PETALING JAYA: State governments must expedite the approval of applications for land acquisition that involve federal projects to prevent delays and financial implications, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
He said this was among the main issues decided at his meeting with menteris besar and chief ministers in Putrajaya today.
“Under the 12th Malaysia Plan, the government is focused on high-impact infrastructure projects such as the East Coast Rail Link, Rapid Transit System Project and West Coast Expressway, among others.
“These projects will provide a huge economic boost to the states involved. State governments must therefore assist in resolving barriers on their lands that are needed for government projects of public interest,” he said in a statement issued after the meeting, which was also attended by the relevant Cabinet members.
According to Ismail, further discussions will also be held on premium rates charged for ownership and land tax by the state governments in accordance with the resolution made by the National Land Council.
He said, in addition to this, the federal and state governments will work together to address poverty and disaster management.
At the meeting, the prime minister also informed the attendees that the Keluarga Malaysia Hardcore Poverty Elimination Programme (BMTKM) will be implemented in April.
He said the programme will cover 480 localities across the country with the involvement of all parties, especially the state governments.
“BMTKM will establish special poverty units at the federal, state, and district levels and create an integrated and centralised poverty database.
“The programme aims to eradicate hardcore poverty by 2025 and will begin with Phase 1 involving 80 localities across the country. Phase 2 and 3 will begin in September and December, while Phase 4 to 6 will be implemented next year,” he said.
As for the disaster management strategies, he said there are a few long-term and short-term solutions that the government is planning to implement.
“The short-term solutions include ensuring the readiness and maintenance of flood mitigation infrastructure at optimum levels with the cooperation of state governments, upgrading siren, webcam, and weather observation stations, and enhancing the myCuaca app.
“Among the long-term measures are the development of a Water Sector Adaptation Act, more nature-based solution approaches such as the construction of river trails, increasing the capacity of floodwater reservoirs, and strengthening the implementation of the Integrated River Basin Management approach,” he said.