JOHOR BARU: Barisan Nasional is ready to resolve the economic issues faced by Johor if it is elected to form the next stategovernment.
Johor BN chief Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the coalition will waste no time in tackling them if it was given the mandate next Saturday.
"The BN government should be ready. When I took office (as menteri besar) over the last 20 months, I have been planning what is best for the state.
"I have spoken to a lot of people and parties that matter in Johor. Immediately after March 12, we will not waste any more time planning and discussing what is best for the state or what we should be doing, but rather immediately implement what has been planned.
"I have shared this vision with other candidates in BN, that they have to be prepared to take on what has been planned and put forward.
"I believe that by doing that, we are doing justice to the people of Johor because we have been delayed on so many things. We are not willing to delay any further," said Hasni during an interview for TV3's Money Matters, which aired yesterday.
The caretaker menteri besar said anyone who is leading Johor should have a realistic and clear vision of what Johor can and should be.
"We in Johor have dedicated an entire initiative out of the five initiatives (in Ikhtiar BN Johor) to propel the state economy.
"So, when you talk about what is next for Johor, we are seeking a better mandate to ensure that existing plans are executed better and future plans will be executed quickly, whether in terms of economic planning or implementing what has been planned during my earlier tenure in the government as early as possible."
He believed that having said that, BN will make sure that Johor will be a more competitive state by facilitating businesses and investors.
"We will make sure that Johor always consider businesses as partners. And if we are looking at the potential that Johor has, what usually attracts investors to come to Johor is the uniqueness of Johor.
"This is something that must be continued in the state."
He said when international borders were closed, this had dealt a huge blow to Johor.
He said this was why the government should focus on this issue, because all of a sudden, Johor Baru became very quiet.
"This is because the movement of 250,000 to 300,000 Malaysians, who cross from Johor into to Singapore on a daily basis for work, abruptly stopped.
"Due to that, businesses were unable to continue with their routine and because of that, a plan has to be put in place.
"That is the main reason Johor opened the Johor Economic, Tourism and Cultural Office in Singapore.
"We believe that having our office in Singapore would enable us to facilitate businesses and allow investors to better understand the situation in Johor after the state had to weather the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We also had to face challenges like the sudden rise in the number of unsold properties in Johor, as well as businesses and investors thinking about moving away from Johor.
"This is something that we need to work on immediately. We have to engage with the related people and create more collaborations with investors and businesses to make sure they remain in Johor."
Hasni also said the stability of the state is of utmost importance and a concern for investors, whether from Malaysia or from overseas.
"We have the potential to attract investments.
"Based on our experience, if the state has a very strong and stable government, it will affect the economic stability.
"Between 2013 and 2018, Johor received the highest amount of foreign investments compared with other states. I want to make sure that remains. But to do that, it has to start with a strong and stable government.
"With all the good infrastructure in Johor, (plus) the three regional development authorities in the state, (these) make up the basis why Johor needs to maintain a government that is strong and stable. We will also continuously engage with potential investors."
When elaborating on the last point, Hasni said he had spoken to the Malaysian-American Chamber of Commerce, the Japan Trade Council and the Taiwanese business community.
"They are all very keen and interested in investing or expanding their investments in Johor, but they are concerned about the stability of the state.
"Over the last three to four years, we have had three MBs, and that has not happened in the past.
"When the question of stability is put to me, what more can I say other than convince our investors that we should change this and find a way to further stabilise Johor?
"That is the reason why I feel that if we were to reset our economy, there are certain criteria and steps that we have to take."
Hasni said on his first day in office, after having a difficult time after the previous general election, his first move was to set up the Ibrahim Johor Economic Council comprising people with economic backgrounds and captains of industry.
"We meet two to three times a month and, eventually, we managed to figure out how best to put Johor's economy on a strong footing."
Asked about what BN would do to achieve this stability, Hasni said the coalition will immediately work on several reforms on political policies in place at the state level.
"We have constituencies with a huge number of voters, and mixed constituencies that need special attention.
"To have a very stable state, and if we are able to receive a two-thirds majority, the first thing I need to do is to make sure that we propose an anti-party hopping law.
"This should be put in place, and we feel that there should also be a redelineation of constituencies."
Hasni said it had been unfortunate for Johor that after GE14, the things that used to be the state's strengths had changed.
"I can give you an example of something that needs to be changed immediately. The government bench, 28 of us, were all Malays, and the opposition side is basically Chinese.
"This is not Johor. This cannot happen in Johor. This is not what Johor should look like. The Johor government has always been a government that reflects Johor society.
"We have 56 per cent of Malays, 38 per cent of Chinese, and less than 10 per cent of Indians. That should be reflected in the government leading Johor."
He said that was the main reason he felt this election should happen as early as possible.
"I want to return and seek a fresh mandate from the people so that we have a strong government that is a reflection of what the state is all about.
"I am hoping that the outcome of this election will take Johor forward and that we can recover earlier than other states."