The Opening of Regional Logistics Conference 2018

Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
At The Opening of Regional Logistics Conference 2018

30 October 2018 
Auditorium A, Level 5, KOMTAR

 

YBhg Dato’ Lim Hock Seng
Former State EXCO of Penang
Head, Special Purpose Vehicle, Penang Transport Master Plan

Logistician Chang Kah Loon
President of Pertubuhan Pakar Logistik Malaysia/The Society of Logisticians Malaysia (LogM)

Logistician Dr Adam Mohd Saifudin
Vice President of LogM

Commander Logistician Shahrir Ahmad RMN
Vice President of LogM

Logistician Tan Khee Kwong
Organizing Chairman of Regional Logistics Conference 2018

Respected Guest Speakers,

Respected Senior Logisticians/Fellows of LogM

Tan Sri-Tan Sri, Dato’ Seri-Dato’ Seri, Dato’-Dato’

Friends of Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to be invited to open the annual Regional Logistics Conference 2018 today. Kudos to Pertubuhan Pakar Logistik Malaysia/The Society of Logisticians Malaysia or LogM for organising it. The LogM has been persistent in creating public awareness of the logistics profession and in contributing towards the development of the logistics industry, as a whole.

On 29 August this year, I launched Vision Penang 2030, which is aimed at creating a family-focused green and smart state that inspires the nation. One of the four initiatives is to upgrade the economy to raise household incomes. I believe that logistics can play a vital role as one of the enablers of economic development, simply because logistics offers connectivity to move all types of products through all supply chains from upstream to downstream, from the sources all the way to the end customers.

The evolution of the digital economy will continue to place heavier demands on logistics management. For instance, the growth of e-commerce which demands for small quantity of orders to be delivered to wide areas of destinations adds to the complexity of the supply chain network design.

Being consistent with the need to move towards knowledge economy, we now need logistics professionals or known as logisticians, to drive the analytical and supply chain design types of work. It is no longer sufficient to look at mere deliveries between point A to point B, it is about effective collaborations amongst all parties along the supply chain. As a result, interoperable technologies become a key component to the entire supply chain network and we need professionals who can both design and operate such technologies, too. This is why we are here today for this conference.

I see that the demand for logisticians will naturally continue to increase. From my understanding, there is only about 2,500 professionally qualified logisticians in the whole of Malaysia, out of our 32 million population, which is not even 0.001% of the total population. In more developed cities, such as Hong Kong, it is a requirement that government senior officers in charge of transport planning must be qualified logisticians.

Ladies and gentleman,

The Malaysian freight & logistics market was estimated to be worth USD 53.45 billion in 2017. A strong and reliable logistics network is necessary to spur the growth of investments in the state. I hope with the planned expansion of Penang International Airport by the federal government, the logistic industry would prosper, continue bridging Penang and the Northern Region with the countries around the world. Penang is naturally an ideal hub for trades due to its strategic location and good transport network, and has been acting as an international procurement or regional distribution centres.

The Second Penang Bridge and the soon to be opened Penang Sentral Integrated Transport Hub are some of the major high impact projects that will help Penang in its manufacturing and service industry, the two main economic contributors of the state. This is also in tandem with the growth in movement of cargoes, where Penang Port is expecting a 10% increase in freights while Penang International Airport is estimating a growth of 15% and 6% for import and export cargoes, respectively in 2018.

Last year, Penang recorded the highest approved manufacturing FDI among states in Malaysia valued at RM8.5 billion. Domestic manufacturing investment also grew 92% year-on-year to reach RM2.3 billion. For the first 3 months of 2018, our state achieved RM580 million in FDI and RM438 million in domestic investment respectively, bringing together our total investment in Q1 2018 to RM1.1 billion as reported by MIDA. It is therefore crucial for us to have a strong logistics network and service to support this continuous growth.

I would like to take take this opportunity to congratulate the LogM, for organizing this annual Conference, in the effort to promote the profession of logistics. It is also commendable that they have priced their events to encourage the participation of tertiary and secondary students, which I think is very consistent with the aim to create more interests amongst the younger generations towards the profession.

I hope all would benefit and insight and updates in this conference.

Thank you.