|
By Himanshu Bhatt. SOON after the British East India Company established a port colony in Penang in 1786, with the intention of developing and controlling a new economic centre in the region, another island further south, and slightly larger, caught its eyes. Unlike Penang, whose central section was dominated by a huge swathe of hills making development prospects more limited, Singapore’s topography was largely flat and bereft of hilly terrain. Its waters and coastal stretches were also deemed more conducive for large transshipments.
And so, Singapore would grow into an international economic powerhouse, while Penang became more known for its smaller port with the catchment of lesser industries, as well as for its more laid-back environment. About two centuries later, Penang is now setting its sights on tapping the huge economic resources Singapore has amassed at its disposal on a scale not done before. At the heart of this impetus to tap the vast tourism and investment opportunities is the new casino industry that opens for business in Singapore this year. Singapore’s Integrated Resort, a casino-based vacation operation, is expected to draw more than 30 million tourists to the island nation within the next decade. For the authorities in Penang, drawing even a small fraction of this number to be diverted up north for just a while is an opportunity that they cannot afford to miss. InvestPenang, the state’s investment promotions arm, is already working to open a centre in Singapore to carry out promotions work in a bid to increase Penang’s visibility. The Penang Investment Tourism Office (PITO) will also be run to provide information and guidance for potential investors. “We feel that Penang has been under-promoted in Singapore,” InvestPenang executive chairman Datuk Lee Kah Choon has said. “We are now looking for a suitable location to site the office.” As it is, the volume of direct flights between the two islands, operated mainly by budget airlines, is expected to reach a record level, with some 80 connections every week, by the middle of the year. The state now needs to devise a suitable branding and promotions strategy to funnel just a small portion of the tourism dollar from Singapore. For the international tourist to Singapore, the George Town heritage city and the idyllic allure of Penang would make for an attractive respite; while for the local Singaporean, Penang, with its food and communities, offers attractive cultural similarities and a familiar homely charm, for a short break. To be fair, Penang has always eyed Singapore for tapping of some economic benefits since independence. The previous state government had conducted investment missions to its southerly neighbour on a yearly basis, each time working on new angles to lure investments, depending on the global and regional economic scenarios. In particular, over the last two years, the state government has eyed the rich base of professionals in Singapore in an attempt to lure them to boost the human resource pool in Penang. For the state government, having a strong available reservoir of qualified talents is a crucial component in luring the high-tech, design and research-oriented industries that Penang’s economy is likely to depend on in the near future. Interestingly, the state has had a string of programmes in Singapore, including notable attempts to woo professionals who have moved down south as part of the Malaysian and Penang diaspora there. Impressing upon these professionals that Penang offers a more relaxed quality of life, coupled with modern infrastructure and facilities, has been a high priority in the state’s strategy. Like Singapore, Penang was able to transform itself from an agricultural society with little natural resources to an industrialised state, albeit on a smaller scale. But the huge economic boom anticipated from the Integrated Resort provides a new wave of opportunities for tapping of benefits on a scale not seen before between the two islands. And the Penang authorities are already planning and preparing early for the wave; relying on the very remnants of the idyllic environment the British had left behind from years past, to lure visitors and professionals from the hustle and bustle that Singapore has now become. **Reproduced with permission. This article first appeared in the February 18, 2010 issue of theSun. Himanshu is the newspaper's Penang bureau chief.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
