Orange Revolution

Speech by Ng Wei Aik, State Assemblyman for KOMTAR & Political Secretary to Penang Chief Minister during the Orange Opening of Ban Hin Bee’s new flagship store on 17th of May, 2008 at Anson Road, Penang:

On this auspicious occasion, I wish to thank the Ban Hin Bee for inviting me to launch the Orange Opening of its new flagship store and also to say a few words here.

This is not as simple as official grand opening for BHB but also an Orange Revolution for you and me. For attending this function, we have to turn ourselves into Orangeman, Orangewoman or Orangelady for eligible us to participate in the Orange Revolution. Unfortunately, not all of us wear in Orange to create an Orangeful atmosphere for this meaningful occasion.

We shall remember there was an Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. This is a series of protests and political events in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was compromised by massive corruption, voter intimidation and direct electoral fraud. However, the victory was finally deserved to Viktor Yushchenko and the Orange Revolution had peacefully reached its successful conclusion.

With the company’s 47-year history and strong focus on customer care, Ban Hin Bee is a Penang-made super brand for all of us. BHB is also rebranding itself with its new business arm namely Kitchentech selling imported home appliances and specialized in exclusive high-end European and imported integrated kitchen appliances showroom. Not only in Penang, Ban Hin Bee also set its latest footprint in KL. Most importantly, BHB always brings us the latest products at the most reasonable price.

For setting up this new flagship store, it is learnt that Mr Jimmy Yeoh, the managing director has faced a lot of hardship and difficulties, especially from the local council. Mr Yeoh has spent a lot of money for getting the approval from local council. If not, this opening ceremony will be held much earlier than today. Instead of Mr Yeoh, I think a lot of businessmen or investors also faced the same problems in getting approval from the various authorities.

These clearly illustrated that we are a nation tied in red tape, a less than business friendly bureaucracy and with high costs in general. The high cost of doing business in Malaysia has been well documented in a global study by the World Bank. How does Malaysia fare?

Some highlights from the database showing that:

- There are a total of 9 procedures for starting a business in Malaysia and it takes a total of 30 days to complete the process at a cost of US$965. Of the 30 days, 22 are connected with processes linked with registration;
- Firing a worker costs 74 weeks of wages;
- Registering property involves 4 procedures and a total of 143 days;
- In terms of protecting investors and disclosure, Malaysia scores at 5 which indicating more disclosure; and
- Even for closing a business in Malaysia, it takes 2.3 years with 18% of the value of the estate and a recovery of 35 cents on the dollar.

These telling statistics convey another message: over regulation and inefficiencies in the administration create the conditions for corruption which ultimately is a hidden cost of doing business, somewhat hard to quantify.

However, with the new state government on board, we are now aiming to cut down all the bureaucratic red tape as well as to provide a business friendly environment for all. For a foreign investor with more than RM1 billion in terms of investment, with a high-level task force set up by the state government, we can expedite all the application procedures to be approved within one week and even to handover the land to the investor for setting their factory within one month.

This is our aim to make Penang dynamic again, as a way to create more higher-paying jobs for the Penangites, especially for the talented youngsters. Instead of brain-drain, we want to implement some more brain-gain strategies to attract the Penang diaspora from all over the world making a come back to our and hometown. This is your home not only in mind but also in heart and you should not miss in anyway. Please come back and we are right here to welcome you.

We hope that with the people’s support, we could make Penang dynamic again under the new leadership of the Right Honourable Chief Minister Mr Lim Guan Eng. Last but not least, I would like to express my heartiest congratulations to Ban Hin Bee and all of you in making this event a success.

Thank you very much.