Angling to make Perlis a city state
Changing the mindset of the people was the most challenging part of his tenure in Perlis, says caretaker MB Datuk Seri Azlan Man.
IT was a regular Saturday morning in Kangar, Perlis. People were flocking in and out of the Noor Malabari Restaurant for a plate of nasi kandar. Northern people take their nasi kandar in the morning. For a group of people in one corner of the restaurant, however, nasi kandar seemed to be the last thing on their mind as they anxiously waited for someone to join them.
Arriving half an hour later, that man turned out to be the caretaker Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Azlan Man.
The first term MB, who is a former career diplomat, walked in shaking hands with every patron in the restaurant.
He had just attended an army function with the Raja Muda of Perlis. Clad in army fatigues and boots, he looked handsome and outstanding.
“Sorry I am late...” he apologised, before quipping, “No matter what, as a politician I never lose two things: the appetite to eat and a good night’s sleep.”
Every one laughed. True enough, he ordered roti telur together with nasi kandar. And he looked hungry too.
They talked about all kind of topics from politics to the issue of the day. One of them asked him to help a cooperative that was having difficulties paying its rental. This was when he stopped eating – he put down his fork and spoon, and started to give them the lesson of the day.
“I cannot give the fish all the time, so to speak. What I can do is to give them the rod so that they can learn how to catch fish. We must learn how to solve our problem. We cannot push our problems to others to solve all the time, otherwise we will learn nothing in our life,” he said.
The next day, during an interview with The Star at his official residence, Azlan emphasised the challenging part of his tenure as MB.
“I have to say, after five years as mentri besar, the most challenging part is to change the mindset of the people. They are so used to what they are and I found that not easy to deal with,” said Azlan.
“Yes, you can be very frustrated and sometimes experience a set- back. You might feel like you are alone in the task. But somehow I came to terms with it. For me, the moment you get your mandate from the people, you have to focus on the development of the state and its human capital. Because in the end, the rakyat will not ask you about your politics but they will look at your performance in administering the state.
“My concern is how to make my state prosperous, successful and move to the next level. I want to bring jobs to the people so that they can be self-reliant. To tell you frankly, I think I have managed the challenges. I have laid down all the necessary foundation and, God willing, in five years the people of Perlis will see the positive results in their state,” he added.
And bear in mind, he said, all this can never be seen overnight. “It takes time.”
According to Azlan, his government has the responsibility of creating a conducive environment to create opportunities for the people.
He gave an example of how the Kuala Perlis-Changlun highway has created various opportunities for the people living along it.
“Thirty years ago Hulu Pauh was a jungle but the moment the highway was built, opportunity came. It paved the way for Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMap) and when people flocked in, it opened up the opportunity for developers to build housing schemes in the area while other businesses flourished too,” said Azlan.
That is why when he became MB, he added, his focus was on big-ticket projects, based on three things: jobs creation, its spillover effect and sustainability.
The blueprint for Perlis, he says, is to become a city state by 2030.
“So how do we fill this vision? First we bought over 3,000 acres (1,214.1ha) of FGV land in Chuping for RM44mil to turn it into industrial zone. Now we call it Chuping Valley Industrial Area (CVIA).
“In CVIA, we will create a few cluster investment including greenbased industry technology, a halalbased technology and so on. Over 100 investors have shown their interest but they ask where is the infrastructure?
“So in the 11th Malaysian Plan, we put aside RM850mil for this purpose and that includes electricity, road, water supply, gas supply, sewerage system and connectivity,” said Azlan.
He continued, international players such as Jabel Semiconductor and Tessolve – a talent development company from India – will be among the first to invest in CVIA.
CVIA alone will create 12,000 jobs for the people of Perlis in the next five years to the year 2025.
Apart from that, said Azlan, the state government is also focusing on expanding the inland port with Padang Besar as the main centre and Sanglang Integrated Jetty, worth RM1.8bil.
“And there is also a RM316mil joint venture project between the state economic development corporation and TH Property to build hotels and a new business centre in the city, apart from Kangar City Centre, that will have two fourstar hotels, a service apartment, condominium, shopping malls and convention centre all worth RM368mil.
“Giant hypermarket will also invest up to RM25mil soon,” he added.
And not to forget, said Azlan, a new Urban Transformation Centre or UTC (RM35mil) and a new bus terminal (RM410mil), 500 units of People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Kangar (RM80mil); 500 units in Padang Besar (RM70mil) and 400 units in Arau.
All this, he said, will open up job opportunities and have a spillover effect for the people while propelling the state to greater heights.
“My only worry is whether we, the people of Perlis, are ready enough to take these challenges... this is what I mean by changing the mindset of the people and of course this is an uphill task because people are so used to what they used to be.
“But on the other hand, we must be creative and create something for the future because we don’t have many natural resources. So, the only way to succeed is to make use of your creativity and not be too dependable on natural resources,” he said.