MAY 21 ― The recently tabled 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) has rightly recognised cities as a critical engine of growth in the 21st century economy. In the context of an increasingly globalised world where talent migration is spurred by choice of city before choice of jobs, it is all the more important for Malaysia to focus its resources and investments into making our cities internationally competitive.

In the 11MP, the Government has introduced six “game changer” strategies, one of which is “investing in competitive cities.” Under this focus area, “city competitiveness master plans” based on the principles of density, transit-oriented development, knowledge-based clusters, liveability, sustainable green development, as well as inclusivity, will be developed for four major cities, namely Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

One major exclusion stands out ― Penang.

Notwithstanding the fact that Penang is the most well-known and developed city after Kuala Lumpur, as well as the most liveable city in Malaysia according to ECA International, the exclusion of the city-state is also incongruent with the criteria used by the Government itself.

According to the 11MP, the four cities were chosen based on their “potential in terms of population size, GDP contribution, existing major infrastructure, concentration of higher learning institutions and geographical advantage.” On each of these criteria, there is nothing that suggests why Penang should be sidelined.

In terms of population distribution, Penang is the second highest in the country after Kuala Lumpur, with about 1,500 people per km2. As for GDP contribution, the 11MP itself recognises Penang as a major GDP contributor the country. In 2014, Penang’s GDP is RM71 billion, which is the fifth highest after Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Sarawak. More importantly, Penang ranks third highest in terms of GDP per capita after Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak, with about RM46,019. This means that Penang is a key contributor to the Malaysian economy, as evidenced by its leading role in the manufacturing, healthcare and advanced services sectors.

Where infrastructure is concerned, Penang is already the logistics hub for the northern region, where the principal seaport, airport and rail stations are located. If anything, there should be much more focus into expanding and integrating the existing infrastructure in order to create a world-class urban conurbation.

In terms of higher learning institutions, Penang houses one of our country’s top public universities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, as well as many other private colleges and university colleges. In addition to that, Penang has also attracted foreign institutions such as Hull University from the United Kingdom, which will be setting up a campus in Batu Kawan in the near future.

Finally on geographical advantage, it is almost impossible to deny that Penang is one of the most optimally located, being situated at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal and a natural link between Malaysia with northern Indonesia and southern Thailand. This is precisely why the city-state is already a major logistics hub for the region.

Based on all the above criteria as set out by the 11MP itself, Penang more than qualifies to be chosen as one of the top four cities to be included in the planned master plan for cities. Therefore, its exclusion is nothing less than a travesty that could only have been based on petty and narrow-minded politics.

* Zairil Khir Johari is the Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera and Executive Director of Penang Institute.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.