THE 2018 PROMISE OF INTEGRITY ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
AT THE 2018 PROMISE OF INTEGRITY ANNUAL CONFERENCE
1 OCTOBER 2018 (1.45PM)
INTEL PENANG, PG 16 BUILDING (PREVIOUSLY ALTERA), LEVEL 3 AUDITORIUM
Mr Chan Keng Cheong
Vice-President, Global Procurement & Materials, Keysight Technologies, the lead for this year’s Promise of Integrity conference
Robin Martin
Corporate Vice President, Intel Corporation and Managing Director, Intel Malaysia as the host of this year’s conference
Datuk Isham Ishak
Secretary General, Ministry of International Trade & Industry
Dato’ Akhbar Satar
President, Transparency International Malaysia
Speakers and Distinguished Panel Members of the Conference
Leaders and representatives of Promise of Integrity Alliance member companies
Members of the media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
Good afternoon. I wish to thank the Promise of Integrity alliance for organizing and inviting me to speak at The 2018 Promise of Integrity Annual Conference. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 5 founding members – B Braun Medical Industries, Intel Malaysia, Keysight Technologies, Motorola Solutions and SilTerra Malaysia for their leadership and making a commitment together to uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity within the business community and this is truly a commendable initiative deserving support and recognition from key stakeholders. I was informed that since its formation in 2016 based on shared corporate value of operating with uncompromising integrity, the alliance has organized annual conferences where members of the alliance, their suppliers and business partners converge to share and learn business practices that keep companies ethical and compliant.
Penang Investment Records
The AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Index 2018 indicated that the Asia Pacific region is among the most preferred location of choice for FDI. Penang expects to partake in attracting more investment flow and to continue our efforts to become the preferred destination of choice for investors. In 2017, Penang recorded the largest FDI inflow of MIDA approved manufacturing FDI among states in Malaysia, valued at RM8.5 billion. Penang is also the second top recipient of total manufacturing investment among states valued at RM10.8 billon. Domestic investment also grew steadily by 92% year-on-year to reach RM2.3 billion in 2017. All of these achievements are testament of the economic contribution by the multinational companies, local large companies, small and medium enterprises and the State’s dedicated talents.
Apart from E&E, the manufacturing industry in Penang has also diversified into the industries of medical device, avionics and food manufacturing. Penang is now home to more than 300 MNCs and more than 3,000 supporting SMEs. Global Business Services (GBS) is also emerging in Penang with more than 50 companies providing more than 10,000 high value jobs since 2008. The good connectivity and infrastructure, and our highly developed technology parks (Bayan Lepas, Batu Kawan) is a key value proposition to new investors or for existing investors to re-invest.
Penang Government Driving Integrity to Help the Industry
We are confident that Penang will remain a thriving growth hub for many years to come. The State Government aspires to be the greenest state in Malaysia driven by a green economy, innovative governance with 4P partnership (public, private, people, professional) and sustainability-led development agenda by 2030.
The Penang2030 announced on 29 August 2018, themed “A Family-focused Green and Smart State to Inspire the Nation” would take the state to new levels through the state’s four-prong vision to increase liveability to enhance quality of life, upgrade the economy, empower the people to strengthen civic participation and invest in the built environment. The highlights of the plan include a “Made in Penang” approach to boost a niche manufacturing sector, the adaptation of a “sponge city” in future town planning to mitigate flash floods, and reducing reliance on the federal government in terms of funding.
This initiative is in line with the Penang government’s agenda in driving better integrity to help the industry. As Malaysia, and Penang in particular, continue to evolve as a hub for manufacturing with over 3000 SMEs supporting MNCs and LLCs in the supply chain eco-system, the “eyes” of the global market will be on us. Malaysian-made products are of world-class quality and recognized for its adherence to international standards as well as global compliance systems. However, having a good product or service is not enough. Both the public and private sector needs to play their role and continuously uphold good corporate governance as the foundation of solid business practice.
The Penang State Government has taken the lead in this country on our commitment towards emphasizing integrity in the State when we signed the Corruption-Free Pledge in August 2017, of which we have also included an additional 10 measures to strengthen our pledge. This initiative has received immense praise from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), for it shows that Penang has always been at the forefront to champion causes in driving our state forward and upward. We also hope this will instill confidence in our existing and prospective investors to continue building their future here in Penang.
Closing
Once again, I wish to congratulate the Promise of Integrity Alliance for organizing this conference today, and thank you to all the speakers who have taken their time to participate in the various panel sessions planned for this afternoon. I hope that everyone present today will benefit well from this event and take the opportunity to get to know each other better to expand and deepen the existing collaboration so that we can sustain this initiative for the longest time.
Thank you.