DAP Penang

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state government and Gerakan continued bickering over the decision to turn down a US$3bil (RM10.1bil) investment deal because the state government could not guarantee 1,000 electric and electronic (E&E) engineers required by the company.

In a statement yesterday, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s special investment officer Jeffrey Chew lashed out at Gerakan for using hit-and-run tactics and practising a “promise first hope later” attitude.

“The Penang state government is not as irresponsible as Gerakan in making empty promises that would jeopardise our credibility,” he said, adding that the state government could incur loses as much as US$3bil to compensate the investors should it be unable to fulfill its own guarantees.

Chew said this in response to criticism from Penang Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan who said the state could not afford to turn away investors.

Chew said the Malaysian Employers Federation, among other bodies, had detailed the shortage of E&E engineers in the country.

He said Gerakan and Dr Teng should stop behaving like ostriches with their heads buried in the sand by pretending that the country was not facing a shortage of E&E engineers.

On Dr Teng’s offer to the state to help address the shortage of engineers, Chew said he should prove his sincerity by urging the Federal Government to treat Penang fairly.

Dr Teng, he said, should tell the Federal Government to stop discriminating against Penang by refusing to treat it equally in terms of grants, taxes or airport charges.

The Star - Monday November 16, 2009
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/16/nation/5118569&sec=nation