I do not agree with Richard Teo's letter Iskandar's two major investors offended in which he opines that the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) project is destined to fail.

I am optimistic about the IDR for a few reasons. The major obstacle of the NEP has been removed. That is a giant step forward for us. Even though we have missed quite a few boats with respect to Singapore, China, Vietnam and Thailand, we can certainly recover quite fast.

Just like the phoenix that rises from the ashes. We have the natural resources, the space, the people, the political stability etc. All these are a recipe for success. A little of fine-tuning here and there and we will be off to a flying start.

The removal of the bumiputera equity participation has now gotten the attention of foreign investors. The next step is get their confidence back by eliminating red tape and having a complete overhaul of our pathetic delivery system.

The country's image in terms of corruption, transparency and freedom of press needs to experience a paradigm shift too. It is a tall order but not impossible. With perseverance, vision and drive, I fervently believe that we can make it.

Malaysia has ran out of excuses for not progressing economically when compared to the above mentioned nations. One of the oft-repeated excuse is that Singapore is easier to run being only 700 square km.

Now, with the IDR which is about 2,200 square km, Malaysia simply cannot fail. Failure would mean that 'Malaysia Tidak Boleh'.