Johor allocates RM213m for 353 flood management projects in 16 PBT
State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said that for 2025 alone, the state government has allocated RM106.2 million to implement 104 projects in flood hotspots involving 16 PBTs.
He said the Johor Bahru City Council received the highest allocation of RM42.4 million to implement 16 flood management projects, followed by the Iskandar Puteri City Council (RM36.1 million; 13 projects), Pasir Gudang City Council (RM9.1 million; 16 million) and the Kulai Municipal Council (RM5.7 million; 15 projects).
Implementation of the projects involved, among others, upgrading reservoirs, building small dams along drains and raising the drain walls to avoid flooding in the low-lying areas, he said, adding that the methods for solving the flood issue vary from area to area.
Apart from that, he said, there also needs to be control in terms of development.
'We have found over the past three years that among the causes of areas that used to be flood-free but are now flooded is because of uncontrolled development,' he told a press conference here today.
Mohd Jafni said there was also a need to improve the conditions and specifications for drainage and flood management in planning permission in line with the rapid pace of development and changing rainfall patterns.
'The specifications given to these developers are specifications that are 10, 15 years old and are not relevant to the amount of rainfall that falls now, which has increased five or six times.
'If we control the development part, and we solve these flood hotspot areas, InsyaAllah, the (flood) problems can be resolved,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Barnama
7 days ago
- Barnama
Malaysia Eyes RM500 Mln In Landscape Exports To Singapore By 2026
JOHOR BAHRU, June 26 (Bernama) – Malaysia is targeting RM500 million in landscape product exports to Singapore by 2026 through strategic bilateral cooperation, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming. He said the target is achievable with careful planning and strong diplomatic ties between the two countries. "This potential must be developed and accelerated. Later today, I will be visiting Singapore to meet my counterpart to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the landscape and urban development sectors," he told a press conference here today. Nga was speaking after attending the launch of National Landscape Day 2025, officiated by Che Puan Mahkota Khaleeda Bustamam, wife of the Regent of Johor. Also present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor. Nga said he would meet with Singapore's Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat and Education Minister Desmond Lee, who previously held the national development portfolio. The MoU will not only cover the landscape sector but also include cooperation in smart city development, housing, urban renewal, public parks, and smart home concepts. He noted that this initiative follows Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's recent visit to Malaysia and aligns with key priorities under his ministry. Johor is expected to benefit the most from the partnership due to its strategic location and logistics advantage.
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- New Straits Times
Malaysia eyes RM500mil in landscape exports to Singapore by 2026
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia is targeting RM500 million in landscape product exports to Singapore by 2026 through strategic bilateral cooperation, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming. He said the target is achievable with careful planning and strong diplomatic ties between the two countries. "This potential must be developed and accelerated. Later today, I will be visiting Singapore to meet my counterpart to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the landscape and urban development sectors," he told a press conference here today. Nga was speaking after attending the launch of National Landscape Day 2025, officiated by Che Puan Mahkota Khaleeda Bustamam, wife of the Regent of Johor. Also present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor. Nga said he would meet with Singapore's Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat and Education Minister Desmond Lee, who previously held the national development portfolio. The MoU will not only cover the landscape sector but also include cooperation in smart city development, housing, urban renewal, public parks, and smart home concepts. He noted that this initiative follows Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's recent visit to Malaysia and aligns with key priorities under his ministry. Johor is expected to benefit the most from the partnership due to its strategic location and logistics advantage. With 87 per cent of Malaysia's plant nurseries located in Johor, particularly in Muar and Batu Pahat, the state serves as the country's main supplier of landscape plants. Nga said KPKT remains committed to supporting state governments in improving landscape quality. So far, RM14.5 million has been channelled to Johor for 128 public park projects.
The Star
25-06-2025
- The Star
Anxiety over assessment tax crackdown in Johor
Instead of coming down hard on ratepayers, local councils should offer incentives to boost payment TWO years ago, there was much hue and cry when five local councils in Johor decided to hike their property assessment taxes, with some going up by more than 100%. The councils claimed that the last time valuations were done was in 2013. And since then, property prices had increased significantly, especially in cities such as Johor Baru, Pasir Gudang and Iskandar Puteri. This prompted Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi to mitigate the fallout and cushion the impact among property owners by offering a 30% rebate last year. This rebate was subsequently expanded to include another 10 local councils, bringing the total number to 15 statewide. Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu) was the only local council to revise its assessment rates before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 and, as such, taxpayers there were not given rebates. Lately, I have been getting queries from people about images on social media showing local council enforcement personnel pasting red notices outside homes and even using tape to seal off entrances. There was also a video of people in uniform using metal cutters to cut padlocks or locking up homes. I discovered that some of the videos were posted earlier in the year but only started trending now. I found that two videos by Pasir Gudang City Council and Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) showed enforcement officers cutting locks, sealing homes and pasting red notices outside homes. At the same time, I also found two light-hearted videos done by Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) and MPKu to encourage people to pay their assessment tax on time. The latter was even offering a gift and bag to those who paid before the deadline. This begs the question: Why the contrasting methods to get people to pay up? When contacted, Johor housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor acknowledged that a special operation was being conducted statewide by all 16 local councils to go after owners with high outstanding assessment tax bills. Enforcement officers from Pasir Gudang City Council putting up notices before sealing a premises in their jurisdiction. — Courtesy photo He said the enforcement operations had to be done as they were getting complaints from prompt taxpayers. Mohd Jafni urged all property owners to come forward and settle their dues. I own a double-storey terrace house in Taman Desa Tebrau and was paying RM353.60 annually in assessment tax before the amount jumped 45% to RM512.80 this year. At the same time, MBJB has revalued my home from RM272,000 to RM641,000, a whopping 135% jump since I purchased the property 15 years ago. I had previously worked in the Klang Valley before moving down south and sometimes I find the cost of living in Johor is much higher than in Kuala Lumpur, maybe due to the strong Singapore dollar. I am sure some property owners may have overlooked paying their assessment taxes because of their hectic work schedules. As such, local councils should try other ways to coax people to pay their taxes, instead of resorting to such high-handed tactics. In addition to physical bills sent through the post, local councils should also follow up with SMS, WhatsApp and email to get ratepayers to settle their dues on time. Why not give an incentive in the form of a 10% rebate to those who pay early or sign up for auto debit? For those having trouble paying, local councils should offer flexible instalment plans. A little more empathy and creativity can go a long way.
