THE GRAND OPENING OF TLM FOOD & BEVERAGE EXPO 2022
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG,
YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
AT THE GRAND OPENING OF
TLM FOOD & BEVERAGE EXPO 2022
1ST JULY 2022
SETIA SPICE ARENA
YB Joseph Ng
Air Itam Assemblyman
Mr. Aleex Quah
Organizing Chairman of TLM Food & Beverage Expo
Mr. Vincent Lee Meng Sen
Representative of Golden Chef College of Culinary Arts (GCCA)
Mr. John Koh Wai Peng
Representative of Sukimi International Sdn Bhd
Mr. Chen Poh Meng
Main Sponspor, The Representative of Ding Ben Tang
(鼎本堂）
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
A very good afternoon to all of you.
It gives me great pleasure to be here today at the Setia SPICE Arena for the Today Lifestyle Marketing (TLM) Food & Beverage Expo 2022.
Compared to other states in Malaysia, Penang’s economy is uniquely driven by both the manufacturing and services sectors.
Despite the major economic effects of the pandemic, our state’s manufacturing performance not only defied the odds, but we also succeeded in making significant strides forward. Measured against other states, our total investments of RM83.5 billion accounted for 39% of Malaysia’s total investments in 2021, putting Penang at the top.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), in its latest released figures, had shown that Penang emerged as the top state in the country with the highest GDP at RM99.0 billion. This is a remarkable rebound of 6.8 percent from a negative 2.1 percent two years back in 2020.
While our tourism industry had been heavily and negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the recent re-opening of our borders, however, offers a silver lining. I am hopeful that our country's economy, particularly the tourism industry, will be on the fast track to recovery, as rising prices and stagnant wages continue to take their toll on all of us. Hence, while Penang’s achievement in garnering investments has been exemplary, we cannot rest on our laurels. This should instead motivate and spur us on.
Accordingly, the Penang State Government will continue to strive in attracting both foreign and local investments and in revitalizing our tourism industry. This is why our Penang2030 vision is so important. For Penang to become a high-income state, we must fully embrace the digital age and Industry 4.0, diversify our tourism products, agriculture and manufacturing drivers, and incubate new creative and social enterprises.
A key strategy, as outlined in the first thrust of the Penang Tourism Master Plan 2021-2030, is to diversify and have higher-value tourism products to attract higher-value tourists. Fortunately, Penang has a number of unique alternative tourism products or sites that have the potential to be developed and promoted further. One example is the 3-day TLM Food & Beverage Expo 2022 that I am officiating today, which aims to draw tourists and visitors to Penang.
This largest food exhibition in the northern region will take place from 1st to 3rd of July, with an estimated total of 60,000 visitors. There will be approximately 120 booths from various gourmet restaurants to large-scale manufacturers in all areas of the F&B industry, coming together to showcase their products. By bringing everyone together through our shared love for food, it is the best way to network, build partnerships and excel together.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We all need to work together to continue to revive and grow our economy simply because the State Government cannot succeed on our own. As a famous African proverb says “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.”
This is why I have recently launched a new official slogan in June which is, “Love Penang” and I continue to invite all organisations to adopt the slogan as a mantra. It is a reminder that we all need to contribute to Penang’s growth because we truly love this state where we belong. We need to love Penang and make it a better place for our future generations.
We need to rebuild what has been broken by the pandemic and reconstruct the dreams lost due to the lockdowns. Love is an action. Love Penang is a call to action to show our love for Penang. To do something for this state that we call home. With our combined efforts and the resultant synergy, we can revive what we have lost in Penang for the last two years.
Having said that, I am glad to see all of you here at this expo and I wish the event every success. I also wish everyone a good time and for those in the food and beverage industry, I hope that your business recovers well. As we bounce back to recover from the upheavals of Covid-19, may you all continue to find success here in Penang.
With that, I hereby launch the TLM Food & Beverage Expo 2022.
Thank you.