The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Incentives are given to revive old buildings and rehabilitate abandoned projects
- Thumbs up for council services in public survey
- Police nab foreigners who tried to cheat money changer
| Incentives are given to revive old buildings and rehabilitate abandoned projects Posted: 14 Oct 2012 05:04 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: The Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) is giving several incentives to property owners within the Central Business District (CBD) under the Johor Baru City Centre Transformation project. Johor Baru City Mayor Burhan Amin said owners of old and historical buildings within the area and those involved in the rehabilitation of abandoned projects were qualified for the incentives. He said a discount of between 50% and 70% would be given on building planning fee, contribution for the Improvement Services Fund and development charges. Burhan said others include the exemption for payment of the newly set-up trust fund, allowing the temporary display of advertisements on the buildings and deferment on quit rent for two years. He said MBJB would also give property owners involved in the upgrading of their buildings under the transformation project to pay their quit rent on installment for 12 months. "We hope the proactive measures taken by us (MBJB) will help to spearhead and expedite the transformation plan,'' said Burhan. He said this at the launch of the JB City Transformation Open Day jointly organised by MBJB and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority by the State Secretary Datuk Abdul Obet Tawel at Galleria@Kotaraya here recently. The three-day event gives an opportunity for Johor Baru denisens to have a better insight on the masterplan of the multi-billion ringgit transformation project. Burhan said some 250 buildings classified as those with historical and heritage elements along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee would be preserved under the project. "It is important to preserve the historical and heritage buildings within the CBD but at the same time we must also be realistic in the redevelopment plan,'' he said. Burhan said old buildings which were beyond repair or those without historical values and elements should be demolished to make way for new buildings which could bring good returns to the owners. He said in order for the redevelopment plan to succeed, the city centre should have a combination of old and new elements as the existence of the two elements would make Johor Baru city a vibrant place. Burhan said "vibrant" indicated activities that would generate an influx of people into the city centre, throughout the day and night. The redevelopment project covers 485.62ha within the CBD including Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Bukit Timbalan, the former sites of the Lumba Kuda low-cost flats, the former Tanjung Puteri Lorry Customs complex and areas within the Johor Zoo, Ayer Molek prison and Hospital Sultanah Aminah. Johor Baru has a humble beginning as a small Malay fishing village. Originally known as Tanjung Puteri, it was founded in 1855 by Temenggung Daeng Ibrahim, the father of Sultan Abu Bakar. Sultan Abu Bakar, famously known as the "Father of Modern Johor" changed the name to Johor Baru after he moved the seat of the government from Teluk Blangah in Singapore to Johor in 1886. During his reign (1862-1895), Johor Baru was one of the "most modern and developed towns'' in the Malays States due to the large presence of British and Chinese businessmen. |
| Thumbs up for council services in public survey Posted: 14 Oct 2012 05:03 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: While most councils usually come under fire for poor services, the Johor Baru Central Municipal Council (MPJBT) received the loudest hurrah in a public survey. The survey conducted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) showed that MPJBT recorded more than 90% of satisfaction among its customers. According to UTM's management and human resource development faculty lecturer Prof Dr Rosman Md Yusoff the report was based on survey conducted among 1,039 people in 10 areas under the council's jurisdiction. Among the areas are Skudai, Ulu Tiram, Masai, Kangkar Pulai, Gelang Patah, Plentong, Ulu Choch, Lima Kedai, and Nusajaya. He added that the survey, conducted in the last seven months, also showed that those living under the MPJBT jurisdiction are happy with the professionalism practised by the council's staff. "The research team received good feedbacks from those living under MPJBT jurisdiction which shows that the majority of the council's customers are very happy with its service and response," he said. Dr Rosman however, said that there are also some complaints from its customers that MPJBT must address. "Among the top complaints are wild dogs, faulty street lights, abandoned houses and uneven roads. "But there is also lack of participation from the community in programmes organised by MPJBT that must be looked into as well," he told a press conference after tabling the report at Dewan Serbaguna Skudai here. Meanwhile MPJBT secretary Farizal Ismail said MPJBT received an average of 50 complaints per month. "The council will address this problems as soon as possible but some problems such as abandoned houses are out of our hands as there are cases where the houses were seized by banks," he said. Farizal also said that MPJBT have also given directive to its council members to be more active in promoting the council's programme to increase the participation among the community. |
| Police nab foreigners who tried to cheat money changer Posted: 14 Oct 2012 03:57 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Four Yemeni nationals' attempt to confuse a moneychanger in the city centre here to make a quick buck failed after the man's instinct told him to call the police. At first, two of the foreigners approached the moneychanger at an outlet along Jalan Ibrahim and claimed that they wanted to change USD$7,000 to Ringgit Malaysia at around 10am on Thursday. Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Yaacob said the outlet's 65 year-old owner insisted that they produce their passports as a standard operating procedure before conducting the transaction. "They then gave an excuse that they forgot to bring along their passports and instead wanted to change to Euros," he told a press conference here recently. ACP Zainuddin added that the Yemen nationals conversed in Arabic and caused the moneychanger to be confused. He said that the victim claimed that he felt "dizzy" and immediately called the police for help after feeling suspicious about the suspects, as they did not produce the money that they wanted to exchange. "The two foreigners along with their two friends, all in their 30s, were arrested immediately after patrolling policemen rushed to the scene. "Their modus operandi, which was to confuse and throw the victim off guard by constantly changing their minds about the desired currencies before making away with the money, was frequently used by suspects in the Klang Valley," he added. ACP Zainuddin added that the police would crosscheck the suspects' background with the Immigration Department to aid in investigations. He also advised the public to be wary about such tactics used by suspicious people to cause confusion. |
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