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The Star Online: Metro: South & East

Kluang has now expanded oil palm plantations, dragon fruit and organic vegetable farming
Shopping complex holds yee sang toss for 888 guests
Razali: PAS supporters must know party is deviating from Islamic principles

Kluang has now expanded oil palm plantations, dragon fruit and organic vegetable farming

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 10:33 PM PST

KLUANG: The name Kluang, derived from the Malay word "keluang", will always bring two things to the minds of the people – railway station and aromatic hand-roasted coffee.

About 30 minutes's drive after taking a right turn at the Ayer Hitam toll exit, Kluang is popularly known for its Kluang Railway Station Coffee, which has become such an established brand unique to the district.

People from all walks of life usually would not miss out on having a cup of their signature coffee accompanied with crisp toast bread spread with butter and homemade kaya.

But the place now has more than just delicious breakfast food to offer as Kluang, initially started as a rubber planting district, has now expanded to oil palm plantations, dragon fruit and organic vegetable farming.

With more business opportunities and better economic development, residents in the parliament constituency, which makes up of Mengkibol and Mahkota, are also concerned about increasing crime rates, flash floods, cleaner drains and rivers and the lack of public transport.

For sundry shop owner Sam Jane, 33, from Saujana, the developments were a natural change and she no longer feels that she is living in a small town.

She recalled the empty plots of land surrounding the premises when she first opened her shop in Kluang town seven year ago.

"Although with the opening of more places to shop has caused my business to drop, I am actually quite impressed with the new buildings and shopping malls opening up," said the mother of two.

"I also noticed an influx of foreign workers in the area as well, probably due to the many factories in the industrial area," she added.

Sam however, added that the security was getting worse as she has seen ladies bags being snatched while eating at hawker centres and restaurants.

She said that she would like to see more police-patrol units making their rounds to make the public feel safe.

Retired air force major R. Jegatheesan, 58, who grew up in Kluang, said that the drains and rivers in the district are filthy despite millions of ringgit spent on projects to clean it up.

He said that the rivers needed to be kept clean to keep up with other developments in Kluang.

"I have friends from elsewhere who come for visits and were put off by the smell and sight of the murky waters.

"I hope that the authorities will take the matter more seriously to ensure that the clean-up is done properly," he said.

The former air traffic controller also said that there were several new parking lots in operation around Kluang but said that the slots were not wide enough.

"I know that they made the bays narrower to save space but drivers have to really park carefully or risk scratching or grazing into cars parked in the next bay," he said.

Hospital worker P. Sara, 24, who would be voting for the first time this year, felt that the lack of public transport was frustrating as she often waited up to three hours for a bus heading towards the town area from where she stays in Mengkibol.

"I feel that the issue needs to be addressed as there are more and more shops opening up in town but there are not enough public transport to commute residents to and from those places.

"The long waiting time at the bus stop feels like a chore when going for a movie or shopping with friends," she said.

Sara hoped that public transport like the Iskandar bus routes would be added to remote areas so that more people could enjoy the developments in town.

She also said that as a food lover, she was happy to see many food and beverage outlets mushrooming in Kluang offering a wide variety of food to choose from.

"We use to have fast foods all the time but now we have more choice between Chinese, Malay, Indian and even Korean food," she added.

Flash floods used to be a problem for residents like Nor Ain Nordin, 27, who stays at Kampung Tengah.

"Residents in my village as well as Kampung Baru nearby used to be affected by floods about three times a year but the problem has been solved since ditches were built around the residential area about two years ago.

"Hopefully, more ditches and drains can be built in low-lying areas so that residents do not have to suffer during the rainy season," she said.

The factory worker was also unimpressed by the lack of public transport, as she always has to predict when the bus arrives to avoid from waiting too long at the bus stop.

Besides that, Toh Yow Joo, 29, who grew up in Kluang, said the price of landed property has soared with more people moving into the district and buying houses there.

He expects the prices of houses to continue rising in years to come and found it unappealing to buy a house in Kluang because of that.

"The houses are overpriced for its value and I cannot afford to buy a house yet as houses have doubled in cost from the RM180,000 to about RM400,000 now," he added.

Meanwhile, mother-of-two Samsina Hassan, 41, was worried for the safety of motorcyclists travelling on roads as they are full of potholes.

"I usually go to work on my motorcycle and I have to remember where the potholes are and when to avoid them.

"More maintenance work needs to be carried out instead of just filling the potholes, which the local council usually does and the repair does not last long before the pothole emerges again," she added.

Samsina, who has been staying in Kluang for the past 13 years, expects more improvements for the district, which would create more job opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Kluang parliamentary will be a hot seat this coming general election as it was a predominantly a non-Malay seat with 60% compared with Malays who make up less than 40% of the constituency.

Shopping complex holds yee sang toss for 888 guests

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 10:31 PM PST

JOHOR BARU: Over 600kg of raw ingredients was spread on 900 ft long tables to accommodate a total of 888 visitors for a mass Yee Sang tossing party at the City Square shopping complex.

Sales promoter Farah Syukor, 20, said that she was excited to join the party with her other Malay friends as she had never tasted yee sang previously.

"We wanted to join in the fun and try out the famous Chinese yee sang dish," she said adding that she not only enjoyed tossing the but also liked the unique taste of it.

Farah hoped that the event would be held annually so that she may join and bring her family members along.

Another visitor Lee Li, 20, said that the event was a fun experience, as she had never tossed yee sang with so many other people.

"It was nice to see many people especially the non-Chinese joining in the party and indulging in the traditional Chinese dish.

"I noticed some Chinese people explaining the yee sang dish and other Chinese traditions to the non-Chinese visitors, which I thought was great as it showed the true spirit of being one community," she said.

Lucky draw grand prize winner Affandi Awang, 30, who is engineer, said that he felt happy not only because he won a gold bar worth RM2,000, but also because he had the chance to be apart of the mass yee sang party.

"The dish is not all that new to me but tossing yee sang with such a large crowd is fantastic.

"However, I hope that if the party is hosted next year, the management could make announcements in dual language, as I could not understand the Chinese language used," he said.

He added that he was not planning to sell the gold bar but instead would safe-keep it as a memory.

A special line up of performances including lion and dragon dance, God of Fortune street dance and a Chinese drum performances entertained the crowd before the yee sang tossing.

The invitation-only event was organised by the mall's management while the plentiful yee sang was sponsored by Sake Sushi restaurant on Feb 16.

Razali: PAS supporters must know party is deviating from Islamic principles

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 03:37 PM PST

MUAR: PAS supporters in Johor should realise what could happen to the state and its people if the party continues to disrespect Islamic teachings because of political perceptions.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Razali Ibrahim said their top leaders were willing to collaborate with DAP, which had called for the word Allah to be used by Christians.

Razali said many PAS members, including its former deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa, had alleged the party from deviating from its Islamic principles because of politics.

Many groups in PAS have started to stage protests against their party leaders in several states.

Their top leader had openly said that it was alright for non Muslims to use the word which is only confined to the Muslims, he said at a meeting with the Muar Umno division Womens election machinery recently.

Razali, who was accompanied by the Muar Umno division chief Datuk Mohd Ismail Mohd Shah, said PAS now had made political struggle their main aim, not Islamic principles.

He said those who had been under PAS rule knew how difficult things were and had started to lose confidence and staged open protests.

He said these protests were not orchestrated by Umno as how the opposition parties liked to blame whenever the political situations were against them.

He said PAS members in Johor should also know that their support for their party would be in vain when all their leaders only cared for was to gain power.

On the women election machinery, Razali said all Umno campaigners should be equipped with facts related with any issues raised by the opposition parties in their areas.

He said they should go to every house and meet with voters to clarify any issue as many fence sitters believed what the opposition parties are saying.

We picked the women's wing as they are very close to the people and we want them to explain the current political situation.

"We also want them to tell the people what the Barisan Government has done and will continue to do to help the people," he said.

Earlier, Mohd Ismail said Umno branch leaders in the division should work hard to ensure all candidates contesting in the coming general election win.

"We must not have sabotage, feud, internal bickering and jealousy among us when the names of the candidates are announced. Instead, we all must work as a team and give our fullest support to help the candidates," he added.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Isnin, 25 Februari 2013