Chow (PH-Batu Kawan) said the state needed a new economic catalyst to stay competitive and move beyond its reliance on the electrical and electronics, and tourism sectors.

“Penang hopes the prime minister’s administration will guide and help realise this plan so that the state can diversify its available skills,” he said during the debate on the 2026 budget in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said the finance ministry had earlier stated it was not ready to proceed with the plan.

Proposed by the Penang government earlier this year, the financial centre is part of a plan to grow the state’s economy beyond factories and tourism.

It is meant to bring in new types of business such as fund management, fintech, and wealth management, and aims to turn Penang into a regional financial hub like Labuan or Singapore.

In March, the state called for expressions of interest, with major developers like IJM Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, and E&O Bhd showing interest.

However, the project still needs approval from the finance ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Securities Commission.

Separately, Chow called for a new federal-state revenue sharing model, arguing that states should receive part of the taxes collected from them.

He said Penang’s memorandum on the issue was not tabled at the 147th meeting of the Conference of Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers on Oct 7.

In the memo, he said, the state government had proposed setting up a special commission to study a fairer tax-sharing formula for all states.

On the Silicon Island project, Chow said reclamation work had reached 101ha and urged Putrajaya to approve tax breaks, import duty waivers, and skilled foreign worker permits requested from 2022.