KULAI - Traffic congestion at the two land crossings between Johor and Singapore has been going on for far too long and must be resolved by 2023, said Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

He said there will be continuous efforts to resolve traffic problems along with other initiatives to advance the southern Malaysian state, with hopes that these will be able to attract more foreign investments to Johor.

“The border congestion problem is a very important issue. It is a legacy issue that has been going on for two to three decades,” Datuk Onn Hafiz said at the opening of a manufacturing plant on Saturday.

“As the new Menteri Besar (chief minister), it is my objective to ensure that this issue is resolved by this year. That is why many Johoreans will often see me at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at 5am.”

The chief minister, who took office in March, has previously been seen inspecting the Johor immigration and checkpoint buildings and inquiring why some counters for passport clearance were left unstaffed.

Shift hours for immigration staff has also been altered to cater for peak hours.

Mr Onn Hafiz added that he will also focus on improving roads across all districts in Johor.

“Recently, we met up with the Works Minister, who approved additional funds of RM40 million (S$11.7 million) for Johor roads,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has also recently announced that the federal government is approving RM500 million to widen the North-South Expressway and the highway connected to beach destination Desaru.

The Johor chief added that the state government is working with the federal and Singapore governments to provide a ferry service between Tuas and Kota Iskandar.

“I hope that some of these attractive points will show that Johor is serious in welcoming more foreign investments into the state,” he said.

On Saturday, Mr Onn Hafiz said Johor had received RM300 million in investment to build four manufacturing plants for JStar – a subsidiary of China-based company Zhejiang Jiecang Linear Motion Technology – in Kulai, Johor.

“Such investments, other than bringing technology to the state, also opens up more job opportunities for Johoreans,” he said, with plans to attract investors also in line with the state government’s vision to make Johor an advanced state by 2030. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK