Melaka proposes establishing Southern Gateway Economic Corridor

JASIN: The Melaka Government is tabling a proposal to form a new economic corridor with Johor and Negri Sembilan, says its Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.

The Melaka Chief Minister said that the suggested Southern Gateway Economic Corridor could potentially stimulate growth in all three states.

“The proposal was discussed during the recent Intellectual and Leadership Development Retreat, which was attended by heads of state government agencies and subsidiaries,” he said after attending the state’s civil servants’ monthly assembly and meet-the-people session at Dewan Alamanda here on Thursday (July 25).

Ab Rauf said he is confident he can garner the federal government’s support.

“We will begin by setting up a special working committee with stakeholders from the two states to table a detailed development cooperation study before presenting it to our federal counterpart,” he said.

“We also hope to revive the discussion on building a highway linking Banting in Selangor to Gelang Patah in Johor.

“The highway can help alleviate congestion on the North-South Expressway, especially during festive seasons or weekends,” he added.

The then-late Works Minister Tun S. Samy Vellu first proposed the highway project in 1997.

Meanwhile, Ab Rauf said poor-performing state government-linked companies (GLCs) should improve corporate governance and need to improve their financial performances.

He said more than 50 of these GLCs had been discovered to have poor-quality performances and substandard returns on equity.

“Hence, I want to see the top management of these GLCs embarking on transformation programmes to improve their financial standings,” he said.