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PENANG: Opposition parties in Penang want outgoing Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon to clarify a recent investment made by a multi-national company.
The opposition is not convinced that the investment will help the state economy, which they say, is heading south.
In their election campaigning, opposition candidates in Penang are united in questioning the economic status of the state. And their doubts got even bigger when a multi-national company (MNC) announced a major re-investment, just after Nomination Day.
Jeff Ooi, a DAP candidate in Penang, said: "These scandalous events.....the awarding of contracts in order to sustain the so-called reinvestment.....a lot of outflow of capital and just too little of inflow of capital which is measured in tax payers' money."
The opposition parties claimed that they had seen a letter, which Chief Minister Koh had allegedly written to the Malaysian Premier in December last year.
That letter apparently urged Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to give his go-ahead for a contract involving an MNC so that it would not impact on the March 8 polls.
The opposition went on to suggest that the Chief Minister feared that Penang would lose almost 10,000 jobs if the contract was not awarded.
But the opposition did not produce the letter to the media.
Still, they demanded that Dr Koh admit he had sent the letter.
Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, a Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidate in Penang, said: "We have lost that competitive niche to retain these MNCs or even to direct new FDIs (foreign direct investments) into the country. So this is the problem. It's not just one company issue, it's overall, a global issue."
Penang's opposition parties have been pointing out in their election rallies that Dr Koh has failed to keep to his word to develop Penang's economy to rival those of neighbouring economies in the last 10 years.
But the outgoing chief minister maintains that Penang's economy has not lost its vibrancy. He intends to reveal more facts and figures in the next few days to prove the opposition wrong.
Meanwhile, reports out of Malaysia said the replacement for Dr Koh as chief minister has been confirmed. There has been no official announcement but sources said the man taking over is, as widely expected, Dr Teng Hock Nan. - CNA/ir
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