Perak is counting on the Federal Government to adhere to its promise to distribute the funds allocated for the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) fairly to the four participating states.
State executive councillor Nga Kor Ming said Perak was willing to work with the Government now that the state had officially adopted the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority Act 2008."We in Perak place high hopes on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's announcement to allocate RM176bil for the NCER initiative," he told a press conference here on Friday.
"The state also hopes that he (Badawi) would keep to his promise to allocate the funds fairly and without favour," said Nga who is also state Local Government, Education, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman.
So far, he said, Perak along with Penang had agreed to endorse the Act so that the people might benefit from the development to be brought into the region.
The other states involved are Kedah and Perlis.
Having adopted the Act, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is expected to be a member of the NCER board of directors, said Nga.
"This would allow Perak to play an important role in the development of NCER. We want to be business and investor-friendly, and not just people-friendly," he added.
Earlier, during a Perak Hoteliers Association anniversary dinner here on Thursday, Nga said one of the state's NCER “pet projects” would be to develop the heritage town of Taiping as a tourist destination.
Tourism, he said, was the third largest source of revenue for Malaysia and promoting Taiping's many unique features would be a boon to the industry.
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