Compensation not needed over delay in RTS Link project

Ministry: Compensation not needed over delay in RTS Link project

Malaysia does not have to pay a single sen to Singapore as compensation for the delay in the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link) project, says the Transport Minister.

Anthony Loke said this was because no joint venture company (JV) was formed by the two sides on the project.

“The initial agreement that both countries signed previously is just a memorandum of understanding, so the issue of compensation does not arise,” he told reporters after paying a visit to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian at Kota Iskandar here yesterday.

He said Malaysian officials already informed their Singapore counterparts about the delay of between one and two months, which was caused by the general election and the forming of the new government.

“The project must get approval first, pending cost and other details, but I will bring a memorandum about RTS to the Cabinet as soon as possible,” he added.

Loke said if the Cabinet gave its approval, then the first process was to set up a JV company between Malaysia and Singapore as the RTS Link involved two nations.

“Despite the delay, RTS Link will be completed by 2024,” he said.

In January, Malaysia and Singapore signed the agreement for the new 4.2km RTS Link to transport some 10,000 passengers an hour, or 72,000 passengers a day, in four coaches travelling at 70kph.

The link, with co-located Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex, will provide seamless connectivity between Johor Baru and Singapore.

The RTS Link will run above ground in Johor and on a 25m-high bridge track across the Straits of Johor before travelling underground to Woodlands North.

The June 30 deadline for Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Singapore’s SMRT Corporation Ltd to form a JV company to operate the RTS Link was missed, as Prasarana Malaysia suspended discussions with SMRT after the general election in May.

Meanwhile, on the Gemas to Johor Baru electrified double-track rail project, Loke said the 197km track was 20% completed.

“The project, to be completed by Oct 31, 2021, will connect the whole west coast from Johor Baru to Padang Besar,” he said.

He said any proposal to add more stations in Johor would need the Cabinet’s approval, as it would bring about a cost hike, which the Federal Government was sensitive about.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Fried Carrot Cake

Fried Carrot Cake



Contrary to its name, there's nary a tinge of orange in the local fried carrot cake, a flavourful dish that comes in the monochrome colours of black or white.

Fried carrot cake, made from soft fried rice cakes with black soya sauce This flavourful dish was brought over to South East Asia by South East Asian immigrants.

Do not confuse this with the dessert carrot cake, a moist cake made with carrot and spices; covered with cream cheese frosting.

This savoury carrot cake has no carrot, at least not of the orange variety. Instead, the core ingredients of the cake are rice flour and white radish which some call white carrot. The mixture is steamed, then cut into cubes and fried with garlic, eggs and preserved radish called 'chai poh'.

Commonly referred to as 'chai tow kway' in the Teochew dialect, these smooth and soft fried rice cakes can be found in almost every hawker centre. It is served black (fried with sweet dark soya sauce) or white (original).

Chinese rice cake

The simple dish has its origins in Southern China’s Chaoshan province. There, it is known as 'chao gao guo' (fried starch cake) which is made mainly with rice flour. Fish sauce and black sweetened soya sauce are used to marinate the rice cake before it is cut and fried with eggs, oysters and prawns.

Brought over to Singapore by Teochew immigrants, it was known as 'char kway' (fried rice cake), which was simply cubes of rice cakes fried with dark soya sauce.

Teochew hawker Ng Soik Theng claims to be the first to have called this dish 'chai tow kway' in the 1960s when she added white radish to it. Another hawker, Lau Goh, is said to have popularised the white version.

~Courtesy of VisitSingapore.com~

RTS Link project in limbo

RTS Link project in limbo



No progress: The empty plot of land in Bukit Chagar which is supposed to be the station for the RTS Link between Johor Baru and Singapore.

JOHOR BARU: Besides the High Speed Rail (HSR) project, another major project that could be in limbo is the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link project.

It is learnt that the joint-venture companies tasked with implementing the project were to get the project off the ground by the end of last month.

As such, the time frame set for the project seems to have lapsed.

In January, Malaysia and Singapore signed the agreement for the new 4.2km RTS Link to transport some 10,000 passengers an hour, or 72,000 passengers a day, in four coaches travelling at 70kph.

The link, which was scheduled for completion in 2024, will have co-located the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex and provided seamless connectivity between the Bukit Chagar station in Johor Baru and Woodlands North station Singapore.

Sources said a compensation clause would likely require Malaysia to pay damages to Singapore if the project is shelved.

“It looks like there is some level of uncertainty. We hope that both sides will be able to resolve any issue or dispute amicably,” said a source.

Sources said some of the issues that could hamper the project included its design and land acquisition around Bukit Chagar.

Johor Opposition Leader Datuk Hasni Mohamed, when contacted, said the project was important as it would benefit the thousands commuting between both countries.

“Singapore was supposed to pay 70% of the project cost,” he said.

Hasni, the Benut assemblyman and former state exco member, said unlike the HSR project, the RTS project was urgent to address congestion issues at the Causeway.

The RTS Link will run above ground in Johor and on a 25m-high bridge track across the straits before travelling underground to Woodlands North.

It was reported that commuters were expected to spend about 30 minutes to travel and clear Customs and Immigration.

Based on a study done by SPAD in 2016, an average of 4,000 buses, 52,000 cars and 72,000 motorcycles spend at least an hour to get across the Causeway.

~News courtesy of The Star~