Meanwhile, Dr Francis Hutchinson, Malaysia Studies Programme coordinator at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, believes that while reducing bureaucracy is important, “too much focus” is placed on financial incentives.
“What is often too overlooked is the detailed follow-up that comes after an investment has been made,” he told CNA.
Dr Hutchinson highlighted that a large part of increasing the JS-SEZ’s value chain and sophistication of operations involves existing investors deciding to increase their investments and carry out more complicated tasks.
“Thus, liaison agencies must have the discipline to consistently follow-up with their current firms, and not just focus on attracting new ones,” he said.
Also more important than incentives is for the JS-SEZ to get an adequate supply of skilled workers, uninterrupted power and water, and reliable international connections, he said.
While Dr Hutchinson acknowledged that the Causeway and Second Link – plus the upcoming Rapid Transit System Link – connect Singapore and Johor, he said more could be done.
The Causeway, for one, has become one of busiest land crossings in the world, with an estimated 300,000 commuters passing through daily. And this figure is expected to grow with Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority projecting traffic volume at the Causeway to increase by 40 per cent by 2050.
“It may be worth considering another link between Pasir Gudang in Johor, which has lots of factories, and Changi, as this would allow heavy vehicles to use this connection and lighten the load on the Causeway,” he said.
WHAT KIND OF JOBS WILL BE CREATED?
Dr Hutchinson noted that Johor, long a producer of consumer electronics, intends to expand its capabilities and carry out higher value-added activities.
This comes amid a high demand for the production of semiconductors, due to the spread of cloud computing and the advent of artificial intelligence.
But Dr Hutchinson warned that as production tasks get more sophisticated, and traditional manufacturing operations increasingly blur into services, the number of jobs generated by each subsequent investment in the JS-SEZ is likely to be smaller.
“Huge investments that generate 5,000 jobs, including low-, middle-, and high-skilled jobs are increasingly rare. Now, you may have a high-end investment that generates 200 to 300 jobs, most of which are high-skilled,” he said.
Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi previously said that the JS-SEZ aims to create 400,000 new high-income job opportunities and lift household incomes to RM13,000 (US$2,760) a month.
