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The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and PwC recently proposed extending the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) to encompass Indonesia’s Batam-Bintan-Karimun (BBK) islands, reigniting discussions on the Sijori Growth Triangle.
Conceived in 1989 by then-Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Sijori integrated Singapore’s capital and expertise with Johor’s land and Riau’s labor resources, fostering a manufacturing surge. Batam, in particular, evolved rapidly into a key production hub for Singapore-linked electronics firms.
However, Sijori fell short of its full potential, constrained by developmental disparities and coordination challenges. With JS-SEZ operational since January 2025 and attracting RM27 billion in commitments, attention has centered on infrastructure, digital connectivity, and regulatory alignment.
Essential as these are, sustainable success hinges on a comprehensive talent architecture – a structured framework that positions Singapore, Johor, and BBK as interdependent layers of human capital, facilitating brain circulation rather than competitive fragmentation
Sijori 2.0 should conceptualize the triangle as an integrated talent ecosystem, with professionals rotating fluidly according to expertise, career progression, and economic fit:
| Who Leads | Where | What They Do | Strategic Contribution |
| Strategic Leadership | Singapore | High-level decision-making, innovation oversight, global engagement | Leverages premium ecosystem for elite talent acquisition |
| Operational Core | Johor | Specialized execution, regional market interface | Balances proximity, cost efficiency, and capability |
| Capacity Scale | BBK Islands | High-volume delivery, foundational support | Supplies depth and scalability from a robust labor pool |
This model enables circulation: BBK professionals advance through Johor rotations – supported by JS-SEZ expedited approvals – to Singapore leadership roles, potentially returning with enhanced capabilities.
Singapore executives access a breadth of talent, while Johor talent gains exposure without permanent relocation. Artificial intelligence tools further enhance viability by elevating output across layers, reducing oversight demands.
Sijori 1.0 achieved tactical gains, with 63% of Singapore’s manufacturing output relocating offshore, predominantly within the triangle. Yet it reflected an assembly-era paradigm ill-suited to knowledge-intensive industries. One-directional flows prevailed – low-skill labor outward, high-skill retention in Singapore – exacerbating wage disparities and “brain drain” perceptions in Johor and BBK.
JS-SEZ elevates ambitions to sectors including aerospace, electronics, and digital infrastructure. Johor’s leadership has underscored talent development as critical. Nevertheless, barriers persist: Malaysia’s foreign worker quotas impede hiring, and Indonesia seeks equitable integration. A fragmented approach risks perpetuating these imbalances.
Precedents like Shenzhen illustrate how talent strategies transform special economic zones from infrastructural enclaves into enduring innovation hubs. Established in 1980 as China’s first SEZ, Shenzhen paired tax incentives and relaxed regulations with deliberate talent cultivation.
Early focus on vocational training, university-industry partnerships, and incubators bridged academia and high-tech needs, nurturing over two million professional technical workers by 2021 – including 617,000 mid-level specialists.
This ecosystem propelled Shenzhen from fishing village to “Silicon Valley of Hardware”, birthing giants like Huawei, Tencent, and DJI. Flexible labor policies eased hiring, while innovation centers fostered entrepreneurship, attracting migrants and sustaining 199,400 population growth in 2024 alone.
Shenzhen’s edge lay not in ports or duties alone, but in retaining skilled professionals through comprehensive policies – a model where talent development sustained competitive advantage amid global shifts.
Sijori can emulate this by prioritizing skill pipelines alongside JS-SEZ incentives, ensuring human capital matches its infrastructural promise.
Sijori’s inherent strengths – temporal alignment, linguistic commonality, and relational proximity – confer a competitive advantage. Robust talent architecture would enable businesses to assemble cost-effective, high-performing teams. Professionals benefit from progression pathways; economies from distributed value creation: Singapore drives innovation, Johor captures mid-tier gains, and BBK expands its base.
Sijori 2.0 represents not mere revival, but reinvention. By embedding talent architecture to foster brain circulation, it can emerge as Southeast Asia’s preeminent integrated corridor for advanced industries. Infrastructure enables; human capital endures. The framework exists – execution must follow.
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