GEORGE TOWN: Efforts to restore Komtar to its former glory will continue even if the Penang state government moves its administration elsewhere.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government would ensure that the 69-storey building - the tallest in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia - retained its position as a centre for commerce, trade and transport.
“The rejuvenation of Komtar is an ongoing process. We want to bring back the glory days of the 1980s and 1990s when Komtar was the premium retail centre,” he said at the launching of the Komtar carnival here yesterday - a three-day fest that will showcase e-sport gaming competitions, an IT sale and marvellous food.
Chow was responding to a proposal by Yang DiPertua Negri Tun Dr Abdul Rahman Abbas to relocate the state administration offices and the state assembly building to another location.
Rahman, who spoke at the opening of the state assembly sitting last week, pointed out that the current buildings were inadequate, and keeping the civil servants in the city centre would worsen traffic congestion.
Chow acknowledged that with the civil service expanding rapidly, the state administration offices were already bursting at the seams.
He confirmed that discussions on a proposal to relocate had already been initiated.
The idea to relocate the administration is not new. It was first mooted before the 13th general election in 2008 when Penang was still administered by the Barisan Nasional.
Then chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon had wanted to move the seat of government to Seberang Prai, on the mainland.
Komtar has lost its appeal over the years, with retail space now enjoying only a 50% occupancy rate, thanks to the opening of many new shopping centres. Many shoplots remain in a dilapidated condition. Most traders are foreigners who serve the needs of foreign workers.
However, primary tenant Only World Group still sees a lot of potential in Komtar as a tourist haunt.
It has injected close to RM1 billion to add several new attractions such as a dining and entertainment centre, a dinosaur amusement park, a club, an aquarium and a tech-science centre at the top floors of the tower, which it has appropriately renamed ‘The Top’.
It will soon take over the Komtar Walk promenade and the supermarket area on the ground floor where it will introduce new attractions.
