Just one condition, says Ruler

JOHOR BARU: Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has consented to hand over his plot of land in Bukit Chagar to the government without any cost for the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project – with one condition.

He said the RTS project, linking 4km of rail between Bukit Chagar, Johor Baru and Woodlands, Singa­pore, must continue as soon as possible as he understood the plight of the people who needed to commute to Singapore.

According to the Sultan’s private secretary Datuk Jaba Mohd Noah, Sultan Ibrahim is disappointed with news reports connecting the rising cost of the RTS project with the plot of land in Bukit Chagar.

He said to date Sultan Ibrahim had not been informed that the land he owns would be involved in the RTS project.

“Nevertheless, Sultan Ibrahim had said, if it is indeed true that the land belonging to him in Bukit Chagar is earmarked for the RTS project, he is willing to hand it over to the government without any cost.

“However, Sultan Ibrahim has set one condition – that the RTS project must proceed – as His Majesty understands the plight of many people who need to travel to Singapore daily,” he said in a statement posted on Sultan Ibrahim’s official Facebook page yesterday.

Jaba said the interest of the people and government were priority for the Sultan.

The statement came following Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks on Friday that the government would try to reclaim the land in Bukit Chagar for the RTS project with Singapore before considering to purchase it as the property is purportedly in the name of the Johor Ruler.

The RTS project, signed in 2018, is scheduled for construction this year and expected to be completed by December 2024.

It covers 4km between Bukit Chagar, Johor Baru and Woodlands, with the capacity to ferry 10,000 passengers an hour.

The project will run above ground in Johor and on a 25m-high bridge across the straits before going underground at Woodlands North.

Earlier, it was speculated that the RTS project might be shelved indefinitely after Malaysia requested for a six-month extension on the deadline.

Puteri Wangsa assemblyman Mazlan Bujang said that when he was Works, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee chairman, the 4.5ha plot of land as well as its surrounding area were earmarked for the construction of the RTS station due to its location.

“The deal had been signed between Malaysia and Singapore during the time of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration, and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak knew that the land was to be developed for the RTS station.

“However, I am confident that Dr Mahathir will find an amicable solution as it is a federal project and involves Malaysia and Singapore,” he said.

On Friday, Dr Mahathir said that the government had not received a full report on the issue and had only heard rumours that the land had been taken over by the Johor Ruler.

“We have agreed to take about six months to consider RTS again or decide on other alternative plans. First, we will reclaim the land. If there are parties which have taken the land, they must follow the existing process,” the Prime Minister said.

He was commenting on news reports on various portals, which quoted sources, alleging that a plot of land in Bukit Chagar, which the federal government was supposed to own, was now in the name of the Johor Ruler.

According to the reports, the 4.5ha plot was one of five lots in Bukit Chagar that Putrajaya received from the Johor government in 2012 as part of a land swap deal to build the Johor Baru Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex.

When asked if the government would buy back the land, Dr Mahathir did not rule that out.

“If he (the Johor Ruler) has paid for it, of course we have to buy back but if he hasn’t paid, we won’t buy back, it is our land. We require that land for the purpose of constructing necessary buildings,” Dr Mahathir said.- Star