14 
business
Ecer special zone sees RM90b
investments, 220,000 jobs
PEKAN: The East Coast Economic
Region Special Economic Zone
(Ecer SEZ) launched by Datuk Seri
Najib Abdul Razak yesterday, is
expected to attract RM90 billion in
direct domestic and international
investments by 2020.
The first integrated special
zone in Malaysia from Kertih in
Terengganu to Pekan in Pahang
was also expected to create more
than 220,000 job opportunities, said
the prime minister.
He said special incentives would
be introduced to draw investments
and make economic activities in
certain areas more attractive.
“Projects outside the SEZ area
will continue. Because the (Ecer)
area is very wide, it needs a focal
location,” he told reporters after
launching Ecer SEZ and the Ecer
Agropolitan project in Runchang
here.
He said four free zones would be
established in Ecer SEZ to promote
and focus on the chains between
industrial clusters that would give
a significant impact on the Ecer
economy – High Value Manufac-
turing, Agro-based Industry; Gas
and Petrochemical; Tourism/Real
Estate; Knowledge/Education and
ICT as well as Logistics.
“For the 2007 period until now,
foreign and local investments total-
ling RM24 billion would have been
expected from the private sector to
develop projects in Ecer in the tour-
ism, manufacturing, petrochemical
and agricultural clusters,” he said.
Najib said that although the zone
physically covers only six percent
of the total Ecer area, its economic
impact was very big including
in its capacity to contribute 50%
of the employment opportunities
compared to Ecer as a whole and
80% of the economic products for
the whole of Ecer.
He said the government would
continue to be committed to the Ecer
development until the 11th Malaysia
Plan and until 2020 through 189
projects worth RM112 billion that
would be implemented in stages.
In this regard, he said, the Kuan-
tan Port would also be upgraded
and expanded so that it would be
capable of handling more than
30 million metric tonnes of cargo
annually by 2020 compared to 16.8
million metric tonnes presently.
This would ensure the port was
able to play its roles as a main port
in the East Coast and a gateway for
the Asia Pacific market.
To stimulate Ecer SEZ’s rapid
development, Najib said, the gov-
ernment would provide several
fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to
attract investment and make it
competitive.
“If there are requests for addi-
tional incentives, we will consider
it based on the merits of a particular
case,” he said.
On the Ecer Agropolitan project,
he said, it was an integrated devel-
opment whose main objective was
to eradicate hardcore poverty by
end of 2010 through the involve-
ment of the poor in the plantation
and non-plantation sectors.
“I am interested in Agropolitan
because besides planting oil palm,
they can also breed sheep. If one
works for half a day, one can get
RM500 monthly and if one works
the whole day, one can get RM1,000
monthly.
“This will bring them out of the
poverty line,” he said.
He added that those healthy
would be offered such jobs while
the old or sick would be given a
welfare scheme.
The first 50 participants had
been selected to carry out Agro-
politan project activities that could
accommodate up to 1,500 people,
he said. – Bernama
theSun
Tax collection
expected
to be lower in H2
by Hemananthani
Sivanandam
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: The govern-
ment is expecting a lower gross
tax collection for the second half
of this year and might reduce its
budget for operational expendi-
ture next year.
“We’ll reduce operating ex-
penses next year because we’re
expecting the revenue this year
Projects to be lower,” said Second Finance
outside Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni
the SEZ Mohamad Hadzlah during a
area will press conference after launch-
ing the National Tax Conference
continue.
2009 yesterday.
Because “Due to the current economic
the (Ecer) situation, we’re a bit worried in
area is terms of collection for the sec-
very wide, ond half of this year and most
likely our tax collection will be
it needs lower than what we targeted.”
a focal Although he did not reveal
location.” the target for this year, Ahmad
– Najib Husni said the tax collection for
the first quarter of the year was
encouraging with a 3% increase
in terms of collection. However,
as of July, there was only a 1%
increase.
Last year, the Inland Revenue
Board collected RM90.6 billion,
surpassing its target of RM83.5
billion.From January to July this
year, Ahmad Husni said a total
| WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5 2009
of RM53.5 billion was collected
compared with RM52.4 billion
for the corresponding period last
year.
He said most of the taxes col-
lected was from the petroleum
industry which saw a RM2 billion
increase in contribution. There
was a RM1 billion increase from
individual tax payers.
Ahmad Husni also gave an up-
date of the projects announced
in the two stimulus packages by
the government.
He said as of July, the
government has 49,421 work-
ing projects valued at RM5.7
billion from the first RM7 billion
stimulus package announced
last November.
From the second RM60 billion
stimulus package announced in
March, there are 26,224 working
projects to date valued at RM6.4
billion.
Asked if the government
plans to decrease preferential
corporate tax for small medium
enterprises (SMEs), Ahmad Husni
said it was too early to mention
anything but said the ministry is
currently having its focus group
meetings to finalise the details
for the upcoming 2010 Budget.
He said the meetings are ex-
pected to end in August before
the budget is tabled in the Octo-
ber’s parliamentary session.