MSIA (Penang Chapter) 50-YEARS ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DINNER
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY YAB CHOW KON YEOW
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
MSIA (Penang Chapter) 50-YEARS ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DINNER
8 August 2022
Eastern & Oriental Hotel
YB Prof. Dr. P Ramasamy
Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang
Honourable Members of the Penang State Executive Council
His Excellency Brian McFeeters
Ambassador of the United States of America to Malaysia
His Excellency Andreas Launer
Ambassador of Austria to Malaysia
YBhg Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon
Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang and Director of InvestPenang
YBhg Dato’ Aziz bin Bakar
CEO of Penang Development Corporation
YBhg Dato’ Loo Lee Lian
CEO of InvestPenang
YBhg Dato’ Abdul Latif Haji Abu Seman
Director General of Malaysia Productivity Corporation
YBhg Dato’ Seri Chet Singh
PDC’s 1st General Manager
YBhg Dato’ Seri Wong Siew Hai
President of Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA)
MSIA Board members and member companies
Distinguished guests
Members of the press
Ladies and gentlemen
Good evening.
I would like to express my appreciation to the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA), for the invitation to this celebration dinner. It is a great honour to be with all of you, captains and members of the industry, who have come together this evening to reinforce the shared vision of creating a progressive and dynamic electrical and electronic (E&E) industry.
Penang’s industrialisation journey began in 1972 with the establishment of Malaysia’s first free trade zone in the Bayan Lepas industrial park. Fast forward 50 years later, Penang’s resilience not only leads the country in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs), but also fostered many successful local entrepreneurs, illuminating the robustness of Penang’s industrial ecosystem.
I am pleased to note that a year-long series of events has been curated for the state’s 50th year anniversary celebration, led by Penang Development Corporation and InvestPenang, together with the respective theme drivers and industry associations, who have been placing synergistic efforts in making all events a success.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am always in awe of Penang’s industrialisation journey - from a low-cost manufacturing hub to a strategic site for Industry 4.0, digitalisation, R & D and advanced manufacturing activities. The five decades of industrial excellence have indeed translated into far-reaching effects on the local economy, in terms of raising the state’s gross domestic product (GDP), uplifting the skillset of the local workforce, as well as having huge economic spill-over effects in the country.
In 2021, Penang’s GDP recorded the highest year-on-year growth among all states, with 7% hike to reach RM99 billion.
In terms of investment performance, both the manufacturing and service industries collectively garnered a record high of RM84 billion in 2021, of which RM76 billion were investments from the manufacturing industry.
On the trade front, Penang topped the nation’s list in 2021 with an all-time high export of RM354 billion and generated trade surplus of RM101 billion. In the first half of 2022, Penang’s export value climbed 28% year-on-year to RM216 billion, representing 29% of the country’s total.
Penang is the most important manufacturing base for E&E products within Malaysia, and is among the most vibrant hubs globally, contributed over 5% of global semiconductor sales, and made up close to 60% of the country’s E&E exports. Kudos to all of you!
Ladies and gentlemen,
The proliferation of Industry 4.0 has spurred the changes in manifold aspects of the world we inhabit today. Riding on the escalating pace of technological evolvement, Penang’s well-developed E&E ecosystem not only enable us to move up the value chain, but also opens up countless opportunities in other areas.
The convergence of technologies is predicted to lead the transformation of the industry in the next decades. As we all have witnessed, digitalisation was accelerated globally during the Covid pandemic and in Malaysia, the digital economy is expected to contribute 23% of the country’s GDP and create over 500,000 jobs by 2025. With that in mind, Penang pledges to make great strides in developing the digital economy ecosystem - including the readiness of physical and digital infrastructure, availability of workforce and uplift of liveability stature, all of which are critical to sustain our status as the Silicon Valley of the East.
In tandem, the state is also proud to host the World Congress on Innovation and Technology 2022 at Setia SPICE, from 13 to 15 September. I welcome all of you to join us in this exciting conference and encourage you to reach out to PIKOM, the conference organiser and InvestPenang, our state lead agency for the event.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The vibrant industry in Penang was not an overnight occurrence but a culmination of strategic planning and execution, both by the state and the private sector.
Holding onto the 50th anniversary celebration tagline, ‘50 Years of Excellence and Beyond’, the state is grateful for the continued confidence of all investors and strives to uphold our conducive ecosystem capable of stimulating the advancement of strategic industries for the next 50 years and beyond.
In realising this aspiration, aside from constantly seizing the opportunities arising from global development in a very timely manner, the state also places huge emphasis on the sustainability agenda. Penang is proud to be home to a diverse range of industry players, demonstrating their exemplary Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and corporate citizenship. Recently, InvestPenang issued a newsletter on ESG, featuring over 20 such companies in Penang, serving as yardsticks of such.
On a similar note, I wish to also share that in parallel to the rapid growth of Penang’s industrial ecosystem, the state’s various STEM initiatives are aimed towards building healthy talent pipeline to meet the industry demand. In particular, I ask for more industry support and partnership for our STEM initiatives to help cultivate industry-ready talent pool in this fast-paced environment. One such initiative is the Penang Future Foundation, a State Government scholarship programme that enables outstanding Malaysian youths to receive financial assistance to pursue their undergraduate studies in public and private universities locally in the fields of STEM, Accounting and Finance. I am proud to share that 655 recipients have been awarded this scholarship since its inception in 2015, and scholars that have graduated are required to work in Penang as part of our aim to attract and retain talents.
Going forward, the state acknowledged that incorporating such tripartite Public-Private and People partnerships is critical in charting Penang’s path to become a high-income economy and creating quality jobs.
Together, we can make a huge leap forward, making Penang shine in the world map of technology.
Thank you.