JOHOR BARU: The public have been reminded to make a careful judgement about the kind of economic development and future they want.

       Johor Mentri Besar’s adviser Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said an unstable political situation could lead to a whole host of problems, which would affect the state’s prosperity and opportunities for the people.

       He said that after meeting various people on the ground, the general feedback was that the period from 2013 to 2018 was the most memorable and best-performing years for Johor.

       “The Barisan Nasional leadership at the time brought political stability, a booming economy and vibrant activities and travel between Malaysia and Singapore.

       “Johor became a state that attracted the most foreign investment into the country throughout the five consecutive years as they favoured the state’s geographical location, political stability, rich natural resources and human capital,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 17).

       Tee, also the Pontian MCA division chief, added that after the 14th general election, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional came into power for 22 months and 17 months respectively.

       “This gives ample opportunity for the people to make a better comparison of whether Barisan, Pakatan or Perikatan is the most effective coalition to lead Johor, and even the whole country.

       “In a Covid-19 era, Johor can no longer fall into the hands of a side that is unable to bring stability to a state government,” he said, adding that voters must think twice before acting as there were many still suffering from the pandemic.

       Meanwhile, Johor MCA Youth chief Ling Tian Soon said the state recorded the highest amount of foreign investments in the country in 2016, 2017 and 2018 before Pakatan took over and things began to dip greatly in 2019.

       Based on the Statistics Department, Johor’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 showed only 2.8% compared to 5.6% in 2018, he said, adding that the facts clearly showed that the Pakatan government failed to push the economy forward.

       “After 2018, the Pakatan government cancelled projects such as the High-Speed Rail project and they were also inconsistent about the Forest City project despite promising to increase investments for 2019.

       “In this challenging climate, foreign direct investments are crucial to jumpstart and inject life back to the existing economic situation.

       “Johor has been trailing behind in the past two years and I hope that the Bangsa Johor people will choose a stable and capable state government,” he added.

       On Monday (Feb 14), Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim highlighted the dip in the state’s economy after 2018 on his Facebook page.

       He expressed hope that the state’s economy would improve and directly create more job opportunities for Johoreans as it is important to ensure the people can generate a higher income and have a higher spending power.

       “We need policies that encourage economic growth and rapid development and we need to work together to focus on economic recovery,” he said, adding that this should be made priority.