The invitation arrived unexpectedly. I hadn’t planned a trip to Batu Pahat, but it had been years since my last visit. Curious to see what had changed, I decided to make the journey.
The bus from Johor Bahru cost RM20 and took just over two hours. When I arrived, I asked several people for directions to Dataran Penggaram. They looked puzzled. It turned out they knew the place—just not by its official name.
I had come to Batu Pahat for the launch of the Targeted SDG Bersasar Programme 2026. Rather than rolling out another nationwide programme using a one-size-fits-all approach, the government wants each district to focus on the issues most relevant to its own community.
The programme was organised by the Economy Ministry together with state and local partners, including the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), the Johor government and local authorities.
In his speech, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said national policies could no longer be implemented through a one-size-fits-all approach. District-level interventions, he said, should be shaped by local challenges and opportunities.
He also reminded the audience that Malaysia has less than four years left to meet its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Akmal also spoke about the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), describing it as a catalyst for high-value investment, advanced industries, regional supply chains, local talent development and skilled employment.
The JS-SEZ covers 11 key sectors, from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare, education and the digital economy. It aims to attract 50 projects within five years and 100 within a decade, while creating 20,000 skilled jobs.
But what caught my attention wasn’t just the scale of those ambitions. It was the minister’s emphasis that their benefits should extend beyond Johor’s traditional growth areas.
“The spillover benefits from JS-SEZ are expected to extend across the Southern Region, including Batu Pahat, Muar, Pontian and Kluang, through stronger local enterprises, supply chains, logistics, agro-food, tourism and digital economy activities,” he said.
Listening to him, I found myself wondering about a different question.
Why Batu Pahat?
At first glance, Batu Pahat might seem an unusual choice. The district performs well across many development indicators. Poverty and unemployment are relatively low, while access to water, electricity and secondary education is almost universal.
Yet one statistic stood out.
Maternal mortality.
In 2024, Batu Pahat recorded a poverty rate of 2.4 per cent and an unemployment rate of 1.3 per cent. It had full access to water and electricity, while its upper-secondary education completion rate stood at 98.1 per cent.
However, its maternal mortality ratio was 52.1 deaths per 100,000 live births—well above Johor’s 33.3 and the national figure of 24.3.
“Our goal is not merely to understand statistics. Our goal is to ensure more mothers receive timely care and return safely to their families,” Akmal said.
The programme’s targeted outcomes include mapping maternal and child healthcare services, improving delivery processes, reducing bureaucratic barriers, encouraging collaboration between communities and frontline workers, and establishing mechanisms to monitor progress and measure real-world impact.
After the launch, there was a brief press conference. That, however, is a story for another day.
For now, Kingston Hotel 25 offered a comfortable place to rest before I caught the bus back to Johor Bahru the next morning.
My trip was brief. There wasn’t enough time to visit Pantai Minyak Beku or wander through the older parts of town. Those will have to wait for another visit.
Sometimes accepting an invitation leads to a story you didn’t expect to find. Batu Pahat turned out to be one of those places.