Penang to offer 13,000 new jobs due to previous investments, says CM

Penang economy is still capable of providing employment opportunities to the people of the state despite reports of certain long-standing company closures, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

Chow (photo) said last year, in the manufacturing sector, Penang recorded RM13.3 billion in approved foreign direct investment (FDI).

"This represents about 23 percent of the total investment in the Malaysian manufacturing sector.

"The implementation of this investment has already begun, and InvestPenang expects that we will create about 13,000 new job opportunities as a result of this investment," he said in a press conference today.

Chow was referring to the closure of Esquel and Pen Apparel factories in Penang.

Esquel's factory in Kelantan also faces closure, while Imperial Garments in Ipoh, Perak, faces a similar fate as its sister company in Penang.

Esquel has some 500 local employees in Penang, while in Kelantan, most workers are locals.

Officially, about 2,600 workers in Pen Apparel will be affected by the closures.

Chow said the Penang Career Assistance and Talent Center, or CAT Center, has taken steps to contact the Esquel Human Resources Division to manage the matching and relocation of jobs to their staff in Penang.

He added, the same action would be taken with Pan Apparel which employs 30 per local employees.

"The state government will also look into the needs of the relevant parties at a prompt rate," Chow said.

Meanwhile, in the economic sector, Penang and Malaysia may not have the same dynamic as China, where global market spending has been offset by their domestic market expansion.

Thus, economically, the two-pronged focus of Penang's Normal Next Strategy is to ensure the economic growth of Penang through the implementation of public projects as well as strengthening the SME sector.

This plan includes institutional, economical and social reforms in Penang.

"I will make further announcements on public projects of the state government in the near future," Chow said.

"In terms of strengthening the SME sector, Penang is aiming for a new thinking framework that has actually been implemented in recent years." - Mkini