Some politicians specialise in finger-pointing antics instead of walking the talk to bring to realisation election promises. A classic example would be Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who recently accused Putrajaya of causing deliberate delays to projects ranging from foreign investment to infrastructure and raw water supply. Trends indicate that Lim Guan Eng loves to blame others when he cannot provide answers or solutions to certain issues.

On Oct 9, 2014, The Star reported that  Hewlett-Packard (HP) will invest over RM1 billion to set up a manufacturing facility on a property estimated to be about 20.2ha in Batu Kawan, Penang to produce printer heads for high-speed ink jet printers.

At a press conference in late September, Thai executive director of Trade and Investment Cooperation Division, Department of Foreign Trade, Akarapong Dipavajra expressed his keen intention in expanding its business collaboration with Penang in areas such as construction and seafood. He noted that Penang is a very well-developed state, and that in Malaysia “there are many multinational corporations investing here.”

On Sept 25, 2014, Bernama reported that German-based steering systems maker ZF Lenksysteme GmbH is investing RM50 million in the next two years to set up a new plant in Penang to produce electric power steering systems column (EPSc).

ZF Lenksysteme, a 50:50 joint venture between Robert Bosch GmbH and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, is a specialist and technological leader in the field of steering equipment and has over 13,000 employees generating sales worth more than €4 billion in 2013.

A few days ago, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said Penang remains one of the top investment destinations in the country for foreign investors, especially in the electrical and electronics (E&E) and medical devices industries because of its history, established infrastructure and strong industry ecosystem.

Contrary to CM Lim Guan Eng’s accusations that Putrajaya is treating Penang like a stepchild, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) Penang had facilitated more than 200 visits from foreign companies to the state from 2011 to September 2014. Mida has also held numerous workshops and briefings on the Domestic Investment Strategic Fund to industry associations and companies in Penang since it was introduced in July 2012.

In response to Mustapa’s statement, Lim has expressed his willingness to meet with the minister to discuss issues surrounding foreign investments in the state. Ironically, Lim said he would share with Mustapa information obtained from investPenang, an entity with the state government that promotes investment, pertaining to the matter.

Out-of-date portal

Anyone visiting the InvestPenang portal can see that the site has not been updated since July 25. How up-to-date is the information they are supplying to Penang? With an out-of-date portal, how effective is InvestPenang as a non-profit entity of the state government with the sole purpose of promoting investments within Penang.

How can investPenang sustain, rejuvenate and further promote business activity through continued investments and at the same time explore new growth areas that are profitable when foreign visitors click into the portal and see outdated information?

Yet, CM Lim cluelessly dares to offer to share information with Mustapha Mohamed. Does CM Lim know what is happening in his own backyard or is he too busy indulging in the politics of blames and lies?

HADEN HOO blogs at http://msiacitizentimes.blogspot.com/