A total of 150 construction sites nationwide have been ordered to close since June 1 for failing to comply with the stipulated standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0.

The Works Ministry said in a statement that the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had inspected a total of 2,423 construction sites, with 446 (18%) of them operating and 1,977 (82%) not operational.

“Of the 446 sites that were operating, 150 (34%) of them did not comply with the SOP. The ministry takes a serious view of the high percentage of SOP non-compliance at the construction sites because it is a matter of great concern and will jeopardise the objectives of the MCO in curbing the spread of Covid-19.

“The ministry wants all contractors to be committed to ensuring construction sites and placement of workers comply with the SOP, including making sure they have undergone screening tests and are confirmed to be free of the virus before being allowed to work at the sites,” the statement added.

The ministry also said that of the 150 construction sites closed, 45 were located in Sarawak; Selangor (24); Melaka (16); Penang (10); Terengganu (10); Sabah (9); Johor (7); Kuala Lumpur and Pahang (6 each); Perak (5); Kedah and Negeri Sembilan (four each); Perlis (3); and Kelantan (one).

However, 11 of the construction sites that were ordered to close have been allowed to operate again after complying with the stipulated SOP.

The ministry also reminded the construction industry players to always comply with the SOP or face stern action by the CIDB.

According to the statement, apart from ordering the construction sites to be closed immediately, the CIDB can also impose a penalty not exceeding RM500,000 or suspend and cancel the Contractor Registration Certificate.

All construction industry players are also required to comply with current directives and SOP issued by the National Security Council (MKN) to ensure the objectives of MCO 3.0 can be achieved, it said.

“Since the MCO 3.0 began, the CIDB has intensified inspections at construction sites in an effort to curb the pandemic following a spike in Covid-19 positive cases at construction sites nationwide, especially in the Klang Valley,” the statement added.

Source: Bernama

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The recent sharp drop in investments flowing into Penang compared to the years before has been expected as part of a “consolidation” trend, a state investment promotion agency said.

InvestPenang said after two years of high investments pouring in, including 2019’s historic RM16.9 billion and 2020’s RM14.1 billion, this year’s RM1.1 billion in the first quarter “was perfectly normal”.

It said it expects the state to hit RM5 billion in investments for the whole of 2021.

“The first quarter’s performance is consistent with Penang’s investment historical trends, whereby a consolidation could happen, after one to two years of investment spike,” InvestPenang said in a statement.

The agency said despite the drop on the investment front, Penang’s exports came up tops in the country, with RM84.9 billion in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 22% year-on-year.

It said the export numbers represented nearly half of the country’s trade surplus of RM28.2 million.

“Underpinned by a healthy pipeline of investment enquiries that may materialise beyond this year, InvestPenang is targeting RM5 billion in manufacturing investments for 2021,” it said.

Penang was conspicuously missing from the top five states for investment figures released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) in Q1 this year, prompting speculation of a slump.

The state’s manufacturing sector, largely in the electrical and electronic sector, has been dubbed the Silicon Valley of the East and has often come up tops in the country’s investment figures.

Penang came in sixth place this year in terms of the first quarter Mida-approved investment figures in the manufacturing sector. Kedah took pole position this year at RM42.4 billion, followed by Sabah (RM4.3 billion), Selangor (RM4 billion), Melaka (RM3.4 billion) and Johor (RM1.7 billion).

Chief Statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin revealed on June 9 that Penang, among five other states, led the country’s exports. The five states recorded an 80.5% share of the whole of last year’s RM184.8 billion in exports.

Penang recorded 31.8% in exports, followed by Johor (20%), Selangor (18.9%), Sarawak (6.7%) and Perak (3.2%).

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com