Press Release by the Former Political Secretary to the Former Chief Minister of Penang

GIVE DUE CREDIT TO PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT’S EFFORT IN PROMOTING FDI

Recently, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been publicising and claiming credit for two (2) high-profile foreign direct investments (FDI) into Penang from Japan’s Ibiden Co. Ltd (RM1.2 billion) and USA’s Honeywell (RM115.0 million).

Such publicity was obviously aimed at giving the impression that these investments are solely the result of the new state government’s efforts in investment promotion within a short span of the past two (2) months.

In fact, in each of these two (2) cases, the new Chief Minister hurriedly called a press conference to claim credit the day after MIDA Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur made the announcement in the presence of MIDA Director-General and MITI Minister respectively.

These announcements did not at all acknowledge the crucial roles the previous state government, under Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, played in convincing the investors to locate here, together with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) and the Federal Treasury.

To set the record straight, the effort of the new government in the last two (2) months merely represented the final short phase of a long process of promotion and negotiation stretching back one (1) to two (2) years.

Multi-national companies always take time to assess economic feasibility, logistics, local supply chain and human resources, fiscal and tax incentives, etc. They compare and visit many localities in different countries before deciding. Convincing investors during this “due diligence” phase is the most challenging and crucial aspect of investment promotion.

In the case of Ibiden, the entire process took two (2) years as explained by Ibiden’s Executive Officer, Sotaro Ito, in the most recent press conference. MIDA and investPenang have been working hard to pursue Ibiden. Dr Koh himself personally visited Ibiden’s headquarters near Nagoya, Japan on 19 July 2007 and met with their top management to present a strong case for Penang. (see picture)

In Honeywell’s case, the process also took considerable time and effort. The decision to invest in Penang was actually made and reported in the U.S. press on 28 February this year. Besides MIDA and investPenang, some local Penang businessmen also played a key role in helping to convince Honeywell.

As such, it is only fair and proper that the new state government honestly give due credit to the previous state administration, as well as to MIDA and the Treasury for the work that they have done.

The new state government’s own real ability in attracting FDI can be better gauged in one to two years’ time. For now, they should not just ride on the previous government’s effort. Neither should they claim all the credit where credit is not due. At most, they merely added the finishing touch to a long and challenging process.

(Mark Ooi Swee Hing)