Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been slammed for alleging that the Federal Government and investment agency Mida have stopped introducing investors to the island over the past year.
Describing the claim made by Lim as preposterous, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the Government and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) had never discriminated against Penang.
“He (Lim) should get his facts correct before he shoots. I am sad and disappointed for a chief minister to use such cheap publicity to promote himself,” Mustapa said in a statement, Sunday.
Lim was reported by an online news portal as saying that the Federal Government had “frozen” the efforts by Mida to lure and facilitate foreign investments to Penang.
Lim claimed that as a result, Mida had stopped introducing and recommending companies and has not responded to the state’s letters for support or follow up on potential investments.
Mustapa said the Government and Mida had never discriminated in bringing investments of granting any incentives based on Penang’s preference.
From 2011 to Sept this year, MIDA Penang facilitated more than 200 visits from foreign companies to the state and held numerous workshops and briefings to promote investments since July 2012.
Mustapa added that Mida would also host a Services Sector Investment Seminar and take part in a Small and Medium Scale Enterprise conference in Penang next month.
The Minister said that apart from promotional activities done by Mida on a daily basis, he has personally led trade and investment missions overseas in which every state government was invited to participate without any prejudice.
“The allegation by Lim is unwarranted and uncalled for given the amount of efforts and resources that the Government and Mida have put in over the years to promote Penang and facilitate investors in the State,” said Mustapa.
Penang was top in investments in the year 2011 but investments into the state had plunged 73% the following year in 2012 where it dropped to 6th place among all states.
In 2013, investments in Penang had still not recovered to 2011 levels and Penang was placed 4th place behind Johore, Selangor and Sarawak.
Between January to May of 2014, Penang pnly received RM2.34 billion in foreign investments from this year - behind Sarawak (RM7.45 billion), Pahang (RM4.2 billion), Kedah (RM4.1 billion) and Johor (RM4.08 billion).
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