Media Statement by Penang State EXCO for Infrastructure & Transport Zairil Khir Johari in George Town on 28 June 2021:
Perhaps Oh Tong Keong needs subtitles if he cannot listen properly
In a statement released by Penang Gerakan Chairman Oh Tong Keong, he claims that I had stated during my recent interview on an Astro Awani talkshow that there was only 10 acres of land left in Batu Kawan left for industrial development.
If Oh had watched the interview himself, then perhaps he needs subtitles because clearly that was not what I said. In explaining why Penang urgently needs new land for industrial expansion, I said that Batu Kawan Industrial Park (BKIP) no longer had any more available industrial plots of land that are more than 10 acres in size.
In actual fact, we only have less than 80 hectares of industrial land left in BKIP, but they are all in small plots of less than 10 acres each. Major corporations who are looking to invest billions of ringgit usually require plots of 20 to 30 acres if not up to 50 acres for their plants. For this reason we have been forced to turn down some investment opportunities.
While there is currently a shortage of industrial land, the Penang State Government is working hard on short, medium and long-term plans to fulfil the demand of the industrial sector. This includes acquiring more land in Seberang Perai so that we can expand our industrial sector and provide more employment for the people of Penang.
However, even attempts to acquire more land would sometimes get stuck in legal challenges like what happened earlier this month when the High Court granted leave to a private landowner to challenge the acquisition of 380 acres of land in Byram Estate, Seberang Perai Selatan by the Penang State Government via state-owned Penang Development Corporation (PDC).
Contrary to claims that the Penang State Government only concentrates development on the island, the fact is that there are 10 industrial parks in Penang and nine out of the 10 are located in Seberang Perai. Maybe Oh himself should visit Seberang Perai more often so he can see for himself the many industrial parks that we have in all three districts from north to south.
The Penang South Islands project is part of our long-term strategy to ensure we will be able to offer a world-class ESG-compliant (environmental, social, governance) smart industrial park in Penang that will be able to attract the biggest names in industry. By doing so, we will be able to secure the future economic security of all Penangites.
槟州基设与交通事务委员会主席再里尔于2021年6月28日的新闻稿:
胡栋强或许听不懂，需要字幕
民政党槟州主席胡栋强昨天的文告指我在接受电视台Astro Awani直播访问时，称峇都加湾只剩下10依格工业发展地段。
如果胡栋强本身有观看那场直播访问，那么他或许需要字幕了，因为他文告所言，并非我在受访时作出的回答。我在回答为何槟城迫切需要新地段以进行工业扩张时，我指的是峇都加湾工业园已没有超过10依格的工业地块（industrial plots）了。
事实上，峇都加湾工业园目前只剩下少于80公顷的工业用地，但这些地段都属于少过10依格的小地块。一般欲在槟城投资数十亿令吉的大企业，就算我们不能满足他们50依格地块的要求，但他们都会要求至少提供他们20至30依格的地块。因为缺乏工业用地，所以我们被迫拒绝一些投资机会。
虽然槟州面对工业用地短缺，但州政府正努力制定短期、中期与长期计划，以满足工业领域的需求。这包括在威省收购更多土地，以便扩张工业领域和为槟城人提供更多就业机会。
然而，在尝试征用更多土地期间，有时会陷入法律挑战，就好像本月初所发生的事件，即高庭批准私人地段拥有者挑战槟州政府通过槟发展机构（PDC）收购位于威南眉南园380依格地段。
其实，对槟州政府只专注于槟岛发展的说辞，并不正确。槟城拥有10个工业园区，其中9个就座落在威省。或许胡栋强本身应该更频密的到访威省，这样他就能亲眼见证从威北、威中到威南，都有不少的工业园区。
南岛计划是槟州政府长期战略的一部分，以确保槟城能提供符合世界级别（环境、社会、治理）的智能工业园区，以吸引大企业。这样，我们就能确保槟城的经济安全，保障槟城人的未来。