PETALING JAYA: Former second finance minister Johari Ghani has advised leaders in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah to improve their states’ contributions to the national gross domestic product (GDP) before eyeing Pakatan Harapan-led states.
Johari, who is the Titiwangsa MP, said Kelantan should improve its national GDP contribution from 1.8% to 3.5% first “before doing anything else”.
“Get the three states’ GDP figures to go up first. If they are successful in getting them up to 25%, then we will ‘surrender’ Selangor to them,” he said at a forum last night.
Johari was asked by the moderator to share his views on certain leaders’ aspirations to “educate” Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan on advancing their economies.
On June 27, caretaker Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari said the state contributed a record 25.5% to the national GDP, an increase of 0.7% over that for 2021. Meanwhile, Kelantan had only contributed 1.8%.
“Maybe you can’t contribute exactly 25% (to the national GDP) like Selangor, but perhaps your contribution could be 12% to 13%,” Johari said.
“If you want to develop the country’s economy, it cannot be just focused on Kuala Lumpur. It has to be spread out among all the states.”
He also welcomed these leaders to visit Selangor as “tourists” to learn, adding that there was “nothing wrong in learning from those who know how to govern”.
“To me, if certain individuals can give us added value to our cause and we can learn from each other, why not?” he said.
Johari also warned that excessive politicking could affect investor confidence as investors may adopt a wait-and-see approach.
The moment elections were over, he said, the government should focus on national development, while the opposition should provide checks and balances, both at the parliamentary and state assembly levels. - FMT
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