YB. R.S.N RAYER - A.D.U.N. SERI DELIMA, PENANG

PENANG, WED:
Investments in Penang for the first ten months of this year increased to RM9.47 billion from RM4.77 billion in the same period last year. Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, said according to the report by the Malaysia Industrial Development Authority, domestic investments of RM4.9 billion in Penang were the highest in the country.

“Foreign investments increased to RM4.6 billion compared with RM3.1 bilion during the same period last year,” he told a media briefing here today.

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RSN RAYER'S STATE ASSEMBLY SPEECH - PART 1


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RSN RAYER'S STATE ASSEMBLY SPEECH - PART 3
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THE Penang Government will promote the use of garbage enzyme, a method that could improve the environment.
Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said they would facilitate the non-governmental organisations’ education campaigns to create awareness on its usage.

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PENANG, MON:
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today urged the federal government to tell the United States to stop its blind support of Israel.

Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, said the Israeli fighter jet attacks on Gaza, Palestine killed 200 people while hundreds more were injured.
“On behalf of the DAP, I strongly condemn the Israeli attacks on civilians and urge Israel to stop its savage attacks and find peaceful ways,” he said in a statement here today. Lim said the best way to resolve political problems was through peaceful negotiations and there was no need to have bloodshed towards finding peace in the Middle East.

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PENANG: The Penang state government on Wednesday said it has issued a stop-work order effective Friday to MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd following the company’s failure to submit a layout plan for the 63km of track in Penang of its Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified railway double track project.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that if the company failed to abide by the Dec 26 stop-work order, action could be taken against it under the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974. The penalty under the act was a maximum fine of RM50,000 or a five-year jail term or both, and for subsequent offences the fine could be RM500 per day, he said.

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THE flood-prone area in Jalan Tun Dr Awang, Penang, will be “mostly” solved soon with the upgrading of the drainage system costing RM1.12mil, state Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Law Choo Kiang said.

“The project will not fully solve the flood problem but it will solve 70% of it. The area may still be affected by floods during heavy downpours but it will not be as bad.

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REVELLERS are welcome to join the countdown party to usher in the New Year to be held at the Esplanade in Penang from 6pm to 1am on Dec 31.

The event named ‘PG2009 Rock The Fort – The Year End Countdown’ is organised by CreatiVision D.C. Sdn Bhd with Celcom (M) Berhad as main sponsor and supported by the state government.

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PENANG: The state government will issue a stop-work order on two development projects in Tanjung Bungah if the developers do not take prompt steps to ensure the people’s safety, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

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PENANG: The state has set up the Halal Logistics Working Committee with the aim of coordinating and developing logistics initiatives to promote Penang as an international halal hub.

Chairman of the state committee for domestic trade and consumer affairs, Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, said the working committee will also act as the coordinator in the recognition of halal logistics in Penang.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Penang government has taken a swipe at Gamuda Bhd for alleging the state’s inability to relocate squatters as the major reason for the substantial delay to the RM12.5 billion double-tracking project which should be completed by January 2013.

Its chief minister Lim Guan Eng slammed the construction giant for the lame excuse that the state government was slow to relocate the squatters in the area of which some 63km of the total 329km-track would run through.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP is against the privatisation of the National Heart Institute or Institut Jantung Negara (IJN), which has been speculated to be taken over by Sime Darby Bhd soon, secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said.

He said the party would not agree to have IJN taken private as government medical centres were built with the public in mind and not meant to be commercialised and have profitability as its priority.

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THE Penang Government wants to help hardcore poor families to be self-reliant rather than depending on handouts from others.

State Health, Welfare and Ca-ring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said it was more practical to help find jobs for those who could work.

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THE Penang Government have been using effective micro-organisms (EM) more commonly known as ‘friendly bacteria’ to overcome foul smells in animal farms since August.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said this was the part of its move to rid the state of the Darul Sampah (rubbish haven) tag.

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GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Municipal Council, fed up with the continuous snub by the aborted Kings of Tennis organiser, will restore the damaged Esplanade field and bill the company later.

Council president Datuk Zainal Rahim Seman said the deadline given to the organiser was today and if the company representative does not call the council by 5pm, it would do the job for them.

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GEORGE TOWN: The year-end party mood in Penang has set in with chingay troupe members busy honing their skills in balancing the towering flag poles for the annual performance this Sunday.
Although there will not be any competition following the controversial contest last year, the 10 teams taking part in the event promise to give their best.

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GEORGE TOWN: Penang will consider asking developers of hillslope projects to set up a fund to tackle remedial works which arise after their projects are completed.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state will hold discussions with developers to come out with a formula on the setting up of such a fund.

“This fund will be specially set up for the treatment and remedial works of hillslope projects.

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GEORGE TOWN: Penang will liaise closely with the Selangor government before implementing the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“Both states intend to implement such an act but there are many things that must be done first.

“I am committed to making information more accessible to the public in accordance with Pakatan Rakyat’s competency, transparency and accountability (CAT) governance,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.

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GEORGE TOWN: Residents living next to a hillside condominium development fear a repeat of the Bukit Antarabangsa disaster after rock-blasting caused damage to their homes. They want the Delima Palace Island Glades project to be stopped immediately, claiming their landed and high-rise property had become structurally unstable.
Delima Palace is a 21-storey, 113-unit condominium project which started last year and is slated for completion in 2012. Among the residents' complaints are cracks on the walls and falling debris.

Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer urged the developer to conduct a geotechnical study to ensure the rock-blasting procedures complied with the requirements of the Geoscience Department.

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THE Penang Government will continue to ask the Federal Government to increase development allocations to the state, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

He said it was the state government’s opinion that the allocations should be equivalent to the tax paid by the people of Penang.
Lim, who is also Bagan MP, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum informed him in Parliament that the allocations channelled to Penang from 2000 to 2008 amounted to RM8.965bil.

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PENANGITES would be able to enjoy free WiFi access in public areas around Komtar starting next week.
This was part of the state’s effort to make it a WiFi state in two years.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said two companies had offered its packages to make Penang the first WiFi state in the country.

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HIGHER domestic investments are crucial to complement state government initiatives to stimulate a healthy state economic growth, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

In facing the current economic uncertainties, he said, focus must be given to domestic investments that could propel the local economic cycle, expand local companies’ activities and create more jobs for the people instead of expecting foreign investments which were uncertain.
The higher domestic investments in Penang between January and September were a good indicator towards the government’s efforts to draw up pre-emptive measures to ride out the bleak economic outlook predicted next year, he said.

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GEORGE TOWN: Penang will be the first Malaysian state to conduct a full audit of its public transport facilities while it develops a comprehensive blueprint to improve the access and mobility of people with disabilities by 2010.

The initiative to boost the economic and social independence of those with disabilities, will be done through a two-year pilot project by the state’s Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) to study how to create a barrier free public transportation in Penang.

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GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Go­­vern­­­ment has defended its RM17mil water rebate to some 170,000 families.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said: “The water rebates were given to the people to show that the state government is aware of their hardship due to the current economic situation.

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GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will take preventive measures including issuing stop-work orders for hillside developments in the wake of the landslide tragedy that killed at least three people at Bukit Antarabangsa, Selangor, early Saturday morning.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Saturday he would personally request Penang Municipal Council president Datuk Zainal Rahim Seman view and inspect the hillside areas again, especially those in Batu Ferringhi.

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THE Eco-Stream Walk project at the Penang Botanic Gardens is expected to be completed end of this month after five months of work since July 10.
Penang Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said the Walk, which was a Ninth Malaysia Plan project funded by the Tourism Ministry, was for the benefit of the Waterfall River in the Botanic Gardens.

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GEORGE TOWN: The five Pakatan Rakyat states will have regular joint meetings next year to address issues together.
The leaders of Penang, Kedah, Perak, Kelantan and Selangor will come up with a “common plan” to handle challenges and work together more closely, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim told a press conference Friday.

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GEORGE TOWN: If all goes well, tourists visiting Penang Hill will be able to enjoy the funicular train ride all the way to the upper station starting next Sunday.

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GEORGE TOWN: No matter how flattering it may be, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said action would still be taken against those who put up illegal banners with his face on it.

“It doesn’t mean that if you put my face up, you can break the law,” he said about his instructions to the Penang Municipal Council to bring down an illegal banner put up at Magazine Road to wish him a happy birthday.

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Penang DAP Youth today lodged a police report against Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir for allegedly suggesting that the vernacular school system be abolished and that all schools come a single education system.

Its head Yeoh Soon Hin said the movement was worried that Mukhriz’s statement could be seditious and affect racial harmony in the country.

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PENANG is set to announce the entry of a foreign halal investor this week.

State Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Abdul Malik Abdul Kassim yesterday said the Dubai-based Al-Jawhara Group of Hotels and Apartments is keen to talk to the state authorities about setting up a hotel management academy and hotel school.

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BUTTERWORTH: Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) president Farizan Darus has been told to go on leave pending investigations into the council’s plunging reserves.

The Penang Government also announced the appointment of state financial officer Datuk Supiah Md Yusof as acting council president. Supiah will also head a committee to investigate MPSP’s financial fiasco. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Supiah would be given two weeks to complete investigations and identify any wrongdoings and those responsible for the council’s financial plight.

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