Four Malaysian states – Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu – have established a joint venture to pool resources and share wealth. It remains to be seen whether this new venture will attract investment to the four states ruled by the Islamic Party Malaysia (PAS), but if the aim is to consolidate political power, it is a timely strategic move. be.
In early September, it was reported that the four state governments controlled by the federal opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) had come together to form a company called SG4 Group Sdn Bhd. It is about pooling resources. The relatively rural states will share the wealth equally, with each state owning 25% of the company’s stock.
According to the company’s advisors, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah contain rare earth elements, and Perlis has dolomite, which is used to process these elements. Terengganu and Kelantan also have valuable oil and gas resources, and Kedah and Perlis have agricultural land. The group’s five main clusters of focus are therefore infrastructure and logistics. Trade, investment and industry. Agriculture and food security. Education and human capital. And a new source of income. Each state will appoint an executive council member to lead each cluster.
The idea of clustering states is not new. After the 2008 general election, when Pakatan Harapan (then Rakyat) ruled Penang, Perak and Selangor, there were attempts to forge a common policy platform. However, Pakatan’s greatest achievement during its first term was to bring together three provinces (later only two provinces when Perak switched to Barisan National Party (BN)) with aides and civil servants for administrative consultation. He hosted the state chief minister’s summit. water and land policy, etc.
SG4 Group’s innovation, based on the idea of pooling resources and sharing wealth, is therefore the first of its kind.
PAS supporters gather in Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. Photo: Associated Press
Constrained by an overly centralized federal structure with relatively few state responsibilities and minimal revenue generation, state governments are continues to expand its efforts to manage its assets. Successful examples include Johor Corporation and Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated. Establishing a company that spans multiple states is unusual, but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to achieve its main goal of attracting investment.
