Monday September 24, 2007
IPOH: Local authorities will continue to have jurisdiction over projects to be implemented in Perak's 250,000 ha of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).
Assuring the local authorities that the NCER would not cause them to "lose their power," Perak State Secretary Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim said work for the local councils would not be any different because of the NCER.
"There will be no curtailing of their authority," he told reporters after an NCER meeting here Monday.
The meeting was held between NCER officials and the state government to ascertain the latter's views on bills drafted for the implementation of the multi-billion ringgit development.
Dr Abdul Rahman said the current system of authorities of the local councils would be maintained via efforts to be coordinated by the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) with the help of the state Economic Planning Unit and the councils.
The NCIA is the implementation agency for the NCER that will act as a facilitator between the Government and investors of the project in order to reduce red tape.
"The NCIA will work together with the state through the Economic Planning Unit (Upen) to process or attain the approvals needed for the implementation of projects from the local councils," said Dr Abdul Rahman.
"Hence, the role of the local authorities will not change; only a mechanism will be introduced to establish a relationship for the purpose of permits and so on," he added.
On the meeting, Dr Abdul Rahman said the state government had no objection over the details of the bill as it did not infringe upon the power of the state.
"We are agreeable mainly on the spirit of the bill as the state's power will be maintained. This is going to be the overriding principle of the Act and I am sure no one will have a problem with it when it is brought into the coming state assembly meeting," he said.
Special adviser to the Prime Minister for the NCER Datuk Annuar Zaini said that the meeting was the second in a series of meetings with other state governments to get feedback on the bill.
"The main purpose of the bill is to create a network of cooperation among the parties involved in the NCER in order to improve its delivery system," he said.
The bill, he said, would be debated in Parliament in December.
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