PENANG, May 28, 2021 – At its latest meeting chaired by the Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang, Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon, the members of Penang Manufacturing Industry Advisory Council have unanimously agreed, among others, the following efforts to support the government in overcoming the challenges as a result of the Covid pandemic:

Mass Vaccination for economic frontliners:

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has introduced a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Immunisation Model, allowing companies with over 1,500 employees to set up on-site Vaccination Centres or Pusat Pemberian Vaksin (PPVs). The government will bear the costs of the vaccines while the logistic and medical personnel expenses, will be incurred by the private sector.

In this regard, Dr David Lacey, the president of FREPENCA (Free Industrial Zone, Penang, Companies’ Association) said that: “FREPENCA is supportive on MITI’s PPP Immunisation Model. Our members can coordinate and facilitate the efforts on the ground but we hope that relevant ministries can expedite the roll out of this program.”

Small and Medium Enterprises Association (SAMENTA) also welcomed this initiative to vaccinate the economic frontliners. However, Mr Yeoh Seng Hooi, Hon. Secretary General of SAMENTA pointed out that SMEs would not be able to meet the 1,500-employee criteria and they will be left out from the PPP model. “As SMEs employ about 50% of the total workforce in the manufacturing sector, these workers need to be vaccinated to make the PPP Immunisation program meaningful.” Yeoh said. “SAMENTA hopes that SMEs would be able to join the Mass Vaccination Program initiated by the State and larger companies.”

Deep Throat Saliva (DTS) rt-PCR screening for factory workers:

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Penang initiated the Penang S.A.F.E. program with the support of the Penang State Government, approved Clinics and Clinical Lab, to provide DTS rt-PCR screening solutions for factory workers. This initiative is to enhance surveillance efforts via periodical mass-screening of workers at affordable cost with the overarching objective of identifying and isolating infected persons as early as possible.

Dato’ Jimmy Ong, Chairman of FMM Penang Branch said: “DTS rt-PCR screening is a cost-effective solution to contain the spread of Covid in Penang. FMM hopes that more companies will participate in this program in a collective effort with the government in battling the COVID pandemic at the work place and in the community.” “I am encouraged that the responses have been promising thus far.” Jimmy added.

Mr Andy Lee, Chairman of the Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) mentioned that: “AMMI is encouraged with Penang State Government’s support in the vaccination of the population of the state. In ensuring expeditious roll out, AMMI hopes to see greater collaboration & coordination between all stakeholders to empower Healthcare professions to manage the set-up of more PPV centers especially to be ready for mass vaccination. As Covid-19 vaccination is an employee’s personal choice and AMMI Member Companies will continue to encourage its employees to step forward for vaccinations at the first opportunity.”

On a separate note, FMM Penang is of the view that setting up centralized PPVs at state-owned assets in Penang Island and Seberang Perai would be helpful for the industry. Addressing that, FMM Penang has gathered its members’ interests to register for the centralized PPVs. “Based on our Batch 1 closing date on 20th May 2021, more than 35,000 employees have registered their interests.” said Dato’ Jimmy. “We will continue to work closely with the State government and gather more registrants. We wish to have better clarity from the Federal government on the timeline for vaccine availability.”

The Penang Manufacturing Industry Advisory Council is a joint effort between the State government and the industry associations. The key objectives of the Councils are:

• Enhancing the ease of doing business in Penang
• Collective efforts to identify companies’ strength and capabilities and to promote Penang’s industrial ecosystem
• An integrated voice for the industry

Other than addressing Covid-related issues, the Council has also identified various scopes for collaborations among the members, which include development of talent pool, improving on community welfare of industrial workers and meeting standards of accommodation and amenities and collaboration of supply chain sourcing.

The Council is chaired by the Chief Minister of Penang, Right Honourable Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, with InvestPenang being its secretariat.

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About InvestPenang
InvestPenang is the Penang State Government’s principal agency for promotion of investment. Its objectives are to develop and sustain Penang’s economy by enhancing and continuously supporting business activities in the State through foreign and local investments, including spawning viable new growth centres. To realize its objectives, InvestPenang also runs initiatives like the SMART Penang Centre (providing assistance to SMEs), Penang CAT Centre (for talent attraction and retention) and i4.0 seed fund (a catalyst for the start-up ecosystem).

About AMMI
Since the establishment in 1989, the Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) is recognised as the official voice of Malaysia’s medical device manufacturing industry. AMMI vision is to make Malaysia the preferred global manufacturing and services location for medical technology. AMMI is represented by 79 members of reputable multi-national and local companies involved in developing and manufacturing medical device products, equipment, and services in Malaysia for the healthcare industry. Collectively, AMMI’s members account for over 50% of the country’s total export revenue for medical devices, employing more than 32,000 workforces.

About FMM
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has been the voice of the Malaysian manufacturing sector since 1968. Representing over 10,000 member companies (3,500 direct and 7,000 indirect) from the manufacturing supply chain, FMM is actively engaged with government and its key agencies at Federal, State and local levels. FMM is also well-linked with international organizations, Malaysian businesses and civil society. Apart from benefitting from FMM’s advocacy, FMM members enjoy value-add services, including training, business networking and trade opportunities as well as regular information updates.

About FREPENCA
The Free Industrial Zone, Penang, Companies’ Association (“FREPENCA”) was registered as an Association in 1978. Two of its main objectives are to maintain and improve communications and relationships amongst its members in matters of mutual interest as well as with the Government and its agencies and also to foster community welfare and cultural activities and to promote positive attitudes toward industrial workers. The majority of our members are big MNCs and export-oriented Malaysian Companies operating in the state of Penang which contribute significantly towards Malaysian GDP.

About SAMENTA
SAMENTA is the first trade association representing all types of SMEs and was incorporated in 1986 with its initial base in Penang. Today, SAMENTA has branches in the North, Central and South. Our roles are to support the growth and development of SMEs and serve as the advocacy group to raise issues affecting SMEs. SAMENTA works in co-operation with State and Federal agencies to advance the causes of SMEs. In addition, we organize trade facilitation and business matching programmes for the benefit of SMEs. For further information, visit www.samenta.org.my

For media enquiries, please contact:
Yeoh Bit Kun / Ooi Phei Wen
InvestPenang
bitkun@investpenang.gov.my / pheiwen@investpenang.gov.my