After work attractions

After work attractions

THE George Town Festival 2011 is just “one piece of the puzzle” in attracting talent back to Penang, says Dell Global Business Centre managing director Datuk Simon Wong.

He feels that a vibrant social environment would help to lure the top brains to the state.

“It’s about making professionals see that Penang is a great place to be, work, play and live.

“Not just somewhere that provides great career opportunities, but also a good social life and a vibrant arts scene — this is part of what quality of life is all about,” he said in an interview.

Wong said he had met festival director Joe Sidek through contacts at investPenang, a state government business entity, and had been invited to get on board for the July festival that commemorates the third anniversary of George Town’s Unesco World Heritage listing.

Seeing the festival as an opportunity to contribute to the local arts scene, Dell gave the thumbs up with a RM100,000 sponsorship — the first to come from the Free Industrial Zone in Penang.

Aside from the funding, Dell is also loaning the committee 10 computers for their use during the festival.

“We also have a workforce of about 3,000 in our Bayan Lepas base who are available as volunteers, or, at the very least, attendees for the festival,” he said with a smile.

Wong said as Penang went from being a traditionally strong manufacturing base to expanding into other business areas, the demands of employees had to evolve as well.

“When the Industrial Zone started, the attractions (for investors) were a great historical landscape, a capable government and an available supply chain.

“Those are reasons Dell invested here in 1995. Now, we have to look at creating a great place to live — more than a place for just a career, but also a vibrant arts environment, a strong social scene and something to look forward to in the evenings,” said the father of five.

Joe, who is leading the team in organising the festival, said it was fantastic to see a growing support base for the event.

“This is the second year we are doing a full month-long festival to celebrate the third anniversary of George Town’s Unesco World Heritage listing.

“Last year, aside from getting some support from the state, several developers stepped in to contribute to the festival.

“This year, we want to target prominent companies in the state, specifically the 10 companies that ‘made’ Penang in the 1970s (at the beginning of the Free Industrial Zone) and the 10 companies that continue to ‘make’ Penang now,” Joe said, adding that Dell fell into the second category.

He said creating a balanced and animated city would help Penang lure young professionals who were in the midst of choosing between the state, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to make their mark.

“We want to make Penang the all-round better choice, not only in the job sense but also ‘out there’ where there are things to do after work hours,” Joe said.

He also hoped the festival would give Penang a boost in its race to catch up with Kuala Lumpur’s art scene.

“If you look back, you’ll see that Penang is historically a strong cultural society.

“In fact, we were predecessors of culture for Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“Now, we just want to lay back claim to that culture,” he added.

~News courtesy of The Star~