by Theleaders | July 15, 2026 12:38 pm
JOHOR BAHRU, July 15 — Addressing climate change, preparing for an ageing population and embracing emerging technologies are among the key priorities in the review of the Johor Structure Plan (RSN) 2040.
Johor Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia Johor) director Abdulhan Abd Lamit said the review aims to ensure the state’s physical and socio-economic development planning remains relevant to current and future needs.
He said the RSN Johor 2040 would adopt a ‘Mission-Oriented Policy Approach’, under which key development goals would be identified first before supporting strategies are formulated.
“We are taking a different approach for this edition of the state structure plan by adopting a Mission-Oriented Policy Approach,” he said during an interview with Bernama Radio’s Johor Tersohor programme yesterday.
The Johor Structure Plan 2020 was gazetted in 2008, while the second-generation Johor Structure Plan 2030 was gazetted in March 2020.
The current review began in April and is expected to be completed by April 2027.
Abdulhan said the new approach would enable the state government to set clear development targets before formulating strategies based on data, facts and detailed analysis.
“For example, we may set a target to reduce carbon emissions during the planning period, which would then be supported by appropriate strategies,” he said.
He said the approach would also help align the state’s physical development plans with new policy initiatives, including the Maju Johor agenda introduced by Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and the Johor Economic Transformation Plan.
The review will also take into account major development projects such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), Maharani Freeport and Ibrahim Technopolis (IBTEC), he added.
Abdulhan said the review would also consider emerging technologies, including smart cities, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).
On environmental sustainability, he said the study places strong emphasis on the impact of climate change, particularly in developing strategies to strengthen the state’s resilience against disaster risks.
He said previous floods in districts such as Segamat and Batu Pahat underscored the need to give greater priority to disaster risk considerations in development planning.
“Population projections also indicate that Johor will become an ageing society after 2040, so we need to start planning for it now,” he said.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Johor’s population is estimated at 4.21 million in 2025, with the state covering an area of 1.932 million hectares across 10 districts
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