PENANG has recorded one of the best three years, in terms of investments, under the leadership of former Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) Penang director Yusni Md Yusop.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Mida Penang has been working well with InvestPenang in delivering investments to the state.
“Yusni was with Penang for three and a half years, and it has been the best three years over the past 20 years in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) figures for the state.
“That is something that she can bring along with her to her next career destination.
“You (Yusni) have delivered a lot of investments to Penang under your leadership with other agencies. Of course, not forgetting the help that you received from your headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, which allowed all those investments to be implemented in Penang.
“InvestPenang, especially its director Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon and chief executive officer Datuk Loo Lee Lian, has been very upbeat in the past few years in ensuring the investments complement the portfolio of investment in Penang.
“InvestPenang has given a lot of emphasis in making our (investment) ecosystem more complete from the front to the back end,” Chow said during an online courtesy call by Yusni and the new Mida Penang director Muhammad Ghaddaffi Sardar Mohamed today.
Also present were Lee, Loo, Mida Penang deputy director Kartine Gunasaygaran, and InvestPenang officers.
Chow said the Covid-19 pandemic has created a lot of opportunities for the electrical and electronics (E&E) as well as other related sectors, although it has been a challenging period for many.
“We hope that the relationship established (between the state and Mida) over the past few years will enable us to work closer with one another so that we can achieve success together,” he added.
Chow thanked Yusni for her service in state and welcomed Muhammad Ghaddaffi as the new director for Mida Penang.
“We hope that Penang will be a very good location for you and the state government to achieve good results together,” Chow told Muhammad Ghaddaffi.
Lee thanked Yusni for her support over the years.
“We have been working very closely with Mida Penang.
“Penang is a good place, and we support one another. Our (InvestPenang and Mida Penang) interests are aligned,” he said.
Loo recorded InvestPenang’s appreciation to Yusni for being a great collaborator.
“We wish you all the best in your next assignment,” she told Yusni.
She also welcomed Muhammad Ghaddaffi.
“We look forward to working with you.
“We work very hard to attract investments to Penang. We take care and we work with the investors throughout their stay here in Penang,” she added.
Yusni said she had a wonderful and interesting career journey in Penang.
“I want to thank Chief Minister Chow and the Penang government for the support and cooperation during my service in Penang.
“Mida Penang works very closely with InvestPenang and we truly appreciate the efforts taken over the years.
“I believe that the new director will continue to promote investments and facilitate existing investors in Penang,” she said.
Yusni is scheduled to return to Mida headquarters after serving in Penang for three and a half years.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Ghaddaffi had started serving as the new Penang director yesterday (Aug 2).
He said he has been with Mida for the past 14 years, serving several divisions in Mida.
“I hope to work together with the state.
“Together, we want to make Penang the number one investment destination in Malaysia.
“InvestPenang is the most outstanding state investment agency in the country. It is active in coming up with strategies to obtain investments, and ensuring approved projects are implemented.
“We look forward to have a great collaboration and complementing each other,” Muhammad Ghaddaffi said.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi