Malaysia Section A Framework for Part 1 Background and Objectives:
| Background and Context |
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Located at the southern-most tip of Peninsular Malaysia and mainland Asia, South Johor has long played an important and strategic role in the history and development of Malaysia and its surrounding region. Johor Bahru, the capital city of Johor and its surrounding areas, has grown to become the second most important economic conurbation in Malaysia. The economy is well diversified with successful clusters emerging around the electronics, logistics, food and agriculture, tourism and oil and petrochemical industries. Its strategic geographic position on the world’s busiest shipping routes, its proximity to an international hub and the large markets of Singapore, Indonesia and further out, China and India, and its rich endowment of natural and human resources has both underpinned Johor’s past successes and underscores Johor’s future potential.
Johor’s relative prosperity has been
anchored by a celebrated history of uninterrupted and
mutually reinforcing combination of political stability and continuity, a progressive and deeply revered Sultanate, and social and cultural cohesion among its multi-ethnic
population that has been a
constant source of strength, innovation and renewal. Indeed, in the various
fields of politics, administration and culture, Johor has
often been at the forefront of national development and the history of Johor is in many cases synonymous with the
history of Malaysia. The formation of
UMNO, the contributions of numerous Johoreans as important national
leaders in politics, administration, business, the arts and academia, the
introduction of modern administration and the use of the Johor dialect of the national language as the official dialect
are among the many historical
testaments to Johor’s enduring significance to nation-building.
In mid 2005, the Federal Government of
Malaysia, along with the State Government of
Johor, identified the need for a focused and developmental approach to the
economically and geographically important region of South Johor. In
arriving at this approach, the government had
taken into cognisance the dominant trends of our times including
globalisation with its increased competition in the flows of capital, human resource and ideas, the rise of
China and India and the impact of
technology and innovation, among others. While such trends accorded significant opportunities for economic growth in
South Johor in view of its considerable factor advantages in the supply of competitively priced land, its strategic
geographic position, its industrial base and connectivity and its cost
structure, the same trends, if unchecked and unmanaged, also represented significant
threats to the enduring prosperity and
social cohesion of Johor. In particular, the government was conscious of
the need to equally manage not just the risks
of opportunity loss of not achieving full growth potential but just as
importantly to ensure that such targeted growth comes with equitable
distribution. Indeed, it is this underlying socio-economic philosophy and practice of growth with equity that has been the
bedrock that has allowed social
cohesion, peace and prosperity to take place, by the grace of God.
1.2
Development of the SJER Master Plan
It is against this backdrop that in July
2005, the Government of Malaysia had tasked
Khazanah to conduct a feasibility study for the development of a special economic zone in South Johor in what was then referred to as the Southern Belt Economic Zone
(SBEZ). A Special Projects Team (SPT) was formed in Khazanah to undertake the
task, consisting of Khazanah officers,
consultants and subject matter experts from various relevant fields including
in town planning, real estate,
economic and financial planning,
environmental planning, legal and regulatory,
marketing, business process re-engineering, social policy, strategy, and in local government. Officers from
the Federal Government and the State Government of
Johor were also seconded to the SPT.
In October 2005, Khazanah presented a
Conceptual Outline Plan for the proposed South
Johor Economic Region (SJER) to the National SJER Planning Committee (NSPC) that concluded that there was a strong economic, social and developmental rationale for
the proposed development of SJER. The NSPC
was chaired together by the YAB Prime Minister and YAB Chief Minister of Johor.
Khazanah acts as the
secretariat for the committee. The NSPC further tasked Khazanah to develop a detailed and comprehensive Master
Plan for the development of SJER that aimed
to address socio-economic development in a holistic and sustainable fashion. To
drive the planning process, the
strategic framework of the proposed SJER was also adopted
by the NSPC in October 2005 and consists of the following;
1.
Vision: Development
of a Strong, Sustainable Conurbation of International Standing
2.
Foundations to be based on
a.
Nation Building
b.
Growth and Value Creation
c. Equitable
and Fair Distribution among Stakeholders
3. Five main strategic pillars
a.
International Rim Positioning
b.
Establishing hard and soft
infrastructure enablers
c.
Investments in catalyst projects
d.
Establishing a
strong institutional framework and the creation of a strong regulatory
authority
e. Ensuring
socio-economic equity and buy-in from the
local population
local population
In March 2006, the Ninth Malaysia Plan covering the
period 2006 to 2010 was launched by the YAB Prime Minister
and inter alia, identified SJER as one of the catalyst and high-impact
developments under the Plan. This was
further reinforced when in July 2006, the YAB Prime Minister, the YAB Chief
Minister of Johor and Khazanah announced further details on SJER that
inter alia stated the following;
n That the proposed SJER would cover the logistic triangle
of Senai Airport to the north, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (South
West) and Johor Port in Pasir Gudang (South
East), encompassing an area of 2,21 7 sq km. Several key factors in
selecting the area of SJER was highlighted
including, its strong connectivity through the North-South Expressway,
road and rail links to Singapore, air links
and sea links to Indonesia and the region and its strategic location and proximity to some of the world’s most
rapidly growing economies with some
800 million population within a six hour flight time radius.
n That the SJER Master Plan would, inter alia, look to
address several key risks
that has hampered regional development in the past, including uncoordinated and duplicative development, excessive
private value capture and potential marginalisation of the
local population. It was also emphasized that a cornerstone of the proposed Master Plan is the need to ensure
that the rights of the Federal and
State Governments under the Federal Constitution
are preserved, specifically Johor’s constitutional rights on land matters.
n Further, it was highlighted that a key feature of the
proposed Master Plan will be
the emphasis on sustainable development, conservation of the environment and
equitable distribution of the benefits of growth among the local population
n It was also highlighted that a key component of the SJER
is the creation of a “one-stop fast track mechanism agency” where Federal and State Government agencies will work
seamlessly to provide a
facilitative environment for investors and consumers. The Federal and State Governments will play a major role
in facilitating the creation of an
investor-friendly environment through
immigration, education, tax, land and close liaison with local
authorities.
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Total 86 pages & National Physical Plan 183 pages.
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