By Amar Shah Mohsen
SHAH ALAM, July 11 — The state government has taken various initiatives to help some 500 workers who were laid off following the closure of Goodyear Malaysia’s manufacturing plant in Shah Alam last month.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said this was done in collaboration with the Social Security Organisation and comes after feedback from representatives of the affected staff.
Among the initiatives was to offer physical job interviews at the Goodyear factory from April 22 to 26, involving 22 local companies from various industries.
[caption id="attachment_363483" align="alignleft" width="414"]
Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari responds to queries during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly session at the State Secretariat Building in Shah Alam, on July 11, 2024. — Picture by AHMAD ZAKKI JILAN/MEDIA SELANGOR[/caption]
“The state government also invited the affected workers to attend job interviews as part of the Selangor Jelajah JobCare programme.
“Those who wished to be food or parcel delivery riders were also offered RM1,000 under the state’s BikeCare-1000 initiative to help them with their down payments for a motorcycle.
“We believe these measures were able to reduce the impact of the job losses involving the more than 500 workers,” he told the State Legislative Assembly session today.
Amirudin was responding to a question from Sungai Ramai state assemblyman Mohd Shafie Ngah about the intervention to help the affected staff.
Whether the state government intends to optimise the use of the land currently housing the Goodyear factory, the Menteri Besar said the company currently has a leasehold of the land in Section 15, Shah Alam, until 2078.
Separately, Selangor is considering taking over lands in cities like Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam, whose leaseholds are approaching maturity, particularly those in industrial areas.
This ensures better management of these areas to meet current needs and demands, in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We are mulling to take over or use these lands for redevelopment or rejuvenation of industrial areas, aligning with current trends.
“At the same time, we are also exploring the semiconductor industry and seeing the active entry of data centres into the state. I consider these affected locations to be among the areas of focus.
“The process to decide whether or not to allow an extension to the leaseholds will require one to two years. This will be on our priority list when we develop the Selangor Greater Klang Valley,” he said.
