IRDA Inks Agreement, MoUs to Become Leading Smart Region Within ASEAN

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- The Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) has inked an agreement and three Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with key stakeholders for initiatives in research, innovation and urban observatory to set the momentum of digital economy in Iskandar Malaysia. The exchange of the documents between IRDA and Telekom Malaysia (TM), Frost & Sullivan, ESRI Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) were witnessed by Prime Minister Najib Razak after chairing IRDA's 22nd Members of Authority Meeting at Perdana Putra here Tuesday. The event was witnessed by Johor Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Mohamed Khaled Nordin. Both Najib and Mohamed Khaled are co-chairmen of IRDA. IRDA Chief Executive Ismail Ibrahim said the agreement and MoUs would represent collaborations towards implementing a few components as Iskandar Malaysia was currently in its third phase of development (2016-2025), focusing on sustainability and innovation in line with the Iskandar Malaysia Comprehensive Development Plan ii. "These commitments in Iskandar Malaysia to collaborate together towards achieving Iskandar Malaysia's vision of becoming a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing through evidence-based spatial planning and policy making. “Iskandar Malaysia is on track to become the leading smart region within ASEAN," he said in a statement released in conjunction with the meeting here Tuesday. Ismail said Iskandar Malaysia continued to attract a steady inflow of investments and recorded a total of RM242.42 billion committed cumulative investment from 2006 until Aug 31, 2017. The total investment from January until August this year is reported at RM20 billion, he said. He said the services sector, namely tourism, education, finance, healthcare, creative, logistics and emerging technology recorded a total of RM23.04 billion in investment from 2006 until August 2017. "The services sector contributed 10 per cent to the Iskandar Malaysia’s total investment since 2008 until 2017 and a 17 per cent growth from 2015 to 2016," he noted. Ismail said IRDA and TM inked an MoU as the Strategic Partner for Smart City initiative in Iskandar Malaysia, which would enable TM to implement suitable smart services such as safety and security, smart mobility, city-wide services, energy and facilities management, as well as citizen portal in line with the Iskandar Malaysia Smart City Framework. "The second MoU is with Frost & Sullivan on the Iskandar Malaysia Urban Observatory (IMUO), whereby both parties have agreed to collaborate on the design, development and implementation of IMUO, including preparation and publication of the IMUO World Class Reports and Smart City Iskandar Malaysia. "IRDA also inked an MoU with ESRI Malaysia on partnership for IMUO, which focuses on the design, development and implementation of IMUO through analysis of the Georgraphic Information System," he said. In addition, he said the exchange of agreement between IRDA and UTM on the establishment of Kursi Iskandar Malaysia was aimed at empowering Iskandar Malaysia's studies and research through strong collaboration with UTM. This agreement will synergise the relationship between Institutes of Higher Learning Industries and communities with the Johor state government in order to leverage the expertise, human capital, funds and ideas. On another note, Ismail said a proposal paper was presented at the meeting to the prime minister, with the aim of turning Iskandar Malaysia into the ASEAN Industrial Hub towards the notion of improving the investment environment and increasing the competitiveness of the region in attracting investments. "This is in line with the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 Blueprint, and we believe with that establishment, not only can ASEAN stands a better chance to compete with other economic blocks, but also prove to the global business community that ASEAN's Regional Value Chain proposition remains competitive and stays relevant to the global value chain," he said. Ismail said the hub was to be positioned as a hybrid between a technology park and innovation district due to Malaysia's progress in the economic competitiveness development. -- BERNAMA