Dinner Hosted by Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce

25th June 2011 G Hotel, Pulau Pinang

Y.A.B Lim Guan Eng, Right Honourable Chief Minister of Penang

Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Tan Kok Ping, President of Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Distinguished Guests,

Members of the mass media,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good Evening,

First of all, I would like to thank the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to attend and speak at this grand gala dinner. A big thank you to the host Chamber, Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, for their warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the success of the 65th Annual General Meeting of ACCCIM.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

“Old Penang” is what the Southeast Asian Chinese used to call Penang. This word clearly illustrates the long history and rich cultural legacy of Penang. Penang was established as the first commercial port in the Far East by the British colonial government in 1786. Today, Penang has become a bustling metropolis with a unique mixture of sentiments of the East and the West. Penang is a blended economy of trade, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture with high-tech industries being the more outstanding achievement in development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As one of the oldest ethnic chambers of commerce in Malaysia, Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce which long dedicated itself to serve the society and safeguard the interests of members, has witnessed the changes and growth in all socio-economic sectors, and made significant contribution to the local community and the development of Penang. Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce is widely respected and supported by the Chinese community.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce has long been one of Malaysia’s most active chambers of commerce. The outstanding performance of Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce has been reflected way back to the decade of 1970s when your then President, the late Datuk Choong Han Leong and the late Datuk Koh Pen Ting were successively elected as the President of ACCCIM. They had made huge contribution to ACCCIM as well as the national development. In recent years, the leadership and members of Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce have continued to play a very active role in advancing the development of your Chamber. Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce has also continued to assist ACCCIM in handling major issues in chamber affairs. Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce is also actively guiding and assisting SMEs to enhance their competitiveness, and strengthening networking and interaction with external organizations to generate business opportunities for members.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Penang possesses one of the principal shipping ports in Malaysia. The Penang Port is the main distribution centre for supplies in northern Peninsular Malaysia, and a major processing centre for industrial, agricultural and mineral products as well as entreport trade centre. Owing to her excellent geographical and regional advantages, Penang has established a growth triangle with southern Thailand and Sumatra to cooperate with each other in trade, tourism and logistics development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Penang has been included by the Federal Government in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER). Development in the Northern Corridor Economic Region will bring about abundant business opportunities, improve residents’ socio-economic level and gradually build Penang to be a world-class integrated commercial centre.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The ACCCIM and our Constituent Chambers will continue to safeguard the interests of Chinese business community, and strive for the advancement of our national economy as a whole. We firmly believe that, with concerted efforts, Malaysia will be able to sail through this difficult period of high energy costs and stern global competition. We hope that all government authorities will intensify efforts to implement the pro-business policy, and assist the business community by way of deregulation, creation of more efficient delivery systems and provision of better infrastructure and anti-crime surveillance system. We firmly believe that the Malaysian economy will continue to achieve sustainable growth, given a stable environment in which the costs of doing business remain reasonable.

Thank you