The Officiating Ceremony of Westlite Dormitory, Bukit Minyak, Pulau Pinang

Opening Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
At The Officiating Ceremony of Westlite Dormitory, Bukit Minyak, Pulau Pinang

29 January 2018

 

Yang Berhormat Jagdeep Singh Deo
Penang State Executive Councillor for Local Government, Housing and Town & Country Planning

Yang Berhormat Goh Choon Aik
Assemblyman for Bukit Tambun

Mr. Tony Bin
Managing Director for the Accommodation Business of Centurion Corporation

Members of the Municipal Council and Authorities

Honourable guests

Our media friends

Ladies and gentlemen

Firstly, I would like to thank Centurion Corporation Limited (Centurion) for inviting me to officiate the opening of the Westlite Bukit Minyak Purpose-Built Workers Accommodation (PBWA). My heartiest congratulations to you and the team for the successful completion of the project. I am really pleased to be here and it is indeed an auspicious start for 2019 to hit the ground running with the opening of pioneering projects.

A special welcome to the Centurion team and guests who have travelled all the way to be here from Singapore, Johor Bharu and Kuala Lumpur. Welcome to Penang and don’t miss out on what the state has to offer during your stay here.

Relevance to Pulau Pinang’s vision and 2030 Plan

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today’s event is indeed a milestone for both Centurion and for Penang itself, as Westlite Bukit Minyak PBWA is the very first for our beloved state. It also ranks amongst the first of such developments in the country and represents the seventh for Centurion to date. We look forward to welcoming more PBWA projects as the state government continues to strengthen the star quality environment for Penang especially via the provision of excellent infrastructure.

As a business-friendly state government, we have every reason to believe that private-sector led development is critical to the growth of our state. Penang is an ideal hub for many types of industries and activities and is well-supported by a skilled workforce. As a state, we have positioned ourselves as a preferred economic nerve centre, especially for the Electrical and Electronics (E&E) industry as well as life sciences. Underpinning our success is our strong, dynamic and efficient ecosystem that has supported the presence of many local and multinational companies with their respective large workforce. Moving forward, we have also continued to grow our Shared Services and Outsourcing (SSO), which will further cement our position as a ‘Preferred Technology Hub’.

Our focus moving forward is to continue building on the solid foundation of the state and to further facilitate the growth of business, especially in areas of manufacturing. The “Penang 2030” action plan which I unveiled last year in late August has a specific focus on improving liveability, the economy, civic participation and societal resilience to achieve “A Family-focused Green and Smart State to Inspire the Nation”. The action plan also calls for the involvement of stakeholders – from government, corporation, community and public, to push for economic, infrastructural and socio-cultural development in our state.

On this front, I applaud Centurion for pioneering the development of PBWAs in Penang and in doing so, broke new ground in the infrastructure quality and standard in our state. The availability of such facilities will also add on to the pull factor of our state to companies and businesses with a large foreign workforce. The provision of international standard accommodation offers conducive living conditions for its residents to “Live, Learn & Play”.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Companies and businesses today need to look at their businesses holistically with a view for long-term sustainability. Human Capital, is without doubt, the most important asset for all of us, business or otherwise. As such, safeguarding the welfare and wellbeing of our workforce is vital to the productivity and overall success of an organisation.

As such, I am truly encouraged and inspired to see that this project has come to fruition and another is well on its way. I am confident that this pioneer PBWA project in Penang will be one of the reasons to inspire the nation as outlined in Penang2030 while we continue to pursue strong, sustainable and equitable growth and development across the country.

Lastly, it has been a pleasure to be here, to officiate the opening of Westlite Bukit Minyak, the first Purpose-Built Workers Accommodation in Penang, and to address all of you who are here today. I look forward to learning more about Centurion and its assets as well as officiating more of such projects in time to come as more partners join us in our quest to helm the state towards becoming an international and liveable city. Congratulations for a job well done!

Thank you.