Johor Bahru losing its appeal

Johor Bahru losing its appeal

It needs more than just cleaning up Sungai Segget, one of the filthiest rivers in Malaysia, to transform Johor Baru into a vibrant city.

Spending RM200mil to clean up the river which flows along Jalan Wong Ah Fook in Johor Baru city centre will not necessarily bring back the “life and soul” to the area.

Johor Baru has a humble beginning as a small Malay fishing village. Originally known as Tanjung Puteri, it was founded in 1855 by Temenggung Daeng Ibrahim, the father of Sultan Abu Bakar.

Sultan Abu Bakar, famously known as the “Father of Modern Johor” changed the name to Johor Baru after he moved the seat of the government from Teluk Blangah in Singapore to Johor in 1866.

During his reign (1862-1895), Johor Baru was one of the “most modern and developed towns” in the Malay States due to the large presence of British and Chinese businessmen.

Undoubtedly it is vital to rejuvenate Johor Baru city centre in line with its status as one of the five flagship development zones in Iskandar Malaysia, the country’s first economic growth corridor launched on Nov 4, 2006.

Iskandar spans 2,217 sq km in the southernmost part of Johor and under its Comprehensive Develop-ment Plan (2006-2025), it will be transformed into a strong, sustainable conurbation of international standing.

History aside, there are several aspects that needed to be looked into in the Johor Baru urban renewal planning project, including the political will from the present-day state government.

Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during his recent 1.6km walkabout in this city remarked on the JB transformation plan, which includes the cleaning up of Sungai Segget.

While it is an interesting idea to have gondolas plying the town area, this will not be practical especially with the government having already spent RM6mil a few years ago to cover up the stretch.

Tourists travelling on the river will also be put off by the huge, fat rodents in the area and the sight of raw sewage being dumped into Sungai Segget.

As for funding of the JB urban renewal project, while it comes from the Federal Government, the stakeholders have to be more proactive and improve on their delivery system to ensure the project’s success.

This requires concerted efforts from the Johor Government, State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN), Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda), Johor Tourism and other relevant agencies.

Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during his recent 1.6km walkabout in this city remarked on the JB transformation plan, which includes the cleaning up of Sungai Segget.

While it is an interesting idea to have gondolas plying the town area, this will not be practical especially with the government having already spent RM6mil a few years ago to cover up the stretch.

Tourists travelling on the river will also be put off by the huge, fat rodents in the area and the sight of raw sewage being dumped into Sungai Segget.

As for funding of the JB urban renewal project, while it comes from the Federal Government, the stakeholders have to be more proactive and improve on their delivery system to ensure the project’s success.

This requires concerted efforts from the Johor Government, State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN), Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda), Johor Tourism and other relevant agencies.
Easy ride: View of Johor Baru city from Bukit Timbalan.

The opening of Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex at Bukit Chagar in 2008 is the main reason why the city centre is now “deserted.”

Prior to the opening of the CIQ, motorists and visitors especially Singaporeans entering JB via the old CIQ would stop over in the city centre to change money and patronise eateries but the traffic had now been diverted to Jalan Tebrau and Stulang.

The relocation of the state government offices to the new administrative centre in Kota Iskandar, Nusajaya from Bukit Timbalan in Johor Baru is making the matter worse.

The number of office workers in the area, especially lunch crowd, has declined and those who have to deal with the government offices now have to go to Kota Iskandar.

Unlike Kuala Lumpur, when the federal offices moved to Putrajaya, the capital city still has attractions to offer, such as Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Petaling Street and Central Market. JB, however, does not have enough content.

People do not see the need to come to JB city centre as the suburban areas of Johor Baru are also developing and offer a lot of choices in shopping; in fact, JB has more vibrant suburban neighbourhoods than the city centre itself.

JB does not have to be like Venice in Italy to bring back crowds and visitors with gondolas meandering down the waterways of the city.

To rejuvenate Sungai Segget, Irda should probably look at the success story of a place closer to home — Cheonggyecheon Stream that flows through downtown Seoul in South Korea.

The 5.8km stream was such an eyesore before it was covered with concrete step by step over 20 years from 1958, while a 5.6km-long and 16m-wide elevated highway was completed in 1976.

In July 2003, then Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak, now president of South Korea, initiated a project to remove the elevated highway and restore the stream.

Three years later, the once extremely filthy stream was rejuvenated at a cost of US$350mil (RM1.15bil) and now Cheongg-yecheon has become a popular recreational park among Seoul residents and tourists.

MBJB should also consider reintroducing the popular Ungku Puan night outdoor hawker area which has been replaced with concrete kiosks.

Putting up these concrete kiosks and moving the hawkers to the back alleys of pre-war shophouses was indeed bad planning as the Ungku Puan was the biggest al fresco dining area in the city centre and highly popular not only with locals but also tourists.

However, if the outdoor stalls were reintroduced, MBJB must make sure that hawkers practise high hygiene standard including proper disposal of food wastes.

Another aspect the Johor Government should look into is the former sites of the Lumba Kuda and Bukit Chagar low-cost flats.

Permit developers to build high-rise condominiums and service apartments here as these properties can attract Malaysian professionals working in Singapore as well as expatriates based in the republic due to the areas’ close proximity to the CIQ.

In order for the JB urban renewal project to succeed, views from property owners must be considered or the government may find the project delayed for years such as the redevelopment project of Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur.

Both the Federal and Johor Governments should give incentives such as soft loans to these property owners to upgrade their rundown properties as the upgrading of these properties will in turn lead to higher rental.

Instead of spending tons of money on study trips to Australia or European countries, the parties involved in the JB urban renewal project should take notes from the successes of Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority in redeveloping old parts of the island republic.

-News courtesy of The Star-