I have many friends who are all over the world today. We were friends from school as well as college. I often see them only for Chinese New Year where we would catch up over a meal and find out on the latest happenings in our lives.You see, many of them have left Penang for over a decade not because they wanted to, but they had found it difficult to be able to live the lives they want with the earning power here back then.

I can say that a lot of them moved to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor but I could tell that their hearts silently wish that they could be earning their living in their hometown, where their parents and friends are. Some are already planning their move back as the state improves economically since 2008.

Then there are those who simply do not have the financial means to seek employment elsewhere. Other factors could be inadequate qualifications or other personal reasons like family. Like it or not, they have to try to earn a living locally. You see, for far too long Penang had been exporting our talents. Our talents are among the brightest the world has ever seen yet we have not been able to retain them.

One of the key factors in retaining talent has always been employment. The inability to earn a salary that matches the rising cost of living is driving the young to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Ever since 2008, the current Penang state government had been looking into ways to retain as well as attract talent back to Penang. Many of the Penang diaspora do want to return to Penang if they feel they can sustain their preferred quality of life here.

Then there are those among the diaspora who wish that Penang does not change at all and will always remain the same way as it was in their childhood. While we as Penangites are proud of our heritage and our past, Penang must be more than just everyone’s trip down memory lane.

While we do our best to preserve our heritage sites and natural landscapes, to completely halt development for nostalgic reasons is sorely unfair for those of us who have decided to remain and those who seek to return.

Reflections of why they became part of diaspora in the first place should be able to convince that development and economic growth is both keys to retaining talent and keeping a city alive. Therefore it is important that we work hard to make Penang an international city that is not only in name but rather one that is on par with the cities around the world.

A responsible government has to represent the people’s welfare and that includes to assist in the ability to earn a healthy living. Not everyone has the means to send their children overseas to seek their fortunes elsewhere. And if everyone leaves the state and by extension, the country, are we then just a museum of a glorious past?

One of the most important aspects of achieving that status of an international city is its accessibility throughout the island. A city with bad accessibility will only result in slow economic growth and we know the domino effect.

Accessibility is the way to improve public transport as there is no way we can fit in more busses, rails or trams on single lane roads. If this does not improve, the lives of those living in lesser accessible areas of the state will not be able to participate in the economic growth of the other parts which will definitely have an effect on the overall picture.

And when I mention accessibility, it is not just human accessibility but also goods and services. In business, time is money and the economy thrives on the ability to save time and the people's ability to get to work.

To say that we should just leave everything as it is without looking at the economic consequences on the populace would make the government an extremely irresponsible one. Remember, a government is voted in by the people and is responsible for the welfare of the electorate.

My friends, George Town was Malaysia’s first city and the first elections in Malaysia was held here, too. Penang led in so many ways and was the pride of the newly independent nation of Malaysia. Obviously all those historical moments happened because the people then were excited about the possibilities that the future held.

Everyone wanted the Federation of Malaysia to be successful and primarily the people of Penang wanted the state to continue to be the pride and joy of the nation. In the 1980s we were given the nickname of ‘Darul Sampah’ but fast forward to a post-2008 Penang and you can see that genuine efforts have been put in to turn the state around.

Key ingredient in retaining talent

But now, Penang must also start planning for its future because there is one more key ingredient in retaining talent and that is a word called ‘hope’. We have to get back that excitement and enthusiasm we had in the 1950s and 60s when we dreamt about the future and all the opportunities that laid before us.

We have seen people from many states in Malaysia move to Kuala Lumpur or Selangor in search for better wages. Others simply move to Singapore. A very simple fact remains, when one has invested a lot into his or her education, one seeks the ability to earn a living that is equivalent to his or her qualification.

A responsible government has to find ways to provide that opportunity to talent in order to keep the talent. A lazy government would do nothing to develop the state and tell the talents to move to the big city then come back and retire. I believe the Penang state government is doing all it can in retaining talent including the Penang Future Foundation to provide scholarships to our young talents.

But the bottom line is that development and improved transport accessibility is still key to an economic growth that can provide the living standards to retain talent.

Once again, it is about hope and the environment that enables us to be able to dream about a bright future that the young seeks. Let us not let them down for while we conserve and celebrate the glorious past of Penang, let us also work harder for an even more glorious future to look forward to.

CHRIS LEE CHUN KIT is a city councillor with the Penang Island City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang) representing the DAP.