Invest
JB Chingay parade gazetted as heritage
30 January 2012, By Asia One News
MALAYSIA - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday announced that the government had decided to gazette the Johor Baru chingay procession as a national heritage.
He said the government recognised it as part of the Chinese heritage there and wanted to honour it.
"We take it for granted but this is our way of honouring the Chinese community in the country. We need to repeat this as the Chinese here are unique and that's what makes Malaysia rich in culture," he said to cheers from the 50,000- strong crowd at the national Chinese New Year open house here last night.
Chingay, which originated from China, is a street art where the performer balances a giant flagpole that ranges from 7m to 10m in height and about 27kg in weight.
Install CCTVs, Johor cops urge business owners
30 January 2012, By NST
JOHOR police is encouraging business owners, especially those with warehouses and factories, to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) to aid the authorities in the fight against crime.
Johor police chief Datuk Mokhtar Shariff said CCTVs can be used to protect businesses against robbery and theft.
"CCTV systems are important for crime prevention and we (the police) want to advise business owners in the state to invest in a system to protect their businesses," he said at the Johor police contingent headquarters recently.
Mokhtar also lashed out at some premise owners here who were reluctant to install CCTVs despite their businesses generating a substantial sum of money.
He said this could attract the attention of criminals.
Work on OM Holdings smelter in Johor progressing well
30 January 2012, By The Star
Its wholly-owned subsidiary, OM Materials (Johore) Sdn Bhd has spent about RM72mil on the project, including RM65.5mil to acquire a 40ha land for the project.
“A loan from CIMB Bank for financing the land acquisition has been fully drawn down and paid to Johor Corp, the land vendor,” OM Holdings said in a recent update to the Australian Stock Exchange.
The term loan from CIMB Bank amounted to nearly US$16.9mil.
The Johor project comprises a managanese alloy smelter with a capacity of 66,000 tonnes per annum and a sinter ore plant with a capacity of 300,000 tonne per annum. It will also be supported by a logistics and distribution centre.
MP: Iskandar Malaysia attracting local and foreign investments
30 January 2012, By The Star
The development and progress within Iskandar Malaysia will bring immense benefit to Johor and the country.
Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the country’s first economic growth corridor was moving on a right direction since its inception on Nov 4, 2006.
He said Iskandar Malaysia had been able to attract a steady flow of domestic and foreign investments despite operating in a very competitive economic environment.
Malaysia’s other economic growth corridors were the Northern Economic Region, East Coast Economic Region, Sabah Development Corridor and Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.
Chinese heritage discovery
27 January 2012, By NST
A WALK along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in Johor Baru will take you pass charming coffee shops, old provision stores, a traditional charcoal bakery and on to OCBC Bank - the bank that catered to Johor's pioneer overseas Chinese.
It also leads to the rear entrance of the Johor Baru Chinese Heritage Museum, a four-level building that can be accessed from two entrances, Jalan Ibrahim and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.
This building, occupied by the Johor Baru Tiong-Hua Association since 1948, was officially opened as a heritage museum in October 2009.
A visit to the museum is an enriching experience, not only for those who wish to learn more about the culture and heritage of their forefathers and early Chinese immigrants in Johor but, also for anyone who is keen on history.
Emulate Bandar Baru Uda’s success, urges Shahrir
27 January 2012, By The Star
Johor Baru member of parliament Datuk Seri Utama Shahrir Abdul Samad has advised residents of neighbourhoods, especially Malay enclaves, within his constituency to emulate the way Bandar Baru Uda’s (BBU) residents managed theirs into a well-organised and a sought-after property.
“I hope residents of Kampong Dato Onn, Kampong Melayu Majidi, Tebrau-Bakar Batu, and other Malay-majority locations to emulate BBU’s community members.
“Their hard work paid off when they were regarded at the most active zone several times by the Johor Baru City Council,” he said.
DRB-Hicom to start work on RM8b project
27 January 2012, By The Star
DRB-Hicom Bhd plans to develop the main infrastructure and showhouses at its RM8bil Glenmarie Heights project in Johor by mid-2012.
“We have submitted our plans for the development and have segmented the development into five phases, each phase will be between 300 to 500 acres,” DRB-Hicom group managing director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil said at a media retreat recently.
“This is a huge piece of land, and my biggest concern is how do I bring content to the development. I want to build homes, and not just houses for people,” he said.
According to Khamil, the area offered tremendous potential, as the surrounding Mount Austin is already well developed, and it is also located within the Economic Zone E Senai- Skudai of Iskandar Malaysia.
UK’s top engineering varsity opens first Malaysia campus
11 January 2012, By The Borneo Post
The University of Southampton’s first international campus in EduCity@Iskandar, South Johor, is now open for enrolment.
KTMB tracks in S'pore going to museums
03 January 2012, By NST
The 23km railway tracks between Tanjong Pagar and Woodlands here have now turned into a narrow strip of grassland, burying a chapter of glorious history between the republic and Malaysia.
The Land Transport Authority of Singapore has planted grass on the long strip of land, which was once the path of KTM Berhad's locomotives that cut the republic into two halves.
For those who have never seen the tracks before, they would hardly be able to visualise the rail history underneath if they were to stand on it today.
KTMB's subsidiary -- Multimodal Freight Sdn Bhd -- had been tasked with removing the railway tracks, which weighed 2,500 tonnes, and demolishing all the locomotive shades as well as the depots along the stretch.
Make your own pewterware
03 January 2012, By NST
ROYAL Selangor's newest store in the much talk-about Johor Premium Outlets (JPO), in Kulaijaya here, houses an extensive selection of pewter products and tableware.
All products available at the 121 sq m Royal Selangor store are offered at attractive discounts or gift with purchases.
Its retail manager, Caven Mohd Noh, said the design of the store in JPO reflects the Royal Selangor retail identity.
"The design is inspired by our raw product -- tin mines, which is the source of pewter," he said.
The store in JPO has a unique addition to it. There is a special section within the store where its popular "School of Hard Knocks" is located, offering pewtersmithing workshops.
