.
i)

Identification of Available Cash and Payments Due■ Companies need to track cash buffers, calculate
available cash and unutilized credit lines■ Identify urgent payments (invoices and treasury
settlements)ii) Allocation of Cash Reserves■ To identify opportunities to pool liquidity■ To monitor the financial status of entities within
the group■ To allocate liquidity to entities in need of cashiii) Forecasting of Cash Flow
■ Make cash forecast and identify where bottlenecks
arise and surplus recoup■ To calculate the group’s cash forecast to identify
cash bottlenecks and surplus■ Adequate cash reserve to prevent a sudden run
on a company
Iv) Monitoring of Cash Contracts■ Carry out regular forecast in conjunction withcash contracts due. 4

Ernst and Young, 2020

430

How Covid-19 and the
MCO Affects the Iron
and Steel Industry in
Malaysia
By Madeline Kam, Industry Relations and Liaison, MSI

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused theworld to come to a near standstill. It has made a formidable
impact on the economies of many countries and the lives ofthe people in the countries affected. This pandemic could be
the greatest challenge the world has ever faced since WWII.
It is feared that many people will lose their jobs, thus affecting
their welfare. One wonders whether the world can function
normal again. The International Labour Organization (ILO)
has estimated that around 25 million jobs will be lost due
to the economic impact of the pandemic. To combat thisnew virus in Malaysia, our Prime Minister announced thefirst Movement Control Order (MCO) from 18th March to 31st
March 2020. Still the situation had not changed for the better,
the second MCO was announced to take effect between 1st
April to 14th April 2020. Still, the situation had not improved
for the better. A third MCO was announced to take effectbetween 15th April to 28th April 2020.

It is feared that the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic
will cause many businesses in our country to shut down
partially or maybe completely. One industry that will faceformidable problems as a result of this new virus is the ironand steel industry. This industry represents the backbone
to the industrial value chain and supports a wide range ofother related sectors like construction, shipbuilding, vehicle
production, armaments, amongst others. This crisis may
result in closure of Malaysian-owned domestic steel players,which have invested millions of Ringgit to upgrade theirfacilities. According to The Edge Article dated 30th March
2020, the shutdown in steel operations might cost theindustry RM3.2 billion loss in revenue.

31

Steel Workers

Because of the nature of the job, a vast majority of steel workers(mills) work on site and cannot work remotely compared toother work-from-home workers. The impact of the Covid-19
may result in further layoff of workers and reduction in salary
due to non-production and loss of revenue. If and when thesteel industry is allowed to operate again, they would needto make changes to their regular routine whereby workers
need to undergo temperature screening before entering
the work premises. Further, social distancing needs to be
enforced among workers working in mills, warehouses andthose involve in material movements and logistics and soforth. This will incur extra cost because of the need to wear
facemasks, usage of hand sanitizers, and sanitization of theentire factory. This may only be a temporary measure, as it is
not foreseeable when the pandemic will end.

Essential and Non-Essential Items

It was not envisaged that the leeway given to essential items
under the MCO might cause disruption to the supply chain for
non-essential items. This is because they are interconnected.
When the first MCO was enforced between 18th March to 31st
March 2020, transportation, airport services, fuel distribution
and hotels were among the list of 22 essential items. Under
the second phase of the MCO between 1st April to 14th April
2020, the MCO was reclassified into 10 critical sectors include
services such as food, water, energy, communications
and internet, security and defence, solid waste and publiccleansing management and sewerage, healthcare andmedical, banking and finance, E-commerce and logistics.
Noticeably missing from the list of items allowed to operate
under MCO 1 and 2 was iron and steel. It appears that steel
was not considered essential items by the government.
As such, steel factories could not make deliveries to certain
industries making essential items that require the products
immediately. This had caused disruption to the essential
items businesses. However, industries involved in the neworder (presumably iron and steel) will have to apply to The
Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) via theirofficial website. The list of additional industries that areallowed to operate under MCO 3 with subject to conditions
are aerospace industry, automotive industry, constructionindustry, machinery and equipment industry, science,
professional and technical services, social health services,
hardware shops, electric and electronic shops and laundry
services.

32

EnglishBahasa Melayu

33

Production

Production has been the manufacturer’s main concern during this outbreak. The iron and steel industry has stopped operation
since the beginning of MCO as it was not listed under the essential services list without realizing it is important to support theiron and steel industry. The iron and steel industry also supports other industries the main one being the construction sector.
This is a vital sector to bring about domestic driven economic activities, which will lead to rapid recovery from the impact of
COVID-19. The steel industry needs to be able to pick up speed within a short period, in order to increase performance and tomeet the sudden demand for their products. With this in mind, the Government has approved for iron and steel industry tostart production under the construction sector but requires compliance with the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) andguidelines set by the Ministry of Health (MOH) during MCO 3.

Subsidisation of Workers’ Salary

Malaysia is embracing the third MCO with the government estimating that the country needs around 6 months to recover.
During this period, companies still need to pay fixed costs although no revenue is being generated and might experiencecash flow constraints. With the easing of restriction under MCO 3 for the construction sector and substantial support fromthe government, the steel industry might be able to weather the headwinds which the industry will be facing even after the
MCO is being lifted.
No one knows when the Covid-19 pandemic will end. As the world falls into a recession (as postulated by many economists),
it is unlikely that the steel industry will be exempted. Therefore, the government is allowing the steel industry to apply andcontinue its operations during the MCO period to prevent further losses both financially and operationally. The iron and steel
industry can be deemed to be the backbone of our industries.

34

Continuous Casting
Machine and Hot Rolling
Mill Turnkey Solution
by modern intergration technology sdn. bhd.(mitec)

Mitec and the Wuxi Bolong Machinery are set to promote the cost efficient Continuous Casting Machine (CCM) and Hot
Rolling Mill turnkey solution to the steel industry in the region.
Mitec has local presence in the Southeast Asian countries and India; and possesses technical team who provides steel
production, new steel product development and refractory management services to steel mill enterprises. The joint
collaboration will leverage on both parties’ competitive advantages and craft the best solution to suit the steel mill enterprises.
Wuxi Bolong has been specializing in the manufacturing of metallurgical equipment for more than 30 years, accomplishedwith turnkey project references and renowned customers all over the world. They supply to production lines, covering fromsteel melting furnace, CCM, hot rolling mill, reheating furnace, tube mill, cold rolling mill and other fine machining, to complete
automatic digital control system. Wuxi Bolong is one of the very few Chinese manufacturers who are accredited with a CE
Certification. Therefore, their products and solution are well accepted and have supplied to Europe and the Middle Easterncountries.

Excellence in CCM Technology
Wuxi Bolong possesses nearly three decades of experience in the engineering, supply, installation and commissioning ofCCM. The company is therefore capable to advise and implement the optimum casting solutions for customers, both for new
and existing plants. To date, Wuxi Bolong has delivered and commissioned more than 300 strands of CCM worldwide.

36

Hot Rolling Mill-Long Tradition and New Innovation
Wuxi Bolong has a complete portfolio of solutions for bar, wire rod, section and rail and non-ferrous mills. Continuous
improvements in quality and productivity are strongly driven by developments in process, mechanical, electrical andautomation of mills. Our rolling mill solutions provide optimized throughput, advanced quality and improved operability withlower energy consumption and high yield. Our technological systems and process models allow for a great variety in productmix as well as flexibility in operation.

Energy Saving & Efficient Reheating Furnace Solution
Wuxi Bolong offers proprietary design in three-section
type end in side discharge reheating furnace. We areexperienced in billet hot charging and reheating. We adopt
a 4-layer of refractory material to ensure maximum energy
efficiency and reheating performance. Our advanced
dedusting solution and fully automatic control system
also provides enormous convenience to production.

Induction Billet Heater – A Perfect Solution
for Electric Billet Reheating and Billet Surface
Temperature Equalization During Hot Charging
The direct linkage of casting and rolling processes is an
essential factor to minimize energy consumption in rolling,
product consistency, and maximize yield. Our technology
directly linked casting and rolling solutions for both flatand long products.

Quality Control
We believe that product quality is the highest
embodiment of product value and core competitivenessto become a world-class manufacturer of metallurgicalequipment. Strict quality controls the supply chain andevery link of production and manufacturing to ensure thehighest quality of our machinery. Quality is our consistentpursuit and core value of our enterprise.

37

Electrical Control and Automation Solution
Electromechanical integration is an important fieldcombining electromechanical engineering and computerscience. Our mechatronics solutions provide intelligent
and efficient operating systems for the metallurgicaland steel industries. All electronic control equipment
and components are made from high-end brands suchas Siemens, ABB and Schneider. Advanced technology
provides unlimited possibilities for optimizing process
flow to achieve efficient and safe production control. Ourelectrical control and automation system is accredited CE
Certification.

Turnkey Projects
Wuxi Bolong builds turnkey solutions based on innovative plant technology, complete with buildings and infrastructure,
tailor-made logistics, and all the auxiliary equipment that you will need for mill operation. We poised to be your single source
partner.

Turnkey Project Reference:

CASAN METALURJI SANAYIVETICARET LTD STI, Turkey
Annual Capacity of 500,000
Tons Steel Billet Production
Line equipped with 60 Ton
EAF, 70 Tons LF, 4 Strands
R6m CCM and dedusting
system.

KIRIKKALE
TurkeyDEMIR

CELIK,

AnkaraAnnual Capacity of 200,000 Tons SteelMill equipped with 2 sets x 25 Tons
induction furnaces, 2 Strands R6m
CCM, Annual Capacity 20,000 Tons hot
rolling mill line and dedusting system.

KKG STEEL GROUP, Laos
Annual Production Capacity of 200,000
Tons of Bar & Rod Rolling Mill.

38

Raya

Home

During theMovement Control OrderMay marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan withthe arrival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri. This year, Raya celebrations
are going to look very different as Malaysians continue toobserve social distancing practices to keep their loved ones
and themselves from becoming infected by the Covid-19
virus. Malaysians will continue to celebrate but differently.
The rakyat are unable to visit open houses, enjoy variety ofRaya dishes and wear colourful Raya outfits. However, we
can still make the best of the annual celebration.
Director General of Health, Dato' Seri Dr Noor Hisham bin
Abdullah said the rakyat should celebrate Hari Raya athome, in a closed-door fashion, to protect their families
from the threat of the coronavirus. Psychologist Associate
Professor, Dr Siti Aisyah Abdul Rahman said the best way for
Muslims to embrace the new normal this Hari Raya Aidilfitri
was to reflect on the real meaning of the celebration,
which symbolises victory for those who had abstained
during Ramadan. This is the first celebration affectedby the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent movement
control (MCO) orders to prevent further spread of the virus.
MSI colleagues stayed home during Hari Raya Aidilfitri toprevent the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.

39

Steel and thecircular economy
THE Article was extracted from TATA Steel, 31 January 2020

Above: Continuous flow of technical and biological materials through the ‘value circle’, courtesy of the Ellen McArthur Foundation

The Circular Economy (CE) is a phrase arising out of the work of Walter R Stahel, an architect who, in a paper from 1982
titled ‘The Product Life Factor’ first described a model for a closed-loop economy which is more commonly referred to
now as a circular economy.
In what must have seemed at the time to have been a rather atavistic point of view, he suggested that extending a product’s
useful lifespan would reduce resource depletion and lessen waste.
Circular Economic thinking extends this model further and considers the end-of-life options for all types of goods, bothmanufactured and, in the case of foodstuffs for example, grown.
Thus we have another well used aphorism; Cradle to Cradle, which neatly summarises the process whereby the waste fromone process becomes the feedstock or raw material for another process.
Much work has been undertaken in further expanding thinking on the mechanisms which must be in-place to support thecircular economy, notably by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, instigated by the yachtswoman after her many solo voyages
revealed – in a very direct fashion – the need to conserve finite resources as a matter of survival. The report ‘Towards the
Circular Economy’ produced by the foundation and McKinsey and Co is a seminal work in the field.
Circular Economics and cradle to cradle manufacturing require a major shift in thinking about how we use – and also,
importantly, how we ‘own’ things. This is because the model relies on us reconsidering the accepted paradigm where, if
something breaks we get a new one or if something is old we change it for a newer model. In the circular economy, whilst thismight still be possible the original artefact would have an established end-of-life route.
The circular economy is built around principles outlined below, and the idea that ‘Nutrient streams’ exist for all processes andthese can often arise from other industries or sectors’ waste materials, arisings and old and obsolete end products.
Nutrients are described as ‘Biological’ such as food waste for example or ‘Technological’ – the class into which steel would fall.

40

Waste = food. In the Circular Economics there is nosuch thing as waste.

and in addition how these operations integrate with existingsocio-economic models.

Long life – loose fit.

Things, be they consumer goods or built infrastructure need
to be constructed to last, to be adaptable and repairable. The
premise here is that a consumer’s connection to the artefact
needs to be ‘Emotionally Durable’ to increase attachment
and therefore the likelihood that an item will be kept becauseof or despiteits patina, dents, scratches and other signs of use
or age. This is interesting because of the potential ways inwhich products could interact with consumers in an active
fashion, using web connectivity and the internet of things forexample. In this world giving your car a name makes perfectsense.
Everything (within reason) can be re-purposed, remanufactured or recycled in another process. It might
emerge ostensibly unchanged – imagine renting – rather
than purchasing outright – a dishwasher. It is rented for adesignated number of wash cycles and then returned tothe manufacturer for refurbishment, re-manufacturing or
recycling into other processes. Almost everything we own or
use on a daily basis could be procured and managed using
this model which could be further enhanced by new andemerging technologies such as the internet of things.

Such thinking is quite easy to imagine with smaller objects –but thinking fondly of your office building or factory might be
a bigger leap – unless of course such emotional attachment
was celebrated and encouraged by design – as it wasunderstood in an equally sophisticated way by the Victorianphilanthropists who wanted passers-by and recipientsof their largesse to understand instantaneously that thisbuilding was built to last by someone who cared about it,
and, importantly, who cared about their legacy and how it
would be perceived in the future.
This care percolated through from client to architect andengineer, to joiner, mason and bricklayer and represents
perhaps one of the most convincing arguments for spending
money wisely on good materials and workmanship.
And that, coupled with a mechanism for reusing and recycling
everything, is the very essence of the circular economy.

Steel

The steel supply chain is a good example of a circular economic
model in microcosm. Because of its inherent value andcertain properties that facilitate recovery from waste (such as
being attracted to a magnet), steel and ferrous metals havebeen recycled for a long time. The circular economic model ofsteel is therefore well established and quite efficient (in someareas up to 98% of steel is recycled). Thus we can say, withmore than relative certainty, that very little iron and steel goesto landfill. Most of it, if it is recoverable will be recycled, andthe most common form of steel recycling is for it to become
feedstock to the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) or Basic Oxygen
Steelmaking (BOS) process.
As resource and energy scarcity are bound to become morepressing problems in the future so the need to understandthe integration of different circular models and how they
are inter-related or inter-dependent will become more
important also. In construction this might be issues aroundthe improved recovery and re-use of materials, metals,
aggregates, insulation, and plastics and glass for instance,

41

Little Steps,
Bigger Prints
by NS BlueScope Malaysia

1.0 Background

NS BlueScope Malaysia Sdn Bhd (NSBM) started as BHP
Malaysia back in 1994 with its Coil Paint Line producing its
first painted products in 1996. The plant was soon expanded
to include a Zincalume® Metallic Coating Line and a Slitting
Line.
Over the years, many upgrades were carried out to increase
the safety and efficiency of the lines. It is our passion ofcontinuous pursuance in green initiatives to minimize ourcarbon footprint in alignment with BlueScope Environmental
Policy which is as follows.
We care for the environment. We are committed to theefficient use of resources, reducing and preventing pollution,and product stewardship.” At BlueScope, we will takeaction within our businesses and work with our partners tocontinually improve our environmental footprint.
Together with our IGNITE Strategy of Get Lean throughimproving process efficiency by reducing wastes, it is only
fitting that the Malaysian team embarked on two promising
environment friendly and waste reduction initiatives which
are the Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer and Rainwater
Harvesting projects.
Rainwater Harvesting

42

Regenerative Thermal oxidizer reuses the by-products ofour process to sustain production and Rainwater Harvesting
reduces raw water consumption whereby, both initiatives
significantly reduce the environment impact in our daily
manufacturing operations.

2.0 Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO)

RTO was planned for our Coil Paint Line which matches ourprocesses which involve high solvent paints. In our original
setup, an incinerator is used in the paint line to convert
the harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC) solvents
evaporated from the paint during the coil painting process
before being released to the atmosphere. It constantly
requires a large amount of natural gas to maintain thechamber at temperature of 750°C to convert the harmful
volatile organic compound (VOC) solvents.
RTO is an ideal option to replace the gas guzzling incinerator.
It uses a bed of ceramics to Recovery and Regenerate
heat, which the heat is then used it to preheat the Oven
Exhaust fumes to 750⁰C and above, which is required toburn and destroy the harmful volatile organic compound(VOC) solvents before being emitted to atmosphere. With
these Recovery and Regenerative of Heat, RTO required
zero or minimum of Natural Gas to maintain the chamber
temperature above 750⁰C.

Figure 1.1 Incinerator

Figure 1.2 Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer

Figure 1.3 Schematic diagram of the overall system

2.1 Planning and Installation

This project is a collaboration between NSBM and our external vendor with the latter proposing the design, and close
collaborating efforts in installation and commissioning. NSBM handled the integration and operational challenges where
optimization to our product and paint characteristics and balancing the operation sequence of the RTO are key attributes tothe efficiency of the system.
The project work started end 2018 with the identification of the location for installation upon obtaining approval on the project
proposal. Thorough mapping of the location was performed, including underground scanning and soil structure to ensure it
can hold the weight of the system. Sewerage and manhole were identified as an obstacle in the construction of the platform
and additional works were carried out to relocate the sewerage and affected manhole.
During installation, heavy lifting, identified as one of the major safety risks, being the positioning of the equipment and thelifting of ductwork involved during the assembly of the equipment. Spaces for mobile crane operation had to be carefullyplanned between the operation and trucks to ensure a 5-meter distance rule during lifting, 1:1 ratio compliance and safe
handling of heavy machineries and structures. Control of contract workers from various background and enforcement of
our working at height safety rules to ensure the team always work safe per BlueScope Safety standards are key to successful
installation without any compromise on safety or any safety incident is one of the key project milestones. All these were
performed while the plant was fully operational. Regular audits by other function members played an important part in
identifying potential hazards and enforcement.

43

Figure 2.1 Lifting of RTO to the platform

2.2 Operation

During the operational period upon commissioning, it was noticed that the burners were hardly lit up while running
production. Readings taken from the natural gas meter for production line and main natural gas pipe shows a significant
reduction of usage as expected (refer to figure 3.1). The production line shows an average reduction of >50% in total comparedto similar time period for the incinerator and >99% of total VOC’s destroyed before releasing to the atmosphere
The half year emission reduction amounts to 2,751 tonnes of CO2 less emission to the atmosphere which is equivalent toapproximately 126,352 fewer trees (urbanforestrynetwork.org) required to absorb the CO2 from the atmosphere or the CO2
emission from driving a car 245 times around the earth (EPA).

Figure 2.2 Natural gas consumption usage

In summary, efficient operating of RTO has achieved (1) lower carbon footprint by lower natural gas consumption; (2) higher
purity emission to the atmosphere; (3) reuse waste and thus improving production efficiency and reducing energy cost. In
addition, these were achieved with negligible downtime to our production.

44

3.0 Rainwater Harvesting

Due to our location and environment friendly processes, we have confirmed that the rainwater collected from our roofs has
good neutral pH and negligible particulate nor chemical contaminants. This creates a great opportunity for us to maximize
this nature resources by collecting and using rainwater for our Waste Water Treatment to treat waste water discharge from all
our production lines before being discharged to the drainage system.

Figure 2.2 Rainwater Holding Tank ready for water treatment consumption. Treated water is always ecological friendly and confirmed of meeting stringent environment standards.

Figure 3.2 Schematic diagram of the rainwater harvesting system.

Rainwater from the roofs is creatively channelled to a sump pit using existing roof gutters and drainage system into acollection sump pit. This enables significant avoidance of cost and lead time. The rainwater is then pumped thru screen
filtering and multimedia filter before being stored in a storage tank. The outlet of the tank is then connected to all water outlet
locations in the waste water treatment plant. Water consumption for waste water treatment is about 20% of our overall water
consumption.
This project was successfully commissioned in February 2020.

45

MSI With You
The Platform for the Iron and Steel Industry to Build Relationships and Networking
for Industrial Sustainability

Prova Lab and Research Signboard Ceremony
On 6 January 2020, MSI attended Prova Lab & Research Sdn. Bhd unveiling Signboard Ceremony, in collaboration with
Shanghai Baoye Engineering Technology Corp Ltd. In conjunction with this event, MSI also witnessed the Test Item
Contract Signing Ceremony between Prova Lab & Research Sdn Bhd and Zhong Hu Construction Sdn Bhd for Malaysia
DongFang Eco Tourism City on Snow World Earthwork & Piling project.

Meeting with HRDF to understandabout Sectorial Training Committee(STC): Mineral Based Products
On 10 January 2020, MSI had a meeting with
Mr. Poobalan and his team to understandthe role and function of Sectorial Training
Committee (STC): Mineral Based Products.
STC is a platform for the respective industry
sub-sectors to discuss and identify theirtraining needs. During the meeting, MSI
has shared its company profile with Mr.
Poobalan and his team.

Pihak Berkepentingan bagi pembangunan Standard
TVET Tahap 6 Kerangka Kelayakan Malaysia”
WorkshopOn 14 January 2020, MSI attended “Pihak Berkepentingan
bagi pembangunan standard TVET Tahap 6 Kerangka
Kelayakan Malaysia” workshop at Mercu MQA Building,
Cyberjaya with the objective to discuss the draft standard
and sought for input, feedback and comment for further
update of draft standard future endeavour.

47

Seminar on Industry4WRD
On 20 January 2020, MSI attended a Seminar on Industry4WRD organised by MITI at Dewan Perdana, MITI Tower. Thisseminar was launched by the Deputy Minister YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming. The objective of this seminar was to increaseawareness on the Industry4WRD related incentives such as Readiness Assessment, Intervention Fund, Domestic
Investment Strategic Fund (DISF), Automation Capital Allowance (ACA), etc.

Courtesy Visit to Established Metal Industries Sdn Bhd (EMI)On February 3rd 2020, MSI visited Established Metal Industries Sdn Bhd (EMI) located in Rawang. The purpose of the visit
was to discuss issues pertaining to the current steel market in the country.

Chinese New Year Celebration at MIDAOn February 5th 2020, MSI attended MIDA’s Chinese New Year Celebration. The event began with a welcome speech by
Dato' Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, Chairman of MIDA followed by lion dance performances by invited troupes and ended
with lunch hosted by MIDA.

48

MSMDA Chinese New Year Luncheon
On February 7th 2020, MSI attended the Chinese New Year luncheon at the Copper Mansion Petaling Jaya, organised by
the Malaysian Steel and Metal Distributors’ Association (MSMDA). The event began with lion dance performances followedby other entertainment.

MITI Night of Appreciation
On February 22nd 2020, MSI attended a dinner organized by MITI
held at TPC Golf Club, Mont Kiara. The dinner was to bid farewellto the four persons who had retired namely Datuk K. Talagavathi,
Chairman of MSI and Deputy Secretary General in Industry divisionat the Ministry of Industry and International Trade Malaysia (MITI),
Dato Mohd Razali Hussain, Director General of MPC, Datuk Fadilah
Baharin, Director General of Standards Malaysia and Encik Zabidi
Mahbar, Deputy CEO of MIDA.

Networking Luncheon with MITI and Agencies
On February 24th 2020, MSI attended a Chinese New Year luncheon organized by MITI held at the MITI ballroom. The
event began with lion dance performances followed by a speech by YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Deputy Minister of MITI. Thiswas followed by performances by local artists.

49

Embassy of Kuwait Celebrates
59th National Day and 29th
Liberation Day
On February 24th 2020, MSI attended thedinner organised by the Ambassador of theState of Kuwait, H.E Dr. Hamad Burhamah& Mrs Buresli held at JW Marriott, Kuala
Lumpur. The event celebrated the national
and liberation day of Kuwait and tocultivate the friendship and partnership
between the Embassey of Kuwait andMalaysia.

New Minister of MITI Reports for Duty
On 11th March 2020, the new MITI Minister, Datuk Seri
Mohamed Azmin Ali reported for duty at MITI and
conducted his first Post-cabinet meeting with all headof agencies. MSI wish to congratulate Datuk Seri on
his new appointment as the Minister of International
Trade and Industry and we take this opportunity tolook forward in working closely and strengthen thecooperation between MITI and MSI.

Mesyuarat Pemurnian dan Saringan
Permohonan Projek Pembangunan RMKe12 (2021-2025) MITI & Agensi
MSI attended a meeting, Mesyuarat
Pemurnian dan Saringan Permohonan
Projek Pembangunan RMKe-12 (2021-2025)
MITI & Agensi and presented our proposals
related to Human Capital Development, New
Product Development and Integrated System
Development to develop Malaysian Iron andSteel Industry.

Refresher Course: Sistem
Pemantauan Project II (SPPII)MSI participated in the Refresher
Courses: Sistem Pemantauan Project
II (SPPII) on 10th March 2020. The
course was conducted by Pusat Bank
Data Negara dan Inovasi (NADI),
Fungsi Unit Penyelaras Pelaksanaan(ICU) and Jabatan Perdana Menteri(JPM). The objective of the course
was to inform the participants on theapplication procedures for Project
Development under RMKe-12 using
SPPII.

50

Meeting with Bimage Consulting
Malaysia Sdn Bhd
On 10th March 2020, MSI was given a briefing
by BIMAGE Consulting to showcase its latest
product called Advance Steel Software.
This product consists of CAD software for
3D modelling and steel structures and it
automatically creates fabrication drawings
and the accompanying bill of quantities (BQ).
This software brings about a quicker design,
fabrication, construction and provides toolsthat automatically generate shop drawings.

Automotive Industry Performance
Update 2019 and Outlook in 2020
MSI
attendedtheAutomotive
Industry
Performance Update 2019 & Outlook in 2020 at
Seminar Room 1, Ground Floor, MITI Tower on
3rd March 2020. The event began with opening
remarks by Dato' Sri Norazman, Deputy Secretary
General (Industry) of MITI and followed by apresentation by Dato' Madani Sahari, CEO of MARii.

Meeting with Y. Bhg. Datuk Lim Ban Hong,
Deputy Minister of MITIOn April 27th 2020, MSI was represented by Mr
Lim Keng Yow, CEO and officers, Mr Lai Leong
Chon and Ms Noor Syakirah Ibrahim to present
on the agency profile and update on the latest
industry issues to the new Deputy Minister of
MITI, Y. Bhg. Datuk Lim Ban Hong.

51

100 Hari Kepimpinan YBMKOn 24th June 2020, the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI) celebrated “100 Hari
Kepimpinan YBMK”. Various achievements
were recorded by Senior Minister ofInternational Trade and Industry, YB Dato'
Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali during his first 100
days of service at MITI. Moving forward, MITI
will continue to plan the country's economic
recovery agenda by increasing the capacityof Malaysian companies, especially SMEs andMid-level Companies.

Courtesy Visit from Press Metal
Aluminium Holdings Berhadand PMB Silicone Sdn Bhd
On 16th June 2020, Mr Leong fromPress Metal Aluminium and PMB
Silicone Sdn Bhd paid a visit to MSI.
This was followed by a presentationfrom both parties which include
information on trade remedies.

Covid-19 : Strategi Pengurusan Krisis
On 24th June 2020, the Human Resource
Management Division of MITI hasorganized an online training program titled“Covid-19 - Strategi Pengurusan Krisis”. The
training was presented by a guest speaker,
En. Hamzah Ishak, Director of the National
Intelligence and Crisis Management
Division, National Security Council.

52

MSI Bridging Gaps
MSI’s Effort of Promoting the
Local Iron and Steel Products

Courtesy visit to MIMOSBerhadOn 7 January 2020, MSI
paid a courtesy visit toMimos Berhad together
with BIMAGE Consulting(M) Sdn Bhd (a member ofMSI) to discuss of potential
collaboration
betweenMimos Berhad and BIMAGE
Consulting (M) Sdn Bhd.

China Special Channel MOA Signing Ceremony
On 20 January 2020, MSI attended the launching of the
China Special Channel (CSC) as well as the Memorandumof Agreement (MoA) Signing Ceremony between
InvestKL and the following Chamber of Commerce:
1. Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC)
2. The Associated China Chambers of Commerce andIndustry of Malaysia (ACCCIM)
3. Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC)
4. China Enterprises Association in Malaysia (CENAM)
to foster better cooperation between the parties and the
China Special Channel (CSC) initiative led by InvestKL.
This event also aims to create positive visibility for MITI’s
effort to attract new high value, high impact and hightech investments to Malaysia resulting from the ongoing
China-US Trade War.

53

Courtesy visit from South East Asia Iron
& Steel Institute (SEAISI)On 21 January 2020, Mr. Yeoh Wee Jin, new CEO of
SEAISI paid a courtesy visit to MSI with the objective
to discuss the potential collaboration between
SEAISI and MSI.

Workshop on the New Industrial
Masterplan (NIMP) 2021-2030
On February 4th 2020, MSI attended aworkshop on the New Industrial Masterplan(NIMP) 2021-2030, workshop technology (t)cluster at MARii auditorium. The objectiveof the workshop was to discuss and identify
technologies to be prioritised as enablers
to support the next phase of the industrial
development in Malaysia. Mr Hairil Yahri Yaacob,
TKSU (Trade) of Ministry of International Tradeand Industry (MITI) gave his opening remarks.

Engagement Session with
Sarawak State Government
On February 4th 2020, MITI KSU’s officers,
MIDA and CEO of MSI visited Sarawak Deputy
Chief Minister III Dato Awang Tengah fordiscussion on several FDI investment project
for the Sarawak State.

54

Dialogue between The Local Steel Industry with MINTRED and Wenan Steel Sdn Bhd at Mintred, Sarawak
On February 14th 2020, MSI, MISIF, MSA and MIDA attended the industry consultation session with MINTRED and
Wenan Steel Sdn Bhd held at MINTRED Sarawak. The dialogue served as a platform for an open discussion between
the local steel Industry with MINTRED/ Wenan Steel on the proposed project by Wenan Steel.

Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue (MSD) on APEC
Post-2020 Vision
On February 18th 2020, MSI attended a multistakeholder dialogue on APEC Post-2020
Vision held at the Grand Ballroom, Le Meridien
Hotel, Putrajaya. The dialogue was attended bydelegates from the ministries, agencies, social
enterprise, NGOs and fellow academies. The
dialogue discussed issues on the digital economy
and the challenging environment in the trade anddevelopment.

National
Seminaron
Behavioural Insights 2020
On February 20th 2020, MSI attended
a seminar held at Pulse Grande,
Putrajaya. The event began with awelcome speech by YBrs. Tuan Tian
Chua and Dato' Sri Norazman Ayob.
This was followed by a presentation
by Mr Faizal A.M. Naru who gave apresentation on behavioural insights
in public policy. The behaviouralinsights seminar is an approachto ensure effective regulation
introduced through understanding
human and social behaviour.

55

The Launching Ceremony of The National Automotive Policy 2020
On February 21st 2020, MSI attended the launching of the National Automotive Policy 2020 held at MITI Tower. The
ceremony began with opening remarks from Datuk Darell Leiking followed by the speech by Tun Dr Mahathir Bin
Mohamad. The Prime Minister mentioned that vehicle technology are critical in today’s global carmakers to intensify
vehicle safety, intelligent mobility and environmental friendly.

Majilis Penyerahan Sijil Pelantikan Badan Peneraju Industri
On February 24th 2020, MSI attended the ceremony with the opening speech by YBRS. Tuan Haji Zaihan Bin Shukri,
Ketua Pengarah Pembangunan Kemahiran. The ceremony was to handover the Industry Lead Body appointment (ILB)
certificate to all appointed ILB for the period of 2020-2021 and mandate of the Director of Skill Development. The Directorof Skills Development conveyed his desires for the ILB activities to be launched this year.

Industry Outreach and Handholding Session for Anugerah Kecemerlangan lndustri (AKI) 2020
On February 24th 2020, MSI attended the session organised by MITI to share and disseminate the latest information
about the award including the new category introduced for AKI 2020.

56

MSI Tru
MSI’s Programme of Developing Human Capitalfor the Iron and Steel Industry

Workshop to verify NonTariff Measures (NTMs)
issues under MITIOn 29-30 January 2020, MSI
participated in the workshop at
Hotel Impiana KLCC, to resolve
the NTMs issues (which wereraisedduringconsultation
session with industry) at theWorking Group level under
Ministry of International Tradeand Industry.

Malaysia’s Trade Performance 2019
On February 4th 2020, MSI attended a briefing on Malaysia’s Trade Performance 2019 at MATRADE hall. The briefing was
officiated by YBHG. Tan Sri Dr Halim Mohammad, Chairman of MATRADE. He highlighted on Malaysia’s SMEs export
trade performance in 2019. This was followed by a briefing by YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Deputy Minister of MITI on the global
economic situation in 2019.

Training Programme on Leadership-Positive Mindset Towards Transformational Change
MSI conducted a 2-day training programme (19 and 20 February 2020) to Mycron Steel Sdn Bhd at PKNS BizPoint Building,Seksyen 7, Shah Alam. The training was conducted to inform the participants on the importance of the employees’roles, the benefits of working in Mycron and to develop a positive outcome and responsibilities. A total of 19 participants
attended the training.

57

Technical Briefing on IoT and Industry 4.0 by MIMOSOn February 19th 2020, MIMOS provided a technical briefing on National Internet of Things (IoT) and industry 4.0. The
technical workshop discussed on its capabilities and also touched on technical collaborations with MSI.

Product Identification
Workshop Series II
On February 26th 2020, MSI
attended the workshop held at the
Dewan Perdana, MITI. The workshop
began with introduction to theworkshop programme followed bydiscussion among various industry
sectors.

Course: Anti-Dumping Intermediate Level &Anti-Circumvention – US Practice
MSI conducted, a second two-day WTO trade remedy course,
this time around on anti-dumping at intermediate level andcovering an additional topic on US practice of anti-circumvention
at the request of CSC.
Thirty-three CSC staff from all levels, top management tosupport staff, took part in the course. It is quite heartening tonote that there was full participation throughout the two-day
course. The course was conducted through presentations andcase examples, comprised what it takes to submit a petition;different methods of dumping margin calculations that IA may
use; on-the-spot verification visit and how to prepare for theverification and sunset review.
Additionally, participants were also exposed on what one needs
to know - how the US conducts its anti-circumvention (AC)including the US law with case examples.
The course ended with a short test to see the participants’
understanding on the two-day course contents and finallyappraisal/course evaluation.
MSI can conduct tailor made trade remedy courses on antidumping, anti-subsidy (countervailing measure), safeguard andanti-circumvention; including rules of origin. Feel free to contact
Mr. Subash Bose at subash@malaysiasteelinstitute.com.

58

Sesi Taklimat & Q&A SOP Terkini Aktiviti ILB 2020
On 9th June 2020, MSI attended a Sesi Taklimat & Q&A SOP
Terkini Aktiviti ILB 2020 with the Jabatan Pembangunan
Kemahiran held at Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran
Cyberjaya. The objective of the meeting was to discuss theway forward of MSI activities post Covid-19 as the Industry
Lead Body in developing National Occupational Skills
Standards (NOSS), Promotion of Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia(SKM) and Pentauliahan Pencapaian Terdahulu (PPT) to thesteel industry players considering the SOP requirements by
Majlis Keselamatan Negara (MKN).

Mesyuarat Perbincangan Bersama Antara Jabatan
Dan Badan Peneraju Industry (Industry Lead Body)
Berkaitan Profiling Perkerja Mahir Malaysia
On 25th June 2020, MSI attended a Mesyuarat
Perbincangan Bersama Antara Jabatan Dan Badan
Peneraju Industry (Industry Lead Body) Berkaitan Profiling
Pekerja Mahir Malaysia at the Jabatan Pembangunan
Kemahiran (JPK).
MSI has provided our inputs to JPK on their proposal todevelop and maintain an online database (One Stop Centre)
to collect and analyse the potential and competency ofskilled workers on the Technical and Vocational Education
and Training (TVET).

South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) 2020
E- Conference (Day 1)
On 30th June 2020, MSI attended the first South East
Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) 2020 E-Conference
Webinar via zoom at Bilik Melur, MITI. The 3-day conference
will be held from 30th June 2020 until 2nd July 2020. The
topics discussed were: • Regional Developments• Market Perspectives & Challenges• Country Reports: 7 ASEAN countries + Australia, South
Korea and Taiwan• Changes in Economic Model: What Can Steel Industry
Do to Adapt to The After Covid-19 Impact.

Promotion on Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM)
and Pentauliahan Pencapaian Terdahulu(PPT) at Posco Malaysia
On 30th June 2020, MSI and JPK conducted
Promotion on Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM)
and Pentauliahan Pencapaian Terdahulu (PPT)at Posco Malaysia, the session was attended
by managers from Department of Human
Resources, Production, Quality and Maintenance.

59List of Events &Activities 2020
1.

2.

9th Mena Billet & Flats Conference

Date: September 2020
Venue: Dubai, UAE
Contact: o.kosenko@metalexpert.com (Ms Olesia Kosenko)

6th Steel Plate Conference Europe
Date: September 2020
Venue: Milan, Italy
Contact: o.kosenko@metalexpert.com (Ms Olesia Kosenko)

3.

17th CIS Steel & Raw Materials Exports Conference
Date: October 2020
Venue: Kyiv, Ukraine
Contact: o.kosenko@metalexpert.com (Ms Olesia Kosenko)

4.

India Steel Export Conference

5.

Metaltech and Automex 2020

6.

Archidex 2020

Date: October 15-16, 2020
Venue: Mumbai, India
Contact: o.kosenko@metalexpert.com (Ms Olesia Kosenko)

Date: 10 -13 November 2020
Venue: Mitec, Kuala Lumpur
Contact: enquiry@metaltech.com.my (Ms Pui Teng Lee)

Date: 9 – 12 December 2020
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
Contact: justin@cisnetwork.com (Mr Justin Term)