Exclusive Interview with Ragu, COO of the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) in Malaysia: The East Coast Economic Region to Launch 3.0 Plan, Focusing on Enhancing Value Chain Added Value
“Under the Belt and Road Initiative, Malaysia’s East Coast Railway connects important ports on the east and west coasts of the Malay Peninsula, allowing any investment and business to enter the ASEAN market, and further into the Middle East and Europe.” On November 15, Dato’Ragu Sampasivam, Chief Operating Officer of Malaysia’s East Coast Special Economic Zone Development Council, accepted an exclusive interview with the reporter of the 21st Century Business Herald during the China-ASEAN SME Industry Chain Business Matchmaking Conference held by the Guangzhou Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Research Institute. He said that the East Coast Railway plays a large role in the development of the East Coast Special Economic Zone, and it is closely related to the investment and economic and trade activities in the East Coast region, such as driving the import and export of products related to the electric vehicle industry chain between the Greater Bay Area.
Malaysia’s East Coast Railway (hereinafter referred to as “East Malaysia Railway”) is a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Malaysia. The Malaysian East Rail departs from Port Klang, Malaysia’s largest transportation hub, and travels across the peninsula to Kelantan in northeastern Malaysia. Once the MTR is operational, the travel time from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur will be shortened to four hours. In Ragu’s view, the East Rail is also an effective echo of the development of the East Coast Special Economic Zone (ECER).
The East Coast Special Economic Zone (SCSZ) Development Scheme (SCSZ) was launched in 2007 as an economic corridor to achieve socio-economic transformation on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The main development areas of the East Coast SEZ include the gas and petrochemical industries, manufacturing, etc. As of March this year, the East Coast Special Economic Zone Development Council (ECERDC) has achieved RM41.4 billion investment, accounting for 84% of the RM49 billion target under the East Coast Special Economic Zone 2.0 (ECER 2.0) blueprint, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Previously, the East Coast Special Economic Zone Development Council announced the East Coast Special Economic Zone 2.0 plan for the period from 2018 to 2025. “The 2.0 plan will end next year, and we will have a 3.0 plan from 2025 to 2030.” Ragu said that as early as the 70s of the 20th century, the East Coast was mainly engaged in oil and gas-related markets, so there are some downstream production activities related to chemicals on the East Coast, and some Chinese companies also want to expand and develop specialty chemical products, and these areas need to be subsidized in the future.
Dato’ Ragu Sampasivam has been with ECER since its inception in 2008, initially as Senior Manager of Risk Management and later promoted to General Manager, leading the Corporate Strategic Planning Department. In 2019, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the East Coast Special Economic Zone Development Council.