JOHOR BARU, May 17 — The Johor government has given its assurance that it will make an effort to solve "people-centric” issues plaguing the state such as bad roads, traffic congestion and even poor internet coverage by next year.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said among the issues that urgently need to be addressed by next year were potholes, poor internet coverage and traffic congestion at both the Johor Causeway and Second Link crossing.

He said the state government under his leadership is serious in overcoming such issues as it involves public interest.

"The state government will look at the issues urgently and make an effort to resolve them as it has been going on for far too long.

"Both the federal and state government agencies are also working together and this is in line with the Johor Maju 2030 initiative,” said Onn Hafiz during his opening address at the Johor-Korea Business Forum 2023 held at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel here today.

Also present was the Johor Investment, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Lee Ting Han.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Malaysia Yeo Seung-bae was also present together with 60 South Korean delegations from the trade and business community.

Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz also shared his approach in resolving issues in the state for the past few months that has been popular on social media.

He said his personal effort in solving the congestion at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) had yielded positive results.

"We managed to resolve the traffic congestion on both checkpoints by reducing the waiting time by up to 30 minutes for those who travel from Johor to Singapore to work in the republic on a daily basis,” he said.

Therefore, Onn Hafiz said the business community, including those from abroad, need to know that the state government takes a serious approach in resolving any issues.

"This is important so that overseas investors in Johor will have a positive experience and it will also translate to a higher return on their investment,” he said.

For the past few months, Onn Hafiz has been seen actively visiting the CIQ at BSI and also KSAB to resolve the traffic congestion at the two land border crossings.

His success due to his personal approach to tackling problems have received positive feedback from the public.