DPM launches five initiatives for Johor govt

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today launched five key initiatives of the Johor state government for the well-being of the people.
The five initiatives were launched at the closing ceremony of the 2017 Progressive Johor Expo at Dataran Mahkota, Kota Iskandar, here.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin in his speech said the first two initiatives were the handover of religious schools to the Johor government by Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ), a company linked to the Johor state, and the handover of religious schools in Felda to the state government.
He said KPRJ would hand over 95 Johor State Religious Schools (SAKJ) under Phase One to Four to the Johor state government.
Costing a total of RM240 million, construction for all 95 SAKJ had been completed by KPRJ on June 30 and they are fully ready for use.
Under the initiative, KPRJ would be appointed to build 30 more religious schools under phase 5, costing RM256 million, due for completion in three years.
Mohamed Khaled said the handover of the Felda religious schools to the state government involves 65 religious schools in various Felda schemes in Johor.'
Meanwhile, the third initiative involves health and medical services, with the launch of IBM Watson technology for oncology by KPJ Healthcare Berhad.
For a start, the latest and most modern cognitive computerisation technology would be used in five KPJ medical centres throughout the country.
It is capable of analysing the clinical information of a cancer patient within a minute, he said.

He added that Malaysia would be the first country in Asia to introduce this technology and this would be an achievement for the field of medicine in this country.
Mohamed Khaled said the fourth initiative was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between QSR Brands Holding (M) Berhad and Telekom Malaysia Berhad to provide free Wifi services at all KFC outlets.
The Johor Corporation through its company QSR Brands (M) Holdings Berhad will collaborate with Telekom Malaysia Berhad to provide free internet service to patrons at 1,060 KFC outlets and Pizza Hut restaurants in the country. This includes 140 KFC outlets and Pizza Hut restaurants in Johor.
The fifth initiative is the launch of the Digital Halal Martz in response to the state government's call to transform Johor into a digital economy.
Under it, Perbadanan Islam Johor Holdings (PIJH) will take proactive steps to develop the Digital Halal Martz portal where halal products by small and medium-scale entrepreneurs in the state will have an e-commerce platform.
The entrepreneurs who join the halal portal will also be given their own websites free-of-charge, advisory and counselling services for the design of product packaging, branding and management of product production, as well as financial matters. — Bernama