Implement large-scale projects to boost jobs, growth, states told

Published by The Vibes • 06/11/2020 • 11:00 am

A Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce committee member says the country also needs to explore regional initiatives to boost growth. – Wikipedia pic, November 6 2020

GEORGE TOWN – In an effort to create more jobs and give the economy a boost, Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce committee member Datuk Faudzi Naim said every state should implement a major project.

He told The Vibes that projects such as the Penang South Reclamation project can create jobs as construction and property developments are great catalysts to restore growth.

Faudzi, who heads the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) joint business council, said the country also needs to explore regional initiatives to boost growth.

The days of depending on large economic powers, such as Europe, the United States, China and India, may be over as they will take longer to recover having been among the hardest hit, he added.

Regional initiatives could be one of the ways to offset the shortage in foreign direct investments and generate the necessary multiplier effect, he said.

Meanwhile Penang PKR vice-chairman Jason Ong Khan Lee has urged the ministry to stop relying on government agencies to screen applicants for the various aid schemes.

“The bureaucratic process is hampering the need for rapid disbursement of funds to the needy, leading to delays in handing out aid to the deserving recipients.”

To expedite the process, Ong suggested that such funds should be channelled to all state assemblymen to distribute to the needy.

He said this will help the government to ensure that aid is channelled to the right groups.

He added that it is not only the B40 group who lost jobs, but those in the M40 category have been hit with retrenchment and layoffs.

“So, aid must be given to the deserving. The aid can also be used in reskilling for digitalisation and encouraging employers to retain and not shed jobs.” – The Vibes, November 6, 2020