00:00The jam at the Causeway, under this President Menteri Besar, he has improved the situation
00:07tremendously.
00:08This one.
00:09But in the long run, you need a long-term solution.
00:14I think RTS was agreed upon by both countries at that time to build it and to be completed
00:25by 31st December 2026.
00:30Now we have officially entered into the fifth year, meaning that all the civil and structural
00:37work and especially the rail work has been completed.
00:42Now the remaining is the rolling stock, testing, commissioning, as well as the CIQ building.
00:50So in this regard, for the next two years, I'm very confident that this can be completed
00:55according to the schedule.
00:58So according to the original schedule, by 1st January 2027, the RTS will be in full
01:07operation.
01:08That will give us a spin-off effect, especially for the retail market in China.
01:15Imagine there's only one CIQ, meaning that if you enter from Woodlands, when you arrive
01:24in Johor Bahru, there's no more customs or any checkpoints here.
01:28That means you only need to clear once.
01:32Similarly, the Singapore immigration will be put here as well, so that once any Malaysian
01:39or foreigners enter into Singapore, they do not have to get the clearance from the Singapore
01:45side.
01:46So with that, I think the capacity of our RTS during peak hour is 10,000 per direction.
01:58So when you have two directions, it's 20,000 at any one hour.
02:03So if this will become the central attraction and the services to be rendered to all these
02:11customers, if they come here, they want to buy things, the entry outlet, the demand
02:19will be very high.
02:20So in this regard, I think that will give a kind of boom or catalyst to the economic
02:30growth in Johor Bahru, especially for the retail market, shopping centres like this.
02:36If the Singapore exchange rate, the Singapore dollar and ringgit, the exchange rate peaks
02:43at 3.3 or any indication of more than 3.3, I'm very sure many Singaporeans will spend
02:54their money here because it's just five minutes away.
02:59You can avoid the jam, you have no problem.
03:02So they come here to enjoy cheaper food, cheaper services here.
03:06So the daily commuting is no longer a big problem.
03:15You take the train, you spend a few minutes, you reach here.
03:20So once you arrive here, within walking distance, five, ten minutes, you reach the place that
03:24you want to go.
03:26So that will be very convenient and it will give the economic impact.
03:32You spur the economy, you activate or you rather make this area very vibrant.
03:41So that's what we want.
03:42So I think Johor should grab this opportunity and more so when the two countries have agreed
03:49on the SEZ and also in a big way we want to develop southern Johor, three or four times
03:57bigger than Singapore.
04:00The potential is huge and I see the great potential in Johor Bahru, especially in this
04:06area, where it's well connected and you don't have to worry about the traffic jam.
04:16You only take the train from Bukit Canggah, by the time you clear the Malaysian consulate
04:24of Singapore, the checkpoint in Bukit Canggah, you only spend a few minutes to reach Singapore.
04:29From there it will lead you to the Thomson North Line, the Singapore SMRT system.
04:37Do you foresee that Johor should also have their own LRT system?
04:43See, when it comes to this, once your RTS is in full operation, it is logical to disperse
04:52the traffic.
04:54Imagine you have 30,000 during the peak hour and you have to disperse this very fast.
05:00So the long-term planning, I believe the state government or federal government, they would
05:05have a long-term plan for this, but it must be implemented fast.
05:11Otherwise it will create a kind of bottleneck effect.
05:15So within the vicinity, you have to dabble, you have to be, it must be well connected
05:23to the road system, whether it's by rail or by public transport, you have to do it.
05:30It's a matter of time, and today we are glad to learn that Penang they have their own LRT.
05:37Even Johor, the potential is huge, and whether the priorities will be given to which line
05:44are that, we leave it to the authority to study.
05:46But it warrants LRT system, in the long run.
Comments