The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- GE13: At the foot of Mount Ophir
- GE13: Indian members oppose Johor PKR leaders
- GE13: Johor BN unveils manifesto that looks after the well being of everybody
| GE13: At the foot of Mount Ophir Posted: 18 Apr 2013 06:35 PM PDT LEDANG: Tangkak in Ledang district is popular with its shops selling textiles and many shoppers from outside the district come in bus loads to shop here. Another attraction here is the legendary Gunung Ledang or Mount Ophir and locals believe that the immortal Puteri Gunung Ledang is living somewhere in the mountain. While nobody have come across the beautiful princess in flesh said to originate from Java, picnickers at Gunung Ledang are enjoying the cool waterfalls gushing from the mountain peak. A resort at the foot of the mountain is also a popular place for government agencies and private companies to hold jungle hiking and mountain trekking expeditions for their employees. Ledang was declared a district by the late Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail on June 9, 2008, after years of being a sub-district under Muar. Businessman Datuk Rahim Talib, 50, lauded the plan to build the new administrative centre in the district to house all government departments and agencies under one roof. "This is good as those dealing with the departments or the agencies will find it convenient instead of having to go to different places,'' he said. Rahim said new roads connecting the centre to Serom, Tangkak and Muar would also improve connectivity and accessibility in the area. Villager at Bukit Gambir Mohd Zan Abu Bakar, 48, said the district had developed in the past 15 years including the setting up of several colleges and Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA. However, he said the district still lacked facilities for residents in Bukit Gambir, Sengkang, Sungai Mati, Sagil and Kesang. Mohd Zan said Bukit Gambir township was growing rapidly but there were not many facilities to cater to the needs of the locals. "The township needs a new market as the present market is located near the residential and commercial areas and no longer suitable,'' he said. Mohd Zan said the district also needed a public polyclinic to cater to the increasing number of residents while youths wanted a district stadium to hold sporting events. He said presently, locals seeking non-emergency medical treatment have to go either to Tangkak Hospital or Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar. Mohd Zan said the Government had already announced the construction of road from Sengkang to Sagil but as of to date, no work on the project has started. "Bukit Gambil also needs a new secondary school as the existing SMK Kampung Simpang Lima is overcrowded with over 2,000 students,'' he said. Teacher S. Thanavanathan, 45, said the Indians needed a temple in the area and hoped that the state Government would allocate a plot of land for the building. Apart from the Hindu temple, the Bukit Gambir school teacher said there was a need for a Tamil school as well, a health clinic in Sagil. "Locals also want banks to set up automated teller machines at the shop houses as there is not a single bank in Sagil to serve them,'' he said. According to Lilly, 39, textile and fabrics in Tangkak was still popular among housewives who came from northern peninsula, Johor Baru and even Singapore. She said there were more than 30 textile and fabric shops in the town and many had branches in Nilai Tiga, Nilai Square and some had branches in Malacca. She said the town would be congested with shoppers on weekends, public holidays and school holidays, adding that, many also came in buses. She said since most of the shops were located along the Tangkak — Segamat road, the local authority had set up parking bays for vehicles away from the main road. She also added that vehicles, especially the buses, now had special parking spots near the Tangkak bus and taxi terminal behind the rows of textile shops. Meanwhile, trader Lee Cheng Hua, 33, said the Government should speed up the work on the new Tangkak–Semagat road which would by-pass the town. He said the road project, to begin from the new Ledang administrative centre planned near Serom, would ease congestion in the town when completed. He said although the Chinese community in Tangkak had almost everything they needed, the town still needed a football field or a mini-stadium for sport activities. He said the Chinese schools in the area had sufficient sport facilities but they were meant for the students of the schools, not for the public. "It will be good if the Government can build a mini-stadium here for the residents to organise games, especially football," he said. Lee, who runs his family's Seng Huat Textile Company, said the town also needed a bigger hospital and hoped the Government would upgrade the present one. He said the town and its surrounding areas were fast growing with new housing and commercial zones while new industrial parks were being planned not far from the Tangkak Toll Plaza. He said the town could be small but the textile trade and nearby Gunung Ledang had made it a popular visiting destination for the tourists. "However, the town only has three budget hotels and we hope more hotels would be built to cater to the increasing number of visitors to Tangkak," he said. This GE13 both Barisan Nasional and the Opposition will be trying hard to woo the 69,453 voters in the constituency. |
| GE13: Indian members oppose Johor PKR leaders Posted: 18 Apr 2013 06:39 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Johor Indian PKR members are unhappy and opposed the state leadership of the party's state chairman Datuk Chua Jui Meng and his deputy secretary Steven Choong. Tebrau PKR division Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) acting chief A. Prasad claimed that both Chua and Choong have neglected to field any of the party's Indian members as candidates in the GE13. He added that many of the party members questioned Chua's loyalty towards PKR and to Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Prasad also said that PKR is a multiracial party where it should field candidates representing all races. "We want to know why none of the party's Indian leaders especially Tebrau PKR division chief K. Selvakumaran was sidelined as candidate for all parliamentary seats in the state. "Unlike Chua, Selvakumaran did not go missing or sulk and instead adviced us to be patient and support any PKR candidate in the general election," he said. He added that many of the party's Indian members were mad with the state leadership after PAS announced that its Supporters Congress women's wing chief R. Kumutha Raman to stand in Tiram state seat recently. Prasad also blasted Choong candidacy for the Tebrau parliamentary due to his position, as the latter was the Johor PKR director of elections. "We have been working hard under the Tebrau PKR machinery for the past five years to support Selvakumaran as a candidate for Tebrau parliamentary as he is a winnable candidate unlike Choong who "parachute" himself in the area. "If PKR Johor loses in the general election then Chua and Choong must be held responsible as they neglected Indian members and voters," he said adding that there are only one parliamentary and two state seats left for Johor PKR which have yet to be announced. He added that those seats are Pontian parliamentary while the state seats were Layang-layang and Tenggaroh, which is unlikely to fall into the Opposition's hands. Prasad also said that if PKR state leaders fielded Indian candidates in these seats than it proves that the party practise double standard among its members. Meanwhile Taman Daya PKR branch chief S. Yogeswaran said the party Indian members would hold a massive demonstration in the near future against Chua and Choong if they did not field any Indian candidates. "We would close down 10 of the party's Tebrau machinery rooms and stopped working to oppose Choong's candidacy in the area as he has done nothing for the people here," he said. |
| GE13: Johor BN unveils manifesto that looks after the well being of everybody Posted: 18 Apr 2013 04:03 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Barisan Nasional has promised to provide 10 to 20 cubic metres of free water to the poor, create 500,000 jobs, build 37,700 affordable homes and houses for estate workers as part of their state election manifesto. Johor Barisan chief Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the 20-point manifesto was formulated based on their track record of developing the state for the past 20 years. "We have come up with this manifesto which is comprehensive and will look into the well being of all the people. "This is a people-centric manifesto," he said, after a ceremony to launch the manifesto together with the unveiling of the Barisan candidates for the state in GE13. The 20-point manifesto dubbed, 'mensejahterakan rakyat' includes coming up with ways to address hardcore poor in the state, to increase their human capital, install over 2,000 close circuit cameras to improve security, to upgrade and build over 6,000km of roads in the rural areas, to give out land grants to 8,000 Felda settlers and to develop Pengerang as Asia's biggest petrochemical hub. Others include projects to enhance small and medium scale industries in the state, to carry out drainage and irrigation projects in at least eight districts, to upgrade the public transport system, to make sure Johor Baru is turned into a city of international standing, to improve the services of local councils and to safeguard 500,000ha of forests statewide. MCA national organising secretary Datuk Tee Siew Kiong described the manifesto as holistic which addressed the needs of various groups in the state. "This shows that Barisan cares about the people and will continue to develop the state especially in Iskandar Malaysia," he said, adding that unlike the opposition, Barisan would keep it promises and fulfil them after the elections. Tee, who is the Barisan candidate for Pulai Sebatang, said he liked the manifesto on building more roads in the rural areas as Pontian has the most number of villages in the state after Batu Pahat. Johor MIC secretary M. Asojan, said the manifesto would help improve the living standards of the people in the state. "I think the move to get government-linked companies to build homes under a special scheme will attract people to continue working in the estates," he said, adding that unlike the Pakatan Manifesto, the Barisan one had specific timeframe to achieve them. Asojan added that the opposition hoped to create 40,000 jobs but Barisan hopes to create 500,000 homes. |
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