The Penang state government has urged the federal government to act quickly to overturn the European Union's (EU) ban on imports of Malaysian frozen food to avoid a major retrenchment.Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government could only offer help in this matter while the power and authority lay with the federal government.
"There could be a major retrenchment early next year in the seafood industry if no effort is taken by the federal government to tackle the problem," he told reporters today.
He said the state government had also sought RM500 million from the federal government to equip retrenched workers with new skills to enable them to take up different jobs if the situation warranted it.
"We hope that the loan can be released quickly so that many retrenched workers can benefit from it before the situation worsens," he said, adding that the issue of Malaysian seafood has been raised by EU since 2005 but no action had been taken.
He said he had instructed the State Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Law Choo Kiang to keep a close eye on the matter.
A human resource liaison committee had also been set up to monitor any retrenchments in the state, he said.
Tindakan perlu diambil segera untuk memperbaiki keadaan. Jangan biarkan keadaan menjadi semakin buruk kerana ini pastinya akan memberikan kesan tidak sihat kepada kita.
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