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The upcoming new school building of SJKC Heng Ee strives to be one of the top quality smart school in South West District of Penang, incorporating the smart multimedia learning system that features cutting edge digital technology.

The Heng Ee Board of Directors is determined to level up the infrastructures of the new campus by integrating smart learning equipment compatible with necessary smart software. All classrooms will be fully digitalise with smart multimedia learning system. There will also be a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) lab. WIFI will be made available within the school area.

“In this era of big data with evolving development of Artificial Intelligence, the teaching method at school and the teaching contents needed a change to fit the digital era. Our aim is to establish a better quality of education to prepare the young generations for information age,” mentioned Tan Sri Datuk Alex Ooi Kee Liang, The Chairman of the Heng Ee Board of Directors.

He said, the smart school concept shall extend beyond the smart classrooms. Multimedia teaching methods and smart school management system are part of the components to contribute to the success of a smart school. Therefore, the board of directors decided to go beyond and continue to upgrade the school’s existing software and hardware foundations to achieve its ambition to be in line with modern education.

“The high-tech and modern teaching aids will help in creating a fun interactive learning experience in the classroom, it would definitely benefit both teachers and pupils.”

Starting from 2015, SJKC Heng Ee had converted all traditional classrooms into smart learning classes. Since the smart classroom were set up, students’ learning responses are more enthusiastic than traditional blackboard teaching, and the interesting learning content enables students to learn more extensively, more diversely, and more fully.

Tan Sri Datuk Alex Ooi, who is also the Executive Chairman of Ideal Property Group, revealed that the new campus will also incorporate with green spaces, so that students have more opportunities to get in touch with nature. All the teachers and students are looking forward to the completion of the new campus.

The site of the new campus is adjacent to SMJK Heng Ee Bayan Baru Branch, composes of an administrative block, an academic block, a hall, a canteen, computer rooms, laboratory rooms and 42 classrooms. It is expected to accommodate 1,200 students.

The new school building will be nestled within the well-planned neighbourhood of Ideal City, where the school land of the new campus is housing some reputable primary school, secondary school and international school namely the upcoming SJKC Heng Ee, SMJK Heng Ee Bayan Baru Branch and Straits International school in the same area, making it an excellent choice of residence in South West District of Penang. Surrounded together with other schools and education centers such SJKC Chung Shan, SJKC Chong Cheng, kindergarten, nursery and early childhood development centers found within reach, the neighborhood is dubbed the “City of Academia”.

The access and road connections surrounding the new campus are thoughtfully planned to ease the local community and adjacent neighbourhood. Short distance between the new campus and adjacent neighbourhood encourages active commuting among the parents and students, reducing carbon footprint and leads to a healthier community.

Ideal Property Group contributes to SJKC Heng Ee by supporting the construction expenses of the new campus.

Experts are warning of looming challenges ahead as the population of Penang, long the northern manufacturing and cultural hub, shrank for the second consecutive year.

Among the challenges are the state’s workforce supply for its factories as well as housing and retail demand.

In 2020, the state’s population stood at 1.7404 million. It slipped to 1.74 million last year and this year, the Statistics Department forecast it at 1.7386 million, representing a 0.1% shrinkage.

These numbers include both Malaysians and foreigners living in Penang.

While the state’s overall population is dropping, Penang’s senior citizens (over 60) population went up from 7.1% of the total population last year to 7.5% this year.

In its report released on Dec 23, the department said the composition of the population aged 0 to 14 years this year decreased to 19.4% compared with 19.7% last year; and those aged 15 to 64 years (working age) decreased from 73.2% in 2021 to 73.1% in 2022.

It reported that the island’s Northeast District (covering areas like George Town, Ayer Itam, Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi) suffered the greatest shrinkage at 0.5%, while South Seberang Prai District (near the second Penang bridge) saw a population spurt of 1.4% this year.

There are markedly more people living on mainland Penang now than on the island – 947,400 versus 791,200.

The state’s government research house and think tank Penang Institute’s executive director Datuk Dr Ooi Kee Beng said he suspects the drop in Penang’s population size may have been under-reported but the full extent could not be detected by the Statistics Department due to the lack of data for tracking domestic migrations (between states).

“Many people leave for other cities without reporting that to the authorities until much later.

“No doubt, there are people from other states moving to Penang who also did not report their move, but I would think that Penang’s unrecorded emigration level is higher than its unrecorded immigration level,” he said.

Besides Penang, the department reported that Sabah’s population also shrank by 0.6% and Kuala Lumpur’s by 1%. All other regions in Malaysia showed population growth this year.

Ooi said since Penang is vital to the continual high-tech industrialisation of Malaysia, the declining population trend here is something the federal and state governments should study closely.

“Penang is Malaysia’s most dynamic industrial state. There needs to be more developmental investment here, especially in the form of infrastructure upgrades and logistical support.

“No doubt, one can say that having more investments than we can immediately handle is a good problem, but in the medium and long term, raising the liveability standards in Penang even further is critical to Penang’s – and therefore Malaysia’s – successful climb up the industrial value-added scale.

“Having good schools, public security, good public transport, and competitive wages play a huge role in making Penang more attractive and more liveable than it is now,” he added.

Ooi also noted that reviving the national economy, a key concern of the new government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, requires that attention and investments be directed at where advancement into Industrial Revolution 4.0 is most promising.

“This is how the latest technologies and production processes can be imported into the country, for the betterment of the national labour force, and for the country’s small and medium enterprises to grow,” he said.

The Statistics Department also reported that the number of foreigners officially living in Penang dropped from 140,500 in 2020 to 127,200.

Economist Prof Dr Geoffrey Williams of Malaysia University of Science and Technology said the fall might be due to foreign workers who had left due to the pandemic lockdowns.

“Besides, there are foreign retirees who left because there are better, cheaper and more welcoming places to retire at elsewhere in the world.

“To stop this, we need better incentives to welcome foreigners, with easier long-term visas, better tax treatment and a reinstated Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) system, removing expensive financial requirements,” he said, adding that this is a national problem that affects Penang and Johor most.

Economist Kapt (R) Dr Joshua Loo of UOW Malaysia KDU said Penang’s population in the past had been growing by around 1% to 1.7%.

The shrinking population, he said, affects Penang’s active private tertiary education sector, which has about 50 private colleges, universities and other institutions.

But Loo is optimistic that next year will bring improvements for Penang.

“The pandemic was a great reset for all players in every sector. Everyone is starting from scratch.

“With the federal and state governments now in a good relationship, I am confident that Penang will continue again to attract more people to live here,” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Penang State Government has opened a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the urban regeneration project of Taman Free School Flat which is almost 40 years old.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that the housing scheme which was built in 1985 and comprising 1,170 units in nearly 20 blocks will be demolished and rebuilt more residential units.

“We see that there is a need to redevelop this 40-year-old housing scheme through a renewal project because the existing housing units are now only 300 to 400 square feet and only have two rooms.

“Hence, when this project is completed, the total number of units will increase from 1,170 to 2,688 in addition to being equipped with more amenities such as swimming pools, new hawker complex and market.

“Existing residents will receive a residential unit with a built-up area of not less than 600 sq.ft. with three rooms and two toilets for free when it is completed,” he said at a press conference near Taman Free School yesterday.

Jagdeep said that Taman Free School Flat is the second redevelopment project by Penang State Government after the Mahsuri flats at Bayan Baru.

“In Penang we have identified five old housing schemes for renewal projects, one of which is the 5 blocks of Mahsuri Flats in Lorong Mahsuri, Bayan Baru will start soon.

“The tender documents for this project have been completed and we hope that it can be started soon after the appointment of the consultant is completed in March 2023.

“In addition, we have also identified several other housing schemes including in Seberang Perai, namely in Mak Mandin and Taman Siakap and Padang Tembak flats on the island which is the largest and longest housing scheme in the state,” he explained.

“In fact, we (the State Government) are also examining several more housing schemes for renewal projects that will be announced next year after the first LPNPP Board meeting is held,” he explained.

Commenting further, Jagdeep also expressed a desire to hold talks with the Minister of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) due to the regulatory aspects that are an obstacle to the current renewal project.

“I will submit a list of requests from the Penang State Government, including on legal issues that require the Federal Government to amend existing laws or enact new laws for renewal projects,” he said.

Eco Industrial Hub, a freehold light industrial development by Nexon Property Sdn. Bhd. near Batu Kawan. Strategically located right next to NuConcept New Furniture factory, conveniently connected to Batu Kawan Industrial Park via Jalan Perindustrian Valdor. With only 3 minute’s drive to BKIP, this is one of the very few light industrial projects located within close proximity to the home of many MNCs and Penang 2nd Bridge. Moreover, it is less than 5 minutes to IKEA and about 20 minutes to Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

This development comprises 20 units of 1.5-storey light industrial factories, each with a land area ranging from 6,687 sq.ft. to 30,785 sq.ft. The smallest unit has a built-up size of 3,000 sq.ft. and the larger ones offer up to 4,680sq.ft. of usable space.

The project is slated to complete by the second half of 2023.

Property Project : Eco Industrial Hub
Location : Batu Kawan
Property Type : Light industrial factory
Built-up Size: 3,000 sq.ft. – 4,680 sq.ft.
Land Area: 6,687 sq.ft. – 30,785 sq.ft.
Total Units:: 20
Tenure : Freehold
Indicative Price: RM2,280.000 onwards
Developer : Nexon Property Sdn. Bhd.

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider or party in question.