Malaysia-Singapore Panel On IDR Cannot Formulate Policies: Cabinet

PUTRAJAYA, June 13 (Bernama) -- The Cabinet decided today that the Malaysia-Singapore ministerial-level joint committee on the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in Johor is not empowered to formulate policies on the development of the area.
The committee will function as a facilitator of cooperation between the two countries to ensure implementation in special fields, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office related to the committee's terms of reference.
The committee is chaired jointly by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Effendi Norwawi and Singapore's National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
Two other permanent members of the committee are Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and a Singapore minister to be decided on later.
The statement said other ministers or representatives of related ministries and government agencies would be invited to attend meetings of the committee if necessary.
The joint secretariat of the committee is made up of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and a relevant agency from Singapore.
The committee will meet every three months. Nevertheless, the statement said, officials of both countries would meet as frequently as necessary to monitor the progress of implementation of initiatives identified by the committee.
Initially, the committee would have discussions on the construction of a rail link between Johor Baharu and Singapore and the provision for ferry and water taxi services, as well as the introduction of a smart card for travel between the IDR and Singapore.
The committee would also discuss joint tourism industry activities such as the proposed inclusion of visits to attractive places in the IDR in the Singapore tourist package.

tunku : i still don't why have to set up joint panel with singapore? is the IDR meant for singapore only? what about japan, pak lah did promote the IDR to them recently, are we going to set up a joint panel with japan? or just with singapore ?