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Seems like Johor is going to fun place, rumor going to be twice the size of legoland. What's happening to Singapore. Why all the interesting investments going to Johor, even Peter Lim chose to invest the race track in Johor. Must add another set annual passes to my collections. http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/...e-park-20130109 Six Flags Entertainment to invest $484m in Iskandar theme park NUSAJAYA, JOHOR (THE STAR/ANN) - United States-based theme park operator Six Flags Entertainment is planning to invest between RM1.2 billion (S$484 million) and RM1.5 billion to set up a theme park in Iskandar Malaysia. Sources told StarBiz that the theme park, which will be double the size of Legoland Malaysia and the company's first theme park in Asia, would offer more than 40 rides. According to Wikipedia, Six Flags Entertainment is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. It maintains 19 properties throughout North America consisting of theme parks, thrills parks, water theme parks and family entertainment centres. Iskandar Investment (IIB) president and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, said an announcement would be made by an investor within the next six months on the matter.

stay in singapore complain to singapore govt move to johor also complain to malaysia govt better ask malaysia govt to allow more FTs land bigger can absorb more Some firms put move on hold; M'sian minister says KL will try to resolve the problem Mr Mustapa: The dearth of human capital tops the concerns of Singapore businesses looking to move to the Iskandar region, he said. [sINGAPORE] Businesses that are looking to set up shop in Iskandar Malaysia to escape the tight labour market here may face a similar set of problems across the Causeway - a lack of skilled labour to support their operations. The dearth of human capital tops the concerns of Singapore businesses looking to move to the Iskandar region, said Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed. He was in Singapore yesterday to meet companies looking to expand or relocate there. Mr Mustapa told reporters that he had met with the chairman and 12 board members of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) and separately with six Singapore-owned SMEs yesterday to address concerns they had about moving to Iskandar. "Labour keeps cropping up (in discussions)," said Mr Mustapa. He noted that the companies he spoke to did not have too many issues otherwise but the lack of skilled personnel stood out. He said it was a universal problem. Nevertheless, it is a pressing concern for Singapore SMEs looking to expand there because there is "no point setting up business there if you cannot get people to work", said Chan Chong Beng, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) here. However, he said that the shortage of workers in Iskandar is not surprising, considering that Malaysia as a whole is facing a dearth of skilled manpower and even Kuala Lumpur has not been spared. Part of the problem with Iskandar is that a high proportion of the skilled labour in Johor already plies daily to Singapore to work here. "The lack of manpower there is a very important issue as most of the skilled labour nearby is already coming to Singapore to work," explained Douglas Foo, CEO of Sakae Holdings whose plans to move there hinge on this issue being resolved. "We need to convince some of our colleagues (in Singapore) to assist (in reducing their demand of skilled labour here) if we are to move forward with our plans," he added. Mr Chan agreed that the inflow of skilled Malaysian labour into Singapore hampers ASME members' plans to expand into Iskandar. But he said that some SMEs here are exploring ways to overcome this structural problem. "A lot of SMEs here are asking their Malaysian labour here, especially those that travel into Singapore every day, to stay in Johor and work in their operations there instead. In return they are even offering to continue to pay them in Singapore dollars," Mr Chan said. In the interim, SMEs here are even asking their Singapore staff to work in their Iskandar operations, although Mr Chan admits that this will not be a sustainable solution in the long term. Shifting the supply of labour from Singapore to Johor may just add more pressure to the already tight labour market here. And paying workers in Malaysia in Singapore dollars or sending Singapore workers to work there will only increase the cost of labour in Iskandar, which could ultimately erode the cost advantage Iskandar has to offer. According to Mr Mustapa, the Malaysian government recognises the problem and is taking steps to address it. These include working with companies to identify Malaysian university graduates and training them in the required specialised skills. It's not just the SMEs that are worried. Even large companies here, that are looking to Iskandar as a cheaper cost alternative, are hesitating in moving because of the labour shortage, Shankar Iyer, the former chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) told BT. The problem may only worsen as the Iskandar region develops due to the increased demand for labour, especially if infrastructure does not grow adequately. "If you look at Nusajaya and Medini, there are very impressive projects coming up, but the problem is basically manpower in general, not just skilled labour, and part of this is because there is inadequate infrastructure to bring the people in from the rest of Johor," said Mr Iyer, who is chairman and CEO of The Iyer Practice. As Iskandar grows, the rise in SMEs there, both domestic and foreign, will increase the demand for manpower. There are almost 70,000 SMEs registered in Johor now, with 85 per cent of them operating within Iskandar. As at the end of the first quarter of 2013, the cumulative committed investment coming from Singapore into Iskandar Malaysia stood at 6 billion ringgit (S$2.4 billion). According to Ismail Ibrahim, the chief executive of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), out of this amount, as much as 5 billion ringgit of investments into Iskandar are from Singapore manufacturing companies, most of them SMEs.

I parked at Geylang Bahru Blk 50plus carpark.. I saw the whole row was red parking lots for season parking.. so i drove right to the end where white lots were available.. it was 930pm, so I used a half-hour coupon, and 4 one-hour coupons even though I am not parking overnight. I knew I might leave abt 12-1am.. I came back after my visit, to see an offense ticket.. I read the details and he indicated that I parked without a valid SEASON PARKING ticket! He must be farking blind to not see those are white lots.. Or he didnt know red are strictly for season parking ticket holders? Or I am not aware that now I cant park in white lots as they are now just like red lots for season parking ticket holders only too? Frustration! I now need to call hdb to clarify and to appeal.. need to call, being put on hold for many minutes, then write in.. all for an offense I didnt commit! And this Iskandar Bin Mohd Ismail is from Chubb.. Doesn't Chubb train them to differentiate red and white?

Sunday May 18, 2008 Iskandar a project for Singapore to grow, says Mahathir JOHOR BARU: The Iskandar Malaysia project is a platform for Singapore to expand its sovereignty, said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He explained that the project was intended to lure Singaporeans and Malay land would be sold to them for 10 times its worth.