A special economic zone (SEZ) in the southern Malaysian state of Johor will be jointly developed by Malaysia and Singapore, with the goal of luring investments and facilitating trade and travel. This agreement was reached on Thursday.
According to a joint statement, the neighbours of Southeast Asia would strive to establish a formal agreement, with the goal of collaborating on renewable energy and streamlining processes ranging from business permits to border clearance.
Malaysia’s Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli stated, “The zone presents an unprecedented opportunity,” adding that it would strengthen commerce and benefit both countries’ economies by increasing the cross-border flow of people and commodities.
The presidents of both nations witnessed the signing of the agreement during a ceremony in Johor between Rafizi and the minister of commerce and industry in Singapore.
According to the statement, from January to June 2022, Singapore accounted for over 70% of Johor’s total foreign direct investment in manufacturing, making it the second-largest foreign investor in the state.
Johor Bahru, the capital of Malaysia, and Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, attended an event earlier on Thursday to mark the completion of the 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) light rail link between the two countries.
When the project, which has been beset by delays and is expected to cost approximately 10 billion ringgit ($2.2 billion), is finished by the end of 2026, it will relieve traffic on the causeway connecting the neighbours, which is one of the busiest land crossings in the world.
Every day, thousands of Malaysians travel to work and education in tiny but affluent Singapore.
Furthermore, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam told parliament on Wednesday that Singapore is thinking of hiring auxiliary police officers (APOs) from China, the Philippines, India, and Myanmar.
The city-state wants to increase the number of jurisdictions from which it hires APOs because there have been fewer from Taiwan in the last few years. The Home Affairs ministry has thus been thinking about extending the range of areas from which auxiliary police officers (APOs) may be hired. As to a report by Channel News Asia, they would comprise Asian nations including China, India, the Philippines, and Myanmar.
The minister was also reported in the Today newspaper as saying, “We need to allow the Auxiliary Police Forces to recruit foreign APOs, in order to meet the increasing demand for security services.” “With the local workforce in Singapore shrinking and demands like physical fitness and job options, the Auxiliary Police Forces have challenges in maintaining an adequate pool of APOs.”
