SHAH ALAM, Mar 4 – The Selangor state government today identified five main fields which were expected to be able to  stimulate its economic development and create investments opportunities worth over RM50 billion.

The Dato’ Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said besides creating more than 15,000 job opportunities, the state government also believed this initiative would create more opportunities for the Small and Medium Industries (SMI) sector, which was worst hit by the economic recession.

He said, the five fields are cleaning and beautifying the Klang River which involves developing housing areas along the river as well as reserve lands and expanding the transportation system for the whole of Selangor including the Light Rail Transit.

Besides that, the other fields include efforts to upgrade and replace water services following the take over by Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB), reform on town activities by focusing on redeveloping abandoned areas among others in Petaling Jaya and Klang, including housing projects.

He added, this was the first phase in Selangor’s new economic plan which could in future explore other areas such as broadband and wireless systems in the development of information and communications technology (ICT).

“To ensure its success, the state government needs the cooperation of the Federal Government and private sector both within and outside the country,” he said adding that he hoped discussions could be held between state government agencies, Selangor Business Council and other business groups.
 
He said this in a media conference after chairing the weekly State Executive Council (Exco) Members Meeting this afternoon.

The state government had also begun several other steps in handling the issue of retrenchment including online registration of affected workers.

“The Selangor Pakatan government is extremely hopeful that the Federal Government will support these efforts because we believe that economic development should disregard political differences for the sake of the people,” he said.

In other developments, Abdul Khalid said the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Meeting would begin on March 10th.

He said members of the public could watch its live telecast through Live Streaming on the Selangor government’s official website, www.selangor.gov.my. – MURIZA ABDUL HAMID