Shadow Policy Committee

The Penang state government and Gerakan continued bickering over the decision to turn down a US$3bil (RM10.1bil) investment deal because the state government could not guarantee 1,000 electric and electronic (E&E) engineers required by the company. In a statement yesterday, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s special investment officer Jeffrey Chew lashed out at Gerakan for using hit-and-run tactics and practising a “promise first hope later” attitude. "The Penang state government is not as irresponsible as Gerakan in making empty promises that would jeopardise our credibility,” he said, adding that the state government could incur loses as much as US$3bil to compensate the investors should it be unable to fulfill its own guarantees. Chew said this in response to criticism from Penang Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan who said the state could not afford to turn away investors. Chew said the Malaysian Employers Federation, among other bodies, had detailed the shortage of E...

Penang has proposed that the federal government provide a retrenchment scheme of RM800 monthly for each of the 100,000 workers who will lose their job in April. Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said the retrenched workers should be given the aid until the economy recovers and when they gain employment. "This is necessary as the workers are retrenched not because of indiscipline but due to the economic downturn. The government must use a global approach to address this problem," he told a press conference at his office today. Lim who is also Bagan MP was commenting a Manpower Department statement that some 100,000 workers are expected to be retrenched by April due to the global economic downturn. If implemented, the proposal would only cost the government RM488 million for six months or RM960 million for one year. He also proposed that the government provide a RM12 billion economic stimulus package as the RM7 billion under the first package was inadequate ...

The Penang government has applied for a RM500mil allocation from the Federal Government for various programmes, including the retraining of workers and providing business opportunities for the people, over the next two years, Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said on Tuesday. He said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had agreed to channel the financial aid to the state government but had not stated the amount to be given. “I met with Datuk Seri Najib and he has agreed to provide the aid but he did not state the amount,” he told reporters here. Lim said the application for financial assistance was made as part of the state government’s preparations to face the consequences of the current global economic downturn on workers in the state. He said the state government had reactivated the special committee on employment and retraining of workers to handle the negative impact of the global economic downturn on workers. “In the state gov...