Revisiting PDC assets may help Penang turn back clock

 

Does Penang need a new economic plan in the face of job layoffs, an ailing manufacturing sector and reduced tourist arrivals?

Multinational and local companies are trimming workers, while several factories have been closed. These are giving most Penangites the shudders.

The reality of job losses - now running into the thousands - has begun to eclipse the record RM10.2 billion investments ploughed into the state last year.

Before charging ahead and devising a new plan for Penang to regain its former glory as an economic powerhouse, it may be prudent to do a reality check on what has been achieved so far.

A good reference point is the Penang Strategic Development Plan (PSDP).

It was a project aimed at guiding Penang into the 21st century as a fully-developed state, with a post-industrial economy that stresses on excellence and quality.

The blueprint was drafted in 1991 by the Penang Economic Council to support Vision 2020. It covers a 10-year period, from 2000 to 2010.

Specific strategies include the promotion of skill-intensive, technology-intensive, and high-value added industries by building a research and development infrastructure.

There were concerns raised along the way. During reviews, it was pointed out that Penang needed to overcome its human resources shortage, reduce the heavy reliance on foreign investments and develop small- and medium-sized (SME) enterprises as its main engine of growth.

Running through the PSDP check-list on what has been achieved and implemented, perhaps the famous quote in 1977 from American government official Bert Lance "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" serves as a good pointer.

Instead of setting up new bodies like investPenang, the investment promotion unit carved out from Penang Development Corp (PDC), the state can turn back the clock, by re-visiting the PDC's assets as a state economic development agency.

The goodwill built through the years by the PDC with its industrial tenants in Penang's free trade zones, teamed with the international connections forged over three decades, are but a shadow today.

Gone are the days when investors gave the PDC a heads-up on their retrenchment or closure plans, which saw both parties sitting down together on how best they could manage any potential damage.

Industrialists are also recalling the "good old days" when PDC officials popped in to their factories for a cup of coffee and chat.

The role of the PDC as a one-stop centre for investors has been reduced today to that of a glorified real-estate seller and broker for industrial land.

The same can be said for tourism promotion in Penang, which was also plucked out from the PDC, in favour of a stand-alone entity, known as the Penang Tourism Action Council.

Just what have these single entities achieved by distancing themselves from the PDC which has always been synonymous with Penang's industrial development?

Apart from the obviously high expenses incurred via investments of new offices, recruitment of staff and having to start from ground-zero to have their distinct identities, there hasn't been much but confusion created for the public and investors at large.

For investors, a sense of continuity, keeping to promises and not coming up with new-fangled ideas are vital, especially during tough times.

To implement any plan for continued growth, a close sense of coordination and sincerity between the state and federal governments must be apparent to investors.

If this sense of moving with tandem and unity prevails in tackling any urgent problems, Penang should have no problems proving that lightning does indeed strike twice and showing that "Penang Leads".