Najib: ETP Has Garnered RM106.4bil in Investments

(Bernama) – PUTRAJAYA, 19 APRIL, 2011: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak unveiled seven all-new projects today to further strengthen the continued interest of investors in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which has to date garnered RM106.405 billion in investments, RM153.83 billion in Gross National Income (GNI) and 298,865 new jobs.

The 72 projects within 54 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) announced to date, means that 41.2 per cent of the 131 EPPs have commenced, all in less than six months since the ETP was launched.

“Now, that is big results fast,” he said when announcing the latest investment projects.

Also present was Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad and PEMANDU chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

Among the latest projects are Infineon Technologies will invest RM480 million to expand and upgrade its production capacity, research and development and manufacturing facilities in Malacca.

Pensonic Holdings Sdn Bhd’s establishment of the electrical home appliances manufacturing hub and international distribution network in Penang,  will involve a total investment of RM250 million.

To enhance the efficiency of container clearance by reducing the queuing time at Customs checkpoints, improving security through the automatic detection of a compromised or open container, and optimising human resources for better services, RM45 million will be invested to provide the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) infrastructure.

The RFID will enable security and automation of paperless Royal Malaysian Customs checkpoints throughout Malaysia.

MYLED MASTER Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary, MYLED Opto Technology Sdn Bhd, will be expanding their manufacturing capability in the green technology sector.

Located in Malacca with an investment of RM175 million, this production facility is set to meet the growing demand for solid state lighting, both locally and in overseas market such as India and the Middle East in two years time, said Najib, who is also the Finance Minister.

In addition, it will also house research and development operations, where innovation and creativity will help to bring costs down further. It is expected to have a GNI impact of RM100 million and create up to 900 jobs.

Asia Media will invest RM500 million in developing the first Digital Live Transit-TV Broadcasting infrastructure in Malaysia.

This mobile broadcast network in public transportation falls squarely within the Communications Content and Infrastructure (CCI) NKEA.

“By adopting international broadcasting standard infrastructure, the organisation will be capable of delivering live video and voice to the transit industry such as the Light Rapid Transit, bus network and perhaps even, the Mass Rapid Transit in the future.

This project is expected to generate RM604 million in GNI and about 400 jobs,” he said.

Najib said as the government has begun to look into e-government and paperless initiatives in a bid to be a more environmentally friendly and modern, the next initiative, which also falls within the CCI NKEA, is a baseline study on e-counter services and paperless government.

The project aims to establish baseline measurements on government initiatives for the improvement of services, specifically in the transformation towards an electronic government (EG) and going paperless.

Managed by the Malaysia Administrative Modernisation And Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) and Government Integrated Telecommunications Network (GITN), the project involves data collection and an analysis of e-counter services, electronic transactions and paperless government initiatives in the public sector, an assessment of government agencies’ data centres as well as network infrastructure and services.

Once completed, it will ensure that services provided by the government are more transparent, fit-for-purpose, efficient and effective to the Rakyat. The government will invest RM3.261 million in the project that will see the creation of 155 jobs.

He said the CCI NKEA is also kick-starting a government initiative to provide a unique and official email account and identification for citizens of Malaysia.

The prime minister said with a GNI impact of RM39 million up to 2015, this 1MY email initiative will allow direct and secure communications between Malaysian citizens and the government, as well as enhance the delivery of government services to consumers and businesses alike.

Tricubes Bhd will spearhead this RM50 million investment which also includes the development of a web portal, an email account for all Malaysian citizens aged 18 and above, a one-stop centre for government services, provision of value-added services such as social networking, checking bills online as well as payment, in addition to web development toolkits for citizens and business entities to creatively develop applications.

As for education, he said , the International Islamic University Malaysia will spearhead an initiative to develop and position Malaysia as one of the world’s leading Islamic finance education hubs.

It will invest RM3.17 million to set up the Islamic Finance and Banking education cluster that will develop and harmonise globally accepted curricula in Islamic Finance-related areas.

It will also establish the Association for Islamic Finance Advancement (AIFA), which will accredit programmes as well as advance and promote Islamic Finance education globally.

With a GNI impact of RM1.2 billion by 2020, it will see the creation of about 4,300 related jobs.

Tourism continues to be a solid income earner for the country.

In Sabah, a consortium comprising Prism Crystal Enterprises Ltd, Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong and group of companies together with landowners, Karambunai Corp Bhd and Petaling Tin Bhd, will develop the Karambunai Integrated Resort City (KIRC) with an investment of RM 9.6 billion.

Contributing a GNI of about RM9.319 billion by 2020 and creating about 11,002 jobs by then, this premier world-class ecotourism destination will leverage on Malaysia’s competitive advantages in ecotourism and biodiversity, and feature tourism, health and eco-nature edutainment recreation facilities, he said.

This will also include a water theme park, water spectacles and fountain, cable car, mangrove research centre, harbour cruise, aqua and spa village amongst others.

Led by the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA), the “Pasar Komuniti” initiative (PAKAR) is a concerted effort to co-ordinate and amalgamate them in location with better facilities.

“With an investment of RM50 million, PAKAR will not only benefit the entrepreneurs but also the consumers, who will experience convenience and comfortable shopping within a solid and fixed structure,” Najib said.

This project will contribute RM3.52 billion in GNI annually by 2020 and create 56,400 jobs.

– Bernama