Speaking at the Rehda Institute CEO Series 2025 conference today, Liew said Malaysia has been too centralised in terms of governance, and may have to share more power and fiscal resources with the states in the long run.

“This would lead to a positive outcome, with some regions emerging as strong engines of growth.

“If we could unleash the potential of secondary cities without making them sprawl, this may well be another catalyst for growth,” he said.

Liew cited Kluang as an example, it being one of the stops along the Gemas-Johor Bahru double-track rail project scheduled for completion this year.

“The transport minister has also announced the government’s intention to create a Johor Bahru-Kluang Komuter service. This will give inner-city Kluang a new lease of life,” he said.

Liew also advocated a change in the mindset separating workplaces from places of living.

“Instead of (mainly) building centralised labour quarters for foreign workers, we want to see more decent housing for young Malaysian engineers,” he said, adding that this can help to bridge the pay gap between Malaysia and Singapore.

Liew urged real estate industry players to contribute in bringing back life into inner cities instead of making city boundaries sprawl with development.

“Turning Kuala Lumpur from a 12-hour city to a 24-hour city, bringing in universities and research and development centres, and creating rental housing in the inner city retrofitted from older buildings, could be transformative for the city,” he said.