GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has identified four “longer-term” measures to minimise the adverse impact on the economy following the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The measures comprise helping investors to catch up on the progress of their projects, helping SMEs race to recovery, helping potential job seekers, and implementing strategies for industrial development.
In a statement today, Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon, special investment adviser to the Penang Chief Minister, said while the Covid-19 situation is unprecedented in scale, the state is versatile enough to navigate these uncertainties and seek fresh opportunities.
“Looking at the economy as a whole, the demand disruptions are here to stay and the ripple effect will be far, wide and deep. To this end, public sector spending and the manufacturing sector will be the economic drivers to sustain us through the difficult time ahead,” he pointed out.
Lee said the longer-term challenge is to put the country back to work as soon as possible by getting it into a productive mode, which is the key to financial and social sustainability.
“Malaysians need more than ‘stimulus packages’ as they are merely short-term measures to ease the cash flow crunch of businesses and provide wage support to protect jobs,” he remarked.
Lee described 2019 as “a fantastic year” for Penang in terms of foreign direct investments, adding that most of the strategic projects have been planned and are waiting for the MCO to be lifted so that physical implementation can proceed. – April 17, 2020, Bernama
