Reposting: Useful Causeway?

The causeway continues to be clogged with monster traffic. Mom and dad went to the border city of Johor Baru for an emergency following the sudden hospitalisation of grandpa last week. But they were caught in a massive traffic jam at 10pm. The volume of motor cycles and cars returning to JB at the end of each of working day was simply too overwhelming.

Fortunately, immigration checks didn't take too long after a one-hour jam, which is quite a short wait compared to other days. Must thank the two governments for making life easier for residents of the two countries?

Can we really expect the leaders of the two countries to understand the hardship undergone by regular users of the causeway? Have they really gone through the gridlock regularly in the first place? Please see earlier postings on issues linked to the causeway.

Apart from making immigration check smoother on both sides of the causeway, the idea of a new and wider bridge to replace the causeway simply cannot be dismissed. The old causeway was simply not designed to help the massive cross-border flow of people -- Singaporeans and Malaysians.

The Singapore government has not felt any urgency to resolve the long-standing problem posed by the 83-year-old causeway ever since former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad mooted the bridge project in 1996. In fact, Singapore's position has always been that the causeway has continued to be useful, and there is no need to replace it with an overhead bridge, which would have allowed water to flow freely in the dirty straits.

As usual, Singapore won't react unless its narrow interest is at stake. And the traffic woes and roadworks at the Malaysian end of the causeway have finally caught the attention of Singapore's lawmakers.

Business Times - 15 Nov 2006

Diversion of Causeway traffic will affect S'pore

ANY diversion of traffic from the Causeway to the Second Link caused by Malaysia's proposed closing of the Causeway to heavy vehicles will have material implications for Singapore, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said yesterday in Parliament.

Mr Lim was responding to a question by MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC Wee Siew Kim, who had asked for an update on an announcement by the Malaysian government in August that the Causeway would be closed to heavy vehicles from Malaysia so as to facilitate the construction of a new road.

'Naturally, we are concerned about this development, since any diversion of traffic from the Causeway to the Second Link will have material implications for Singapore,' Mr Lim said.

"In particular, we have concerns over the possible impact of the proposal on traffic and checkpoint operations at the Second Link and the Causeway, as well as the economic costs,' he added.

However, Mr Lim said that the government would need more details on the proposed diversion to assess the full impact on Singapore. 'We have already requested from the Malaysians further details on the proposed diversion,' Mr Lim said.

Malaysia's rather cool response to Singapore as reported in The Star today:

Sunday November 19, 2006

Singapore to get enough notice on diversion

SUNGAI SIPUT: Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has reassured Singapore that Malaysia would give sufficient notice on when it would temporarily divert heavy vehicles from the Causeway to the Second Link.

Addressing concerns raised by Singapore’s Transport Ministry, Samy Vellu said the Government was still discussing the logistics with various agencies.

“Once that's done, we will give the foreign and transport ministries at least two months’ notice.”

The Causeway was to have been closed to heavy vehicles to facilitate construction of a flyover linking the new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex to the Causeway.

Causeway blues again, Part 2

As mentioned earlier, policy makers can be real small-minded, failing to take into account the broader interest.

According to The Straits Times tonight, motorists using the Second Link bridge, which connects Singapore and Malaysia on the western side of Singapore, will have to pay more in tolls from next month.

The report cited Singapore's Land Transport Authority as saying that the higher rates are 'pegged to those set by Malaysia'.

At the Second Link, charges will go up by as much as 30 per cent. Tolls for motorcycles, cars and light commercial vehicles will be 70 Singapore cents, S$4.60 and S$10.50 respectively from Feb 1. They were previously 60 Singapore cents, S$3.70 and S$8.30. For big lorries, buses and taxis, Second Link charges will be S$21, S$5.60 and S$3.50 respectively - from S$16.60, S$4.40 and S$2.70. And that's only the toll payable at the Singapore end!

The ST report said "those who opt to use the slightly more congested Causeway will mostly see no change."

Er, slightly more congested? The causeway is way, way more congested than the Second Link. Check out the live webcam provided by one.motoring at the two bridges if you don't believe me, especially in the mornings, evenings, and during weekends.

As argued in an earlier posting, it doesn't quite make sense for Singapore to match the toll imposed by Malaysia simply because the two countries built the second link bridge jointly in the late 1990s.

It also doesn't make sense to increase toll at the under-utilised Second Link as it would merely drive traffic to the already over-utilised and cheaper causeway. Both sides should be lowering toll at the Second Link to encourage more people to use the Second Link, which is not as well located as the causeway for residents of the two countries.

Policy makers of the two countries have obviously failed to take into account the massive cross-border flow of people and goods via the causeway. Both sides have simply acted in their governments' narrow interest without taking into account the hardship imposed on people on both sides of the causeway. The time and productivity wasted as a result of being stuck in the traffic gridlock on the causeway far outweighs the gains to the government in the form of higher toll collection.

Malaysian and Singapore transport officials have obviously not made much headway in easing traffic at the causeway. Malaysian lorries continue to enter Singapore via the causeway although there was a plan to divert them to the Second Link temporarily to facilitate construction work of the immigration complex at the Malaysian end.

Why should we all pay for the two governments' failure to ensure a smooth lane for motorists traveling between the two countries?


Archived posts:
Causeway blues again (1 December 2007)
Causeway blues (20 January 2007)
Cleaning up Johor Straits good for Singapore too (7 September 2007)

Selamat caught at causeway?

Hooray!!! Talkingcock (which also designed the funny pix above) has published another piece of satire by Sophie's World. :-)

Do take note that the article below is pure satire. Sophie's World hopes that the authorities will soon nab the real fugitive! The authorities have already stepped up security at the causeway, as reported by The Straits Times today.

Selamat Caught at Causeway
Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008
by Sophie's World

Singaporean fugitive Tak Selamat has finally been nabbed when he tried to sneak into the notorious Malaysian city of Johor Baru via the congested causeway over the weekend.

This has ended the massive manhunt for the limping Islamic militant, thanks to the tip-off of Woodlands resident and contractor Ker Mit Seng who was in a pirated taxi with Tak Selamat.

Mr Seng felt something was amiss when he chatted with Tak Selamat during a normal three-hour traffic gridlock on the mile-long causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.

"He not very interested to talk about cheap prostitutes and pirated DVDs in JB. Damn strange. So I SMS police lor," Mr Seng said.

He also disclosed that Tak Selamat was incensed as he was hauled away by security forces of the two countries, ending the nationwide dragnet in 72 hours.

"Pukimak (fucking) causeway. So fucking jam all the time," Mr Seng cited Tak Selamat as saying.

Security forces of Malaysia and Singapore were ecstatic with their joint efforts in nabbing the alleged militant, who was in heavy disguise as an Arab businessman in a flowing robe.

"This shows our wisdom in keeping the causeway as a strategic bottleneck to prevent fugitives from crossing over to Malaysia so easily," crowed Singapore top security man Chin Tuah Kee.

He said Singaporeans and Malaysians should be grateful that Tak Selamat and friends didn't manage to blow up the causeway and other key facilities in Singapore a few years ago.

The increasingly heavy traffic at the causeway has worked to the advantage of the security forces, who were embarrassed by the escape of a string of well-known fugitives via the causeway in the past.

Well-known figures who had fled Singapore to Malaysia via the causeway included the Malaysian murderer of a China girl in Singapore, a Singapore Chinese gangster called One-Eyed Dragon and a former senior executive of the National Kidney Foundation.

Malaysian chief police Ayam Besar joined in the crowing.

"Ya, betul (correct). The causeway is very good despite the traffic jam lah. It would have been susah (difficult) for us to catch Tak Selamat if he had tried to swim across the Johor Straits," Ayam Besar said.

He added: "He may have escaped a toilet, but the Johor Straits has a lot more shit, and Tak Selamat would have drowned in it. We would not have caught him alive."

Causeway Blues

Maybe, it's a good time for the two governments to sit down and discuss ways to help improve the massive flow of people and goods between Malaysia and Singapore via the two bridges linking the two countries.

The current situation has not been ideal, as reflected in the front page article in Singapore's Business Times today.

Possible long-term solutions:

1. To build a wider bridge to replace the ageing Causeway. Allowance must be made on the new bridge for additional infrastructure such as high-speed rail tracks and monorail tracks. Please see earlier postings for context.

2. The toll rate at the two bridges must be reviewed:

a) It's entirely unclear why one must pay toll to use the old causeway that was built by the British in the 1920s. They have the right to collect toll if they can provide a good service, which means seamless travel between Johor Baru and Singapore. Instead, motorists have to bear with constant traffic jam at the causeway that is even worse than Bangkok's infamous traffic woes.

b) In the case of the Second Link, it's also unclear why motorists have to pay toll to use the bridge, which was jointly built by United Engineers Malaysia and the Singapore government. Although it was a half privatised project in the mid-1990s, UEM's parent Renong was awarded a large tract of land at Nusajaya near the Second Link in return for the construction of half of the second bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore.

It's also debatable as to why the Singapore government should collect toll on its end of the Second Link although it was implemented on the principle of matching the Malaysian toll. Why was there a need to match it? The Singapore government had used the money of taxpayers to build the bridge jointly with Malaysia's UEM. At the same time, there are many other direct and indirect taxes on motorists in the Republic -- COE, ERP, road tax and GST.

While the two governments sort out the latest move to divert lorries to the Second Link for about one year starting Sept 1, motorists will continue to bear with the inconvenience and the high price of using the two public arteries.

It doesn't sound quite right.

Detour will hike cost of M'sian goods: business
By PAULINE NG IN KUALA LUMPUR AND JUDITH JACOB IN SINGAPORE

MALAYSIA'S move to divert heavy vehicles to the Second Link from the Causeway for about one year, starting Sept 1, could push up the cost of many essential goods entering Singapore, according to freight forwarders and other businessmen.

The temporary diversion of heavy vehicle traffic is aimed at easing the traffic gridlock to facilitate roadworks at the almost-completed new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex (CIQ) in Johor Baru.

But the move will push up business costs on both sides of the Causeway as the toll rate on the Second Link is substantially higher.

'They are shoving it down our throats but we cannot be subsidising, so we have decided to bill back to the customers,' Er Sui See, president of Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association (PMLOA), which has 10,000 members, told BT yesterday.

Operators of semi-trailers using the Second Link would have to stump out a total of as much as RM160 (S$70) return using two tolled highways plus the Second Link bridge connecting Tuas in Singapore and Gelang Patah in Johor state.

In contrast, the cost of using the Causeway in Johor Baru is up to RM22 for a two-way trip.

This represents a hike of over 600 per cent, before taking into account the Malaysian government's proposed rebates to truckers for the higher toll at the Malaysian end. The value of these rebates has not been disclosed.

Malaysian lorries ferry a substantial portion of Singapore's food needs on a daily basis.

An estimated 45 per cent of Singapore's supply of vegetables, 40 per cent of fish and 35 per cent of imported chickens come from Malaysia.

The bulk of the Malaysian supply of some 300 tonnes of vegetables daily is transported by lorries via the Causeway. Lorries carrying general goods are not likely to be entitled to the rebate.

Freight forwarders and transport companies were quick to say they will pass on the higher toll charges to end-users as well as the cost of covering the additional distance of some 30km each way from the Causeway to the Second Link.

'Definitely, the costs would be higher for goods imported and exported,' Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders (FMFF) secretary-general May Yee told BT.

Both bodies said they had not been consulted on the diversion or informed of the proposed rebate.

On Thursday, Malaysian Works Minister Samy Vellu said lorries providing logistics services between Johor Baru and Singapore would be given a toll rebate for using the Second Link but operators would have to apply for a special identification card to be entitled to the rebate.

He said the government would reimburse the rebate amount to the Second Link concessionaire.

The level of the rebate is currently being worked out but Ms Yee said a previous proposal last year by FMFF for a 50 per cent rebate had been rejected.

Mr Er pointed out that last year's special fleet card rebates for subsidised fuel for transport operators when diesel prices were raised would have involved such onerous paperwork that his fellow lorry owners instead decided to pass on the increased costs.

Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim had earlier said that 'any diversion of traffic from the Causeway to the Second Link will have material implications for Singapore'.

Malaysia is completing a new road to link the CIQ to the Causeway, following the abandoned plans to build a new bridge to replace the Causeway, which was built in the 1920s.

The FMFF said 2,500 lorries use the Causeway each day, with only 900 taking the Second Link, despite Malaysia's attempts in the past to get more heavy vehicles to use it. Vehicles carrying hazardous goods are already required to use the Second Link.

The Malaysian Works Ministry told BT yesterday buses would not be affected by the diversion.

It is unclear how much freight movement is transacted daily between both countries, but estimates by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) in the mid-90s of trans-border trade volumes was 15-20 million tonnes annually, mostly across the Causeway and the Second Link.

With additional reporting by Janice Heng

Causeway blues again

Source: Singapore's The Business Times (20 Jan 2007) The illustration shows the current toll rates for lorries and heavy vehicles, not cars and motorcycles.

Sometimes, you have to wonder whether policy makers look at the big picture at all.

Take the case of the toll rate at the Second Link connecting southern Malaysia and Singapore.

According to a report on Thursday, the Malaysian government will jack up the toll rates by 27% on vehicles using the Second Link Expressway from Jan 1. The other bridge connecting the two countries is the overused causeway, which links Woodlands in Singapore and the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru.

The report said passenger cars using the Second Link route will have to pay RM10.80 (S$4.60) next year, compared with RM8.40 now, The Sun newspaper quoted Works Minister S. Samy Vellu as saying.

Rates will also go up at two other Johor toll booths. At the Perling toll, passenger cars will have to pay RM2.30 compared with RM1.80 now. And at the Lima Kedai booth, the toll will be increased to RM3.90 from RM3.10.

The report said the rise in the toll rates is part of contractual obligations the Malaysian government signed with companies that built and manage the highways.

So far, the argument sounds logical. But the whole argument falls apart when it is seen in the wider context of essential infrastructure between Malaysia and Singapore.

Here are some bigger questions and issues concerning the two major arteries:

1. Shouldn't the Malaysian government be lowering toll rates at the Second Link to encourage more motorists to switch from the perennially congested causeway to the Second Link? Toll rates are substantially lower at the causeway, which is owned jointly by the two countries. Even more motorists will avoid the Second Link and flock to the causeway following the jump in the toll rates at the Second Link.

2. So far, it's not clear whether the Singapore government will follow suit in jacking its toll rate as well on motorists using the Second Link, which was built jointly by the two countries. The Singapore government had a policy of matching the Malaysian toll rate when the Second Link bridge was opened in 1998 although the rationale was debatable.

3. Shouldn't Malaysia and Singapore sit down and discuss ways to promote greater usage of the Second Link and ease the congestion on the causeway? Shouldn't the two governments help facilitate the massive cross-border flow of people instead of imposing any further burden on them?

4. Shouldn't the two governments think of fresh ways to ease the flow of people and goods between the two countries, as they couldn't even agree on a simple overhead bridge to replace the aging causeway and clean up the dirty Straits of Johor?

5. Shouldn't the two governments refer to the recently minted Asean Charter, which waxes lyrical about cooperation and dispute resolution in the Asean spirit, to help resolve their bridge problems?

While the two governments remain at odds with each other over a host of bilateral issues, people on both sides of the causeway will continue to bear the brunt of the causeway bottleneck.

Causeway blues again, Part 3

Note: Image from Intelligent Transport Systems Center, LTA (28 Mar 2008, 9:50am)

Recent reports, including The Straits Times article below, about the massive traffic jam at the causeway tell only half the story. The gridlock at the causeway, as a result of the search for a missing terrorist in Singapore, has merely highlighted current problems faced at the bridge linking Singapore and Malaysia.

Even without the stepped-up security in the search for Mas Selamat Kastari, many people have had to suffer from the daily crawl at the causeway. Sophie's World has long highlighted the less-than-deal situation at the causeway. See early postings such as Missing MRT link, Causeway blues again, Part 2, and Malaysian bullet train going to Singapore?

Will Singapore and Malaysia work together to resolve the traffic woes at the causeway once they manage to nab the terrorist? Or will they think that things will go back to 'normal'?

March 22, 2008
Tighter immigration checks hit JB businesses
Takings dip by up to 75% as S'poreans avoid massive Causeway jams
By Arlina Arshad

ON A typical weekend, many Singapore cars can be seen at the Mobil petrol station close to the Johor Baru immigration checkpoint or heading for the town's malls.

Yesterday, the petrol station was serving more J-plate vehicles than S-plate ones. The town's restaurant owners, retailers and cabbies have also noticed slacker business over the past few weekends.

Three words explain this: Mas Selamat Kastari.

Petrol station cashier Rozana Mohd Din, 33, is certain that the heightened security following the escape of the 48-year-old Jemaah Islamiah terrorist is responsible for this.

The more thorough checks on travellers and vehicles passing through the Woodlands Checkpoint are keeping Singaporeans away.

Ms Rozana noted that the petrol station usually serves 100 Singapore cars on weekdays and 150 on weekends. She is seeing only half of that number now. 'It's so unfair that businesses here have to suffer because of one man,' she said.

Other JB businesses complained that takings had fallen by 20 to 75per cent. All expect this month to go down as one of the worst sales months in recent times.

When The Straits Times visited JB town centre yesterday, business at the food stalls appeared brisk. But stallholders said the customers were not quite as free spending as Singaporeans.

Hawker Ahmed Abdullah, 45, who sells Indian food, said: 'Singapore customers may come only once a week, but they spend a lot. They come with friends and order whatever they fancy on the menu.

'They can spend RM30 (S$13) in one sitting. Malaysian customers take a long time to decide - and when they do, they spend RM3.'

At City Square, cash registers were not ringing despite the ongoing sale. Boutique assistant Lim Kim Moi, 35, whose boss had chided her for the poor sales, said: 'Now, I am forced to be pushy and get the Malaysian customers to buy.'

Taxi drivers, too, were cooling their heels in a long line of cabs outside the JB checkpoint yesterday.

Cabby Masdan Rudin, 35, said: 'On weekends, I usually take 15 Singaporeans to Senai airport and bus terminals. Now, it's down to 10.'

The worst thing for these businesses is not knowing when the jams will ease and the crowds return.

DVD seller W.Y. Tan, who has suffered a 75 per cent drop in takings, said: 'If it's going to be like this for the next two months, I might have to start selling char kway teow.'

One less piece of red tape

It's definitely a welcome sign by Malaysia to do away with the need to fill up the white immigration entry form at the causeway and the Second Link as part of a quiet trial run, according to The Straits Times.

While the Malaysian move may help ease the bottleneck on its end, there is another bottleneck at the Singapore immigration.

The two governments must do something more drastic to help ease the heavy traffic at the overused and congested causeway.

ST estimated about 250,000 people enter Malaysia via the causeway every day, and another 30,000 use the Second Link.

This works out to more than 100 million people a year, which is a staggering number as it is over 3 times the combined population of the two countries.

One solution could be a common immigration system, as Malaysia's earlier plan for a passport-free zone in Johor Baru didn't take off.

A common or joint immigration clearance will help ease the flow of people and goods in cars, lorries, buses and trains that use the causeway.

It's extremely unproductive for millions of people to open their car boots for immigration inspection twice, hand over their passports to unfriendly immigration officials twice, bring their luggage up and down from buses or trains twice, and pay toll twice.

But it's a tall order to expect the two governments to work together for the common good of people on both sides of the causeway.

This is because the two governments can't even agree to build a new overhead bridge to replace the causeway and clean up the filthy straits, and resolve a host of other bilateral problems.

In the meantime, many long-suffering travelers just have to think twice about using the causeway!

Singapore's glittering Autobahn, Part 2

Note: Wikiepedia pix shows the current causeway linking southern Singapore and Sentosa island. The other causeway, which connects northern Singapore and Malaysia, has been retarding the flow of water in the dirty Straits of Johor for more than eight decades.

It's great to read about the latest plan to improve traffic access to the tourist island of Sentosa from Singapore's mainland.

According to The Straits Times, the roads leading to Sentosa, VivoCity and HarbourFront will be widened to cater to an anticipated increase in traffic into the area. With one of Singapore's two integrated resorts opening on Sentosa and new condominiums to be built in the area by 2010, traffic is likely to go up by 30 per cent, said the Land Transport Authority yesterday.

The ST article didn't mention it, but earlier news reports had said that Genting International's Resorts World at Sentosa -- the developer of the integrated resort and casino on Sentosa -- had started work on the second bridge to link Sentosa and the mainland.

The second bridge is aimed at easing visitor traffic as over 15 million of them are expected to visit the Resort when it opens in early 2010 or 2011. The report said the 710-metre, 3-lane bridge will run parallel to the existing causeway which connects Sentosa to the mainland. And when completed in September 2009, both will be merged.

The latest roadwork and the new Sentosa bridge will be a great addition to the new transport blueprint unveiled by the government in the past two weeks. Apart from plans to improve the public transportation system, the government will build the North-South Expressway by 2020. Singapore's Autobahn will cost S$8 billion, or at a stggering S$381 million per km.

Many locals and foreigners will enjoy seamless travel from Sentosa to the rest of Singapore, thanks to the government's transportation blueprint.

But they will almost certainly hit a major road bump should they wish to cross over to the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru. The two countries have not been able to work together to jointly build a bridge to replace the old and congested causeway. A new and wider overhead bridge, which will have many benefits, shouldn't cost more than S$1 billion each.

This is a rough estimate based on the two countries' construction bill of over RM2.4 billion (slightly more than S$1 billion based on today's exchange rate) to jointly build the longer Second Link bridge when bilateral ties were a lot warmer in the mid-1990s.

Malaysia's bill came up to more than RM1.2 billion. Singapore's portion was last reported to be about S$600 million.

A new bridge to ease the massive cross-border flow between Malaysia and Singapore makes good sense. ST had earlier estimated about 250,000 people enter Malaysia via the causeway every day. This works out to more than 90 million people each year, which is a staggering number as it is nearly 20 times the population of Singapore. The traffic volume at the causeway is 6 times higher than the projected number of visitors to Sentosa.

It will be ideal if one could travel from Sentosa all the way to Malaysia seamlessly one day via two wide bridges and the glittering S$8-billion Autobahn.

Royal demolition order

I generally don't think much of what Malaysian Sultans say, especially the Sultan of Johor due to his chequered past.

But I have to agree with him on his call yesterday to scrap the 83-year-old causeway. According to Malaysiakini and The Star, he said the causeway was undermining the state's economy and was a vestige of colonialism. He said the causeway, which blocks the natural flow of water in the Straits of Johor, must go and allow ships to go through.

Finally, someone prominent has come out to support former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's idea of a new bridge to replace the causeway. Ironically, the Sultan had earlier said Dr Mahathir should shut up after his retirement!

Anyway, it won't be easy for Malaysia to do away with the causeway as it will need the blessing of Singapore, which owns half of the land-based causeway. KL's cancellation of the bridge project following disagreements with Singapore was the proverbial last straw for Dr Mahathir, who then launched his tirade against his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

It's not too late for Malaysia and Singapore to go back to the negotiating table!

Cuti-Cuti Singapura*

(Pix: Singapore's main shopping thoroughfare Orchard Road during a Christmas light-up in 2005. Source: Wikipedia). *Cuti-Cuti means holiday in Malay. The title of this post is a little play on words on Malaysia's tourism drive called Cuti-Cuti Malaysia. Singapura is, of course, the Malay name of Singapore.

Will we ever see the reversal in the flow of tourists between Singapore and Malaysia?

Traditionally, more Singaporeans visit Malaysia than vice versa due to many reasons. One reason is the mighty Singapore dollar, which stretches the spending power of Singaporeans across the causeway at the current exchange rate of more than RM2.20 for each S$1. Apart from the strong Sing dollar, many Malaysians have been deterred from shopping in Singapore over the years due to the rapid development of its own shopping landscape.

But Singapore has come up with a creative way to target visitors from its closest neighbour, with a foreign exchange angle.

According to an advertisement and news reports, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said Malaysians could enjoy selected tourist destinations in Singapore at half price between May 25 and June 30.

The selected attractions include the Singapore Zoo, Sentosa island and even a ride on the big DHL balloon in the middle of the city, according to a full-page ad placed in Malaysian newspapers over the weekend.

STB Southern Malaysia area director Alfred Poon said Malaysians who wanted to take a ride on the Singapore River, for example, would pay RM12 (S$5.30) instead of S$12, according to The Star. To qualify for the offer, Malaysians will have to produce their passports with valid embarkation cards. Malaysians can either pay discounted fares in RM or the equivalent in S$.

The trick may just work in the short term. But in the longer term, Singapore and Malaysia must make it even easier for greater cross-border movement of people in order to generate more tourist activities on both sides of the causeway.

Will Singapore scrap the vehicle entry fee for Malaysian cars entering Singapore? Will Singapore eventually allow a less restrictive and direct bus service from Senai Airport in Johor to Singapore? Will Singapore and Malaysia scrap the toll rates at the causeway and the Second Link?

Will the proposed bullet train service between the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore take off? Will the proposed MRT network in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru be connected to Singapore?

Will budget airlines be allowed to compete freely with Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines when the popular KL-Singapore route is liberalised next year?

Will yachts and ships be allowed to sail more freely between the two countries without being delayed by immigration checks in the middle of the seas by coast guards in patrol boats?

Apart from better infrastructure, both sides must improve immigration clearance at the causeway, the clogged artery linking Singapore and Malaysia.

And lastly, will Singapore and Malaysia jumpstart the bridge project to replace the ageing causeway?

Missing MRT link

Source: The Straits Times

Singapore will one day have the most extensive rail and subway network for any country in the world. The forward-thinking Singapore government has announced plans to spend S$40 billion to double the MRT network by 2020.

According to The Straits Times on Jan 25, Singapore will have 278km of rail link, from 138km today. Its network density will rise from 31km per million residents today to 51km per million - surpassing that of major cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo, and comparable to current densities in cities like New York and London.

Will the Singapore MRT blueprint be completed by then? Unlikely. There's always room for Singapore to create an even more extensive network as the population grows.

A missing link could be a MRT rail track from Singapore to the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru. It's not a radical idea. In fact, businessmen on both sides of the causeway are toying with the idea.

Such a link will definitely be useful to help ease the massive traffic at the causeway, the land-based bridge that links Singapore and Malaysia.

ST had estimated about 250,000 people enter Malaysia via the causeway every day. This works out to more than 90 million people each year. This is a staggering number as it is nearly 20 times the population of Singapore. The number of people using the causeway is almost one-fifth the 414 million riders who used Singapore's MRT in 2007.

Of course, there is no certainty that Malaysia and Singapore will agree to the proposed JB-Singapore MRT link. There are simply too many complications at the government-to-government level although it is a desirable project. The two governments can't even agree to build a new overhead bridge to replace the aging causeway and resolve a host of other bilateral problems.

And can they agree to a common ticketing system even if they manage to build a MRT link between Singapore and JB? Don't bet on it!

Giant cesspools

The Straits Times had a comprehensive report yesterday about the Three Gorges Dam project along the mighty Yangtze River in China -- the biggest dam in the world when completed in less than a year.

Despite the obvious potential of a clean source of energy via the hydroelectric dam, the report noted the tremendous cost associated with the project. One major worry, according to the report, is the long-term accumulation of pollutants in the vast 660km-long dam reservoir. The newspaper said sewage, fertiliser run-off and other domestic waste washed down from populated areas will be locked in instead of being flushed out to the sea.

Someone should do a similar study on major bodies of water in Singapore and Malaysia.

One major project is the Bakun Dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The project will flood an area three times the size of Singapore when it is completed. The project, which will be the biggest hydroelectric dam in Asia ex-China, is still on track despite massive environmental outcry in the last two decades or so.

The most polluted body of water in the region is undoubtedly the distressed Straits of Johor. Flow of water in the narrow strip of water separating the two countries has been blocked for more than eight decades by the land-based causeway that connects southern Malaysia and Singapore.

Massive amount of pollutants continue to be discharged into the straits by drains and rivers at the Malaysian end. A Malaysian newspaper report had earlier said that the straits has high levels of lead, mercury and e-coli bacteria.

Water in the straits has been stagnant as the causeway does not allow water to flow freely. Water in the cesspool will remain stagnant for a long, long time.

This is because the governments of Singapore and Malaysia have not been able to reach an agreement ever since Malaysia mooted an overhead bridge project in 1996 to replace the causeway. That's 12 years ago!

Singapore has always maintained that there is no need to spend extra money as the causeway is still useful. But there is also suspicion that its reluctance is due to fears of opening up the straits to ships. Small ships and barges could theoretically bypass Singapore, which is the major shipping hub in the region, and sail from the South China Sea to the Straits of Malacca via the Straits of Johor.

Such a concern is not entirely valid. There is little time or cost saving from using the Straits of Johor as the new sea lane as the water is shallow and the straits meandering.

But as noted in an earlier posting, there is tremendous benefit from cleaning up the Straits of Johor for people on both sides of the causeway.

JB-Singapore MRT?

A new Malaysian company is toying with the idea of building a monorail network in Johor Baru and linking it to Singapore. According to Malaysia's BT today, little-known Jalur Mudra is having talks with Singapore's SMRT Corporation, which operates the Mass Rapid Transit network in Singapore, for a joint venture.

The project definitely sounds useful to help cater to the massive human traffic flowing between Singapore and southern Malaysia. Nearly 10 million Singaporeans entered Malaysia, mainly through JB, last year. This is more than the 8-odd million tourists to Singapore last year.

But can such a project take off? Will it help resolve traffic and straits woes?

Don't bet on it. There are just too many complications surrounding such a project. And even if it does take off, it won't be the ideal solution.

1. The project will most likely need a new link across the Straits of Johor to Singapore as there is simply no room on the causeway for a monorail track, no matter how slim it is.

2. Will Singapore agree to a monorail track from JB to Singapore via the Straits of Johor when the two governments could not even agree on a new bridge to replace the causeway that links JB and Singapore?

3. Will there be complications for immigration clearance? Or will travellers from Singapore zip to JB without passports under the proposed immigration-free zone in JB?

A more ideal solution is for Malaysia and Singapore to jointly agree on a new and wider bridge to replace the causeway, which retards the flow of water in the filthy Straits of Johor.

1. Singapore and Malaysia planners can then allocate space for the monorail project from JB to Singapore on the new bridge.

2. Planners on both sides of the causeway can also discuss the possibility of setting aside space on the new bridge for the bullet train service -- proposed by Malaysian tycoon Francis Yeoh -- from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

3. Channelling the human traffic through the current custom and immigration facilities in JB and Singapore will be a neater solution, than possibly building new facilities just to cater to the monorail track.

Building a new bridge to replace the causeway will solve many problems in one fell swoop.

Malaysia and Singapore can make provision for wider roads and space for useful projects such as the monorail and bullet train service to cater to the massive cross-border flow of people. And an overhead bridge will also allow water to flow freely in the Straits of Johor after more than 80 years.

Royal Demolition Order, Part 2

Almost all media reports did injustice to the call by the Sultan of Johor to demolish the causeway linking the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru and Singapore.

Bernama, The Star, New Straits Times and Singapore's The Straits Times, which merged reports by The Star and Asia News Network, all reported the Sultan's comments without giving the context that there is a separate idea to build an overhead bridge to replace the causeway.

The idea of a replacement bridge for the 83-year-old causeway was mooted by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad back in 1996. But the overhead bridge project -- straight or crooked -- has not taken off since then due to very complicated bilateral issues with Singapore.

As a result, all the reports give the impression that the Sultan wants to sever the main link between JB and Singapore without any alternative.

And as a result, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quick to issue a statement to say: "I found the remarks rather curious. I don't believe it represents the Malaysian government's position."

Well, I would find all the reported remarks curious too if the causeway is to be demolished without a replacement bridge to help facilitate the massive cross-border movement of people on both sides of the causeway.

Mickey Mouse going to Malaysia? Part 2

Can Malaysia's southern state of Johor succeed in luring Mickey Mouse (Image from Wikipedia) when it can't even get the basic infrastructure in place?

According to Bernama yesterday, Johor chief minister Abdul Ghani Othman said there is a need for a better transport network between the state and neighbouring Singapore as investments flow into the Iskandar Development Region in Johor.

The Johor state has grand plan to house a Walt Disney theme park within IDR.

The chief minister said building a rail link to connect to Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit subway system remains crucial. But Johor's own light rail system remains a concept at this stage.

The chief minister also suggested building more ferry terminals to ferry people across the Straits of Johor, which separates the two countries.

Will the ferry plan work? It will have rather limited effect as the Straits of Johor is blocked by the land-based causeway. The two countries have not been able to agree on a simple plan to build a new overhead bridge to replace the old and dilapidated causeway, as noted in a previous posting.

As a result, many people on both sides of the Causeway have had to endure the daily crawl on the overused land bridge, compounded by slow immigration clearance by the two governments.

The new Malaysian Immigration complex, which was supposed to be linked to the aborted bridge project, will soon be completed. Will it help ease the bottleneck? Unlikely. This is because the causeway, which was built more than 80 years ago, simply cannot handle the volume of traffic today.

More tourists will continue to flock to Singapore and Malaysia in the next few years. In the case of Singapore, Las Vegas Sands and Genting International have gone full-steam ahead in building their casino resorts that are expected to be completed in 3-4 years.

But don't expect tourists to Singapore to make a beeline to see Mickey Mouse in Malaysia if Johor can't even fix the basic infrastructure of its southern gateway.

Bullet Train

Malaysian tycoon Francis Yeoh (wikipedia pix) is still the midst of submitting his proposal for a bullet train service from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Although details are still sketchy, earlier reports have said that the service could help cut rail travel time between the two capitals to just 90 minutes from the current 6-8 hours.

It definitely sounds like a good project to help foster closer ties between the people in the two countries, which still have deep ties despite their separation in 1965.

But can the project really take off? There are many complications:

1. Such a service will need the approval and cooperation of Singapore. It's not known if Singapore will say yes or ask for a balance of benefits.

2. The call by some Malaysian politicians to stop the train service in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru may render the project not viable. Why? This is because such a project will need high volume of people from Singapore, which attracted more than 8 million visitors last year. Singaporeans can also pay mah! :-)

3. Such a super fast train service from KL to Singapore will definitely call for a new link between the two countries. The old causeway, which links JB and Woodlands in Singapore, definitely has no room for a double-tracking and fast railway track. There is only a single track currently on the over-utilised causeway.

4. It's also not foreseeable for a bullet train to run along the Second Link, which connects Tuas in Singapore and Gelang Patah on the western side of Johor, as the bridge was probably not designed to carry the weight of a bullet train.

A new bridge to replace the dilapidated causeway will help solve the issue and other problems plaguing JB, as planners can leave room for a super fast train service on the side of the bridge to connect the hearts of the two countries.

Alternatively, Francis can plan for a tunnel under the Straits of Johor for the proposed train service should Singapore insist on keeping the causeway. Or maybe half a tunnel!

Johor Dreaming

Malaysia will set aside two zones in Johor that visitors from Singapore can enter freely without passports as part of the grand plan to help the southern state gain from its close proximity to its rich neighbour.

According to Singapore's BT, one zone of about 40 hectares will stretch from the Causeway (pix) to Stulang Laut, while the other will run from Gelang Patah's Second Link to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas.

There will be no immigration and customs check for entry into these zones which will be guarded by surveillance systems and barriers. There would be no restriction on length of stay, with foreigners allowed to move freely between the zones and Singapore. According to other reports, visitors who want to travel outside the zones will need a passport.

In the pipeline are other projects such as a RM1 billion new state administrative centre; a RM1.8 billion industrial park of high-tech, logistics and agro-based industries; a RM1.5 billion waterfront city; and a RM2 billion education hub, an international resort covering almost 1,000 ha, anchored by two international theme parks, a water park, hotels and other amenities.

As usual, the blueprint sounds wonderful but implementation is always fraught with difficulties in Malaysia.

For a start, there are many issues that the state government and the federal government just could not agree, namely land issues. And all the big projects in the state have generally failed to materialise due to poor planning and other reasons.

Examples include the bridge project to replace the causeway linking the two countries, JB Waterfront City next to the causeway, Universal Studios, Disneyland, Agarta Universe (by former UN sec-gen Javier Perez de Cuellar and friends) and the mega project at Desaru in the 1980s.

Malaysia should get the basics right and overhaul Johor Baru first, starting with the bridge project to replace the ageing causeway. This means getting Singapore's blessing for a joint project. Earlier postings related to the issue -- Johor's woes, Malu Malaysia, Singapore's hinterland and Dinner talk.

Revamp the entire road network in the city, clean up all the dirty rivers flowing into the Straits of Johor, and prevent future flooding in the city.

In other words, Malaysia and Johor must work with Singapore to facilitate the massive cross-border movement of people.

Otherwise, the new free access zones in Johor will be no more than cheap areas for Singaporeans to drink duty-free beer.

Land of Malay warriors

I'm so happy. Mom and dad rushed back from KL, speeding at 150km per hour to come and get me. Yipee! Oh, how I missed them.

And I can't wait to hear their stories about their great journey to the land of the Malay warriors. Hehe.

Well, mom said it was quite an eventful trip. They first drove across the causeway to Johor Baru at the southern tip of Malaysia. The place looked like a warzone because of the many barricades for the stalled crooked bridge project.

Dad showed me the pix of the area.

Daddy said the current causeway has become a thorn in the bilateral ties of Singapore and Malaysia. The two countries have not been able to agree on Malaysia's plan to replace the causeway with a bridge that will allow water to flow freely in the narrow straits of Johor. The causeway was built long time ago in the 1920s. But dad said he will tell me more about it another time. Sigh!

Mom and dad then headed straight for the food once they reached Kuala Lumpur, which is like 320km north of Singapore. They went to PJ and bought some goreng pisang, keropok lekok and heavenly nasi lemak from the mobile stall near Jaya supermarket.

Cleaning up Johor Straits good for S'pore too

Punggol, which is located on the northeastern part of Singapore, will be given a new lease of life. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during his National Day Rally speech on Aug 19 that the masterplan for the area dubbed 'Punggol 21-plus' is 'back on track'.

'Punggol 21-plus' will boast features like a freshwater lake - and a waterway running through the estate with homes and a town centre built on both banks, according to ST. The north-eastern coastal suburb will also get recreational facilities like water sports, gardens and parks with jogging tracks and eateries for al-fresco dining.

It all sounds great, but Punggol and the rest of the northern part of Singapore will never be as vibrant as the southern region of Singapore. The southern region, which has always been the commercial hub of Singapore, is rapidly being transformed into a more fun place.

The southern part of Singapore will have two world-class integrated resorts with casinos within the next three years or so. The government has awarded the Marina Bay site to Las Vegas Sands, which is building also building the world's biggest casino in Macau, and the Sentosa site to Genting International.

That's not all in the Marina Bay area. The new downtown is taking shape and there will be world-class gardens, a giant fresh-water reservoir, and a huge ferris wheel. There will be plenty of activities around the clean and pristine Marina Bay once all the plans are in place.

While the southern part of Singapore is attracting all the big dollars and attention, the northern part of Singapore will continue to be relatively subdued despite the latest plan to rejuvenate Punggol.

As Singapore is small with 704 square kilometres in area, every inch of Singapore, including the northern part, will have to be spruced up eventually. But it won't be easy to rejuvenate the northern coastline.

For a start, water off the northern part of Singapore, which is bounded by a strip of water known as Straits of Johor, is very dirty. The straits is a narrow waterway separating Singapore and its close neighbour Malaysia.

The straits is almost like a giant cesspool that has not been flushed for more than 80 years. Why? This is partly because the causeway, which was built on reclaimed land and cuts across the straits to link the two countries, has been blocking the free flow of water in the straits since it was completed by the British in 1924.

Singapore has done its part to reduce further pollution to the straits, spending $7 billion to build massive tunnels to move sewage to two new waste treatment plants in Changi and Tuas, instead of discharging waste into the straits.

Malaysia is also trying to clean up the straits, although not as successful.

In 1996, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad proposed an overhead bridge to replace the ageing causeway in a bid to free up the flow of water in the straits. It is part of a grander plan to turn the southern Malaysian state into a transportation hub. The project would have allowed small ships and barges to traverse the straits.

The bridge project has not taken off after ten years, complicated by internal Malaysian politics and disagreements with the Singapore government. Last year, current Malaysian government led by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, called off the bridge project. Malaysia could not strike a deal with Singapore, which wanted to buy sand and use Johor airspace as part of the quid pro quo to jointly build a new bridge.

The decision to abort the project incensed Dr Mahathir, who is still on a warpath with his successor despite bouts of heart attacks. The Malaysian statesman had early said he would stop his bickering if the bridge is built. He had continued to criticise the bridge issue as reported in malaysia-today.

The bridge project is expected to remain on the backburner for some time, as the two governments have not been able to resolve all their differences since the two countries separated in 1965.

With or without a new bridge to replace the causeway, Malaysia and the Johor state government must step up efforts to clean up the five dirty rivers flowing into the Johor Straits.

But it will be more ideal if a new overhead bridge could be built to replace the over-utilised causeway and allow water in the stagnant straits to circulate more freely.

A cleaner straits will be good for the long-term development of the coastal areas of both Singapore and southern Malaysia, which will have a new development zone called Iskandar Development Region.

A cleaner Johor Straits could also help make northern Singapore, including Punggol, a more thriving hub one day.

Missing MRT link, Part 3

The JB-Singapore MRT link has not been given the green light yet, contrary to an earlier Chinese newspaper report.

Instead, the governments of Singapore and Malaysia have set up a working group to look at ways to help improve transport links between the two countries. And one option being considered is to extend Singapore’s MRT network into Johor, according to The Straits Times report today that cited Singapore’s Ministry of Transport. The Transport Ministry has not issued a media statement as at blogging time today. :-)

The news is definitely significant as it shows the intention of the two governments to work together to facilitate the massive cross-border flow of people between Malaysia and Singapore.

But can they really come up with a neat solution? The answers are not so clear due to the lack of information. There are many, many questions and issues.

For a start, the ST report said the proposed MRT link could start at Woodlands in Singapore and end at the Iskandar Development Region in Johor. Where exactly is it in IDR?

The IDR covers a huge area, accounting for more than 10% of the land area of the state of Johor, which itself is some 28 times bigger than Singapore. The state capital of JB, which is the closest link to Singapore, itself is in IDR. So is Senai Airport, which is about 30km away from the Malaysia-Singapore border.

It’s more ideal if the MRT link begins in Woodlands as reported and end in the heart of JB itself, instead of somewhere else within the IDR.

And what’s the working group’s plan to improve traffic flow along the causeway – a 1-km land bridge linking Singapore and Malaysia? As mentioned earlier, this is the main bottleneck and the source of much political angst between the two governments.

But building a new bridge for the MRT without resolving the causeway problem won’t be ideal. It is akin to doing a minor heart surgery without treating the main clogged artery.

The clogged artery must go, eventually. In its place, a new overhead bridge must be built to help resolve many problems in one fell swoop as argued in Cleaning up Straits of Johor good for Singapore too last year.

The working group must work out a holistic plan to improve traffic flow between the two countries. They must take into account all ways to improve road, rail and even sea traffic in the dirty Straits of Johor.

The current causeway chokes the straits and does not even allow boats or sampans to sail from the northwestern coast of Singapore to the southeast side of Johor, without making one big detour.

Another missing link is a high-speed train from KL to Singapore. Will Francis Yeoh build another rail bridge to Singapore? Or will he dig a tunnel under the Straits of Johor?

Sophie’s World hopes that the Singapore-Malaysia working group will triumph over their respective internal politics and come up with a holistic transportation blueprint that will benefit people on both sides of the straits.

Hopefully, such a plan will forge closer ties between the two close neighbours and withstand time.