WEAK GOVERNANCE - PRIMARY REASON FOR SG4 NOT ATTRACTING INVESTORS

PADANG RENGAS, March 26 (Bernama) -- Weak governance is the primary reason why the four opposition-ruled states, collectively known as ‘State-Government 4’ (SG4), have not seen significant economic growth and development, said the Political Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim.

He said there is no justification for any party to blame the federal government for the sluggish economic progress in the four states as substantial assistance has been provided in the form of funding and infrastructure development.

This included the RM500 Special Aidilfitri Financial Assistance (BKKA) for more than 14,000 Terengganu state civil servants as announced by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) yesterday, he said.

The MOF,  in a statement yesterday,  said the decision was made following the visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, to Terengganu on March 21.

Muhammad Kamil also mentioned that Kelantan Menteri Besar met the Prime Minister a few weeks ago to ask for help to speed up the flood mitigation project in the state.

He said the allocation provided to the four states by the federal government has also increased.

“So there is no issue that the opposition states are being marginalized," he said when met at the Iftar Perdana and the presentation of MADANI Aidilfitri contributions at the Arena Square of the Al-Hadhari Mosque here, yesterday.

 He said this in response to a claim by Perikatan Nasional (PN) Youth Chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden that while economic growth in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis has shown consistent annual increases, they lacked sufficient support from the federal government, particularly in matters related to attracting investors.

Muhammad Kamil said that the SG4 administration must also take responsibility for addressing key issues, such as flooding, as these factors directly impact investor confidence.

“Take the flood issue as an example. It’s a major problem affecting all segments of society. If the issue remains unresolved, it will inevitably erode investor confidence in these states,” he added.

-- BERNAMA