Rosy figures belie Johor's economic woes, says DAP MP

Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin’s claims that his state government is performing well economically does not reflect the reality for ordinary Johoreans, said DAP’s Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong.

“Khaled has been claiming that his government performed exceedingly well in the economic realm.

“The problem is that, despite the rosy figures, the people of Johor are suffering from economic hardship,” Liew said in a speech in Labis, Johor yesterday.

Economic growth should be measured by whether it benefits the “ordinary folks”, he said.

In Johor’s case, he added, there is no widespread growth shared or felt by all in the past four years under Khaled’s leadership.

He said that if Johoreans could get their share of the prosperity back home as touted by Khaled, there would be no need for them to commute daily to Singapore to work.

Yet, he pointed out that the number of Malaysians crossing the causeway to Singapore every day had increased from 200,000 to 300,000 between 2013 and now.

“It is true that to a certain extent, economies in Johor’s smaller towns are sustained by remittance from Malaysian workers in Singapore.

“Yet, there is no one to improve the livelihood of these Johor workers,” Liew said.

Instead, both the Malaysian and Singaporean governments are “competing” to impose extra charges on those entering Singapore, he said.

Southern Johor, for example, has seen many high-rise developments since 2013, but these projects do not benefit the ordinary folks, he said.

The developers, he said, actually took away beaches that previously belonged to the public and turned them into private spaces.

“Ask any Johorean living in the metropolitan area of Southern Johor about positive changes done during Khaled’s tenure, and they will answer, ‘Besides property development for the rich, nothing much really,” Liew said.

Municipal services, public transportation, the quality and sustainability of water supply, he said, have not improved in the past four years.

Even Johor’s rate of unemployment reached the decade’s highest at 3.6 percent in 2016, he pointed out. For comparison, he said the rate of unemployment in Johor was only 2 percent in 2007.

“Khaled and his government can claim whatever they like. It is up to the voters to decide.

“We know that the voters will not judge based on colourful presentation or any rosy picture but rather on the real situation of their livelihood; the harsh reality of economic hardship,” he said.- Mkini