Dr Woo Wing Thye, 54, graduated from Harvard University in 1982 with a PhD in economics is now a member of the new state government economic think-tank.

The think-tank is expected to advice Penang state economic programme, which is aimed at creating blue ocean strategies and drawing fresh investments into the state.

Dr Woo is now Professor in the Economics Department at the University of California, Davis and a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Programme and the Foreign Policy Studies Programme at Brookings Institution. He is also the Director of the East Asia Programme within the Centre for Globalisation and Sustainable Development at Columbia University.