Cheong Safely in JB

[BoinKING]

1 good indication how you know you are not a target of interest..
when you cross over the border and the taxi drivers waiting outside don't even bother looking at your directions lol..

[Raytan]

After all those news .. No wonder Woodland n JB checkpoint very clear !

[KatoeyLover69]

Originally Posted by BoinKING

1 good indication how you know you are not a target of interest..
when you cross over the border and the taxi drivers waiting outside don't even bother looking at your directions lol..

Those professional taxi drivers can easily know that you are the "stingy" type and will take a bus but not taxi

[Goatslooter]

to be frank, i should say many times we ourselves should be blamed? if you always stay alert and don't go alone to those secluded place and show off you are rich? then you go every where also will be safe? don't just mentioned Jb, Muar or Malaka?

i myself kana one broke in case two years back, i have to be blamed? cos i didn't safe keep my Laptop just put in below the front passenger seat and went for shopping, abt 2 hours back my left window was smashed and my laptop gone.....who to blame? Myself.

[BoinKING]

Originally Posted by KatoeyLover69

Those professional taxi drivers can easily know that you are the "stingy" type and will take a bus but not taxi

hahaha.. i only take the registered ones.
walk down to the station downstairs to the kiosk to buy ticket..

[BoinKING]

Originally Posted by KatoeyLover69

Those professional taxi drivers can easily know that you are the "stingy" type and will take a bus but not taxi

hahaha.. i only take the registered ones.
walk down to the station downstairs to the kiosk to buy ticket..

its a good sign they can't be bothered with me..

[KatoeyLover69]

Sun, Jan 17, 2010
The Straits Times

More Singaporeans have weekend homes in Iskandar, Johor

By Kimberly Spykerman & Teh Joo Lin

AFTER a leisurely lunch on his patio, Mr Zulkifli Mansor can walk out to a putting green and practise a few strokes of golf - and he doesn't even have to leave his home.

From his balcony, Mr Tio Hong Tjoen sometimes casts a reel into the stream winding around his home. The Singapore permanent resident has caught fish weighing up to 3kg.

Mr Zulkifli, a 47-year-old civil servant, and Mr Tio, 53, who is in the furniture business, are among an increasing number of Singaporeans and permanent residents buying high-end homes across the Causeway, mainly as weekend residences.

From his doorstep, Mr Zulkifli can point out eight other properties belonging to Singaporeans in a neighbourhood of about 170 homes.

'In fact, the first group to welcome us to the neighbourhood was Singaporean,' he told The Straits Times. He bought his home about three months ago as a holiday retreat for his wife and son. His mother-in-law and sister-in-law live there permanently.His two-storey house is in a gated estate fronted by burly security guards - a far cry from the days when Singaporean-owned homes in Johor Baru made headlines as prime targets for burglaries.

And with relatively few restrictions on home ownership in Malaysia - the houses have to be at least two-storeys high and until recently had to cost a minimum of just RM250,000 (S$103,000)- Singaporeans are finding it a breeze across the border. The minimum cost has just doubled to RM500,000.

Mr Zulkifli's roomy 2,140 sq ft house sits in a lush garden and cost him RM298,000 - much less than what he would have had to fork out for a three-room HDB flat here.'Every month I pay a $630 instalment on the house which is less than the $800 I pay for my car - and I can't live in my car!' he quips.

Mr Zulkifli's house is on an estate known as Nusa Idaman, one of at least four sprawling housing estates within South Johor's Iskandar Malaysia project, which is being touted as a high-class resort area.

The Iskandar Regional Development Authority, which oversees the development of the 2,217 sq km area, says Singaporeans occupy about four in 10 homes there. Another three in 10 are occupied by other foreigners, mainly expatriates working in Singapore, with the remainder owned by Malaysians.

Iskandar Malaysia was designated as a special economic zone in Johor in 2006. Besides upmarket housing, plans are in the pipeline to build universities, top-notch medical facilities and theme parks.

The residential estates are none too shabby either, and home owners say the construction quality is good.

Homes in the luxurious Horizon Hills are set against a private golf course. Residents in the nearby Leisure Farm Resort have horse-riding facilities, and at Nusa Idaman, there is a kindergarten on the estate.

The fear of being a target of burglars has by and large been put paid to as well, with developers cottoning on to the concerns and touting high-levels security features to reel Singaporeans in.

Back in 2006, 37 Singaporeans launched a petition to the Malaysian High Commission for Singapore, asking for help following a spate of burglaries in a condominium in Bandar Seri Alam in Johor. Their units were completely ransacked and stripped of electrical wiring and light fixtures.

Mr Tio, who bought a weekend home in Leisure Farm Resort, says: 'It's very safe. Security is one of the reasons I bought a unit here.'

The neighbourhoods are fenced in and have several levels of security, such as CCTV monitoring and former Nepalese army guards on 24-hour patrol.

Developers Mulpha International even paid for a manned police station to be built just outside the main entrance of the the Leisure Farm estate.

'We have had a few attempted break-ins in the past 12 years but with no harm, casualties or monetary loss. We are trying our level best to keep our record low and as close to zero as possble,' a spokesman added.

With the promise of better security and property prices soaring at home in the last few years, Singaporeans have been looking northwards, charmed by the prospect of open space and quiet.

Developers say that interest has grown stronger in the past two to three years with the 'aggressive promotion of Iskandar Malaysia'.

There are advertisements in local newspapers, roadshows in hotels and even charter buses to take interested Singaporeans to South Johor - a 15 minute drive from the Second Link - to view the developments.

Mr Zulkifli makes the hour-long drive from his home - a flat in Jurong East - whenever he is on leave and his son is on vacation from school.

Sometimes he goes to the nearby kampung, a 15 minute drive away, for a walk to unwind.

Mr Tio, an Indonesian who is now a Singapore permanent resident, said: 'I come here with friends to eat and drink. In Singapore, where can you unwind?' He lives in a bungalow in the MacPherson area with his two daughters.

But there are drawbacks to living life far from the bustling city. The nearest supermarket is a 10 minute drive away. Many Singaporeans say that they prefer to live and work in Singapore,and have a weekend home to escape to.

Mr Zulkifli's wife, part-time wedding caterer Madam Amidah Ahmad, 47, said: 'Back in Singapore, I step out of my house and there is an NTUC there already.'

And home repairs are not always undertaken speedily.

Said 68-year-old remiser Tan Hui Nam: ' 'The system here is different, the work ethic and culture are different. You have to learn to be more patient.'

Also, while the estates are not far from the Second Link, the cost of driving back and forth can add up, with the tolls on both sides of the Causeway. A round trip can cost almost $20.

'I cannot live here on a full time basis because it's just too expensive to be driving in and out of Malaysia every day!' added Mr Tan.

Singaporean Arif Tan, 62, is shopping around for contractors to have a bungalow built to his specifications in Johor.

The owner of a transport company has made trips up to various showflats in the region and says he hopes to make the move with his wife and three grown children within three to five years.

It is part of his retirement plan, he says, adding: 'The cost of living in Singapore is just too high.'

Property experts say that buyers of property in the Iskandar Malaysia project should see their purchases as long-term investments, as the area is still in its developmental stages and not expected to realise its potential within the next five to 10 years. These properties are better off as holiday homes, they add.

Said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail: 'There will be a continuous supply of more land and property, so new buyers will have a choice between resale homes and new properties. It will take some time for the development to attain maturity and for the resale market to become buoyant.'
----- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[jsparrow]

The JB heist does not only target Singaporeans but happen to Malaysians as well.

Please hide your bling blings from visibility.

[helppp]

i would like to advise all to be careful when u all go in JB now.

Have a friend who got robbed by motor bike drive pass

some more hari raya soon those syndicates need $$$

heck even think the mata also sama sama

[KatoeyLover69]

Stop the COMPLACENCY: Johor is now known as SIN CITY

First and foremost I would like to congratulate the JB police for having resolved two criminal cases in the city so speedily and the generous coverage they have been granted on local press.

Last Saturday, the Johor police brought in the female Singaporean victim and Singapore media, and announced that the abduction case taking place at a JB gas station had been resolved, and three suspects had been apprehended. The police also said they had recovered the vehicle, mobile phone and laptop belonging to the victim.

Indeed the police should receive a big thumbs-up for taking only three days to resolve the case.

A few days back, the police made another announcement, the robbery involving a businesswoman had also been resolved, and that the suspects had been arrested.

This time, the police took only ONE hour!

Living in fear

But, should the prompt actions from the JB police be translated into total safety of our city? No way! Crime continues to run rampant on a daily basis and fears among local residents and tourists remain very much evident.

Singaporeans continue to think negatively of the security in JB.

The female Singaporean victim confessed that her younger sister, two children and maid, who were in JB with her when the incident occurred, were still living in fear and had to be excused from the media conference hosted by the Johor police.

On the bright side of things, the speedy actions on the part of our police over the two cases at least show that they have put in a lot of effort to resolve the cases and are far from being grossly inefficient as popularly portrayed. That, nevertheless, does not mean their public image could be whitewashed overnight.

Whether they WANT to do a good job

As a matter of fact, the immediate reaction most people would have on this is: "Look, it is not a question of whether they can do it or not, but whether they want to do it at all."

The police need not feel dejected over such unflattering response for the simple reason that this stereotyped image of theirs has been built up progressively over the years and decades.

A friend who has to regularly take plenty of cash with him across the Causeway due to business needs tells me each time he steps out of his JB house, he would be instantly overcome by crippling anxiety which could be instantly relieved the moment he sets his feet on the other side of the Causeway.

I know what the friend has tried to tell me, and I believe our police should get the message, too.

Sin City

Prime minister Najib has said he hopes the police can do better than this, for if they fail, they will bring down with them the way Malaysians view the government.

All that we little fries want from our police is a simple wish not to live in a city known by outsiders as the "Sin City."

When I was joining a tour in South Korea several years back, our guide said jokingly to some female tourists from JB: "You don't have to cling on your handbags so tight. You are now in Seoul, not JB!"

I had wanted to tell him, "You're wrong, man. Seoul is very safe, but JB is safer!"

But I knew couldn't.

How I wished I could do so some day.

-Sin Chew Daily
----- KatoeyNewsNetwork

[kerjasama]

Originally Posted by Goatslooter

i myself kana one broke in case two years back, i have to be blamed? cos i didn't safe keep my Laptop just put in below the front passenger seat and went for shopping, abt 2 hours back my left window was smashed and my laptop gone.....who to blame? Myself.

Do not put your notebook, ipad, camera, or any equipment with a built-in clock in your car, even inside your boot. It is not safe anymore. Gadgets that detect the clock are now being used widely (easily obtained from the US cheaply) to scan cars, and only those cars that have been identified with notebooks, cameras, etc are broken into.

There were a group of us, 3 cars together, parked at one of the bigger lay-bys in the NS highway, on our way to KL. Only my friend's car was broken into and he lost his camera and notebook. The other 2 cars were intact, and we carried our cameras and notebooks with us when we alighted.

Take care. After all said and done, Malaysia ( and JB) is still a good place to visit and cheong - good value for money. Just be a bit more alert and follow common sense practices.

[shiokpleasure]

Huh? Gadget to detect clocks?

[kerjasama]

Originally Posted by shiokpleasure

Huh? Gadget to detect clocks?

Notebooks, cameras, ipads, mobile phones all have a chip (processor) with in-built clock functions running on internal battery. It is this internal battery that is being detected. Unless you are techy enough to disable the internal battery, it would be safer to take your equipments along with you when you leave your car.

[melayujb]

If u think Jb not a safe place anymore, pls dont come to JB. Its no big deal. U Singaporean made Johorean suffer coz u guys have more money n rich ppl. U made prices go up without controll.

[KatoeyLover69]

Originally Posted by melayujb

If u think Jb not a safe place anymore, pls dont come to JB. Its no big deal. U Singaporean made Johorean suffer coz u guys have more money n rich ppl. U made prices go up without controll.

Saudara melayujb,

I understand why you hate Singaporeans .... however, if a Singaporean call you and told you that he wants to book one of your Melayu gals, would you entertain him or would you rather lose your commission because you hate Singaporeans ???