The Johor Structure Plan (RSN) 2040 review’s top priorities include addressing climate change, getting ready for an ageing population, and embracing emerging technologies.
According to Abdulhan Abd Lamit, Director of the Johor Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia Johor), the review’s goal is to make sure the state’s socioeconomic and physical development planning is still relevant to present and future demands.
He stated that RSN Johor 2040 will take a ‘Mission-Oriented Policy Approach’, in which key development goals will be identified first before supporting strategies are developed.
“We are taking a different approach for this edition of the state structure plan by adopting a Mission-Oriented Policy Approach,” he said in Bernama Radio’s Johor Tersohor programme.
The Johor Structure Plan 2020 was enacted in 2008, and the second-generation Johor Structure Plan 2030 was adopted in March 2020.
The current review started in April and is expected to be completed by April 2027.
According to Abdulhan, the new approach will allow the state government to establish specific development goals before developing strategies based on data, facts, and detailed analysis.
“For example, we may set a target to reduce carbon emissions during the planning period, which would then be supported by appropriate strategies,” he said.
He said the approach would also help align the state’s physical development plans with new policy initiatives, including the Maju Johor agenda introduced by Menteri Besar Johor Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and the Johor Economic Transformation Plan.
“The review will also consider major development projects like the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), Maharani Freeport, and Ibrahim Technopolis (IBTEC), said Abdulhan, adding the review will also consider emerging technologies such as smart cities, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).
On environmental sustainability, he stated that the study places a high priority on the impact of climate change, particularly in developing strategies to strengthen the state’s resilience to disaster risks.
He said previous floods in districts like Segamat and Batu Pahat highlighted the importance of prioritising disaster risk considerations in development planning.
“Population projections also show that Johor will become an ageing society after 2040, so we must begin planning for this now,” he said.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Johor’s population is expected to reach 4.21 million by 2025, with the state covering an area of 1.932 million hectares across ten districts.
