March 5, 2007
Malaysia to S'pore investors: Be early birds in Johor
Hishamuddin urges S'pore to give early support for special economic zone
By Deputy Editor , Warren Fernandez & Carolyn Hong
PUTRAJAYA - COME join in, and do so sooner rather than later to signal Singapore's support.
Malaysian Education Minister and Umno Youth chief Hishamuddin
Hussein made this call to Singapore, urging it to 'come in early' on
the ambitious plans to develop a special economic zone in southern
Johor. Doing so, he argued, would signal Singapore's support for the
project, which has the backing of Malaysia's top leadership, and would
help strengthen bilateral ties. Giving an overview of the project, which some have dubbed
Malaysia's biggest mega-project yet, he told The Straits Times: 'We
need to show that it is going to be done professionally, and Singapore
is most welcome to come in. 'But come in early. Wait-and-see, that does not create the atmosphere of trust.
'It is the same when you are in politics. Once I am a minister,
there are a lot of people who want to be my friend. But the true
friends are those who were there during the difficult times.' He was speaking about the plans for the Iskandar Development
Region, a 2,217 sq km zone stretching north from the Singapore-Malaysia
border. Plans for the project, launched last November, include a new
administrative centre for Johor, new industrial zones, education,
medical and tourism hubs, a waterfront development and luxury
residential areas. Tax breaks and other incentives to woo investors have pulled
in RM20 billion (S$8.7 billion) so far, including the luxury Aman
Resorts and no-frills Tune Hotel. Malaysia's top leaders have been keen to woo Singapore
investors as well, and several delegations of Singapore leaders are
reported to have been briefed on the plans. Set against this, however, have been somewhat conflicting
signals from local Johor leaders, who have voiced concerns about
Singaporean involvement and whether this would end up benefiting
Singapore more than Malaysia. Datuk Seri Hishamuddin, 45, coming from a prominent family of
Johor Umno leaders - he is the son of Malaysia's third prime minister
Tun Hussein Onn and grandson of Datuk Onn Jaafar, a founder of the
ruling Umno - sought to put these in context. He said: 'I do not blame the Johor politicians because they
have to live with their constituents. Singapore has to understand that.
But the corridor initiative is a national initiative chaired by the PM
himself.' Strong political will was needed to manage tensions on the
ground, and the right signals would have to be sent to the people to
show that the project had top-level backing. The fact that a prominent panel of advisers had been set up,
including South-east Asia's richest man, Johor-born Robert Kuok, and
former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam, also a Johorean, showed that
Malaysia was serious about the project and welcomes partners from
abroad, including Singapore, he said. During the wide-ranging 75-minute interview last Thursday at
his office in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative heart, he also
answered questions on his plans to reform the education system as well
as on race relations in Malaysia, which marks its 50th year of
independence this year. He was also at pains to explain his controversial brandishing
of the keris at last year's Umno general assembly, arguing that he had
done so to motivate Malays and draw attention to the need for them to
keep pace with other races. He did not want his community to be
unprepared when the country declared itself a developed nation in 2020,
he said. Sounding generally upbeat about strengthening ties between
Singapore and Malaysia, he referred to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi
by his nickname and said: 'If we do not do it now, when Pak Lah is the
Prime Minister, I do not know when we can do it. 'Pak Lah is very genuinely interested in getting bilateral relations on a good footing. Never, never, underestimate Pak Lah.'
Asked if he would play an active role in promoting the Johor
project, he replied: 'It is a national project decided at the highest
level. Every minister in the Cabinet has the responsibility... 'Of course, being a Johorean, it is even more of a
responsibility for me to convey the national aspirations to the Johor
leaders, and that is my role.' Noting that there had been previous proposals for the two
countries to work together on projects in Johor, he said: 'We have been
talking about this for so long, now I think let's not talk anymore,
let's do it. 'Prove to the people that at the end of the day, we can.'
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