KUALA TERENGGANU, TERENGGANU 11 FEBRUARY 2020: The East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC)’s integrated development model and close cooperation with the Terengganu State Government have boosted investor confidence, attracting RM700 million in committed investment, with the state’s strong performance contributed by robust growth in the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector contributed 54 per cent of the total committed investments followed by manufacturing (24%) and tourism (22%).
“The robust investment is a key driver of Terengganu’s strong economic performance. Interestingly, last year, instead of manufacturing or tourism, the agriculture sector recorded the biggest investment. This showed that Terengganu is becoming an attractive investment destination for domestic and foreign investors across various sectors, boosting the local economy through the creation of jobs for the rakyat as well as business opportunities for the local community,” said Encik Baidzawi Che Mat, Chief Executive Officer of ECERDC, after the ECER Implementation and Coordination (ICC) Terengganu meeting today. The ICC meeting was chaired by Terengganu Menteri Besar, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.
Between year 2007 and December 2019, Terengganu has successfully secured over RM34.7 billion in domestic and foreign investments through ECERDC’s projects and programmes, which in turn has created more than 34,000 new job opportunities and 3,700 entrepreneurial opportunities for the rakyat.
“In order to continue the momentum, ECERDC will focus on attracting investments in sectors such as medical devices, petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, industrial minerals, renewable energy, agribusiness and tourism by taking advantage of Terengganu’s strengths in its natural resources and beautiful islands,” said Encik Baidzawi Che Mat, Chief Executive Officer of ECERDC.
The ECERDC and the Terengganu State Government also worked together to develop several projects that have been key growth catalysts in Terengganu, including the iconic drawbridge at Kuala Terengganu City Centre (KTCC) which was completed in 2019. Linking Muara Selatan and Muara Utara of the estuary, the project has become a new iconic tourist destination for the state and boosted tourism in Terengganu while supporting existing upstream marine industries around Pulau Duyong.
“We will maximise our efforts to ensure Terengganu remains an attractive investment destination in ECER. ECERDC remains committed to our investment target of attracting another RM70 billion into the ECER by 2025 as outlined in the ECER Master Plan 2.0. Of the RM70 billion, Terengganu is projected to attract RM26 billion, creating 36,600 job opportunities and 15,550 entrepreneurs by 2025. This will be achieved by our proven formula of implementing high-impact projects and strategic human capital development programmes. We will continue our close cooperation with the Terengganu state agencies, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and PETRONAS to attract private investments that would be able to generate quality jobs for the locals, reinforcing the region’s potential as a vibrant and dynamic investment destination,” said En Baidzawi.
Human capital development is another critical driver to uplift the livelihood of the rakyat. ECERDC’s inclusive human capital development programmes, such as empower ECER and entrepreneur ECER, help boost employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for the rakyat by providing them marketable skills. They include academic enrichment programmes, industry-driven up-skilling programmes and comprehensive skills training courses aimed to uplift the income-earning capability of the rakyat. These programmes are closely aligned with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV 2030), which seeks to enable equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth across Malaysia.
A convocation and award presentation ceremony was held today to celebrate the success of the empower ECER programme participants in Terengganu. A total of 800 participants received their certificates for completing the empower ECER Skills and Entrepreneurship Training Programme. During the ceremony, 11 participants received the Anugerah Usahawan empower ECER awards, in recognition of their outstanding achievement while 15 empower ECER Academic Training participants received the Juara empower ECER award for excelling in the 2019 UPSR examination.
Top award went to Norhasimah Abd Ghani, winner of Anugerah Usahawan Gemilang empower ECER. Norhasimah, whose star product is ketupat palas, now owns her own frozen products factory and earns more than RM21,000 a month. With the help of four workers, she is able to produce between 30,000 to 40,000 ketupat of various flavours monthly. Her ketupat has received Halal certification and is now sold in Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
One of the Juara empower ECER recipient is Muhammad Qaedi Sidqi Bin Mohd Nasir. The son of a fisherman in Kuala Nerus, Qaedi scored 6As in the 2019 UPSR examination, a drastic improvement from his 2B, 3C and 1E result prior to joining the empower ECER.
Apart from the empower ECER programmes, ECERDC has implemented other human capital development programmes such as entrepreneur ECER to develop micro, small and medium entrepreneurs and ECER Talent Enhancement Programme to develop skilled workers among the local talent pool to meet the needs of investors.
In 2019 alone, the empower ECER Skills and Entrepreneur Training and entrepreneur ECER programmes implemented in Terengganu developed 426 entrepreneurs, creating 959 jobs for the rakyat with an average monthly salary of RM2,000. The empower ECER Academic Training programme assisted 1,518 underperforming students improve their academic performance, with a Minimum Level Achievement of 76% (Mencapai Tahap Minimum – MTM). Before the students participated in the empower ECER Academic Training programme, the MTM achieved was only 38%.
“Seeing the impact that these programmes are having on the local communities motivates us to continue building up the rakyat’s capacity. Given the strong track record of the empower ECER programme, we will continue to work with the Terengganu State Government and all relevant agencies to deliver ECERDC’s inclusive human capital development programmes to improve the quality of life for the rakyat and enable them to confidently participate in and contribute to the prosperity of the Region,” concluded Encik Baidzawi.
– END –
About ECER and ECERDC
The East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) is a statutory body established to spearhead the execution and implementation of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) Master Plan. ECERDC plays a lead role in setting the directions, policies and strategies for the socio-economic development of ECER by promoting and facilitating investments into the Region.
ECER, which covers the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and the district of Mersing in Johor, is a rapidly transforming region that is steadily positioning itself as a distinctive, dynamic and competitive destination for investments.
Geographically, it covers a total area of over 66,000 sq km or 51% of Peninsular Malaysia. It is home to some 4.3 million people, or about 15% of the total national population. The economic growth in the Region is driven by six key economic clusters; namely Tourism, Oil, Gas & Petrochemical, Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Development, as well as Logistics and Services. These clusters are supported by developments in Transportation, Infrastructure, Property and Environment to make the Region an ideal destination for business, investments and quality living.
For media inquiries, kindly contact:
Tengku Mazlinda Tengku Mahmood
Manager, Media Relations
East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC)
Tel: 03-2035 0182 / 010-408 1085
email: mazlinda@ecerdc.com.my