Johoreans rejoiced after Sultan Ibrahim (right) was chosen by his fellow Rulers as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Johoreans hopeful of brighter days ahead in 2024, thanks to several positive year-end developments
THE local government scene in Johor was dominated by the decision of five councils to increase assessment tax next year.
Following protests, including an online petition, the state government decided to give a 30% rebate.
Johor also experienced major floods that impacted all 10 districts in the beginning and end of the year.
Mid-year, the death of Cabinet minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub paved the way for two by-elections in September which saw Pakatan Harapan retaining the Pulai parliamentary seat and the Simpang Jeram state seat with comfortable majorities.
The year is ending on a high note with the proposal to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) between Johor and Singapore with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) expected to be inked by Jan 11.
The election of Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar as the country’s next Yang di-Pertuan Agong also got Johoreans excited.
The staging of the Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2023 saw the international spotlight turned on Johor with participation from 108 countries.
Kampung Temehel in Yong Peng, Batu Pahat, was one of the areas affected by floods in March.
Statewide floods
It was a wet beginning to 2023 with a series of floods in the first three months of the year.
The ones in February and March affected more than 50,000 people with five fatalities.
Many dubbed it the worst in the state for 17 years, since the Kota Tinggi disaster in 2006-2007.
Kota Tinggi, Segamat, Batu Pahat and Muar were among the districts that were hit hard.
Chaah in Segamat was almost entirely submerged.
Some flood victims were stuck in their homes for more than 24 hours with no food, water or electricity.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who visited Segamat on March 5 to check on the situation, said the government would speed up the implementation of some RM600mil flood mitigation projects nationwide, including in Johor.
State tourism, environment, heritage and culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said there were six flood mitigation projects in Johor.
The Sungai Loi Segamat, Sungai Batu Pahat, Sungai Batu Pahat-Sri Medan and Sungai Kesang projects will be completed in two to three years while two others in Kota Tinggi will take longer.
Pufferfish tragedy
The death of an elderly couple in Kluang who consumed pufferfish also made headlines.
On March 25, 84-year-old Ng Chuan Sing @ Eng Kuai Sin bought pufferfish, also known in Chinese as “drumstick fish”, from a fishmonger in Kampung Chamek, Kluang.
Both he and his wife, Lim Siew Guan, 83, began experiencing breathing difficulties and were rushed to the hospital.
Lim passed away hours later while Ng died after a few days.
Then Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the sale of pufferfish was controlled under the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority Act 1972.
Section 13 of the Food Act 1983 prohibits the sale of any food that has any substance in or upon it which is poisonous, harmful or otherwise injurious to health.
Dr Noor Hisham said data from the Disease Control Division of the Health Ministry showed that 58 pufferfish poisoning incidents involving 18 deaths were reported in the country between 1985 and March 2023.
Onn Hafiz has been making regular visits to Johor checkpoints to ensure smoother travel for users.
Smoother border travel
The border between Johor and Singapore also received much needed attention this year with Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi making it his personal mission to ensure smooth traffic at both the Causeway and Second Link.
The maintenance of facilities at the two Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes in Johor was also in the limelight.
As of June, Onn Hafiz had made more than 70 visits to the CIQs. This included 60 visits to Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) CIQ and 14 visits to Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) CIQ.
Most of the visits were unannounced, allowing the Mentri Besar to have a clear picture of the reality thousands of commuters have to go through as they pass through the CIQs.
Videos of Onn Hafiz’s visits made the rounds on social media and he received praise for dealing with the issue personally.
The close attention seemed to have borne fruit with travellers sharing on social media improvements they have experienced this year.
Another move that should improve the situation further is the setting up of a single border agency at all of the country’s entry points, which was announced during Budget 2024.
Currently, there are more than 20 government departments and agencies manning BSI and KSAB.
Suhaizan (centre) celebrating his victory in the Pulai by-election.
Two by-elections
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin died at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, on July 23.
The former Parti Amanah Negara deputy president, who was 61, was laid to rest at his hometown in Pontian.
His death paved the way for by-elections in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram seats on Sept 9.
Both saw three-way fights. In the Pulai by-election, former state assembly speaker from Amanah, Suhaizan Kayat went up against Bersatu’s Zulkifli Jaafar and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.
In Simpang Jeram, the fight was between engineer Nazri Abdul Rahman from Amanah, medical doctor Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya from PAS and local buinsessman S. Jeganathan, who stood as an Independent.
Suhaizan won with an 18,641 majority while Nazri’s majority was 13,844.
Special Economic Zone
The proposal to develop a special economic zone (SEZ) between Johor and Singapore was welcomed by the business community.
The SEZ will cover an area of about 2,300sq km in five local authorities – Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP), Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG), Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu) and Pontian Municipal Council.
On July 14, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to create a special task force to study the establishment of the SEZ during the 16th Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia.
On Oct 30, during the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat, Anwar and his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong agreed to jointly develop the SEZ.
In a joint statement, the two leaders said that the SEZ would tap into the complementary strengths of the two countries to foster economic connectivity by improving cross-border flow of goods, investments and people.
Malaysia and Singapore are expected to ink a memorandum of understanding on the parameters of the SEZ by Jan 11 next year.
Assessment tax hike
Property owners from five local councils in Johor were shocked to learn they would have to pay more in assessment tax next year.
They were in jurisdictions under MBPG, MBIP, MBJB, Kluang Municipal Council (MPK), and Pengerang Municipal Council (MPP).
Many expressed dissatisfaction over the timing of the hike as they are still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic while also coping with the rising cost of living.
However, only 3% of property owners officially objected.
State housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the last time local councils in Johor – with the exception of MPKu – conducted a property valuation and tax adjustment was in 2013.
In response, Onn Hafiz gave an assurance that the state government would ensure the people were not burdened.
During the Johor State Assembly in December, Onn Hafiz announced that the Johor government would be giving a 30% rebate on the assessment tax.
He said there were 807,441 property owners in the five local councils, and 326,720 of them, or 40.4%, were not affected by the tax increase.
Our next King
Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim will be the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The announcement was made after a special meeting of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara on Oct 27.
Upon his return home, His Majesty was greeted by thousands of Johoreans at the Senai International Airport.
The Johor Sultan is set to begin a five-year term on Jan 31, succeeding Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
Sultan Ibrahim, 65, is known as a Ruler who speaks his mind, especially when the welfare of his subjects is concerned.
During his birthday celebration on Nov 22, Sultan Ibrahim said that his priority as the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong was to safeguard the interests of 33 million Malaysians.
Over 3,800 people from 108 countries took part in the Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2023 in Johor.
Focus on climate
The Asia-Pacific Climate Week (APCW) 2023 was held in Johor for the first time.
About 3,800 people from all around the world participated in the five-day conference from Nov 13 to 17.
During the APCW 2023, the state government also launched its Johor Green Development Master Plan or Johor Green Deal, which was officiated by Permaisuri Johor Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris.
The green agenda is a framework for the government to plan the state’s future, taking into account social, economic and environmental conditions.
The APCW saw the presentation of technical papers, symposiums, networking, introductory tours, regional and global cooperation, investment discussions and talks on climate change.
A total of 14 MoUs worth RM180mil were signed to address environmental challenges, foster economic growth and encourage innovation.
