JOHOR BARU, March 2 — Johor DAP today unveiled an action plan to spur the economic recovery and overall well-being of the southern Johor region.

Among the highlights are the reopening of the Johor-Singapore border as well as public transportation and housing issues.

Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong said the plan, covering most of the urban south of the southern state, was to show that Pakatan Harapan (PH) is serious about governing the state again.

For a start, he urged the government to reopen the Johor-Singapore border safely and immediately through the quicker Covid-19 test-and-release method without quarantine.

"The Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) should also be extended to people travelling by car and motorcycle, instead of being confined to public buses and flights.

"This could alleviate the economic problem in southern Johor, where both the federal and state governments must address the problem of inflation.

"While the price of goods in southern Johor is almost the same as the Klang Valley, the wage level is still much lower,” said Liew during a joint press conference held at the DAP operations centre for the Perling state constituency in Taman Nusa Bestari here today.

He was joined by PH candidates for Johor Jaya, Liow Cai Tung, and Stulang, Andrew Chen Kah Eng. Also present was Bangi MP Ong Kian Meng.

Liew, who is also the Perling state seat candidate for the upcoming state polls on March 12, said Johor was in urgent need of a dynamic state government to grow its economy.

"We want to ensure that all Johoreans receive equal opportunities to live a better life.

"In order for this, it needs quality investments from both domestic and foreign investors,” he said.

Liew also touched on the issue of public transportation and housing.

He also pledged that the coalition would work with local authorities to solve traffic congestion and inadequate parking in southern Johor.

"In the long run, the greater Johor Baru area needs an efficient public transport system to include enough buses that are clean and on-time, and other transport modes, especially after the RTS (Rapid Transit System) is completed in 2026,” he said.

Liew added that PH would focus on fostering a better relationship between Putrajaya and the state government.

"While Putrajaya has all the power, it doesn’t necessarily understand the needs of Johor. The bureaucracy in Putrajaya often hinders the potential of Johor to grow and thrive.

"A new and fairer federal-state relationship will entail Putrajaya devolving its powers on healthcare and education, as well as partial roles of economic development, to the Johor state government.

"These tasks could be paid for by having the federal government share income tax collected from within Johor with the state government,” explained Liew.

The state constituencies of Perling, Johor Jaya, Stulang and Skudai, that make up a part of southern Johor, are made up of a large majority of residents that used to travel daily to work in Singapore before the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

Since the border closure, businesses in the city centre and its surrounding areas have been stagnant, with many closing down.

The Election Commission (EC) has set March 12 as the polling date for the Johor state election. Early voting will be on March 8.

Johor has 56 state constituencies, with more than 2.59 million voters who are eligible to cast their ballot in this state election. The EC is targeting a 70 per cent voter turnout.