Fix your water supply before chasing RM720b GDP dream, Akmal tells SG4 states

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Chronic deficits in basic utilities, highlighted by Kedah's zero per cent water reserve margin, will derail the ambitious long-term economic targets set by the four opposition-led SG4 states, Economy Minister Akmal Nasir warned today.

In a Facebook post while attending a Gas Exporting Countries Forum meeting in Moscow, Akmal commented on the SG4 Business & Economic Forum 2026, which projected a combined gross domestic product of RM723.75 billion for Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perlis by 2050, an expansion that implies annual growth rates of up to 7 per cent.

While declining to dispute the headline figure directly, Akmal stressed that achieving such rapid expansion cannot rely on “Business as usual”, requiring rigorous planning, productivity gains, and disciplined project delivery on the ground.

The minister argued that persistent basic infrastructure deficits present a far more urgent obstacle to growth than setting economic projections, pointing to Kedah's depleted water reserve margin and longstanding clean water disruptions in Kelantan.

“How can the local economy be developed and investment attracted more vigorously without basic infrastructure facilities like this?” he asked.

Akmal stressed that industrialisation across the northern and east coast corridors relies overwhelmingly on federal financing rather than state coffers.

Federal development expenditure in the four states reached RM7.70 billion in 2025, approximately 6.8 times their combined state development allocations of roughly RM1.13 billion.

Under the 13th Malaysia Plan spanning 2026 to 2030, Putrajaya has approved 1,487 development projects valued at RM71.52 billion for the SG4 group. The federal spending ceiling for these states under Rolling Plan 2 for 2027 has been raised to RM8.11 billion, up 1.6 per cent from RM7.98 billion in 2026.

Federal agencies, he noted, continue to anchor the region's core industrial nodes, including the East Coast Rail Link, Kedah Rubber City, Tok Bali Industrial Park, Kertih Biopolymer Park, Perlis Inland Port, and Chuping Valley Industrial Area.

Addressing commercial inflows, Akmal cited Malaysian Investment Development Authority data recording RM37.23 billion in approved investments and 18,319 potential jobs across the four states in 2025.

“However, investment approval does not mean the project is complete. Potential jobs do not mean jobs have been created.

“We must ensure projects are truly implemented, local entrepreneurs take part in the supply chain, and the people get quality jobs and better incomes,” he said.

Akmal ended by saying that while the federal government continues to channel billions into catalytic infrastructure across the SG4 territories, state administrations must resolve foundational utility bottlenecks like water supply to support sustained industrial investment.

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吉隆坡，10 月 27 日——经济部长阿克马尔·纳西尔今天警告说，以吉打州零水储备为代表的基本公共事业长期短缺，将使由四个反对党领导的 SG4 州制定的雄心勃勃的长期经济目标脱轨。

在莫斯科参加天然气出口国论坛会议期间，阿克马尔在 Facebook 上发帖评论了 SG4 商业与经济论坛 2026，该论坛预测到 2050 年吉打州、吉兰丹州、登嘉楼州和玻璃市州的国内生产总值总和将达到 7237.5 亿令吉，这一增长意味着年增长率高达 7%。

阿克马尔虽然拒绝直接反驳这一主要数字，但他强调，要实现如此快速的扩张，不能依靠“一切照旧”，而是需要严格的规划、生产力的提高以及在实际工作中严谨的项目交付。

部长认为，持续存在的基础设施不足对经济增长构成了比制定经济预测更为紧迫的障碍，他指出吉打州的水资源储备不足，以及吉兰丹州长期存在的清洁用水中断问题。

他问道：“如果没有这样的基本基础设施，如何才能发展当地经济，如何才能更有力地吸引投资？”

阿克马尔强调，北部和东部沿海走廊的工业化主要依赖联邦政府的资金，而不是州政府的财政拨款。

到 2025 年，联邦政府在四个州的发展支出将达到 77 亿令吉，约为这四个州发展拨款总额（约 11.3 亿令吉）的 6.8 倍。

根据涵盖2026年至2030年的第十三个马来西亚计划，布城已批准为SG4集团提供1487个发展项目，总价值达715.2亿令吉。根据2027年滚动计划2，联邦政府对这些州属的支出上限已提高至81.1亿令吉，较2026年的79.8亿令吉增长1.6%。

他指出，联邦机构继续巩固着该地区的核心工业节点，包括东海岸铁路、吉打橡胶城、托克巴厘工业园、克尔蒂生物聚合物园、玻璃市内陆港和朱平谷工业区。

谈到商业流入，阿克马尔引用马来西亚投资发展局的数据，该局记录显示，到 2025 年，四个州将获得 372.3 亿令吉的批准投资，并创造 18319 个潜在就业岗位。

“然而，投资获批并不意味着项目已经完成。潜在的就业机会并不意味着已经创造了就业机会。”

他说：“我们必须确保项目真正得到落实，当地企业家参与供应链，人民获得高质量的工作和更高的收入。”

阿克马尔最后表示，虽然联邦政府继续向SG4地区的催化性基础设施投入数十亿资金，但各州政府必须解决供水等基础性公用设施瓶颈问题，以支持持续的工业投资。

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