IPOH: Perak is on solid footing as it recorded a total of 294 investment projects in 2022, said Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
He said the projects involved an investment of RM6.6 billion with RM2.28 billion involving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), offering 7,682 job opportunities.
"Moving forward, investment in the state sees very encouraging prospects as in the second quarter of 2023 we are among the top four states to have attracted investments, at RM7.1 billion, an increase of 550 per cent compared to RM1.3 billion in the same period last year.
"Within a year, Perak received many high-impact investments, including the Automotive High Technology Valley (AHTV) project worth RM32 billion in Tanjung Malim.
"Other investments include the construction of an XP Power electronics factory in Seri Iskandar worth RM300 million and the construction of a mineral processing plant in Silver Valley Technology Park worth RM100 million," he said.
Saarani said this in his speech when presenting the progress of the one-year implementation of the Perak Sejahtera 2030 development plan which was launched on June 15, last year.
Speaking in front of more than 2,000 attendees, Saarani divided the successful implementation of the plan into three main targets, namely Economic Prosperity, Social Prosperity and Political Prosperity.
The Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan was designed to improve the well-being of the people in the state and to achieve a balanced socio-economic development for a more prosperous Perak.
It was also a guide for the government machinery to realise its long-term development plan towards 2030 based on three main principles – dynamic, realistic and achievable.
In terms of the social aspect, Saarani said that the state government through Perbadanan Aspirasi Anak Perak (PASAK) has held Perak Sejahtera 2030 District Career Carnival Tour.
"The district career carnival tour involves 4,314 job seekers with the participation of 148 industries from all over the state in addition to facilitating job seekers through the Talent Perak application.
"Perak has also improved broadband infrastructure including speeding up the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela) project, in addition to having built 71 Digital Economy Centres (PEDi) throughout the state to provide collective internet access to rural residents," he said.
Saarani said the implementation of flood mitigation projects and the development of public infrastructure, including the construction of the Bagan Datuk-Sejagop Bridge worth RM460 million, which has already started operating and provides access to transport routes connecting the districts of Manjung, Perak Tengah and Hilir Perak.
For Tuisyen Cikgu Saarani (TCS), Saarani said that it has now been expanded and successfully increased the achievement of students who are eligible to obtain the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in addition to Student Self-Reliance Assistance and Student Emergency Assistance were also introduced with an allocation of RM2 million.
In terms of political well-being, Saarani said that the government and opposition representatives are now given equal allocations with equitable facilities.
"In fact, every representative, including the opposition, is to be a member of the District Action Committee (JKTD), District Focus Group Committee, and District Disaster Management Committee.
"To ensure that Perak Sejahtera 2030 can be realized, two committees namely the Steering Committee and the Working Committee were created to coordinate their implementation to make the 18 flagship programs outlined in Perak Sejahtera 2030 a success," he said.
On top of that, Saarani said that Perak is not lagging in implementing government digitization by introducing several systems and applications.
"This includes MyPatil which is Premis Perniagaan Digital, One Stop Center 3.0 Plus Online (OSC 3.0 Plus) and Park@Perak which is used by the local council as an additional alternative to vehicle parking payment using coupons," he said.