JOHOR BARU: Leaders from Malaysia and Singapore will meet later this month to finalise the terms of reference on a proposed special economic zone (SEZ) of which Johor is expected to be the main beneficiary compared with other states in the country.
“The SEZ is important for Johor as we want to reignite the people’s imagination over the Iskandar Malaysia area and to bring in more investors to the region,” said Johor investment, trade and consumer affairs committee chairman Lee Ting Han.
Iskandar Malaysia covers an area of about 2,300sq km. There are five local authorities under Iskandar Malaysia, namely the Johor Baru City Council, Iskandar Puteri City Council, Pasir Gudang City Council, Kulai Municipal Council and Pontian Municipal Council.
Statistics show that Johor received total approved investments of RM70.6bil last year, which is the highest in Malaysia. This was followed by Selangor with RM60.1bil, Sarawak with RM28.2bil, Kuala Lumpur with RM25bil, and Penang with RM16.3bil.
When contacted, Lee said both Malaysia and Singapore are currently holding their own internal discussions to outline the details of the SEZ.
“The stakeholders on the Malaysian side, which include the Johor state government, Iskandar Regional Development Authority; the Investment, Trade and Indus-try Ministry; and other relevant departments, are now having a series of meetings to discuss what we want to see from the SEZ.
“The same goes for the Singapore side. At the end of this month, both sides will meet to discuss the key areas and possibilities of the SEZ. We will then finalise the terms of reference together,” he explained.
He said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Singapore counterpart, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, would be signing the terms of reference once agreed upon by both parties.
“We hope that the terms of reference can be signed during the meeting as this signals a strong political commitment towards realising the SEZ.
“Once it has been signed, further discussions will be held between the two countries on the details.
“This includes whether the SEZ will be in a physical or conceptual form, regulations, and other important elements,” he said.
He said the meeting at the end of this month is expected to be attended by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Azman Hashim International Business School Assoc Prof Dr L. Nanthakumar said the SEZ would allow Johor to maintain its position as the country’s top investment beneficiary.
“With the current situation, we cannot estimate yet how much investment Johor can receive if the SEZ were to be successful.
“But it may enable Johor to gain more investment through new investment sources,” he said.
“Among the areas that Malaysia and Singapore should look into is the focus on renewable and non-renewable energy.
“This is something that everyone is talking about, even during the recent United Nations General Assembly attended by the Prime Minister.
“Johor should look into the energy issue and address the Sustainable Development Goals through the SZE. When we do so, other states will follow suit,” he said.
In June, Onn Hafiz said the state had recorded trade worth RM247.592bil in the first four months of this year, making it the largest contributor to the country’s total trade amount.
He also told the state assembly last month that through the 16th Malaysia-Singapore Joint Minis-terial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia in Singapore on July 14, both countries agreed to create a special task force to study the establishment of the SEZ.
On May 29, Rafizi said the Malaysian government was looking at making Johor a special economic zone alongside Singapore.
He said the Malaysian government had held discussions with Singapore on the matter but this had yet to be formalised.
