JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA -The state is confident that the slow pace of business caused by the opening of the new CIQ in December would be solved soon.

Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said they were now observing the situation and hoped to formulate plans to liven up the city.

He said the plans would help businesses and residents to adapt to a new environment.

'We will also clean up Sungei Segget and the new image can bring about many benefits to the city,' he said at the Chinese New Year dinner hosted jointly by the Johor Baru Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCCI) on Wednesday.

Businessmen and traders had complained about declining business as traffic had now been diverted away from the city centre after the CIQ was opened.

Abdul Ghani said the state government was optimistic about the economic growth in Johor, as investments in Iskandar Malaysia had started pouring in since late last year.

He advised factory owners to use this challenging period to look into new ways of production.

'Perhaps by retrenching workers, including foreigners - in an effort to save cost - they can come up with new ways of production that are not labour intensive.

'As such, even after the economic situation has improved, they will no longer need to hire foreign workers,' he said.

On another matter, Abdul Ghani said the government would consider having a representative each from the Malay, Chinese and Indian chambers of commerce here at local authorities' meetings.

JCCCI president Datuk Soh Poh Sheng said he had asked for such representation because members wanted to know more about the development in their areas through the local authorities' meetings.