GEORGE TOWN: Gerakan has called on the Penang state government to set up a special committee to formulate strategies to ensure investors reduce the unemployment rate and to attract and secure new investors to the state.
In a press statement today, Gerakan Penang State Liaison Committee Chairman Oh Tong Keong (pix) believed that in the face of various difficult challenges in 2019, the state government should strengthen the state’s manufacturing, service and tourism industries as these are the main sources of income for the state.
Oh said Penang Social Security Organisation (Socso), reported 1,429 people had lost their jobs in Penang , out of which 643 applied for voluntary resignation or mutual separation scheme (MSS) since November this year.
“The rising unemployment rate in Penang is an indisputable fact and the state government can no longer push its responsibility to the federal government, because Pakatan Harapan (PH) are the federal government, so they must take full responsibility,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Oh who is also Gerakan Deputy President also urged the PH government to work on providing actual benefits to the public from real economic growth such as increased income rather than making their accounts look appealing and bragging how the economy has grown.
He pointed out now that PH is ruling as the federal government, they should be improving the economy instead of being a populist government and simply doing nothing while watching the unemployment rate continuing to rise.
“We (Gerakan) urge the PH government to stop populism and also stop perpetuating the so-called war of words, the constant polemics, trivial actions and irresponsibility have led to high living expenses and unemployment,“ he noted. — Bernama
