Momentum stays strong
LENGGONG: Perak is on track to achieving the nine key agendas outlined in the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan to drive the state's socioeconomic development.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said out of the 272 projects and initiatives in the plan — now entering the third year of implementation — 108 had been completed, 128 were being implemented and 36 in the pre-implementation stage.
"We have identified 127 projects to be included in the Perak Sejahtera 2030 Dashboard for monitoring," said Saarani when presenting the third-year progress report for the plan at Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara here yesterday.
The Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan, launched on June 15, 2022, outlines nine key development agendas for the state.
They are Security, Digital Economy, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Malaysia TVET Corridor, Responsible Mining, Governance of State-Interest Projects, Social Development, Environmental and Biodiversity Sustainability and Empowerment of Local Authorities.
Saarani said a key focus of the state's current efforts was the development of five strategic growth nodes to serve as major economic drivers for Perak over the next decade.
"These five growth nodes are the Automotive High Tech Valley in Tanjong Malim, Lumut Maritime Industrial City in Manjung, Silver Valley Technology Park in Kanthan, Perak Halal Industrial Park in Lekir, and the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park in Kerian.
"Perak aims to shine in the field of responsible mining, while exploring three emerging economic sectors more broadly, which are the Blue Economy, the Green Economy and the Care Economy.
"That's why we want to strengthen the education sector, especially in the field of TVET, so that we can prepare our youth for the future job market."
Saarani added that several economic indicators showed that Perak had successfully recovered from the downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We (Perak) were once on the brink of recession, recording a deficit of up to RM70 million. But we have bounced back with a surplus for three consecutive years, including RM64 million in 2023, the highest in our history.
"The declining unemployment rate and increasing labour force participation over the past three years, along with improving economic growth momentum, give us the confidence to realise the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
ESG sustainability: societal and global perspectives
The increasing volatility and unpredictability of the global economy arising from Black Swan events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, is prompting corporate managers the world over to initiate measures to enhance their chances of survival. Many are adopting the ESG framework. This strategy focuses on the ESG factors that are essential for the survival of the business enterprise over the long haul. The three measures of ESG sustainability are the following: > Environmental: the ecological criteria for corporate performance as a custodian of nature; > Social: standards by which a company manages its relationships with customers, workers, suppliers and the communities where it operates; and > Governance: factors relating to a company's style of leadership, compensation policy, corporate accountability and shareholder rights. High standards of performance along these three ESG dimensions reflect a firm's concern for its stakeholders and ensures it of a continued flow of economic resources from them. By contrast, poor ESG performance is generally scorned by government regulators and militant stakeholder groups, such as activist investors and consumers who may threaten to withhold resources from the firm, thereby posing a potential threat to its continued existence. In response to pressure from activist stakeholders, many corporations are investing in ESG-compliant projects in order to burnish their public image. Key risks in PH The ESG framework may also be applied to social policies aimed at the sustainability of nations and of the planet. This broader application of the ESG framework is traditionally a function of the state. However, the state has become remiss in performing this function, and business should therefore assume this responsibility. Firms can promote ESG for society by engaging with the various stakeholder activist groups in a collaborative effort to exert pressure on the state to promote environmental (i.e., ecological), social and governance sustainability for society, and consequently, for its component institutions as well. There are currently two major sources of instability in Philippine society that pose a potential threat to its sustainability, one political and the other economic. The recently concluded national elections have a potential impact on the current state of public-sector governance in our country. Many see in the outcome of the elections the resurrection of a political regime that history has shown to have been responsible for the breakdown of most of our social and political institutions. Rightly or wrongly, it was, according to a number of observers, the result of a well-oiled campaign machinery that twisted the truth beyond recognition, and aimed at gullible, impressionable voters. More ominously, it was a political exercise where government agencies that have been captured by pressure groups, profit-seeking social media platforms and self-seeking individuals have been complicit with. By whatever lens one views the current chaotic political scenario, the emerging system of public sector governance is apparently dysfunctional and patently unsustainable. Saving an unsustainable economic system: Can business save capitalism? In the introductory chapter of my recently published book, Strategy in the New Age of Capitalism (UP Press, 2022), I wrote: '... in the last thirty years, capitalistic societies have witnessed a dramatic increase in economic inequality, lack of economic opportunities and worsening living conditions among large segments of societies. Such large-scale economic disenfranchisement in the face of phenomenal growth is unquestionably among the greatest anomalies of capitalism.' The ever-widening gap in the economic fortunes of the few, very rich individuals in society and the great majority of the people suffering in abject poverty is unsustainable. There have been increasing calls from the business community itself for a more inclusive and a more compassionate form of capitalism. On Aug 19, 2019, the influential Business Roundtable (BRT) formally abandoned its long-standing advocacy of shareholder wealth maximisation as the main purpose of business corporations and formally adopted a new 'Statement of Purpose of the Corporation'. With this proclamation, the BRT committed corporate America to creating value for all stakeholders. Over a year later, 26 of the largest business and professional organisations in the Philippines, collectively known as the Philippine Business Groups, signed a 'Covenant for Shared Prosperity', by which they upheld the universal issues of economic and social inequality and non-inclusivity by ensuring '... ethical wealth creation and the sharing of prosperity with all stakeholders.' At its virtual annual meeting held on Jan 26, 2021, leaders of the World Economic Forum made an impassioned appeal for stakeholder capitalism, an approach to business and economic policymaking that looks beyond the interests of shareholders and toward the well-being of society. By all indications, stakeholder capitalism appears to be the new mantra in the corporate world. All the sound and fury about stakeholder—or inclusive—capitalism is cloaked with the empty promise of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, interpreted by most as a form of largess or altruism, and a moral obligation of business to society. In our view, corporate initiatives that pass for 'CSR' have an underlying strategic agenda. The social benefits arising from the commercial activities of business firms are the unintended external effects of their strategic and operational decisions on the material well-being of society, and not, as popularly construed, their intended purpose. To conclude, business organisations and other forms of social institutions can survive only in sustainable physical and social environments. It is therefore in the strategic interest of business to promote sustainable ecological, political, economic and social environments. This article is reproduced with the kind permission from the Philippine Daily Inquirer—a member of A-EPIC. It reflects the personal opinion of the author and not the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). The author is a retired professor of economics and management, and currently a professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Feedback at map@ and nspoblador@
Free Malaysia Today
6 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
No digging, rare earth mining will be environmentally friendly, says Perak MB
Perak menteri besar Saarani Mohamad said all rare earth mining activities will comply with SOPs. (Bernama pic) LENGGONG : The Perak government has given an assurance that all mining activities involving non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE) will not harm the environment. Menteri besar Saarani Mohamad said although rare earth mining presents a new opportunity for generating state revenue, the government will not compromise on protecting the people's interests. He said the state government guarantees that NR-REE activities will utilise modern mining technologies to improve efficiency and safety while safeguarding the environment. 'When we initiated the NR-REE mining pilot project in Kenering, Hulu Perak, one of the key requirements was strict compliance with environmental impact assessment procedures, particularly those concerning environmental protection,' he said at a press conference after presenting the progress report of the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan here today. 'The latest extraction method for this mineral no longer involves digging, but uses the in-situ leaching (ISL) method, which involves injecting ammonium sulfate solution into the ground to dissolve the rare earth elements, which are then pumped back to the surface for processing.' Saarani said the state government would not allow NR-REE mining activities if it does not comply with standard operating procedures and the requirements set by the relevant technical agencies. 'NR-REE mining using the ISL method is the latest sustainable approach with controlled environmental impact, low operational costs, and good worker safety standards,' he said. 'Therefore, we do not have to worry about landslides, there will be no clearing of trees, and the forest reserve itself will be protected. If it causes environmental damage, we will not allow it.' It was previously reported that the state government had identified new potential NR-REE mineral sites in three additional districts apart from Hulu Perak, with estimated reserves of 1.7 million metric tonnes. Saarani said based on preliminary studies by the Perak minerals and geoscience department, the districts include Kuala Kangsar, Kinta, Larut Matang and Selama, with 70% to 80% of the potential NR-REE reserves located within forest reserve areas.
New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- New Straits Times
State-federal synergy driving plan's success
LENGGONG: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said strong synergy between the state and federal governments is one of the key factors behind the success of the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan to date. He said this synergy had enabled the successful implementation of 108 projects and initiatives outlined in the plan thus far. "This proves how the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan and the Malaysia Madani vision initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim complement each other. "This synergy can be seen in how the leadership at both the state and federal levels, and across departments and agencies, share compatibility and a mutual willingness to complement one another. "We want to strengthen this synergy further so we can achieve even greater success," he said when presenting the third-year progress report for the plan at Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara here yesterday. Saarani shared examples of several out-of-the-box approaches carried out across state and federal departments that enabled all five high-impact projects in Perak to be swiftly mobilised. He said one of the initiatives was the Muallim-Speed Lane, which shortened the approval process for construction up to the Certificate of Completion and Compliance and operational licensing levels. "The Kerian Green Lane applies the principle of 'agile regulation' to expedite approvals in industrial areas while a Land Affairs Express Lane has been introduced to shorten the land approval process to as short as one day, compared to three to six months previously. "There is also strong synergy in the implementation of various people's welfare programmes, where both state and federal agencies and departments work hand-in-hand to ease the burden of those in need," he said.
