Skills gap the culprit, says Penang CM

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has ignited a brain-drain debate between Pakatan Rakyat and Parti Gerakan after telling the Parliament recently that the state lost over RM10 billion in foreign investment because it did not have the 1,000 engineers wanted by the foreign investor, writes The Straits Times:

According to Lim’s chief of staff Jeff Ooi, the specifications laid down by the potential investor were such that Penang could not fulfil them. He and other state officials declined to identify the Western European company involved.

“We have a shortage of engineers in Penang, and the investor specified that it needed senior electrical and electronic engineers, which we do not have in big supply,” Ooi told The Straits Times.

It spelt bad news for Malaysia, coming amid a sharp drop in foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently revealed that the country’s net FDI plunged to RM3.6 billion in the first six months of the year, compared with RM19.7 billion in the same period last year.