Perak working hard to attract investors
KUALA LUMPUR: Perak will see its investments soar this year thanks to renewed confidence among investors as it undergoes expansion in its rubber manufacturing and automotive industries, as well as the launch of large-scale infrastructure projects.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the state was experiencing steady growth as 57 projects worth RM2.27 billion in investments had been approved, with 2,500 jobs created last year.
The manufacturing sector represented the lion’s share of investments, and this was buoyed by investors’ renewed confidence following a peaceful transition of power to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government last year.
“I am thankful because after taking over the leadership in Perak, the response from investors was better than before.
“Despite uncertainties and a ‘wait and see’ stance adopted by investors, the outcome of the general election saw them agreeing to continue investing in Perak.
“Perakians and Malaysians have made sure that there was a peaceful transition of power, and this has boosted their confidence,” Faizal said in an interview here.
Several high-impact projects were expected to take off in Perak.
Faizal said among them were Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd’s RM1.5 billion plant expansion, the Proton and Geely Automotive City in Tanjung Malim, the natural gas pipeline project from Ayer Tawar to Kinta Valley, the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority project in Kantan and Chemor, the construction of the West Coast Expressway and growth of Pulau Pangkor as a duty-free island.
Faizal said the past year was challenging as the PH state government, which “inherited” debts from its predecessor, needed to roll out a recovery plan for some statelinked companies (SLC).
“In my first month as menteri besar, a SLC in Perak could not pay the salary of its staff. The saddest part was we had to sell our land to enable them to operate for a year.
“This was done before we set out to revive the corporation.”
On another example, he said the state government needed to rescue a Perak Corp Bhd subsidiary, which held a controlling stake in the Movie Animation Park Studio in Ipoh.
Faizal said he had directed the chief executive officers of problematic SLCs to restructure their operations.
“But we need to revive these companies without retrenching staff or pumping in funds from the government.”
The biggest challenge in attracting investors, he said, was resolving issues of land encroachment by squatters and illegal farmers.
“We have land and everything else, but we cannot develop anything due to encroachment.
“The previous and current state governments have experienced this difficulty. In Malaysia, people get rewarded for encroaching on another land. It is difficult to enforce the law to curb this.”
Faizal said it was usually the locals who were involved in land encroachment cases, and they often staked claims on property that did not belong to them.
He said large projects were not spared the problem as the Kossan rubber plant also faced this issue in its expansion.
“We need to correct this scenario because if left unchecked, it will make it harder for investors to set up their investments in Perak.”
Faizal said the State Squatters and Illegal Occupation Committee announced in January would be tasked with resolving the problem.
The committee, comprising the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and other law enforcement agencies, will reclaim all government and private land that have been encroached on.