JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Johor will have three major entertainment parks worth almost RM8 billion (S$2.7 billion) in the near future, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

"We want to be the new economic power house in the region and make Johor a competitor to all including our close neighbour, Singapore," said Mohamed Khaled.

He said that the state was known as the Southern Tiger and that it is now the time for the tiger to show its teeth and stripes.

"We do not want to be a backyard to Singapore, we must catch up with the lion," he added.

Mohamed Khaled, who is also the state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said this in his speech during the launching of its manifesto for GE14 on Saturday (April 14).

He pointed out that under its manifesto, dubbed Johor Hi-5, there were five key points with more than 230 offers to Johoreans.

"For us to catch the lion, we must upgrade our tourism sector with new attractions because if Singapore has Gardens by the Bay, we will build a new tourism centre at the Desaru coast worth RM4.5 billion," he said.

"In Singapore, they have Universal Studios but here, we will build the world's first science fiction theme park near Legoland here," he added.

Mohamed Khaled also pointed out that BN is also committed to building a RM2.7 billion eco-entertainment park near the Yayasan Pelajaran Johor campus in Kota Tinggi.

"Once all the projects are completed, I would not be surprised to see Singaporeans coming to world class facilities available here," he said.