Kedah 2035 development goals achievable

The Kedah 2035 Development Plan towards achieving a developed state status is still attainable despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.

State secretary Datuk Ammar Shaikh Mahmood Naim said the high impact physical development projects planned in Kedah would continue while their original targets to be continually evaluated to suit the current situation.

"With the projects, we will be able to generate income and provide employment opportunities and it is important for the people of Kedah to serve in the sectors that can provide them with more income.

"We are currently looking at specific economic sectors which will continue to grow but not in the way we have previously projected. However, we must reach our target but with a slightly different approach, based on the new normal," he said.

He said this during the Kedah Productive: Post-COVID-19: Is Kedah Ready? live chat on the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC)'s Northern Region Office's Facebook page here yesterday.

Ammar said the state government was also working to improve the communications system to enable its services to the people to be carried out effectively.

He said all parties needed to be prepared to adapt to the new normal following changes triggered by the spread of COVID-19.

He said the new method actually provided more convenience to the people because once properly applied and adapted, people would not need to physically come to any department to resolve certain matters.

"However, the state government recognises there are some obstacles in the implementation including the Internet access in the rural areas.

"We have requested to the federal government to ensure better Internet access in rural areas and at the same time data to be provided at a lower rate," he said, adding that online classes also has its own challenges.

"One of the challenges is the lack of smart gadgets and insufficient data. I understand that during online classes, students face problem such as insufficient data to download files provided by the teachers," he said.

-- BERNAMA