Johor looks to 2040 with one priority: ‘People’s needs first’

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor Housing and Local Government Committee Chairman Dato’ Haji Mohd Jafni Md Shukor attended the Johor State Planning Committee Meeting No. 3/2026 on Thursday, chaired by Menteri Besar Dato’ Onn Hafiz Ghazi at Kota Iskandar, covering a wide-ranging development agenda for one of Malaysia's fastest-growing states.

Among the items discussed were the Johor State Structural Plan 2040, the transformation of several Local Plans, the Pasir Gudang City Administrative Centre Plan, the Endau Development Blueprint, various development proposals and land use matters, industrial pollution prevention guidelines, environmental impact assessment issues, government development projects, and infrastructure planning.

Planning as a people issue

Mohd Jafni framed the meeting’s significance in personal rather than technical terms, describing state planning not as a bureaucratic exercise but as a direct determinant of how Johoreans live their daily lives.

“When we talk about state planning, we are actually talking about the lives of the people tomorrow,” he said in a translated Facebook post. “Where houses are built, how cities develop, whether schools and public facilities are sufficient, whether roads are smooth or not, whether utilities are guaranteed, and whether the environment is safe, every line in the plan will eventually become a path used by the people, a residential area for families, and a space that forms their daily routine.”

He pointed out the standard that development plans must meet: results that improve people’s lives on the ground, not documents that look good on paper but cause hardship when implemented.

Managing rapid growth

With Johor recording 8% economic growth in 2025 and RM59.4 billion (S$18.63 billion) in approved investments in the first half of 2026, the challenge of planning infrastructure and amenities that keep pace with rapid economic expansion is pressing. Mohd Jafni articulated the core principle guiding the committee’s approach: development must be ready to meet people’s needs before they arrive, not the other way around.

“We don’t want the people to be forced to chase development. If new areas are opened, we need to consider road capacity. If the population increases, we need to consider schools, health facilities, and community spaces. If economic activities grow, utilities and support systems need to ensure they can handle that growth so that today’s problems are not inherited as bigger burdens in the future,” he said.

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