The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- GE13; Pulai’s residential and commercial properties are in demand
- Roubini: Southeast Asia faces volatile growth
- Johor tops list under Kar1sma distribution
| GE13; Pulai’s residential and commercial properties are in demand Posted: 24 Mar 2013 09:01 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Since its inception as the country's first economic growth corridor seven years ago, Pulai has tranformed into one of the fastest growing areas within Iskandar Malaysia. Developers with property developments projects in and around Pulai are laughing all the way to the banks as their residential and commercial properties are being snapped up by buyers. Housing estates like Taman Perling, Bukit Indah, Taman Sutera, Taman Sutera Utama, Taman Nusa Bistari, Taman Nusa Duta are popular among Singaporeans who owned houses here as the estates are near to the Second Link Crossing. Local house owners are also happy as their properties have appreciated of the years and those who lease their properties also make good money. Progress and development in Iskandar Malaysia is bringing mixed feelings to residents in Pulai parliamentary and state seats of Pengkalan Rinting and Kempas. Housewife Nor Huda Ramli, 54, who bought a house in Taman Perling for RM75,000 about 30 years ago, recently saw it been valued at RM250,000. "A decade or two, nobody will not want to stay in Taman Perling as the area was famous with the traffic jam but now, houses here are on good demand,'' she said. Nor Huda said the upgrading of the Perling Highway from a four-lane road into a six-dual carriageway has improved connectivity and accessibility into the area. She also hoped that her two children now studying in a local public university and in the United Kingdom to come to Johor as look for jobs in Iskandar. Businessman Chua Chee Keong, 56, said progress and development Iskandar has created economic spills-over to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) like him. "We are looking forward to benefit from the influx of domestic and foreign investors into Iskandar as the SMEs could provide the support services for big companies,'' he said. Chua said the SMEs still needed continous support from the Federal and Johor Governments such as incentive to stay relevant in the ever changing landscapes taking place in Iskandar. However, shop assistant K. Rathia, 19, who stays at Taman Dahlia said cost of living here, had gone up and for a low-income earner like her, it was a struggle to make ends meet every month. As the only breadwinner in her family, her RM1,300 salary was barely enough for her to save for rainy days as most of the money was spent on groceries and servicing her car loan. Meanwhile, housewife Anne Ng, 59, reminiscences the good old days where Lido beach was a popular picnic spot for locals and visitors on weekends and public holidays. "But, when Danga Bay comes along, it has taken away the good atmosphere of the old Lido Beach,'' she said. Ng said there used to be tennis courts and recreational parks for joggers near the beach area but also have been demolished in the name of development. She said the people were not against development taking place in Iskandar but it must be done in a more holistic way taking into account the welfare of the locals. Ng lamented that the Government wanted Malaysians to lead a healthy lifestyle but at the same time were denied areas or spaces for them to engage in healthy activities. She also hoped that the local councils which oversee the areas in Pulai to conduct regular checks at open air eateries in the constituency as the standard of hygiene was low. For civil servant Taufiq Sidiqi Abdul Rahman, 28, lack of parking areas and inefficient public transportation system were the two problems that needed immediate attention from the relevant authorities. He said finding an empty car parking space in the town centre during peak hours and on weekends was like looking for a needle in a haystack. "Don't blame the motorists for indiscriminiateley parking their vehicles at the sides of the main road, as there are not enough parking space,'' said Taufiq. A proprietor of computer repair shop S. Logesh, 24, in Taman Tampoi Indah II, is more concerned if the crime rate in the area. He said Taman Tampoi Indah II, was a hot spot for crime activities and blamed them due to the large presence of drug addicts and foreigners living in the area. "When I first opened my shop two years ago, most of my friend were against the idea of me choosing to this place,'' said Logesh. He said although the crime rate had reduced in the area due to the regular patrolling by the police, more could be done to ensure residents and business operators were not "living in fear". Stall owner Asmardi Muhammad, 35, urged the relevant authorities to deepen the drains along Jalan Ayer Molek here to avoid flash floods that have been occurring frequently. He said the flash flood has been ongoing for more that 20 years and every time it happens, it causes inconveniences to road users as well as businesses operating in the area. "Get to the bottom of the problem and please solve the problem for once and for all,'' said Asmardi. The Pulai parliamentary is one of Johor's largest constituencies with 99,542 voters and is expected to be hotly contested in the coming general election. |
| Roubini: Southeast Asia faces volatile growth Posted: 24 Mar 2013 08:21 PM PDT THERE will be a rise among middle class with strong capital spending and more demand for construction as infrastructure is a much needed element with Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines showing stable growth, said renowned economist Nouriel Roubini. Speaking to delegates at the Datum Economic Forum 2013 (DEF'13), Roubini who was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers two years running said Southeast Asia has shown signs of growth in volatile economic conditions and has predicted that Southeast Asia will continue to flourish despite global economic uncertainty. According to his profile, Roubini is the co-founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics, an independent, global macroeconomic strategy research firm. He is also a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business and has extensive policy experience as well as broad academic credentials. From 1998 to 2000, he served as the senior economist for international affairs on the White House Council of Economic Advisors and then the senior advisor to the undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury Department, helping to resolve the Asian and global financial crises, among other issues. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and numerous other prominent public and private institutions have drawn upon his consulting expertise. The firm's website, Roubini.com, has been named one of the best economics web resources by BusinessWeek, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and The Economist. He is also a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business. While Roubini's company was incorporated in 2004, the original idea for it gained worldwide attention starting in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis, according to his website. Roubini, an economics professor at NYU's Stern School of Business at that time, felt dissatisfied with the avenues open to economists to discuss and react to the crisis. So he launched a website that quickly became the go-to destination for policy leaders and top researchers. By 1999, Asia's crisis had subsided, but The Economist honoured Roubini's "Monitor" as the #1 Economics website in the world. DEF'13 is a world class conference that brought together policy makers, business and industry leaders who shared insights on the current scenario as well as the future challenges while providing dependable solutions on how to overcome some of the challenges. The forum which intended to highlight pertinent issues in the pursuit of enriching livelihood took place on March 1 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Themed "Building Communities and Enriching Lives", DEF'13 was organised by Datumcorp International as part of its role in developing the Selangor's economy mainly through high-end property development that translates to inflow of investments and foreign-direct investment (FDI) into the state and the country. It is supported by EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ideas Malaysia and the forum was officiated by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. Datumcorp International (DCI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS). DCI is involved in strategic and high quality initiatives stretching to global platform. DCI positions itself as world class organisation with major focus in high value development both locally and internationally. Through series of client engagement programs, DCI takes the first step of organising DEF'13 to gather the world's best economic think tanks under one roof and address issues pertinent to nation building and regional growth. Fruitful partnership In other news, PKNS Infra Bhd (PIB), a subsidiary of Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with China Railway Construction Corporation (International) Limited through its local partner CRCC Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The MoU between PIB and CRCC Malaysia will establish a close collaboration between the parties in construction and and the housing industry. The MoU is expected to be a milestone for both parties to go further on board with more formal and definitive legal scripture and explore not in construction arena alone but for other businesses which are beneficial to both parties locally and internationally. Currently, PIB and CRCC Malaysia are looking forward to work with Datumcorp International on a few series of mega development projects with the estimated Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM14bil. Among the projects are Datum In-City, Datum Edu-City, Datum SACC and Datum Bangi. |
| Johor tops list under Kar1sma distribution Posted: 24 Mar 2013 08:22 PM PDT MUAR: The Government has distributed a total of RM3.4mil to some 17,000 needy people in Johor under its 1Malaysia Peoples Welfare or Kar1sma programme. State Women, Family, Health and Community Development Committee chairman Dr Robia Kosai said the cash aid of RM200 for each family would be disbursed before March 31. She said Johor was among the top state to receive the most allocation from the RM50mil allocated by the Government for its Kar1sma programme. Every needy family in the peninsula receives RM200, a one-off payment in the form of voucher while families in Sabah and Sarawak receive RM300 voucher. This voucher enables them to buy essential items, including school needs, at selective shopping outlets and cannot be sold or transferred to other parties, she said when launching the programme here recently. Dr Robia said among those who were eligible for the aid are poor people, handicapped as well as mentally challenged people, and old folks who are poor. She said the vouchers were distributed to representatives from all 26 parliamentary areas in Johor who would distribute them among the recipients in their areas. "We have directed the representatives from the parliamentary areas to disburse the vouchers fast as they are valid until March 31", she added. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Metro: South & East To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan