Kaijanese writer, Faheem bin Daif once described the history of Kaijan as “A history of false promises and programs”. Thought the history of Slokais, many governments have attempted to remedy the most undeveloped region in the generally prosperous county. One of the biggest failed programs was KEDP or the Kaijanese Economic Development Program. In the aftermath of the Second Kaijan War, many political figures discussed ways to prevent a future civil war. However, the KEDP was the political project of President George Oliver. He proposed the program as part of his 2008 Presidential Campaign. During the campaign, Oliver imagined a self-sufficient modern, trade-friendly Kaijan.
In reality, KEDP was flawed from the start. The program set aside a large amount of funds to be distributed as needed by the local government raising concerns about corruption. Oliver refuted that these flaws would be ironed out further along. With this assurance as well as others, the program was narrowly approved by parliament. The program was launched in 2009 with a ceremony opening as a section of the new S-27 Highway. The highway was intended to allow better connections from Kaijan City to the generally poorer, more rural East Coast of Kaijan. Another part of KEDP was giving funds to local militia to fight against further insurgencies. The final step was giving tax breaks to large companies in an attempt to allure them to Kaijan.
The first flaw in KEDP was in 2011 when the Kuching Township Militia which has been given military-level equipment used that same equipment to arrest and torture federal government employees. These incidents came to life when Hugo Morales, a Ministry of Agriculture inspector was kidnapped and then brutally beaten by militia members publically. The response by the central government was a military raid on the KTM’s police station, this raid was criticized for endangering non-combatants and led to the resignation of the Minster of the Interior, Vivian Zhao. Most crucially, the arms program did not cease, and where it did cease removed all police units entirely, leaving the area vulnerable to future insurgency.
The program was abruptly canceled in April 2012 by President George Oliver. This also cut funding to all ongoing aid and economic development projects leaving local governments to fund their own projects. This decision led to George Oliver losing the 2012 election, with much of his support going to Joseph Zhang of the Center Party. This also led to the Conservatives losing both North and South Kaijan by wide margins in the second round of the election.
The effects of this program are still visible today, as many road and rail projects sit abandoned and have fallen into disrepair. Attempts to restart the KEDP have failed as many remain weary of development projects in Kaijan including those living there. This distrust of the government fueled a new wave of independence activists, eventually leading radicals to form the Kaijan League in 2016.
