GEORGE TOWN: The Penang State Government is working with the Federal Government to proceed efforts in attracting investment within the semiconductor sector, together with the built-in circuit (IC) design section, stated Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He stated that Penang may even proceed with varied investments to full the ecosystem and provide chain, because the semiconductor subject is in depth and entails many sub-sectors, equivalent to ICs.
“Moreover, the Federal Government is at present working on a Semiconductor Strategic Plan, and I perceive there are plans to specialise states in particular sub-sectors, so we don’t want to compete with different states however somewhat view this sector within the context of the nation.
“So, we’d like to see what the Semiconductor Strategic Plan, which is predicted to be introduced in May, proposes, and we are going to assess the roles assigned to Penang. I consider this state has essentially the most full ecosystem in Malaysia,“ he informed reporters right here at the moment.
He was met after attending a charity luncheon for Hari Raya Aidilfitri organised by the Honorary Consulate Corps of Malaysia, which was additionally attended by Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri, Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak and his spouse Toh Puan Khadijah Mohd Noor, alongside with varied consulate representatives in Penang.
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Chow stated this in response to former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s suggestion that Penang ought to be taught from Selangor’s success in establishing the Malaysia Semiconductor Accelerator and IC Design Park .
Therefore, Chow stated that the state authorities will prepare a gathering with Lim, who can be a former Chief Minister of Penang, in addition to with Invest Penang and the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to hear proposals on an IC park within the state.
Yesterday, three new semiconductor firms, particularly China Wafer Level CSP Co (WLCSP), Ningbo SJ Electronics Co (SJE), and Wuxi AMTE Inc (AMTE), expressed curiosity in investing in Penang, with a complete investment of US$100 million (US$1=RM4.76).
Regarding the difficulty of water tariffs, Chow, who can be state Finance, Land Development, and Economy Committee chairman, stated that tariff will increase within the state rely upon approval from the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), which has its personal mechanism, together with a tiered tariff system.
He defined that the primary tier tariff has not been elevated since 1992 within the state, whereas the second tier has not been adjusted since 2015, despite the fact that tariff charges are supposed to be reviewed or may be raised each three years as allowed by SPAN.
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“Sometimes, Penang doesn’t implement (the three-yr tariff improve) or it doesn’t get approval, so when the water tariff does go up, it’s steep. If the assessment had been carried out each three years, it wouldn’t be as drastic as now. Since it hasn’t gone up for a very long time, we now have to ‘catch up’,“ he stated.
He was commenting on proposals from a number of state assemblymen suggesting options to the issue of accelerating water tariffs, together with elevating the tariff in three phases over a yr.
