Master plan to be launched in December, says minister
BATU PAHAT: The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) Master Plan is expected to be officially launched in conjunction with the Annual Leaders’ Retreat in December, said Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
He said the launch would be jointly conducted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong, and is scheduled to take place in Malaysia.
The launch of the master plan, he said, was expected to further strengthen JS-SEZ’s position as a major regional investment destination, Bernama reported.
“We expect the Annual Leaders’ Retreat to take place in December. One of the key agendas during the retreat will be the launch of the JS-SEZ Master Plan.
“At the same time, I also held a meeting yesterday (Thursday) with Singapore national development minister Chee Hong Tat, and we agreed that a ministerial-level meeting, or the Johor-Singapore Cooperation Ministerial Committee, will be held in November,” he said after the launch of the targeted sustainable development goals (SDG) programme here yesterday.
Asked whether issues related to the Network School would affect Malaysia’s investment potential, particularly in the JS-SEZ, he said the ministry remained focused on building investor confidence and ensuring that investments received would benefit the country.
“I think we cannot get too caught up in this issue, as the focus of the Economy Ministry is to continue strengthening investor confidence. Cooperation with Singapore will therefore remain strong and healthy,” he said.
Commenting on Apex Securities’ analysis that potential disruptions to shipping routes in the Strait of Malacca could affect the national economy, Akmal Nasrullah said the government would continue focusing on maintaining energy supply stability to ensure economic activities could continue.
Meanwhile, he said Batu Pahat had been selected as a pilot city for the launch of the national-level SDG programme, with plans to extend the initiative to 12 other districts to ensure economic growth is accompanied by improvements in quality of life at the grassroots level.
At the ministry level, he said the SDG had been positioned as one of the core pillars in growth planning and performance evaluation, including achieving a target of 40% official reporting under the 13th Malaysia Plan.
He said the implementation of the initiative also took into account the positive impact of the JS-SEZ in sustainable development across Johor’s districts.
