Dr Koh: Don’t believe bloggers

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Tuesday February 19, 2008

Dr Koh: Don’t believe bloggers

He said giant corporations like Intel were not moving from Penang to Kulim as suggested in some blogs.

“They (bloggers) are just being ignorant. They do not know the real picture. Perhaps they only know half or three quarters of the real story,” he told newsmen during the Chinese New Year open house at the Penang Deve-lopment Corporation (PDC) here yesterday.

Dr Koh said the Intel plant in Penang was strengthening its research and development and design capabilities while the plant in Kulim focused on the production line.

“This is what we want. We want to create more high-end jobs in Penang. The plant in Kulim is suitable for production,” he said.

Dr Koh said Penang's aim was to create more high-end jobs for its people, as such jobs helped increase earning power.

“When a factory wanted to set up a solar panel manufacturing plant in Penang, we suggested that they set up their operations in Kulim because such plants need a large space.

“For Penang, we focus more on global service, not only in manufacturing but also e-commerce and other services that require skilled high-end workforce. This is a good thing, because it means more pay,’’ he added.

news from Business Times..
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Thursday/Nation/chintell.xml/Article/index_html

Intel Cyberjaya set to cease ops by mid-year

By Marina Emmanuel

Published: 2008/02/14

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The chipmaker is expected to hand over the rented premises of Intel MSC Sdn Bhd at Jalan Usahawan by July to the landlord, says an industrialist

THE world's biggest chipmaker, Intel Corp, is set to cease operations at its Cyberjaya office by the middle of the year.

Business Times has learnt that two batches of staff are set to leave the company by March and June respectively this year, and the office will close by July.

The Cyberjaya office, which was opened in 2001 within the Multimedia Super Corridor, houses Intel's software development operations and was believed to have close to 200 people on its payroll.

Sources say the bulk of the Cyberjaya employees had already left late last year.

"The company is expected to hand over the rented premises of Intel MSC Sdn Bhd at Jalan Usahawan by July to the landlord," an industrialist said.

Last year, the company, which had taken up rental space at Hotel Equatorial Penang, also pulled out from the premises after operating from the site at Bukit Jambul for over a year.

Intel Malaysia corporate affairs manager Loo Cheng Cheng when asked to comment on the Cyberjaya closure said: "Intel, like any other large company, continuously optimises its resources globally in line with our business needs.

"We do not discuss the specifics of any action we may take by country or business unit. Our commitment to Malaysia remains strong and Malaysia remains to be very important to Intel," Loo said.

When asked on the progress being made in expanding Intel's test and assembly facilities in Kulim, Kedah, Loo said Intel's facility in Kulim is on track to start its assembly and test operations in the second half of 2008.

Intel Kulim was established in 1995 as a manufacturer of motherboards. Today the site is engaged in the assembly of processor packaging as well as being a key operations centre for mobile modules.

The site employs over 4,000 employees at present.

Loo did not indicate how many new people would be hired once the Kulim facility is ready except to say that "there will be movement of skilled resources to help with the start-up as well as hiring of new employees".

It is learnt that once the new facility is up-and-running, Intel is likely to deploy some of its Penang employees to Kedah and may also relocate its chipset manufacturing activities from the island to the Kulim High Tech Park where Intel's facilities are located.

Industry sources say this movement is likely to see a marked reduction of Intel's workforce in Penang this year.

The Penang site currently has over 5,000 employees.

英特尔裁员已获证实 不久或撤资槟州

Intel Penang is going to close down??
below is the news from Kwang wah-e news.

http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2008/02/15/133.html

英特尔裁员已获证实　不久或撤资槟州

二零零八年二月十五日 晚上七时二十八分

（槟城15日讯）英特尔（Intel）大举裁员已获证实，撤离槟州之日不远矣！

民 主行动党新秀黄泉安周五向媒体披露，新海峡时报于2月14日的财经新闻第32版上报导，英特尔迁往居林高科技园区之事已是箭在弦上，届时，将有5000员 工受到波及，势必重击槟州经济。针对此事，他特地向其他媒体求证，并也获得一样的答案，故此，他促请许子根在上京前，尽快给予槟州人民一个交代。

他说，不久前英特尔将赛城的研发部关闭，共有250名员工受影响；日前，它们又关闭了设在槟城贵都酒店内的办事处，种种迹象充份显示出英特尔撤离槟扛7b的日子已经不远了。

“这 几年来不断有外资撤离槟州，使到州内经济日渐萎缩。我之前曾经公开指出英特尔打算离开槟岛迁至居林，但，吴竟诚州议员却在1月30日向记者表示，我只是在 信口开河，英特尔是不会离开槟城的。无论如何，事实胜于雄辩，现在英特尔离开在即，州政府将会怎样处理实在值得我们忧心。”

黄泉安说，槟城的经济从高处跌倒谷底。之前我们输给新加坡，现在又输给吉打，竞争力节节败退，叫槟城人情何以堪？

他继续透露，州政府告诉人民，槟城的经济正在从劳力密集的工业转型至高科技产业，可是，事实上果真如此？

“据悉，英特尔打算在中国大连开新厂制造65纳米的晶片，这个技术被认为是目前量产过程中采用的最先进技术之一。相对的，槟城厂目前生产的却是300毫米晶片，技术足足落差了10年。由此看来，外资不是在槟城将产业转型，而是撤离东方花园！”

“如果要选民再投国阵一票，许子根是否能够保证5年内不再会有外商撤资？同时国阵政府能不能确保槟州工业发展不会是惠及外劳就业，而是真正让国内智慧型员工受惠？”

黄泉安认为，国阵已黔驴技穷，人民一定要看清事实的真相，不能再将槟州所托非人，否则未来槟城的前景将会暗淡无光，在国内外都无法与人竞争。

Volvo cars recall.......

Alert... Volvo cars recall due to a rust problem that could lead to the vehicle's engine stalling.......






Looks like Volvo's bad recall news we told you about Wednesday got worse. Reuters is reporting that Volvo will recall 360,000 cars, not 170,000 we said in the previous post.

According to the official NHTSA-ordered recall, Volvo will install new software to fix speed controls on the recalled cars. Models affected include the 1999-2002 V70, and C70 coupes and convertibles; the 2001-2002 S60; the 1999-2000 S70 and V70XC; 1999-2001 S80; and the 2001 XC70. The recall number is 06V441000.

Reuters reports that Volvo spokesman Christer Gustafsson said the automaker has fixed the speed control problem on about 165,000 vehicles of the recall total after sending out notices to owners in March.

The full text of the NHTSA recall after the jump.

[Source: Reuters]

Make / Models :		Model/Build Years:
VOLVO / C70		1999-2002
VOLVO / C70 CONVERTIBLE		1999-2002
VOLVO / S60		2001-2002
VOLVO / S70		1999-2000
VOLVO / S80		1999-2001
VOLVO / V70		1999-2002
VOLVO / V70XC		1999-2000
VOLVO / XC70		2001
Recall Number:	06V441000
Summary:
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, A COMBINATION OF THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR IRREGULARITIES, A DIRTY THROTTLE HOUSING, AND/OR INEFFICIENT SOFTWARE CALIBRATION MAY CAUSE A WARNING LAMP TO LIGHT AND THE SUBSEQUENT ONSET OF LIMP HOME MODES.
Consequence:
THIS RESULTED IN A HIGH NUMBER OF VEHICLES GOING INTO THE LIMP HOME MODE WITHOUT NEED.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE CURRENT SOFTWARE UPGRADE ONTO THE INVOLVED VEHICLES. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT YET PROVIDED AN OWNER NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE FOR THIS RECALL. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLVO AT 1-800-458-1552.
Notes:
VOLVO RECALL NO. R155. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.