Malaysia: Big plans for Johor Baru

Zazali Musa The Star 7 Mar 12;

Irda chief executive officer Ismail Ibrahim shares with ZAZALI MUSA on what Johoreans can look forward when the project is expected to be completed within the next five to seven years.

JOHOR BARU began as a small Malay fishing village, originally known as Tanjung Puteri, it was founded in 1855 by Temengung Daeng Ibrahim, the father of Sultan Abu Bakar.

This year, the Southernmost city in the peninsular will undergo a multi-billion ringgit transformation project to redevelop, rejuvenate and transform the city into a vibrant and thriving place.

It covers 485.62ha within the city central area including Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Bukit Timbalan, the former site of the Lumba Kuda low-cost flats, Tanjung Puteri Lorry Customs complex and areas within the Johor Zoo, Ayer Molek Prison and Hospital Sultanah Aminah.

Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) is task to facilitate and monitor the project to be undertaken by a consortium made of public and private players.

Q: Why there is a need to transform Johor Baru city centre after 157 years?

A: If you look around, most major cities around the world have undergone transformation and redevelopment project for various socio-economic reasons.

One is to offer better and conducive living area for residents such as building better infrastructure, create more green lungs for them to engage in outdoor activities and improve connectivity and accessibility.

Certain areas especially the old parts of the city which is over a century would normally needed upgrading work as some of the buildings might be in deplorable conditions.

Redevelopment or rebuilding projects also involved cities which are destroyed in wars as well as natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and massive flooding.

Look at how Singapore has successfully conserved the old parts of the republic and turned them into viable places to live, work and play.

The conservation projects of old and heritage buildings by the private players under the watchful eyes of the Urban Renewal Authority had rejuvenated old parts of Singapore.

Boat Quay and Clarke Quay are the best examples where pre-war houses fronting the Singapore River were turned into specialty retail stores, food and beverage outlets and offices and they blend well with skyscrapers behind them.

We need to do the same to bring back people to the Johor Baru city central area not only during daytimes but also at night and this can be achieved by combining old and new elements in the transformation project.

Q: How significant is the project to Johor and Iskandar Malaysia?

A: Undoubtedly it is vital to rejuvenate Johor Baru city centre in line with its status as one of the five flaghship development zones in Iskandar Malaysia.

Under the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) from 2006 until 2025, Iskandar Malaysia will emerge as a strong metropolis of international standing.

For Iskandar Malaysia to achieve that status by 2025, we have to start transforming the city centre itself, moreover Johor Baru is so close to Singapore.

Historically, during Sultan Abu Bakar 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.

The project is not only significant to Johor but also the country as it will be one of the major urban redevelopment projects in Malaysia.

It has a strong backing from the Federal and Johor governments and in order for it to succeed, this requires concerted efforts from other stakeholders too.

They include the State Economic Planning Unit, Johor Bari City Council, Johor Tourism, Iskandar Investment Bhd, private players and other relevant agencies.

We hope everybody will fully cooperate with us to ensure its success and welcome constructive view or opinions for all parties.

Q: What do you mean by a vibrant and thriving place and why the ‘History and Culture’ theme was chosen under the project?

A: Vibrant means there should be activities that will generate lot of inflows of people into the city not only during the day but at night.

We need to keep the population within the city central area to a certain level as they will compliment the types of activities taking place in the area, whether, business or personal.

This can be done by combining old and new elements – for instance, some of the heritage buildings or those with attractive architectural elements could be turned into offices, F&B outlets, boutique hotels and even residential properties.

At the same time, there could also be high density living just metres away from the old parts of the city made up of condominium or apartment towers, office blocks and retail centre.

Not all old buildings will be preserved or conserve of preserving them especially those that beyond repairs and involving high maintenance to keep.

From the economic perspective, it is better to pull them down and in place, build high-plot ratio buildings to give good returns to land owners – but the new buildings must blend with the History and Culture theme.

Only buildings with historical elements, architectural interest or depicting certain characteristics from different eras will be preserved.

History and Culture theme was chosen as it reflected the long history of Johor Baru and Irda has been looking at other cities outside the country which more a less have the same theme.

They include cities in the United Kingdom such as Stratford-Upon-Avon, Cambridge, Oxford, Kent-At-Canterburry and Johor Baru’s sister city Istanbul in Turkey.

Q: How can you convince operators running businesses within the city area as well as land owners that the project will be successful?

A: We have to make comparison by showing successful projects around the world, a lot of cities in the UK and Germany have turned the inner parts of the areas into pedestrians walkways.

For instance, turning Jalan Wong Ah Fook in downtown Johor Baru into a partial-non-vehicle zone will bring business or vice versa to the area?

Doing away with vehicle traffic would give them high returns, this must be proven rather than just telling them stories.

Hopefully, one fine day businessmen in downtown Johor Baru will fully understand and accept the concept that pedestrians will help to rejuvenate economic activities in the area.