Pakatan pledges high-paying jobs to reduce Johoreans’ reliance on Singapore work

BATU PAHAT, July 2 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) intends to offer more high-paying job opportunities in Johor through better-structured and more strategic economic planning for the state.

PKR vice-president Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said one of PH’s main priorities is to ensure that Johoreans are no longer dependent on jobs in Singapore, requiring them to cross the Johor Causeway every day to earn a living.

He said PH understood that this was not simply a matter of creating jobs, but of ensuring they were inclusive and sustainable.

“Any investments brought into Johor need to be translated into quality job opportunities with offers of competitive salaries based on the academic qualifications and skills of local workers.

“We want to ensure that investments coming into Johor can be translated into salaries that commensurate with the academic qualifications and skill sets of the local young people.

“Therefore, I appeal to the people to give the mandate to PH in the upcoming Johor election for this to be realised,” he said while speaking at the PH tour series event at Senggarang town square here last night.

The event also featured PH leaders including Parti Amanah Negara’s (Amanah) Datuk Seri Mujahid Rawa, PKR’s Hassan Abdul Karim and DAP’s Young Syefura.

Also in attendance were the coalition’s candidates led by Onn Abu Bakar (Senggarang), Mohd Yazid Bakri (Rengit), Shazwan Dzainal Abidin (Parit Raja) and Felicia Poh (Penggaram).

Amirudin, who is also the Selangor menteri besar, had earlier highlighted the shortage of high-value jobs in Johor despite the state’s robust economy.

A Johorean himself, he pointed to the currency gap between Singapore and Malaysia, which has prompted many Johoreans to cross the border in search of better-paying jobs.

Amirudin said PH was also committed to ensuring that economic development and progress were distributed more evenly across all districts, including Rengit, Senggarang and Kluang.

He said economic justice meant every citizen, regardless of location, should be given equal access to development opportunities and infrastructure.

“Pakatan’s commitment is to ensure that no more districts are marginalised from the mainstream of Johor’s progress, which has a very broad economic potential,” he said.

The PH coalition, comprising PKR, Amanah and DAP, is contesting all 56 seats in the Johor state election.

Polling is scheduled for July 11, with early voting on July 7.