4. Be aware of 1. Practise 3. Wash hands regularly Covid-19 physical distancing 2. Wear face masks with soap and sanitiser symptoms december 1 – 15, 2020 RM1.5b of investments Story by Christopher Tan tific & Measuring Equipment, Pix by Law Suun Ting and Electrical and Electronics industries. WHOPPING RM1.5 bil- He said that the approved lion of approved manu- projects were expected to A facturing investments generate 9,137 new employ- in the third quarter of this ment opportunities in Pen- year (July to September)! ang. And it was achieved despite On the same note, Chow the restrictions imposed due said the repercussions of the to the Covid-19 pandemic. pandemic are persisting. Chief Minister Chow Kon “Penang’s investment per- Yeow said domestic direct formance this year will not investments (DDI) accounted be able to match 2019’s all- for RM1.1 billion or 73 % of time-high of RM16.9 billion; the investment inflows. given the third wave that we “The remaining RM401.9 are now experiencing, cou- million came from foreign di- pled with the implementation rect investments (FDI). of the conditional movement “It is worthy to note that control order (CMCO),” Chow Penang’s approved manufac- said. turing investments for the He conveyed the state’s third quarter of this year were appreciation to the inves- primarily contributed by DDI. tors who have put their trust This scenario is different from in Penang and thanked the the past where FDI in Penang Chow and state executive council member Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain showing the state’s state agencies, InvestPenang would be more than its DDI. total approved manufacturing investments figure of RM10.6 billion for the period of January to and Penang Development Cor- “It shows that our robust September this year. poration (PDC), for their hard industrial ecosystem offers work. a competent platform for lo- “With the strong synergy cal players to participate and It shows that our robust industrial ecosystem between the Penang govern- thrive,” a beaming Chow told ment and federal agencies, a press conference at his of- offers a competent platform for local players especially Malaysian Invest- fice in Komtar on Nov 19. ment Development Authority Chow said the inflows from Chow (Mida), and the recent invest- the third quarter brought the to participate and thrive – ment incentives announced in state’s total approved manu- the Budget 2021, I am confi- facturing investments for the by FDI, making Penang the January to September 2020 Chow added that the dent that Penang can ride out first nine months of this year second highest FDI contribu- with eminent projects from state’s total approved manu- these uncertain times. (January to September) to tor to Malaysia. Federal Oats Mills, Iconic facturing investments were “We will continue to strive RM10.6 billion. “The DDI in Penang rose Medicare, Straits Orthopae- dominated by its key promot- to ensure that the state re- “Eighty-three percent of 42% year-on-year and reached dics and ViTrox Technolo- ed industries; which were Ma- mains as the Silicon Valley of this amount was contributed RM1.8 billion for the period of gies,” he said. chinery & Equipment, Scien- the East,” he added. 2 NEWS December 1 – 15, 2020 BULETIN MUTIARA Jagdeep questions Putrajaya on housing Story by Christopher Tan not waste time,” he told a press conference on Nov 7. Chow (fourth from right) together with (from left) Phee, Ahmad Zakiyuddin, Ramasamy, ENANG Local Govern- Jagdeep also spoke about Jagdeep, Ooi, Ong and Chea posing for a group photo after the press conference. ment, Housing, Town the RM125 million allocation P and Planning Committee for the maintenance of low- chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo cost and low medium-cost Shot in the arm for charity bodies has questioned the federal stratified homes. government over the Budget “The Penang government, THE Federation of Malaysian cil (exco) members. nations are hard to come by,” 2021 announcement with re- on our own, has spent about Manufacturers (FMM) Penang The organisers also donated he told the media. gard to the housing sector in RM260 million on mainte- together with OCBC Bank (Ma- RM100,000 to the Penang La- Among those present were Penang. nance of public housing. laysia) have managed to raise wan Covid-19 fund. Deputy Chief Ministers Datuk “We welcome the national “We thank the federal gov- more than their targeted amount FMM Penang vice-chairman Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rah- 2021 Budget announcement ernment for allocating about of RM800,000 for Penang-based Datuk Jimmy Ong said more man and Prof Dr P. Ramasamy; which was made on Nov 6 and RM32 million to maintain charity organisations and the charity organisations would ben- and state exco members Jag- we took note of the allocations public housing in Penang this Penang Lawan Covid-19 fund. efit in the next batch. deep Singh Deo, Yeoh Soon Hin, for the housing sector. year. After disbursing RM20,000 Chow thanked FMM Penang, Phee Boon Poh, Datuk Abdul “We understand that the “As such, we expect that each to six charity homes on OCBC Bank (Malaysia) and the Halim Hussain, Soon Lip Chee, federal government will be al- they will allocate nothing less Nov 6, the organisers presented donors who lent their support to Zairil Khir Johari and Dr Norlela locating RM1.2 billion to pro- than RM32 million next year. another RM280,000 to 14 char- the needy organisations during Ariffin. vide comfortable and quality “We are confident that the ity homes on Nov 11. this difficult period. Also present were FMM homes for the lower income federal government will con- A symbolic presentation “I wish to thank the great Penang chairman Datuk Dr group. sider it because we are work- was held in Komtar and the donors for their generosity and Ooi Eng Hock and OCBC Bank “Of the total, RM500 mil- ing very closely with them. ceremony was witnessed by support. Your charitable efforts (Malaysia) Berhad senior man- lion will be set aside to build “Whatever information is Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow are most admirable, especially ager (Penang branch) Chea up to 14,000 units of Peo- required, we are always ready and the state executive coun- during this situation where do- Hak Tee. ple’s Housing Projects (PPR) and willing to assist. homes. “The channelling of funds “Can the federal govern- to the states must be consis- ment tell us how many units of tent,” he said. PPR will be built in Penang and Jagdeep also questioned where will they be?" the federal government about It was reported that the the Rent-to-Own (RTO) scheme Penang government had iden- for first-time home buyers, tified five proposed sites that which would involve 5,000 were suitable for the building units of PR1MA homes. of PPR. “Where are the PR1MA They are at Jelutong (north- projects in Penang and how east district), Jalan Mayang many units are for the RTO Pasir (southwest district), scheme?” Jagdeep asked. Ujung Batu (north Seberang “Although Penang is the sec- Perai), Kampung Tongkang ond smallest state in Malaysia, (central Seberang Perai) and it contributes the second high- Batu Kawan (south Seberang est tax revenue to the country, Perai) – totalling 72.3 acres. at about RM7 billion a year. “Penang should be given pri- “The amount has to be ority because we are ready. The channelled back to the people process has been completed. of Penang. “We have identified the “We pay taxes so that pub- plots of land and the minis- lic facilities can be provided try has gone to the ground by the government; and that to check out at least two pro- includes the supply of public posed sites on the island. Do housing,” he said. BULETIN MUTIARA December 1 – 15, 2020 NEWS 3 Story by Tanushalini Moroter Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi Penang leads in reviving HEN it comes to reviv- ing the tourism indus- Wtry, arguably no other state can top Penang which is tourism sector the most active and proactive to come up with initiatives for cies to further develop domestic heritage under one roof that is and products are integrated with "As we have entered the era the sector, says Tourism Devel- tourism. the creative economy, to lever- arts and culture,'' added Yeoh. of digitalisation, we need to opment and Creative Economy "Through this cooperation, it age them to another level. This He said the United Nations evolve with time, we also need Committee chairman Yeoh Soon is hoped that the Penang tour- is a new economic concept that Educational, Scientific and Cul- to educate our artists and the Hin. ism industry will be able to at- has evolved tural Organisation (Unesco) has whole community to change "Upon the closure of inter- tract more tourists," said Yeoh. from the cul- called for the preservation of their mindset from the conven- national borders since March, Speaking on his restructured tural and the arts, culture and heritage tional way," said Yeoh while add- the state's tourism industry has portfolio, Yeoh said the arts, creative in- with the use of the latest tech- ing that art, culture and heritage worsened and this applies to culture and heritage should be dustries. nology. should be seen as an invest- the rest of the states as well. turned into a powerhouse of the "Basically "Unesco has also reaffirmed ment. "Among the state govern- economy. the essence that the creative industry is Besides that, Yeoh added the ment's initiatives to revive the In his new portfolio, the ele- of creative linked to cultural heritage and it state government is currently economy especially in the tour- ments of arts, culture and heri- industry is the can play a pivotal role in ensur- planning to launch a creative arts ism sector, is the 'Experience tage were put under one umbrel- goods or ser- ing that our cultural heritage entrepreneurship programme to Penang 2020' campaign which la - creative economy, and Yeoh vices is sustained.