The Star - Stay global, says CM

Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman (third left) and state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng (second left) checking out some of the stationery products in Chee Wah Corporation Berhad's plant in Mak Mandin, Butterworth. With them is state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh (far right).

LOCAL small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) should continue seeking trade opportunities in the international markets despite the global economic crisis, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

He said the move was vital as it allowed local companies to be resilient and less dependent on a single market.

“Chee Wah Corporation Berhad is one of the few SMEs in the stationery business that aggressively pursued the export marketing strategy in the 1970s. “Today, this public-listed corporation on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia with an annual sales exceeding RM100mil exports its paper products to over 50 countries,” he said during Chee Wah’s 50th anniversary celebration at its Mak Mandin plant in Butterworth recently.

Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman read out his speech text. Lim said many local companies had pulled through and grown further during the recovery phase of the economic cycle.

“These companies have graduated into champions and should be lauded for their contributions to Penang’s socio-economic development through employment opportunities and multiplier effects to the supporting and ancillary businesses,” he said.

Chee Wah Corp group managing director Khor Say Beng thanked his staff, business partners and suppliers for their dedication through the years, and paid tribute to his late brother Khor Say Khai, who co-founded the company, with his other brother Khor Say Kai.

The event also marked the official launch of the company’s automated warehouse within the plant using Daifuku ASRS (automated storage and retrieval systems).
Also present were state executive councillors Lim Hock Seng and Phee Boon Poh, Daifuku Japan international business development general manager Edward Ray and Daifuku (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd managing director Hiroyuki Katsura.