Johor and Singapore discuss RTS 2 proposal linking Tuas and Iskandar Puteri
The nearly hour-long discussion focused on strengthening bilateral ties, with RTS 2 highlighted as a key infrastructure project. 'This meeting reflects our shared commitment to elevate Johor-Singapore cooperation strategically,' Onn Hafiz said.
Currently, the first RTS line connecting Bukit Chagar (Johor Bahru) and Woodlands North (Singapore) is set for completion in December 2026, with operations starting in early 2027. The system will handle 10,000 passengers hourly per direction.
Onn Hafiz is on a three-day official visit to Singapore at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. - Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
14 minutes ago
- The Star
Ringgit opens firmer against US$ amid renewed US rate cut hopes
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Monday as hopes for an upcoming United States (US) rate cut increased following the latest data that showed a weaker US labour market, an economist said. At 8 am, the local note climbed to 4.2350/2550 against the greenback from Friday's close of 4.2750/2815. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that the US Non-farm Payroll (NFP) data came in lower than expected and surprised the market. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday that NFP stood at 73,000 for July, coming in much lower than the market consensus of 110,000. Mohd Afzanizam believed that the US labour market has weakened, which would bolster the case for an interest cut in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in September. "Already, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has declined to 98.708 points while the 2-year US Treasury yield saw a steep drop by 25 basis points to close at 3.69 per cent last Friday. "On that note, the ringgit may gain some strength today, having depreciated by 0.22 per cent on Friday to 4.2782," he said, adding that the ringgit is likely to trade within a range of 4.26 to 4.27 today. Nevertheless, the ringgit was lower against other major currencies in early trade. It weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.8749/8887 from 2.8407/8452 on Friday, fell slightly against the British pound to 5.6296/6562 from 5.6208/6293, and was lower against the euro at 4.9075/9307 from 4.8752/8826. Conversely, the local unit was mostly higher versus regional currencies. The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2873/3031 from Friday's close of 3.2907/2960, but slipped versus the Thai baht to 13.0388/1084 from 13.0058/0319. It went up against the Philippine peso at 7.28/7.32 from 7.35/7.36 last week and gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 256.4/257.8 from 258.8/259.4. - Bernama
Malay Mail
44 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Singapore says existing cross-border taxi scheme stays, no full ride-hailing access for now
SINGAPORE, Aug 4 — Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it has no plans to fully liberalise Singapore-Malaysia cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services. The agency said officials from Singapore and Malaysia met on Aug 1 to discuss cross-border service arrangements, but no decision was made on the issue of allowing cross-border e-hailing to ferry passengers. 'We note recent Malaysian media reports suggesting that Singapore is looking to introduce cross-border on-demand ride services. 'While we are open to ideas to improve the cross-border commuting experience, we would like to clarify that LTA has no plans to fully liberalise cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services,' LTA posted on Facebook, yesterday. a LTA said there is currently an existing reciprocal Cross Border Taxi Scheme (CBTS) in place that allows a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from each side to ferry passengers between Singapore and Johor Bahru. These cross-border taxis are permitted to pick up and drop off passengers only at a single designated point in the other's country—Larkin Sentral in Johor Bahru for Singapore taxis, and Ban San Street Terminal in Singapore for Malaysian taxis. 'We are also considering increasing the number of boarding and alighting points in each other's country, and to use ride-hailing apps to book cross-border trips on licensed taxis,' it said, noting that the existing quota of the CBTS is not fully utilised. LTA said as CBTS is a reciprocal arrangement, any change would require agreement from both governments. Meanwhile, LTA said that during the meeting, the Malaysian authorities also requested for Singapore's cross-border buses to begin their operations from Johor Bahru at 4 am. The agency said it is assessing the request. A key consideration is that the first buses should match the starting time of local bus and MRT services when the commuters arrive in Singapore. LTA is also talking to cross-border bus operators on the possibility of bringing forward the bus start times slightly, as well as gauging the interest of private bus operators to operate earlier services at higher fares. — Bernama
Malay Mail
44 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Dollar steadies after tumble as investors eye imminent Fed cuts
SINGAPORE, Aug 4 — A battered dollar edged marginally higher today after a dismal US jobs report and President Donald Trump's firing of a top labour official stunned investors and led them to ramp up bets of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. Data on Friday showed US employment growth undershot expectations in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by a massive 258,000 jobs, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labour market conditions. Adding to headwinds for markets, Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer the same day, accusing her of faking the jobs numbers. An unexpected resignation by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler also opened the door for Trump to make an imprint on the central bank much earlier than anticipated. Trump has been at loggerheads with the Fed for not lowering interest rates sooner. The barrage of developments dealt a one-two punch to the dollar, which sank more than 2 per cent against the yen and roughly 1.5 per cent against the euro on Friday. The greenback recovered some of its losses against the Japanese currency today, last trading 0.14 per cent higher at ¥147.60. Still, it was down about ¥3 from its peak on Friday. The euro fell 0.2 per cent to US$1.1560, while sterling eased 0.1 per cent to US$1.3263. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar edged up 0.2 per cent to 98.86, after sliding more than 1 per cent on Friday. 'Market reactions to Friday night's events were swift and decisive,' said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. 'Equities and the US dollar tumbled, along with yields.' The two-year Treasury yield fell to a three-month low of 3.6590 per cent today as traders heavily scaled up bets of a Fed cut in September, while the benchmark 10-year yield languished near a one-month low at 4.2060 per cent. Markets are now pricing in a more than 95 per cent chance the Fed will ease rates next month owing to the weaker-than-expected jobs data, with over 63 basis points worth of cuts expected by December. 'We pull forward our baseline call for a 25 bps cut from the FOMC to September,' said David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie Group. 'While we don't see significant further weakness in the labour market, the results of this report are likely to shift the FOMC's assessment of the balance of risks to the outlook.' In other currencies, the Australian dollar slipped 0.17 per cent to US$0.6465, after rising 0.8 per cent on Friday against a weaker greenback. The New Zealand dollar eased 0.24 per cent to US$0.5905. The Swiss franc was last little changed at 0.8041 per dollar. Switzerland was left stunned on Friday after Trump hit the country with one of the highest tariffs in his global trade reset, with industry associations warning of tens of thousands of jobs being put at risk. — Reuters
