MALAYSIAN INSIDER
GEORGETOWN, Nov 14 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today the state government has attracted RM6.1 billion of investments in the first eight months of this year.
Tabling the state's 2009 Budget today, Lim said he would also be requesting a RM10.79 billion injection from the federal government.
"This figure is very encouraging compared to 2007's total capital investment of RM4.77 billion," he said.
Lim also disclosed the latest investment of RM1 billion from Ibiden Co Ltd of Japan.
The DAP secretary-general said the request for RM10.79 billion from the federal government was for "infrastructural and social projects to strengthen development in the state."
"It is reasonable and fair to ask for this allocation over a five-year period as Penang contributes over RM5 billion each year in payments, taxes, duties and excise to the federal government."
The infrastructural projects include:
? RM4.3 billion for the Second Penang Bridge;
? RM1.7 billion for upgrading the Penang International Airport to accommodate the Airbus 380 and Boeing 747 as it is a logistics hub for the Northern Corridor Economic Region;
? RM323 million to deepen the North Channel as Penang Port continues to increase throughput and capacity; and
? RM970 million for flood mitigation on top of the RM327.65 million already allocated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for flood mitigation, river management, urban drainage and shore front erosion.
Calling Pakatan Rakyat's first budget in Penang a "Caring CAT (Competency, Accountability, Transparency) Budget," Lim said it was "pro-growth, pro-jobs and pro-poor."
The Budget projects revenue of RM291.743 million and operating expenditure of RM331.197 million. Lim said that while this produced a deficit of RM39.4 million, RM3.7 million more than the 2008 Budget, it included RM17 million for water supply rebates and RM8.5 million for government-aided schools.
Thus, he claimed, the actual deficit was just RM13.9 million as opposed to 2008's RM35.7 million.
The RM17 million water supply rebate will be in the form of RM100 each to 170,000 low- and middle-income families.
Lim also outlined a 10-point plan to drive economic growth which included two investor advisory panels for the industrial and service sectors to maintain the state's competitiveness and steps by the Penang Development Corporation to reduce the price of industrial land by 10 per cent.
In his speech, Lim also announced a proposal to reduce hardcore poverty to zero by March 2009 by helping 324 families currently identified as earning less than RM400 a month.
