What makes Malaysia security players optimistic about 2019?

The Malaysian security industry had a rough year in 2018. However, most industry players agree that things will pick up this year on returning end user confidence.
 
With the government changeover last year, projects have been delayed or outright canceled, resulting in a chain effect that was felt by various industries, including security. However, most players see light at the end of the tunnel, expressing optimism moving forward as the uncertainty and lack of confidence associated with the political change dissipate.
 

In fact, there are signs that the government will restart projects again in the near term, with some players expecting they will commence as soon as later this year.
 
“This year we do expect tremendous adjustment, simply because there's a new government in place, and this government I believe will try everything to revitalize the economy, and many of us are optimistic, and we believe they're in a positon to do it,” said Michael Chan, Executive Director at Stratel.
 
“New projects may be announced as soon as third quarter of this year. Yes there was a political factor, but the government is almost a year into the office, and people’s confidence should be back,” said K. K. Lim, Director of ALMA Technology.
 
Redzwan Rahmat, Group MD of SR Two Technologies, commented on the types of government projects that he expected would be rolled out. “There will be no more macro-level projects. In the previous government they were focusing on the big-scale projects that were macro-level – we’re talking about millions or even billions of dollars. Under this new government they’re looking more into micro-level, under which the mom and pop stores and small players can get projects. The new government is expected to chunk all the big projects into pieces and focus on small guys,” he said.

 

Necessity, Not an Option

 
Meanwhile, there were players who expressed the view that security would grow anyway regardless of political or economic situations, given the demand for it.
 
“If there is project or no project, we still need security. It's quite a recession-proof industry in this matter,” said Dato’Sri Haji Mustapa bin Haji Ali, President of the Malaysia Chapter of Asia Pacific Security Association. “When a place is developing, you need security. But when you close it down, although they are not doing anything, you still need security. So the industry has not slowed down.”
 
“Indeed, recently the economy has been a bit slow, but the overall demand for security is still here,” said Simon Weng, Country Manager for Malaysia at Dahua Technology. “For manufacturers there’s still room for growth, at least within the next three years.”
 

“Some projects may be delayed, but in the security industry there's always a demand. The security market is not really depending on one or two projects. If one project is stopped, other ones are coming,” said Shaji N.M, Group Chairman of Prisma Bytes. “Security is a must; whether it’s a gate to a community or someone building an office tower, security is a must – it’s not an option. The market is always there. Either buildings will not come up, if buildings are coming up, security comes up.”
 
Others, meanwhile, expect growth due to regulatory requirements. One example is the fire safety market. “It’s a growing market because we're following international rules. Around this area, Malaysia and Singapore are the top in terms of fire safety requirements,” said Teh Khay Leong, President of the Malaysian Fire Protection Association. “For old buildings, they have to upgrade, and the authorities will come in to check every year. New buildings will have to comply with the latest Fire and Rescue Department bylaws, without which buildings and plans will not be approved.”