AN ambitious economic zone will be launched this week that planners say will transform the lives of millions of people, especially in Negri Sembilan.
Called “Malaysia Vision Valley” (MVV) and dubbed a “world-class metropolis”, the sprawling zone will be a magnet for local and foreign investors in high-tech industries, and the medical and healthcare, education and tourism sectors.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will chair the first steering committee of the MVV at his office on May 4.
He will also witness the signing of the head of agreement comprising three entities which are jointly spearheading the ambitious corridor.
The three parties are Sime Darby Bhd, which will take a 50 per cent stake in the venture, followed by Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) and Malaysian property firm Brunsfield International Group, which hold 25 per cent each.
They will jointly own MVV Holdings Sdn Bhd, the master planner and project promoter. The chairman of the firm has yet to be named.
The state government of Negri Sembilan will not hold a stake in MVV Holdings but will invest in some of the flagship projects to be developed within the corridor.
The main pull for potential investors will be the proximity to ports and airports, excellent rail and highway links, and the fact that MVV is located near the huge population in Greater Kuala Lumpur.
Greater KL is home to more than a quarter of Malaysia’s 28.3 million people and generates over 40 per cent of the country’s annual gross domestic product.
Najib, in his 2016 Budget speech, had announced that the government will pump in an initial investment of RM5 billion into the MVV project last year.
By 2045, the project is expected to generate over RM417.6 billion in investments.
It is also expected to witness greater traction given the recent signing of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail deal, which will have one station within the project.
Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan told this writer that Labu would be the site of the HSR stop. The station could be built underground, maximising land use.
One highly-placed source said MVV might propose to the government to make the station an international one to cater to air travellers from nearby Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Seremban is currently slated as one of the domestic stations.
There are also plans to revive the Seremban-Port Dickson rail link.
Covering 152,971ha from Nilai to Seremban and Port Dickson, the massive project is a public-private partnership development, with Sime Darby owning around 40 per cent of the land earmarked for MVV.
Phase one will cover 11,129ha. By the way, Sime Darby is one of the biggest landowners in Negri Sembilan, given its oil palm plantations.
Back in 2009, Sime Darby unveiled the master plan for the project, which was previously dubbed Sime Darby Vision Valley.
Originally, it had an estimated gross development value of between RM25 billion and RM30 billion.
To be developed in more than 20 years, the project originally covered more than 32,000ha, spanning Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
The area has been earmarked by the government for development under the National Physical Plan, which sets forth a long-term strategic framework for national spatial planning, including measures needed to shape the direction of land use, development and biodiversity conservation in Peninsular Malaysia.
‘WE LACK THE WILL TO INVENT PRODUCTS’
IT is a fact that, as a nation, we are very deft at using new technology, not creating or developing the technology.
There may be a few of our inventions that made it to the world stage, but by and large we lag behind many countries, including China, in innovations.
As one UTM professor put it, the country has failed to create innovators although the quality of our engineering education is on a par with those of top universities in the world.
The main reason is the country lacks the will to invent products, said the former dean of UTM’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Prof Sheikh Hussain Shaikh Salleh, who now lectures.
“Our curriculum is similar to what is being taught in top universities in Europe. Our syllabus is as good as the West,” he was quoted by a news portal as saying in an interview.
“But in the West, the students design and apply the knowledge learned. We buy products from the West for our engineering students to assemble.
“That is why after 60 years of independence, are there any new industries coming up? That’s because the engineers are not utilising the theories they have learned,” he said.
There are other fundamental issues beyond just the lack of willpower. Lack of access to funding and poor commercialisation are some of the factors.
The primary role of reseach agencies such as Mardi is equally important. Mardi, for example, used to have more than 600 researchers, churning out on the average 300 over products of inventive and innovative nature.
This means each researcher would take or need two years from their findings to come out with products.
Of these 300-odd stuff, only six per cent had really been taken up, produced on a large scale and commercialised.
We should really address the question of “where next” after innovation.
If there is an abundance of innovative products at the prototype stage, but no take-up and real commercialisation, then nobody wants to commit with no guarantee of any reward.
On funding, there are enough grants for commercialisation of research and development projects but with stringent requirements, sometimes they kill the idea before it can grow.
As such, the process from ideas to commercialisation must be supported by adequate funding and an array of companies to take up and take off.
A. Jalil Hamid feels in a digital world, the winner does not always take all. He can be reached via jalil@nstp.com.my