The draft agreement for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) is in its final stages of review and is expected to be finalised by December, according to the Economy Ministry.
During a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Nov 28), Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli announced that the relevant Cabinet paper would be presented within the next week or two.
Rafizi highlighted that the JS-SEZ aims to attract high-value global investments and generate high-paying job opportunities in designated areas of Johor.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
During a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Nov 28), Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli announced that the relevant Cabinet paper would be presented within the next week or two.
Rafizi highlighted that the JS-SEZ aims to attract high-value global investments and generate high-paying job opportunities in designated areas of Johor.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00For your information, at this time, the draft agreement between the Government of Malaysia and Singapore is in progress.
00:12And it is already at the final stage.
00:14And God willing, the ministerial paper related to the agreement with the Government of Malaysia and Singapore
00:20is expected to be published within the next one or two weeks
00:25to enable both countries to sign the agreement during the annual Leaders' Retreat at the beginning of December 2024.
00:38And the process is underway.
00:40After the agreement is signed,
00:44it will enable both countries to draw up a blueprint according to the development notes that have been set.
00:56In the agreement and also in the memorandum that was signed earlier this year,
01:03the Government of Malaysia and Singapore has also stated several things,
01:09for example, that JSSZ aims to attract global investment, not just from Singapore,
01:17but global investment that is highly valuable to create job opportunities in the areas that have been established in Juhu.
01:29And among the sectors that have been identified are as follows,
01:35the digital and tech sectors, the green economy and green energy sectors,
01:44the advanced electronics sector, including advanced E&E,
01:49and also semiconductor development as part of the AI ecosystem and also data centers,
01:57the biopharmaceutical sector and the logistics sector to support the movement of goods in the JSSZ area.
02:06These economic sectors are part of the country's aspirations through the plans that have been launched
02:17to ensure that we are able to restructure the country's economy towards a high value
02:24by making Juhu as another new growth engine in the country.
02:31Thank you, Minister, and congratulations.
02:36My question is, we want to ensure that the local energy can exist in this economic zone.
02:45My question is, are we prepared to ensure that the local energy can work and not just depend on external resources?
03:01This process is actually related.
03:06If we want to create job opportunities that offer high salaries,
03:13they need highly skilled workers.
03:18If we want to provide highly skilled workers first,
03:26such investments will go to other countries.
03:29So, it needs to be done in an integrated way.
03:34The concept of the JSSZ is to quickly scale industries that previously did not exist in Malaysia.
03:46A good example is the semiconductor and data base industry.
03:53What exists in Malaysia now is just installation.
03:58All of them, especially those that are in the form of a semiconductor or a data base,
04:06and also a data center, are all outside of the country.
04:09So, with the JSSZ, our hope is that we will speed up the presence of these companies in Malaysia
04:17and create a new industry.
04:19Of course, in the beginning, we also need skilled workers from foreign countries.
04:26Not just Singapore, but from all over the world.
04:29And in the first 5-10 years, we need our graduates to be trained quickly
04:38so that when the time comes, they will take up that position.
04:43Actually, that is the process that has taken place in the development of other industries in Malaysia.
04:49Thank you, Mr. President.
04:56Thank you, Mr. President.