Malaysia is stepping up scrutiny of foreign-run businesses amid concerns from local operators over competition from China. The government wants to retain Chinese investment, technology and affordable consumer goods, while assuring local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that foreign competitors are not subject to different rules.Former trade and investment minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, now chairman of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, said government social media analysis had identified concerns over Chinese businesses as a significant issue before the Johor state election earlier this month.“We did a sentiment analysis one week before Johor. One of the top five issues is China coming in. The survey was done for politics, we just flipped through [it] last week and [it was] still a major issue,” Zafrul told This Week in Asia.He said the issues remained salient even after the poll, in which the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, long dominant in Malaysian politics, won a supermajority in the state legislature at the expense of federal partner Pakatan Harapan, led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.While consumers in Malaysia benefit from cheaper Chinese products and faster services, local SMEs say they are struggling to match mainland competitors’ scale, supply chains and pricing.December 12 shopping day ads are seen on Chinese e-commerce apps Taobao, Tmall, JD, Pinduoduo, Red, Suning, Kaola and VIP. Photo: ShutterstockA survey of business owners and senior managers in November last year by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia found that 45.1 per cent of the 245 respondents were pessimistic about their industry’s ability to compete with Chinese firms over the next five years.