Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia and Co-Chairman of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), expressed satisfaction that the people of Iskandar Malaysia continues to benefit from the development of the region and endorsed more Rakyat-centered initiatives that can further elevate their standards of living.
“Iskandar Malaysia, as an economic region, has shown excellent investment achievements from its inception until today. However, I’m more excited to see the region’s many accomplishments in ensuring that the Rakyat are not left behind and building a cohesive and resilient community amidst its fast-paced development,” said Muhyiddin after IRDA Members of Authority (MoA) virtual meeting on 19th October 2020.
Iskandar Malaysia has announced the creation of more than 750,000 jobs in the same period, with a whopping RM322.1 billion total cumulative investment registered from 2006 to June 2020.
According to the Chief Executive of IRDA, Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, “Wealth sharing and inclusiveness agenda in the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) aims to achieve equitable wealth for the community living in Iskandar Malaysia.”
“An important aspect of ensuring that this agenda is sustainable is to ensure that the ecosystem promotes social connectedness to help the society participate in the decision making process and implementation of locally-based initiatives.”
One of the main initiatives put forward during the MoA meeting is to coordinate, through the use of technology, a data collection initiative through Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The use of data collected and technology to analyse this data would enable authorities and other partners in Iskandar to suggest more reliable, obvious-based solutions and welfare initiatives for Rakyat.
Third proposal includes supporting the current Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) and the Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) initiatives by the government by incorporating financial literacy learning modules in all existing empowerment programmes.
“I trust that other members of IRDA MoA board concur with me on the Rakyat-centric agenda in Iskandar Malaysia and endorse all the proposed initiatives to help the Rakyat further, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Muhyiddin.
