The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Development in Pengerang will be fed by its oil and gas industry which will create jobs and opportunities
- Panic button kiosk helps victims of crime call for assistance
- Financial aid is for the good of rakyat
| Posted: 17 Feb 2013 04:09 PM PST PENGERANG: The landscape of this once fishing village, which was surrounded by oil palm and rubber plantations, is fast changing with the area being earmarked as one of the country's leading oil and gas hubs. The multi-billion-ringgit project spanning over 8,100ha, will house several oil refineries, petrochemical and liquefied natural gas terminals, including Petronas's Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Develop-ment (Rapid) project. Pengerang, which is located about 100km from Johor Baru, is also famous for its seafood restaurants serving lobster dishes in Sungai Rengit and also its sandy beaches in Desaru. The Government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional is also pouring billions to develop five-star resorts, two water parks and an international golf course in Desaru. In less than two years, the area has become more accessible via the new Senai-Desaru Highway which has shortened the travel time to the area by an hour compared to over two hours previously via the trunk road from Kota Tinggi. Many regard the transformation taking place in Pengerang, which has two state constituencies namely Penawar and Tanjung Surat, as a blessing with hopes of more job opportunities, better facilities and infrastructure. There are also those who are worried about the high cost of living including the spiralling cost of rental in the area, higher prices of groceries, land grabs by the government, poor public amenities and also worries about pollution. Resident Ema Ereina Abdul Karim, 25, from Bandar Penawar, hopes that the development would help revive some of the abandoned buildings including housing and apartment projects in Desaru. "In the last four years there have been a lot of activities and new projects and I hope that this will bring about more job opportunities for the locals as salaries here are still low compared to Johor Baru," she said. Another issue she pointed out was maintaining cleanliness of the surrounding area and also the drains. "I also hope that the government will do something to improve the Senai-Desaru Highway as it is a huge letdown because it is frequently under maintenance, riddled with potholes and is also uneven," she added. For water treatment plant operator Ishak Ahmad, 40, who has been living in the area with his family since 1985, described the changes as tremendous. "It used to be a jungle here with really bad roads. Now we have a highway and traveling to this area is so much convenient. "We also do not need to go to Kota Tinggi for our groceries as now we have a supermarket here which offers everything," he added. Ishak hopes for more housing projects to cater for the students of the four institutions of higher learning in the area. "I also hope that something can be done to attract more Chinese and Indians here as presently Bandar Penawar is predominantly a Malay community with only a handful of non-Malays," he added. For businessman L. Krishnasamy, 52, who runs a sundry shop in Ladang Sungai Papan hopes that ongoing developments would bring more Indians to the area to work in the oil and gas industry. "Those days, there were more than 100 families in the estates. "However, many have moved to Johor Baru and Pasir Gudang looking for better opportunities. "The dwindling number of Ind-ians here is very glaring, for example, our SJK(T) Ladang Sungai Papan only has two pupils. He added that the price of land had also shot up from RM5,000 to RM8,000 for 0.4ha land to about RM100,000 to RM200,000 now. "I hope that the Government will also help the non-Malays including providing water and electricity supply and also asphalt roads to some of the villages including Kampung Tanjong Bintan," he said, adding that they also needed fertilisers and insecticide. For Ong Poh Yin, 33, who runs a coffeeshop in Sungai Rengit, worries about the pollution that may be caused by the oil and gas project. "I am concerned for the safety of my two children aged two and nine years old," she lamented. Ong added that while she welcomed the development taking place in the area, she hoped that the Government would not hurry things and would take the time to appoint proper officials to engage with the community. "There are a lot of rumours going around and the Government should do something to clarify and explain matters to the people," she said. Resident Chua Yeng Kee, 53, said while business has gotten better these days with more outsiders in the area, the cost of rental has shot up with shops which used to be let out for RM1,600 per month were going for RM4,000 now. "I have a lot of family members here and hope that the Government will be able to settle the issues concerning Chinese graves here," he added. Chua, who has three grown up children, hopes that Sungai Rengit would not lose its identity with all the development taking place. "I hope tourists will still continue to come here for lobster and I can still hang out with my friends chatting over a cup of coffee," he added. However, the high cost of living always lingers in the mind of housewife M. Banu, 30, who moved to Sungai Rengit with her husband and two young children three years ago from Puchong, Selangor. "I find the cost of living here higher than the Klang Valley. "Everything here is expensive including vegetables and fish. "One kg of selar fish is almost RM12. Each month I have to travel to Johor Baru to get my groceries and provisions," she said. Banu added that public transport was also a problem due to the irregular bus schedules at the terminal. Banu hopes that with the developments taking place, more public amenities and infrastructure would be added including better schools, tuition centres or even a hypermaket for the locals. The Pengerang parliamentary will be a keenly contested seat this coming general election with both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat trying their best to woo its 37,225 voters, mainly Malays. |
| Panic button kiosk helps victims of crime call for assistance Posted: 17 Feb 2013 04:11 PM PST JOHOR BARU: The police have set up a panic button kiosk in the heart of the city. The first kiosk in Johor Baru, it enables victims of crime to lodge a report immediately. According to Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Yaacob, the blue interactive kiosk is located next to a pedestrian crossing just beside City Square shopping mall along Jalan Station here. "The location is one of the busiest areas in the city. The site was chosen for its high traffic volume and because there are many shops and eateries there as well," he said in an interview. He added that the panic button post, located about 1.5km away from the Johor Baru South police headquarters, was the second in the country, the first being in Penang. "When an emergency strikes, like snatch theft or robbery, members of the public can simply press the button and speak into the intercom to get in touch with a police officer who is on standby 24 hours at the district police command centre. "The police officer provide assistance to the victim on what to do while waiting for a police unit to arrive on the scene," he said. ACP Zainuddin also said that the kiosks were set up under the Safe City initiative to reduce crime under the National Key Area Result (NKRA) programme. "The kiosk will be quite useful to help the police combat street crime. "If it is a success, the police intend to add additional kiosks so we can provide faster assistance to victims," he said. The kiosk also displays the police hotline 07-221 2999, the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) hotline 1300-88-0146 as well as a short user guide on how to use the interactive system. |
| Financial aid is for the good of rakyat Posted: 17 Feb 2013 09:55 PM PST PASIR GUDANG: The financial assistance given to the rakyat by the Government is not meant for buying votes in the upcoming general election said Johor exco member Datuk Maulizan Bujang. He said initiatives like the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) and the RM100 school aid was to help ease the financial burden of Malaysians especially those in the lower and middle-income groups. Maulizan, who is the state Entrepreneur and Cooperatives, Development and Higher Learning Committee chairman, said the initiatives show that the Government always gave priority to the well being of the people. "The Opposition has labelled such projects as an attempt by the Government to buy votes from the rakyat. This is not true," he said. Maulizan said this when handing out RM40,000 of financial assistance from the Johor Corporation to five fishing villages near Tanjung Langsat Port here, recently. He said the Government has always been committed to helping the people. "Development projects such as the Iskandar Malaysia and the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang will benefit the rakyat and help improve their income," he said. Maulizan said that the Government had spent huge amounts of money to subsidise many basic needs including petrol. "The Opposition claims that if they become the next Government they would reduce the price of petrol but how will they be able to do it and at what cost? "Even though it is sweet to hear, we must know the effect of such decisions as it will burden the country's economy and growth," he said. |
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