By Nasuha Badrul Huzaini
SHAH ALAM, Aug 27 — The First Selangor Plan (RS-1) gives the state government a clear direction for where it wants to take its economy, says Senior Fellow and Director of the Economic Studies Programme (Southeast Asia) at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute, Sunway University, Dr Yeah Kim Leng.
He said that the strategy will allow for more concentrated and streamlined efforts to contribute more effectively to meeting the nation’s digitalisation and green growth goals as Selangor is one of the most industrialised states in the country.
“Most importantly, the state’s plan is aligned with the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP). Given its dominant role in the national economy, Selangor’s ability to meet its development targets will be crucial for the country to realise the 12MP goals and objectives.
“The five-year plan is comprehensive, holistic and realistic. It could serve as a model for other states.
“The people of Selangor can look forward to participating in or benefitting from the various planned programmes, activities and projects,” he said when recently contacted by Selangor Journal.
Elaborating further on the state’s goal to achieve a growth domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.5 per cent to 7.0 per cent annually, Yeah said Selangor had achieved a highly commendable pre-pandemic GDP growth of 6.4 per cent per annum between 2015 and 2019.
“The state contributed 24.2 per cent to the country’s GDP, far exceeding Kuala Lumpur’s 16.4 per cent and Johor (9.4 per cent).
“Therefore, the 6.5 per cent to 7.0 per cent target is appropriate but challenging due to the fact that the bigger the state economy is, the harder it will be able to expand at the same rate as the other states growing from a smaller base,” he added.
On top of that, Yeah said the state’s annual target of RM25 billion to RM35 billion of approved investment in leading and sophisticated sectors is less than 10 per cent of Selangor’s GDP.
“A robust investment will range between 20 to 25 per cent of GDP. If the target amount only counts investment in leading and sophisticated sectors, then it is appropriate and consistent with the targeted GDP growth.
“A high investment rate indicates expansion in production capacity, employment, technological upgrading and income,” he said.
The RS-1, which was tabled on July 27, consist of four strategic themes, five policy catalysts and 262 initiatives that include 19 game-changer projects.
The four strategic themes are focused on strengthening the economy, ensuring social inclusivity and the people’s wellbeing, driving environmental sustainability, and providing good and effective governance.
Under the plan, 14 macro indicators have been outlined as overall achievement indicators for the plan, to ensure that the initiatives executed may be evaluated for their performance.
