Northern corridor economic region

Great things are in store for Penang. Malaysian prime minister Dato Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will be here tomorrow to launch the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) that empasses Penang, Kedah, Perlis and northern Perak.

As a Penangite, I’m absolutely thrilled. I see the NCER as an avenue to enable this north-western part of Peninsular Malaysia successfully step out of the shadows of the more visible Klang Valley and the much publicised Iskandar Development Region in south Johor.

Right after independence 50 years ago, Penang was widely known to lead the country in many fields but in the 1970s, not long after the withdrawal of the island’s free port status, development in the state had started deteriorating.

At that time, the former Penang chief minister, Dr Lim Chong Eu, made the right decision to woo foreign investments into the state. The Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone is proof of the success.

But inevitably, it is always the political powers of the day that ultimately decides the long-term viability and success of any venture. I was mildly alarmed during the days of Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he gave so many economic incentives to his home state, Kedah. Langkawi was proclaimed a free trade island and there were plans to upstage Penang by building an international airport in Sungai Petani that would spell the end for the Bayan Lepas international airport. I was greatly disappointed when the deputy prime minister at that time, Anwar Ibrahim, did little to support his own state, Penang, when he had the means to do so. The economic crisis in 1997 was a relief of sorts when many of the proposals became still-born.

Even then, Penang survived the crisis because of the resilient manufacturing industry in the Bayan Lepas free industrial zone. We were still exporting electronic parts and goods to the United States which was unaffected by the Asian crisis. However, the recession in the United States around 2000 demonstrated that Penang, after all, was never immune to the world’s economic woes and we are all part of the same global economy. I believe 2000-2002 were the darkest days ever seen by people in the state.

Since then, Penang has never been quite the same again. Despite the efforts of the present Penang state government under Dr Koh Tsu Koon, the Klang Valley thrived better and Johor benefitted a lot from its close proximity with a Singapore that was also emerging from a crisis period. Worse, Penang was also competing with an emergent China that was simply absorbing all the foreign direct investments that were thrown at it.

So I’m quite relieved that the Federal Government has now decided to refocus some attention back to Penang. Of course, circumstances have changed. Globalisation and regionalisation has ensured that Penang (or at least, the island portion of it) can no longer afford to be insular. Dr Koh had hit the nail on the head recently when he talked about Kedah, Perlis and Perak as smart partners.

Penang needs this rich hinterland to make the NCER work. Although much of the focus from Perlis to Perak will be on developing agribusiness and in a way, biotechnology too, the electronics and manufacturing sub-corridor from Bayan Lepas across the Penang Bridge to Bukit Tengah, Bukit Minyak and beyond to Kulim will continue to be very key and vital contributors to the NCER.

The main agricultural push in the NCER will be aimed at improving padi yield of Malaysia’s rice bowl to six to eight tonnes of grain per hectare by 2012 while at the same time, halving the current 5.7% poverty rate and eradicating hardcore poverty. It seems that 29% of the nation’s hardcore poor live here. The thrust of the initiative will thus be on promoting an economic and social development agenda which will enhance existing industries and contribute to social equity.

Human capital development features prominently in the NCER blueprint with the setting up of a centre of excellence for micro electronics, a skills development centre and a research and development centre. Vocational training and an agriculture faculty in a northern public university are being planned as avenues for school-leavers and to generate agriculture graduates who will become modern farmers equipped with modern farming techniques, padi cultivation, agribusinesses and other supporting industries.

Tourism activities will also be strengthened and the NCER programme will include the development of Penang and Langkawi’s outer islands for high-end tourism.

So what does all these mean for Penang, which as the most developed among the four states in the NCER, is expected to play a Big Brother lead role? According to the same blueprint, the state will be made a regional transportation hub focussing on infrastructure (airport and seaport extensions) and developing an integrated public transport system, a micro-electronic centre of excellence and the development of the Penang City Centre.

There’ll be a second Penang Bridge linking Batu Maung to Batu Kawan of which its RM2.7 billion financing has just been finalised with China. The 24km bridge will come as a most appropriate solution to the congestion and road accidents happening on the present 21-year-old, 13.5km bridge.

But the most immediate relief for the people will be the launch of RapidPenang on Wednesday. RapidPenang buses will hit the streets on the island and the mainland to provide the main transportation connectivity for a population long deprived of this inconvenience by incompetent bus and mini-bus companies. But will RapidPenang succeed where others have failed before? We shall have to wait post-launch to find out. Many people who depend on public transportation are hoping that their prayers will be answered. As for me, I want to see RapidPenang develop a comprehensive and integrated public transportation network that covers the bus routes and also working hand-in-hand with the future monorail service by providing feeder bus services.