Much needs to be done to make Johor Baru a more liveable city, including reducing congestion on its roads. — Filepic
THE traffic congestion at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) in Johor Baru affects thousands of Malaysians commuting to and from Singapore daily.
The traffic jam on weekends is worse due to the influx of Singaporeans entering the Johor capital for food, entertainment, leisure and shopping.
Since the opening of the international border with Singapore in April, the CIQ management has also come under fire for faulty lifts, escalators, toilets, lights and autogates.
The government has embarked on remedial works at the complex and Johor Baru residents hope this will be extended to other major infrastructures in the city.
JB Heritage Walk chairman Lim Kiong Meng said the city centre should be modelled after Bugis Street in Singapore or Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur.
“The main cause of traffic congestion in Johor Baru is illegal parking.
“Cars are parked along roads, making the streets narrower and harder to navigate.
“So the city needs to be made more pedestrian-friendly, where people can park further away and use public transport to move around,” he said, adding that the end result would make Johor Baru a more liveable city.
He said the association had identified several locations which would be suitable for the government to build such multi-storey carparks.
Lim said the city centre had a lot of potential to be developed into an area where people would like to visit.
“The current trend is for mini cafes, and the stretch from Jalan Stulang Laut to Jalan Pantai Lido would be ideal for this.
“It can be turned into a tourist attraction, such as a beach park where people can hang out.”
Johor Baru Disabled Welfare Support Association president Jamaluddin Abdul Malik said the state capital seemed to lack empathy for the disabled.
“The facilities provided for the disabled are not up to par,” he said.
Johor Indian Petty Traders Association D. Ravindran hopes that the new MP will appoint special officers to look into the welfare of all races.
“There should also be transparency in the allocation and distribution of funds to petty traders.
“Many of these benefits do not trickle down to the business community,” he said.
In GE14, Pakatan Harapan’s Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir defeated Tan Sri Shahrir Samad of Barisan Nasional.
In the 15th General Election, Akmal Nasrullah is defending his seat in a four-way fight against Barisan’s Johan Arifin Mohd Ropi, Mohd Mohtaj Yacob from Perikatan Nasional and Mohd Akhiri Mahmood from Pejuang.
The Johor Baru parliamentary seat is made up of two state constituencies – Tanjung Puteri and Stulang.
Johor Baru has 136,368 registered voters.
Much needs to be done to make Johor Baru a more liveable city, including reducing congestion on its roads. — Filepic
The Sungai Segget rejuvenation project is aimed at bringing more life to the city centre of Johor Baru. — Filepic
Ravindran: There should be transparency in the allocation of funds.
Jamaluddin: Facilities for the disabled are lacking in Johor Baru.
Lim: More can be done to transform the city centre.
