Much Progress By BN Govt In Penang

PENANG, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Penang had achieved tremendous progress in terms of development and the economy in the last four years as a result of the hard work put in by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government helmed by Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

According to the report card on the progress of Penang 2008, launched by Koh here today, significant progress had been achieved in the fields of economy, provision of infrastructural facilities, training and manpower, manufacturing, industry, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, commerce and services.

"Although there are many more projects that are in various stages of implementation, the report card shows much progress and success had been achieved between 2004 and 2008. The BN government and the people were not only able to defend Penang as the most progressive state in the country but had even advanced further," he said at the launching of the report card at his office, here.

What was more significant, he said, Penang had been chosen among the top 10 most liveable cities in Asia by an international body.

"This is not a BN publicity stunt but an opinion or perception of the international community. Out of the 254 cities in the Asian continent, Penang and Kuala Lumpur are among the 10 cities chosen by them," he said.

Koh said Penang was also the first state to be accorded the MSC Cyber City status outside the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) area and identified as the hub for the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).

In addition, he said, Penang was also identified as the "Silicon Island of the East" for the manufacturing sector and had been chosen as the centre of excellence for the microelectronic sector within the NCER scope of work.

The Chief Minister said Penang's progress was also gauged from the poverty rate which was the lowest in the country at 0.3 per cent, the water and electricity supply coverage which exceeded 99 per cent, literacy rate at 93.8 per cent and employment rate at 97.9 per cent.

He said Penang had also succeeded in attracting the highest foreign investment for three years consecutively, exceeding RM4.5 billion, and this showed that the state was still the favourite place for investment despite strong competition from China, India and Vietnam.

Koh said that during the four years under review, several important programmes to improve the state's transport system had been implemented including the introduction of the public bus transportation, RapidPenang and the completion of the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) and the Jelutong Expressway.

Preliminary works on the construction of the second bridge had also commenced while the monorail service project which was in the final stage of planning was expected to start soon.

He said currently there were more than 200 multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Penang and several of them had made the state as their main production centre for the world market.

In terms of the agricultural and fisheries sector, Penang was promoting the use of a new technology and professional management to raise productivity in this sector.

The tourism sector had also seen an increase of 36 per cent in the number of aircraft passengers during the last four years with seven airlines introducing their direct flights to Penang.

Koh lashed out at the opposition, particularly the DAP, for trying to distort the facts on the economic performance and development in the state.

"The BN government has proven its success based on the data and facts but the opposition are still planning and proposing what they want to do. We have been walking and working but the opposition have only done the talking," he said.

-- BERNAMA