'Better than Shenzhen': Johor's Onn Hafiz Ghazi on Johor-S'pore Special Economic Zone

Onn Hafiz Ghazi, the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johor spoke at the National University of Singapore Society’s 70th Anniversary Lecture on Sep.18.

In his speech and subsequent question and answer session, he spoke extensively about the possibilities of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and Special Financial Zone.

He compared the prospects of the Special Economic Zone to the success of the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Johor and Shenzhen are cities close to prosperous neighbours in Singapore and Hong Kong respectively.

Bridging gaps

During his speech, he compared the contrasting approaches to connecting the two pairs of cities. In the past four decades, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have managed to build four land entry points.

Singapore and Johor had in that time built two, the Tuas Second Link and the as-yet incomplete RTS.

This was in addition to the century-old Causeway.

Third bridge between Singapore and Johor?

Connectivity between Singapore and Johor was on the minds of the lecture’s participants, with some asking about the possibility of a third bridge between Johor and Singapore.

Onn Hafiz replied that his current priority was making sure that RTS, due to be complete by 2026, and planned to be carrying passengers on the first day of 2027, was a success first.

It would carry up to 10,000 passengers an hour, “a big load”. Only after that was in place would considerations for a third connection or bridge begin.

However, ferries, including car-bearing ferries were under consideration, with the Johor government looking at a potential ferry service between Iskandar Putri and Tuas.

When asked about the difficulty of obtaining a Vehicle Entry Permit, he vowed to address it the moment he returned to Johor. The next day it was revealed that two more VEP installation locations would be set up in Johor.

Shenzhen Bahru

However, concerns were also raised about Johor becoming Malaysia's Shenzhen.

Some participants noted that while Shenzhen had become extremely successful, it dwarfed Hong Kong in terms of population and economy.

One participant relayed a story about Hong Kong, saying that in the 1980s people “ran from Shenzhen” to work in Hong Kong, but now it was the other way around.

He asked the MB his view on the comparison, and how he would allay the fears of Singaporeans.

No zero-sum game, win-win for both

Onn Hafiz replied that he did not see his goals for Johor as a zero-sum game.

Instead, he said that there were opportunities for everyone and that as chief minister of Johor, he had no ambitions to “beat Singapore” when it came to economic growth.

“It was necessary to do things in an extraordinary way to achieve extraordinary results”, which could be seen in Shenzhen's development.

He contrasted the relative lack of collaboration between the leadership of Hong Kong and Shenzhen when the latter was first being developed, in his view.

However, the prospects of the Special Economic Zone were different, because of the cooperation between the Singapore and Johor governments. “This is even better than Shenzhen.”

Johor at the table

The JSSEZ is a special initiative that would see the state at the forefront of efforts to attract investors into Malaysia, which saw Johor “at the table” for several federal initiatives.

One was a national task force on traffic congestion, chaired by Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, which allowed Johor to highlight its challenges and tap into solutions that were being developed in Kuala Lumpur.

Johor is also seriously looking at ways to enhance its business ecosystem, increase the ease of doing business in the state, as well as attract investments into the region.

"We have heard grouses that policies and procedures have been inconsistent and tedious," Onn Hafiz said.

To combat that, Forest City would be home to the first Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre outside of KL.

“Forest City would not just be a place for Singaporeans to play golf,” Onn Hafiz quipped.

From Pontian to Pengerang

Throughout his question and answer session, Onn Hafiz laid out an ambitious set of goals for the SEZ.

In response to a suggestion about the development of the town of Pengerang, he outlined the perimeter of where he expected the SEZ to be.

The area that was being suggested and proposed to the governments of Singapore and Malaysia would include Johor Bahru, Pontian, and Kulai, areas to the Southwest of Johor state.

But he said it would also include Pengerang, a town located to the east of Johor Bahru, and for context, to the southeast of Pulau Tekong.

This indicates an area that more or less covered the entirety of Southern Johor, and an area larger than Singapore itself.

Road widening… to a point

As part of the preparations for the SEZ, infrastructure investment has already begun.

Onn Hafiz said that the highways from JB to Desaru in the East, and from Kulai to Ayer Hitam were being widened.

“Why only up to Ayer Hitam?” He joked, “Because we don't want you to go too far, you know, just stay in Johor.”

Related stories

Top image via Mothership and Wikipedia