500,000 new jobs in ASEAN zone

500,000 new jobs in ASEAN zone

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): A joint development zone involving areas
in northern Malaysia, southern Thailand and Sumatra will create
half a million jobs and help reduce poverty in the region, a
report said yesterday.

The New Straits Times, citing a study commissioned by the
three countries, said 1.5 million people are also expected to
settle in special economic zones to be built within the so-called
"growth triangle."

The main beneficiaries of the vast development project will be
Malaysian-based manufacturers and traders, and Indonesian and
Thai workers.

The Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand growth triangle was formed in
1993, with the aim of mainly drawing Malaysian investment and
labor-intensive industries to parts of Indonesia and Thailand
where land and labor costs are cheaper.

The study recommends that two special economic zones be
created within the triangle - one linking the Malaysia-Thai
border area and the other, northern Sumatra and Malaysia's
northern states.