PENANG, 13 Jan 2009: The Penang government has applied for a RM500 million allocation from the federal government for various programmes.
These would include programmes for retraining workers and providing business opportunities in the state over the next two years, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.
“I met with Datuk Seri Najib and he has agreed to provide the aid but he did not state the amount,” he told reporters here about his meeting with the deputy prime minister who is also finance minister.
Lim said the application for financial assistance was made as part of the state government’s preparation to face the current global economic downturn.
He said the state government had reactivated the special committee on employment and retraining of workers to handle the downturn’s negative impact on workers.
“In the state government budget announced last year, we allocated RM10 million to implement various programmes to assist workers,” he said.
He said the state government had appointed a work commissioner to monitor the problems related to workers, especially in terms of worker recruitment in Penang.
“The work commissioner will liaise closely with the industries. We want closer coordination with the industries to assist in worker recruitment,” he said. — Bernama
