Left empty: The JB Waterfront City is one of the handful of abandoned shopping malls in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: A win-win solution is being drawn up to deal with Johor’s abandoned shopping malls, especially in the Johor Baru city area, says Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.
The state housing and local government committee chairman said this plan was part of the nine key strategies under the Johor Bersih initiative, which includes dealing with abandoned buildings.
There are four shopping malls in Johor Baru that had been abandoned for decades – the Skudai Parade, Danga City Mall, JB Waterfront City and Pacific Mall, he added.
“Despite being abandoned for such a long time, these premises still have owners,” said Mohd Jafni, who is also Bukit Permai assemblyman.
For instance, even though it was abandoned, JB Waterfront City had sold 300 of its lots to traders.
“Solving this issue is not as simple as demolishing the buildings as it involves legal issues and huge financial complications.
“The real estate value of these abandoned buildings is high as they are in prime areas. But the state government is working towards finding a win-win solution on this matter,” he said when met after launching the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) publicity programme and public participation of the Sungai Tebrau special area draft plan here yesterday.
On an unrelated matter, Mohd Jafni said MBJB had been chosen for a pilot project which would see 20 of its enforcement personnel being equipped with bodycams.
“We have allocated RM15,000 to equip MBJB enforcement personnel with bodycams to help them on their patrols.
“The bodycams will help increase enforcement especially against littering, as they would have video evidence of people throwing their garbage indiscriminately in public areas,” he added.
Mohd Jafni also said that all 16 local councils in Johor would be issuing fines on the spot for those caught littering.
“For individual offences, they can be fined between RM50 and RM250, while companies can be fined as much as RM2,000,” he added.
