PENANG needs to seriously consider building a new complex to house the state legislative assembly and state administrative offices, said Governor Abdul Rahman Abbas.

In his opening speech at the state legislative assembly this morning, he said both should be placed under the same roof.

“I hope the state seriously considers the proposal to build the new state legislative assembly building for the comfort of elected representatives, staff and the media. Facilities also need to be improved.”

Rahman also proposed that the state government’s administrative offices, which has been housed in Komtar since 1986, be moved and housed in the same complex as the state legislative assembly.

“This proposal takes into account the fire alarm incident recently at Komtar, which caused some panic and discomfort.

“The need for a new workspace also takes into consideration the increase of government staff,” he said.

“Therefore, it is time for the state government to carefully study the building of a new state legislative assembly venue together with the state administrative offices in the same complex.

“The strategic reclamation site to be owned by the state government is very suitable for the new development.”

The current state legislative assembly sitting is being held at Dewan Sri Pinang while the assembly building, a heritage British colonial structure, is under restoration works.

Rahman also said the Penang government is talking to Prasarana and the Finance Ministry to look into improving the iconic ferry services. Prasarana unit Rapid Ferry is the current operator of the service.

“The service needs to be improved in terms of frequency, especially during peak hours, but Prasarana has financial constraints.

“So the state plans to discuss with Prasarana and the ministry to discuss the problem,” he said.

Rahman also mentioned the Penang Transport Master Plan and the Penang South Reclamation, which would change Penang’s physical and economy landscape in the future.

On tourism, he said the Penang International Airport received 7.78 million passenger last year while the Malaysia Association of Hoteliers (MAH) Penang recorded an occupancy rate of 64.19%.

He also said the state has been fulfilling its commitment to build affordable homes for the people.

“Since 2008, 29,294 affordable homes, including low and low medium cost homes, were built. There are 23,222 units now under construction and another 48,017 units in planning stage.”

In his speech, he also touched on the achievements and efforts of the Penang government in areas of education, providing public infrastructure, building a smart city, youth empowerment, family and women development, and Islamic affairs.

He said the state renovated 31 mosques and surau statewide, spending about RM5.76 million.

Meanwhile, Rahman said the state government’s financial statement for 2018 has been presented to the Auditor-General in January.

The statement recorded revenue of RM987 million last year, and an expenditure of RM1 billion, showing an overspending of RM18.2 million.

However, the state still recorded an increase of revenue by RM230 million compared to 2017’s RM757 million. The state also spent more last year by RM299.4 million, compared to 2017.

Rahman also said the state government’s reserve last year was RM1.07 billion, compared to 2017’s RM1.09 billion.

“The accumulated reserve shows that Penang’s financial position is still stable and strong. This proves we practise CAT (competence, accountability and transparency.”

He also said the state attracted RM5.78 billion last year, with RM3.69 billion of it coming from foreign direct investments. – April 26, 2019.