Iskandar Development Region (IDR)

Today I read in the news of JB's UMNO Youth passing an unanimous emergency resolution to press Lee Kuan Yew to retract his comments that advise investors from Singapore to question whether the attitudes (of Johor politicians) will change, and to consider how welcome their investments will be (in the IDR).


Whether the comments sprang from concern or malice, they are very pertinent as history have shown that senior politicians like Abdul Ghani harbor deep distrust and enmity towards Singapore, and it is indeed questionable whether the interests of the IDR can overcome the historical baggage that are carried on both sides of the Causeway.


The IDR is a topic of interest to me, because it represents a promise of changes set amidst a history of inflexibility; a promise of new friendships set amidst a history of conflict and hostility.


The most critical changes proposed for the IDR, is to set aside the requirements for Bumiputera quotas as well as the creation of a high level committee to oversee the zone and make sure that its needs are handled directly from the very top.


Already there are comments that the project have sold out to Singaporean interests, and there have been already hasty explanations that the high level committee did not meant that Singaporean approval must be sought for decisions regarding the IDR.


To me, the lifting of the Bumiputera quotas are a sound move that is necessary to attract mobile capital in the world today - the question is whether this rule will extent to other aspects of the Malaysian economy, and whether the success of the IDR (if it happens) will lead to more exemptions or the end of the exceptions.


The hysterical commotion arising from the news of the formation of the joint Committee between Singapore and Malaysia for the IDR show off the paranoia and hostility of the Johor politicians perfectly - a measured approach would have been an internal clarification followed by an external clarification; instead, various parties go shooting to the press direct.


In my opinion, Singapore-Malaysia cooperation would be an important catalyst that could spark off the success of the IDR, diverting it from the fate of obscurity that have befallen previous mega projects like the Cyberjaya.


The question is - can existing mindsets really change to push for a new era of cooperation, or will the mindsets remain to poison and cripple progress despite lip service to the contrary