Johor once enjoyed large foreign investments in the state, particularly in Iskandar Malaysia and Pengerang, but its ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar lamented that this has no longer been the case since 2019.
He blamed this on certain quarters who have been infected by the ‘virus of envy and jealous’ upon seeing Johor’s success, who then worked to dissuade further investments in the state’s megaprojects.
“There are investors who want to build the largest solar farm in Pengerang, but the federal government blocked it with the excuse there is no quota.
“There are investors who wish to develop energy hub and deep-water harbours in Muar, but there are monkeys hopping up and down. Don’t they know that development is done so these projects can provide more secure job opportunities to local residents?
“If the situation continues, don’t even dream of attracting large investments into the state,” he said during his speech at the opening ceremony of the Johor state assembly session today.
He urged the state government to be bold in making changes for the sake of the people, in addition to implementing infrastructure projects such as new highways and high-speed rail.
He added that the state will no longer grant land ownership to the federal government. Instead, federal projects in the state will only be provided with reserve land earmarked for that purpose.
Citing the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) as an example, the sultan also urged the federal government to be more consistent in its policies.
He said the government had previously encouraged foreigners to live and invest in Johor but changed its stance after a change in administration.
“This caused property development in Johor to become stunted and foreign investors have lost confidence. My message to the federal government, if you don’t want to help, then at least make things difficult for the state.
“I hope the federal government will reintroduce investor-friendly policies and provide attractive incentives for reviving investments in Johor such as tax and duty exemptions, and so on,” he said.
Projects in Johor
The RM1.4 billion Sultan Ibrahim Solar Park in Pengerang announced in 2021 was slated to be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia, with a capacity of 450 megawatts.
Its stakeholders and beneficiaries were unclear, but it was described as the first large-scale private investment secured by the state as a result of Sultan Ibrahim's efforts.
However, the project stalled when the federal government did not respond to the proposed project.
The Maharani Energy Gateway project in Muar, meanwhile, entails land reclamation to create three artificial islands totalling 1,295 hectares, which is about a quarter of the size of Putrajaya.
The project's gross development value is estimated at RM99 billion over 10 years and is projected to generate 26,769 jobs.
The project is moved through the company Maharani Energy Gateway Sdn Bhd, in which the royalty-linked D Marine Industries Sdn Bhd holds a 55 percent stake. In turn, Sultan Ibrahim holds a 70 percent stake in D Marine Industries.
Parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called for more transparency in the project, while Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had expressed concern that the land reclamation could affect fisherfolk.
The NGO Sahabat Alam Malaysia said the project’s environmental impact assessment report is inadequate and should be rejected. - Mkini
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