Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul announced that the MOF will be ‘adopting’ Kuala Selangor and building the Puncak Alam station as part of the ECRL network. Speaking to REFSA’s Executive Director Tan E Hun, we get into what it means for a ministry to ‘adopt’ a district, how might it affect Kuala Selangor’s development, and what the potential political implications are.
Summary
E Hun shared that there are no precedents in Malaysia of “adopting” a district under a Ministry, and that it isn’t a common practice in other countries either.
As much as it is encouraging for the Ministry of Finance to take notice of the concerns of local residents of a specific area, more needs to be studied before it can be determined concretely whether such an announcement will positively impact the area and its residents.
E Hun also highlights that given the crucial role the Ministry plays in directing the resources, funds and tools of the nation’s coffer, more focus should be given to national implementation of public policies that benefits everyone instead of identifying districts to adopt and to develop in isolation.
Produced by: Jeremy Ng, Lee Chwi Lynn, Natasha Fusil
Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharmilla Ganesan