The Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, stated that it is necessary for the state government to strengthen its relationship with the federal government and deepen cooperation to ensure the implementation of effective development policies and measures.
His Highness mentioned that this is also to ensure the well-being of the community and to promote economic growth. His Highness expressed gratitude to the federal government for allocating RM13.56 billion under the 12th Malaysia Plan to approve 408 development projects in Terengganu.
His Highness indicated that the implementation of these plans benefits the state's residents, including improving infrastructure and enhancing the overall competitiveness of the community. Therefore, it is suggested that the state government continues to intensify efforts to formulate more strategic plans to ensure the successful implementation of each project in the 13th Malaysia Plan.
On Monday (April 14), Sultan Mizan delivered His Highness' speech at the opening ceremony of the 15th Terengganu State Assembly's third session.
Furthermore, Sultan Mizan pointed out that Malaysia's honor of serving as ASEAN Chairman in 2025 opens wide avenues for Terengganu to promote its tourism attractions and specialties to tourists and international delegations.
His Highness is confident that the 2025 ASEAN Solidarity Tour, organized under the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Cluster in August, will elevate Terengganu as a major tourist destination in Malaysia and strengthen regional cooperation.
His Highness mentioned that Terengganu's tourism industry achieved remarkable results last year, welcoming 7.8 million visitors, surpassing the original target of 4.5 million visitors.
Additionally, Sultan Mizan stated that to welcome Malaysia Tourism Year 2026, the state government plans various tourism activities, focusing on the maintenance and enhancement of tourism products.
“This initiative is essential to ensure that Terengganu continues to be an attractive and internationally competitive quality tourism destination.”
In view of this, Sultan Mizan hopes that the state government can further strengthen the competitiveness and potential of tourism products, thereby attracting the attention of global tourists and ensuring that iconic spots like the Terengganu Central Market (Pasar Payang) maintain good facilities.
Sultan Mizan also suggested that Terengganu focus on strengthening agriculture and agro-based industries, launching the Terengganu Agricultural Strategic Plan 2024-2030, and enhancing commercial-scale agricultural plans and various economic crops.
His Highness also advised the state government to actively engage with global stakeholders to expand the green technology industry, thereby enhancing ownership of solar facility capacity operations, with a solar power facility capacity exceeding 333 megawatts peak (MWp) by December 2024, involving an investment of RM1 billion from 14 investor companies.
Sultan Mizan hopes to attract more investors to explore the state's immense potential by constructing wider docks, improving facilities, and creating more strategic rail connections so that the Kemaman Port can accommodate future freight growth, contributing to the economic development and competitiveness of the national maritime industry.