LAUNCH OF SUNSHINE STAFF E-WALLET PROGRAMME (CASHLESS PROGRAMME)

SPEECH BY YAB CHOW KON YEOW, CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG

THE LAUNCH OF SUNSHINE STAFF E-WALLET PROGRAMME (CASHLESS PROGRAMME)

25 JULY 2020

 

 

YB. Sim Tze Tzin,

Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru

Dato’ Hwang Thean Long,

Managing Director of Sunshine Wholesale Mart Sdn. Bhd.

Ms. Cynthia Hwang,

Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine Wholesale Mart Sdn. Bhd.

Mr. Eric Chong,

Director of Merchants, Boost

Members of press,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies & gentlemen,

Good Morning.

Firstly, I would like to thank the management of Sunshine for inviting me here today to launch the Sunshine Staff E-Wallet programme. As most of us know, the Penang State Government has just launched the ‘Cashless Initiative’ at the Bayan Baru Public Market last week. In line with the state’s Penang2030 vision, this statewide cashless initiative is a smart measure to reduce physical contact during payment transactions between buyers and traders. The move is one of the state’s initiatives to curb the spread of Covid-19 as we witness a more digitally inclusive means of transacting that pushes for a healthier practice and a thriving economy.

I am pleased that today, as one of the Penang-based retailers, Sunshine is also actively supporting the Penang State's move by launching the Sunshine Staff E-Wallet, a cashless programme that initiated in collaboration with Boost. The implementation of the programme will be carried out by Sunshine by crediting the staff’s monthly Cost Of Living Allowances (COLA) to their respective digital wallet, instead of providing the usual physical Sunshine Voucher.

I firmly believe that, in order to make any change around us, the changes must first come from within. As such, I sincerely applaud this great initiative by Sunshine to promote cashless payment among its staff. I hope that this initiative will create a culture of seamless use of cashless payment among all staff and eventually all customers of Sunshine as well for a more hygienic, smart and vibrant lifestyle. Congratulations to Sunshine for a new era of cashless transaction!

Take this opportunity, I would also like to commend the initiative and collaborative efforts of Sunshine and Boost to play their respective roles as retailer and wallet partner in promoting cashless payments in the Sunshine Retails Group. I hope that through this collaboration, both Sunshine and Boost are able to offer various incentives to customers when they shop cashless in Sunshine. On behalf of the State Government, I would like to express our full support for such collaboration which are aligned with the efforts of the State Government on the ‘4P Partnership’ theme, which is Public, Private, Professional and Partnership.

Speaking of the ‘4P Partnership’ theme, the Penang State Government understands that the state ‘Cashless Initiative’ requires careful effort and planning as well as the involvement of both the public and private sectors to increase the capacity in designing and implementing sustainable, intelligent and inclusive development. As such, we had taken the initiative to invite 18 banking institutes and non-banking electronic money issuers to offer various incentives to traders. I hope with this move we are able to encourage even more from the private sectors especially traders to participate in the ‘Cashless Initiative’ to transform Penang into a cashless State to achieve the ‘International Smart State’ status by the year of 2030.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite the many setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic, like many others, I too believe that it has also presented opportunities for progress. For instance, the management of Sunshine has indicated that cashless transactions are increasing especially during this pandemic period. This, may be attributed primarily to the abrupt shifts in human behaviour in response to the covid-19 pandemic. As such, as we continue our fight against this pandemic, I hope that we, weather from the public or private sector, are able to work hand-in-hand to capitalize on these opportunities to ensure that the ‘Cashless Initiative’ is a success and continue our relentless efforts to transform Penang into “A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation”.

Thank you.