SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE SPRING FESTIVAL RECEPTION HOSTED BY THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE SPRING FESTIVAL RECEPTION HOSTED BY THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

槟州首席部长曹观友于2022年1月29日

中华人民共和国领事馆2022年新春招待会致词稿

 

29 January 2022

 

Good morning all distinguished guests.

大家早上好！

In a few days’ time, we shall be welcoming the lunar new year – the Year of the Tiger. As everyone is in a jovial mood while we celebrate a new beginning, we should also, at the same time, remain hopeful and confident, that this would be a year of recovery, consolidation and strength for our people’s lives and livelihood.  Let this be a year of new achievements for both our nations as each of us perform our respective role, one globally and the other in the South-East Asian region but together, with the common aim of mutual benefit for all whom we deal with from the four corners of the world.

再过2天，我们就将迎接2022壬寅虎年。大家洋溢着欢乐的心情欢庆新的一年，同时，我们也应该怀着希望和信心，相信今年将是复苏、巩固人民生活和生计的一年。期许今年，马中两国都能扮演各自的角色，在东南亚乃至全球有所成就，并在追求共同目标方面互惠互利，延续四海之内皆兄弟的情谊。

 

Hence, this morning, I’m truly honoured to be here at the invitation of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Penang to celebrate the Spring Festival with all of you.  I hereby express my warmest welcome, regards and best wishes to all distinguished guests and friends who are here at this moment.

我很荣幸受邀出席中国驻槟州总领事馆的邀请，出席今早的新春招待会。我在此祝福在场及线上的各位新年快乐。

The friendship between Malaysia and China have withstood the test of time. Forty-eight years is indeed a long time to commemorate the bilateral ties and the diplomatic relations we have forged between our two nations. Throughout these nearly five decades, our bilateral trade, cultural exchange, tourist arrivals and education opportunities have been expanding except for the past 2 years when the Covid-19 pandemic hit us. But as many of us remain cautiously buoyant with our recovery this year, we must still carry on with the good work and to strive for the goals we have all set for ourselves.  

马中建交至今已48年，确实是很长的一段时间，纪念着两国之间建立的双边关系和外交关系。在这近50年的时间里头，马中双边贸易、文化交流、游客人数和教育机会不断增长，直至过去两年遇到了新冠肺炎疫情的冲击，但我们依然对今年的复苏年，保持着谨慎乐观的态度。我们必须继续恪尽职守，并为我们所设定的目标而努力。

What does this mean to the larger scheme of things? In a way, it is a reminder to ourselves that we can all overcome the challenges and the difficulties brought to us by the Covid-19 pandemic if we work hard and smart enough, and capitalize on the allocations that I have outlined in my 2022 Budget Speech.

那么，在长远及更大的格局下， 我们必须时刻提醒自己，只要我们努力并善用槟城在2022年预算案中的各项拨款，我们将可以克服新冠肺炎疫情所带来的挑战及困难。

The year 2022 is earmarked to be the year of recovery for our tourism industry. To achieve this, the Penang state government has allocated RM50 million for promotional activities, tourism development projects and grants to stakeholders of our local tourism industry who are the key industry drivers and promoters in the state. Hence, we are re-focusing on “Experience Penang Year” as the main theme in the coming years. We are also fully utilizing the online platforms to maximize our outreach.  

2022年是我们旅游业复苏的一年。 为实现这目标，槟州政府已拨款 5000 万令吉以推动促销、旅游发展项目和拨款给我们当地旅游业的利益相关者。 我们将重新聚焦“体验槟城”作为未来几年的主题，同时也会充分利用线上平台来推广外展服务。

During the pre-Covid-19 years, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Malaysia had been about 3 million. With the vigorous promotion taking place this year to rebuild our tourism industry, Chinese tourists to Penang will eventually return. This bodes well for greater bilateral ties between Malaysia and China.

在新冠肺炎疫情之前，我国的中国游客大约是300万人。随着今年我们重新大力推动旅游业，相信到访槟城的中国游客人数会回升。这也代表着两国之间的关系将持续加强。

When the Penang2030 vision: “A Family-Focused Green & Smart State that Inspires the Nation” was launched in August 2018, the State Government has in mind of the changing dynamics of the global economy, its effects on our livelihood, and most importantly, where do we stand in 10, 20 or even 30 years from now?

我在2018年8月推介了“槟城2030愿景：重家庭、拥绿地、精明州、耀全国”时，槟州政府已考虑到全球经济不断的变化将带来的影响，尤其在 10 年、20 年甚至 30 年后，我们将处于什么位置？

Hence, our immediate concern 3 years ago was to capitalize on our twin engines of growth – Manufacturing & Service – to provide adequate good quality jobs with sufficient incomes for the people, to enable everybody to enjoy the fruits of their labour and of course, an enviable lifestyle that one can be proud in Penang.

因此，我们于3年前就利用我们的增长双引擎——制造业和服务业，为人民提供优质工作和满意的收入，让每个人都能享受他们努力的成果，当然，也包括拥有令人羡慕的生活，这是居住在槟城其中引以为傲的事。

 

On 21 January (8 days ago), I launched Phase 2: Accelerating Penang2030 on what needs to be done from this year onwards. One of the key initiatives under Phase 2 is Industry Engagement Initiatives which I believe is an area China can meaningfully participate in and share your experience with us. As we encourage more foreign direct investment and domestic investments, the Penang State Government will also focus on talent development. We wish to train more local talents in high-tech manufacturing and the digital economy to build our capability in new deep technology areas such as AI, Robotics, Big Data Analytics and the Life Sciences.

我在今年1月21日，推介了第二阶段槟城2030愿景：优化槟城2030，其中一项关键举措是——业界参与。我认为中国可在这方面参与，并与我们分享更多经验。随着我们鼓励更多的外国直接投资和国内投资，槟州政府也将专注于人才发展。我们希望培养更多本地高科技制造和数字经济人才，以增强我们在人工智能、机器人、大数据分析和生命科学等新深技术领域的能力。

The Covid-19 pandemic for the past 2 years opened our eyes on the marvels of technology and quickened our pace towards digitalization. Now it is time for us to learn from the Chinese experience to harness deeper on our digitalization skills and knowledge to do much more in the key areas which will determine Penang’s economic survival and growth.

过去 2 年的 新冠肺炎疫情让我们对科技的进步大开眼界，也促使我们要加快脚步，迈向数字化的步伐。现在也是时候让我们向中国学习，以更深入地利用我们的数字化技能和知识，巩固槟州经济增长。

Finally, let’s toast for a lasting friendship between the Penang state government and the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Penang and may the bilateral relations between China and Malaysia be beneficial to all.

最后，让我们为槟州政府与中国驻槟城总领事馆的友谊干杯，愿中马双边关系再创辉煌，惠及大家。

 Thank you.

谢谢。