Lim Guan Eng's Penang is getting back its mojo...

When the Democratic Action Party won the state’s legislative assembly three years ago, it became the first opposition party to triumph in Penang in more than 40 years. The victory presented a direct challenge to the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that has ruled the country continuously since independence in 1957.

Penang’s new leader, Lim Guan Eng, says that the federal government has an “ambivalent” attitude towards him, cutting off some funding but not undermining his authority. “They don’t want us to get any credit, but they can’t afford to see us fail”.

The revival of Penang was already under way in 2008, but Mr Eng’s new policies have helped it along. He has become the first governor in Malaysia to open up all state tenders to competition. This has entailed dismantling the special preferences for ethnic Malays that have underpinned the BN’s rule since the early 1970s.

That was when the Malay majority institutionalised affirmative action for themselves, to the disadvantage of ethnic Chinese (a majority in Penang), who were perceived to have got unduly rich. Mr Eng claims that by reforming the system he has ended the cronyism and corruption that wasted money under previous regimes.

Adapted to the national stage, such policies could transform the way that the Malaysian federal government conducts business. Mr Eng says that the savings he has made by ending the “old systems of patronage” allow him to spend money on new social programmes instead, such as modest handouts for the elderly. These policies are popular, and the assault on corruption pleases foreign investors. Little wonder, then, that Penang has become a political weathervane as much as a lesson in economic development.

(This is an excerpt from the Economist,August 13,2011, titled,"Malaysia’s Penang state,Getting back its Mojo".) Continue reading here.



Rencana majalah antarabangsa The Economist yang terbaru mengenai Pulau Pinang dimulakan dengan ayat yang begitu teruja sekali – “jika anda akan mengalami serangan sakit jantung, biarlah ia berlaku di Pulau Pinang”!

Maksudnya jelas dan mudah. The Economist mahu berkongsi pengalaman dengan warga global mengenai Pulau Pinang di bawah pemerintahan Pakatan Rakyat yang menyediakan perkhidmatan perubatan yang dianggap terbaik di negara ini.

Apa yang mahu disampaikan oleh The Economist adalah kepimpinan Lim Guan Eng sebagai Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang yang menerajui kerajaan Pakatan telah berjaya memulihkan semangat negeri yang telah merosot sejak lebih sedekad lalu.
Naik turun pembangunan negeri

Kejayaan asal Pulau Pinang pasca-Merdeka bermula apabila negeri itu berstatus pelabuhan bebas cukai atau zon perdagangan bebas yang telah berjaya menarik kemasukan pelabur-pelabur global yang besar seperti Intel dan Bosch dalam tahun-tahun 1970-an.

Kerajaan Pusat kemudian menarik balik status bebas cukai dan Pulau Mutiara terpaksa bergantung kepada zon kilang-kilang yang kebanyakannya menawarkan peluang pekerjaan kepada pekerja tidak mahir.

Pentadbiran Barisan Nasional melalui teraju Gerakan tetapi dikawal oleh UMNO gagal membangunkan Pulau Pinang secara berkesan. Walau pun kemajuan fizikal masih hebat speanjang 1980-an hingga akhir 1990-an, ia mengakibatkan keciciran di kalangan golongan miskin bandar dan penduduk luar bandar.

Baca seterusnya di sini.

cheers.