‘Johor does not need DAP to improve its economy’
KUALA LUMPUR: Johor does not need DAP to help its economy develop, as it is being well managed under the Barisan Nasional government, said Gerakan secretary-general Datuk Liang Teck Meng.
In a rebuttal to DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, Liang said under BN’s care, factories and investments had not left Johor in the same magnitude as
Penang, citing the exits of Seagate, Western Digital and other big names that had been in Penang decades before DAP helmed the state.
He said Johor did not need to spend RM220 million on road projects or highways such as the Pan Island Link 1, which he described as the “most expensive highway” in Malaysia, with a pricetag of RM385 million.
Liang said Johor, under the stewardship of Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, had outperformed Penang in “almost every way possible” since DAP took over Penang in 2008.
“In terms of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita figure mentioned by Lim, Johor’s GDP per capita has increased 57.5 per cent from 2008 to 2015, compared with the 42.9 per cent growth in Penang.
“According to figures released by the Penang chief minister (Lim Guan Eng) late last year, Penang had ranked third lowest in terms of GDP per capita growth in Malaysia during that eight-year period since DAP took over Penang.
“As a result, since 2008, Johor has overtaken Penang in terms of median monthly household income, as well as median salary. Melaka also overtook Penang in terms of median monthly household income during that period,” he said yesterday.
Citing Malaysian Investment Development Authority figures, Liang said Johor had outranked Penang every year in terms of investments received since Kit Siang became Gelang Patah member of parliament in 2013.
He said from 2013 to last year, Johor had attracted RM93.1 billion in investments, a figure he said was more than four times the RM23.1 billion that Penang received.
Liang also said Johor “vastly outperformed” Penang, with Johor’s state reserves improving 13-fold from RM201.5 million in 2008 to RM2.63 billion in 2015, as compared with Penang’s state reserve growth from RM1.03 billion in 2008 to RM1.53 billion last year, despite selling or trading away state land, rights and assets.
“However, one area that Penang beat Johor is in the growth of the state operating expenses. Penang’s state expenses for this year is RM1.45 billion, or 500 per cent its size in 2008 of RM283 million.
“Compare this with Johor’s state expenses of RM1.61 billion this year, which is less than double of the RM883 million spent in 2008. When it comes to spending money and growing the yearly operational cost, the Penang DAP government is five times better than the Johor BN government.”
On Sunday, DAP veteran Kit Siang had pledged that Pakatan Harapan would make Johor one of the five states with the highest GDP per capita.
He said Johor was ranked ninth in the list of state GDPs.
Kit Siang, however, did not explain how the opposition would achieve this goal.
It was also reported that Kluang DAP MP Liew Chin Tong said Pakatan Harapan would develop secondary cities and focus on small businesses to increase the state’s GDP.
Liang claimed that Kit Siang did not return to his Gelang Patah constituency often enough to make promises to grow Johor’s GDP per capita.
“If Lim had returned often, he would not have failed to see the development, not just in Gelang Patah but in the entire Johor.
“It is obvious that Johor is doing much better than Penang and does not need DAP.
“Kit Siang and (Kluang DAP MP) Liew Chin Tong are advised to offer their ‘expertise’ to help the Penang government catch up with Johor before they should even think of helping Johor and making promises that DAP will fail to deliver.”