AFTER 10 years of working outside Perak, it is challenging to be back in the silver state and adapt to the changes that have taken place.
Being a Perakian, I have always kept myself abreast of the latest news and, therefore, understand how volatile the political situation is in the state.
As such, I had anticipated the recent State Legislative Assembly sitting to be full of drama.
But, to my surprise, the drama, if at all, was few and rather insignificant. There were no fiery speeches, walkouts or unexpected turn of events during the question-and-answer session or when the assemblymen were debating a motion to support the state’s five-year development plan tabled by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
Zambry is indeed pleased with the maturity and decorum showed by the assemblymen from both sides of the divide as it allowed the ruling party to focus on developing the state.
“Hopefully, such decorum will continue as everyone must do his or her part to help develop the
state, which should be beyond politics,” he said.
It is quite interesting to see how much the state has developed in just a decade.
Ipoh city and other major towns such as Taiping, Lumut and Teluk Intan have undergone major transformation while new areas like Seri Iskandar and Kamunting have shown significant growth.
Zambry said the state’s development plan would spur economic growth in line with the Perak Amanjaya Development Plan and Vision 2020.
With a development allocation of RM1.76 billion, it will focus on seven main thrusts — boosting economic growth through new networks; continuing inclusive and sustainable development; empowering human capital; reinforcing infrastructure networks; encouraging creativity and innovation; strengthening mental, physical and spiritual development; and bridging the gap between regions.
To boost economic development, the state government will also implement projects and programmes that involve foreign and private investors, apart from public funding.
Perak will also focus on 11 aspects, namely the development of regional economic corridors; public infrastructure; industrialisation; sosio-economic development; health; education; agriculture, fisheries and livestock breeding; housing; tourism; environment and forestry; and Islamic religion.
For the development of the economic corridors, it will focus on the southern Perak region, which comprises the Batang Padang and Hilir Perak districts and the establishment of the new district, Mua’llim, which has received the approval of the Federal Government.
It will also develop T-City, which involves Batu Gajah and Kampar, apart from developing Warisan Ipoh Perdana or Ipoh Sentral with an estimated investment of RM2 billion. T-City will include the construction of a Formula 2 racing track, automotive factory outlet, street mall and hotels.
The state government will also expand the Kamunting Raya industrial area near Taiping and develop the Ipoh Aerospace Park, apart from opening the Kampung Acheh Free Zone (Lumut), Lembah Beriah Metropolis City (Bagan Serai), Green Asia Aerospace Technology Park (Seri Iskandar), Batu Gajah Locomotive Hub and Proton City Automotive Hub (Tanjung Malim).
A dedicated corporation will develop the 230km of coastal areas in the state.
As for public infrastructure, Zambry said one of the main focus areas was the construction of the West-Coast Expressway, since 172km of the stretch will run through the state.
With 11 interchanges, the new highway will become an alternative to the North-South Expressway, which is congested during weekends and public holidays.
Interestingly, the state government and KTM also plan to build a rail link between Kampar, Batu Gajah, Ipoh and Sungai Siput.
It is indeed exciting to see how comprehensive the plan is but, the state government has also stressed on the importance of achieving a balanced and sustainable development.
After chairing the weekly state executive council meeting recently, Zambry said the Perak capital and other towns must maintain their identity and enhance all the attractions that they had.
For example, the Ipoh City Council will cooperate with premises owners to install beautiful lighting and standardised signages on the iconic and heritage buildings in the city. Premises owners must also find ways to conceal the air-conditioner compressors outside their buildings, which are an eyesore to those who want to appreciate the beautiful architecture of the structures.
Hopefully, the local authorities in other townships will emulate the move to ensure that they retain their identify while undergoing another round of transformation over the next five years.
The writer is Perak NST bureau chief