Mixed signals from Johor's chief
minister
Straits Times. Nov 15, 1997
Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman came to Singapore to woo investors, but sent out mixed signals on the costly Causeway jams, and slammed the media here for allegedly distorting Johor's image. How do people in Johor really feel about Singapore? From an article by PANG GEK CHOO.
SOME would say one cannot really tell how Malaysians feel about Singaporeans these days.
After all, they have been sending mixed signals consistently -- rules change frequently, or a politician will say one thing, which he himself or another will deny sometime later.
Datuk Ghani is gung-ho about the Singaporean property investor today. Yet, it was just a few weeks ago that he expressed hesitation about following suit when the Federal Government announced the relaxation of property rules for foreigners.
He said then that Johor had to be cautious about dealing with foreign property buyers because of its proximity to other countries (read, Singapore).
Within weeks, all his fears seem to have disappeared. Did his mind change too quickly? And what does such mood swings mean for the future?
Mr Wong Mun Chiang, who heads the Feedback Unit group on politics, speaks of friends who got their fingers burnt when the strict property rules hit them hard two years ago, and calls for caution.
"Now, they can lift these requirements. But next thing, they may think that Singaporeans are buying too many houses, so new measures may be slammed on us," he warns.
Notwithstanding the initial land-grab by a few Singaporeans after the curbs were lifted last month, a property agent notes:
"The market talk is that buyers are shying away from the Malaysian market because Malaysians are very fickle-minded, in that they always implement new things and change rules overnight."
The market may have a point. After all, it was only when it became obvious that developers had built up more units than could be absorbed by the local population, that Malaysia decided that once again, foreign buyers were welcome.
Also, while the message now is that investors are welcomed with open arms, the signals sent by the recent Causeway jam were quite different, indicating that investors had better be prepared to play by Malaysia's changeable rules.
The Causeway jam, which some have argued was deliberately engineered to force businesses in Johor to use Port Klang instead of Singapore ports, caused substantial losses to many investors, including Singapore businessmen operating in Johor. Even the Economic Development Board here, which had encouraged some Singapore businesses to re-locate to Johor previously, felt compelled to offer assistance to Singapore investors in Johor who might consider relocating elsewhere after the costly lesson of the Causeway jams.
Datuk Ghani said in Singapore last week that the Causeway jams were a minor, short-term inconvenience that should not shake investors' confidence, but added in the same breath that the stringent checks by Johor Customs that caused the costly jams would be repeated, if necessary.
And while he welcomed Singaporeans to Johor, he has also wasted no opportunity to slam the Republic.
For instance, he was quoted in an NST report as saying Johor had an "open" relationship with Singapore and had not invoked "non-market" forces to regulate the flow of people at the Causeway, unlike Singapore -- in a veiled reference to Singapore's three-quarter tank rule.
It was probably not a good sign either when Datuk Ghani went after the Singapore media for allegedly distorting Johor's image.
It appears there are still some suspibour an unhealthy agenda cions in Johor that Singaporeans har- about the neighbouring state.
When asked last week in Singapore ernment official had declared about a report that a Johor state gov- that they planned to tell the wholesale markets there -- which Singaporeans had been flocking to for the lower prices -- to ask visitors to show an identity card or passport, Datuk Ghani dismissed it as "totally baseless".
But he also said it just showed how the Singapore media slanted reports against Johor to shake investors' confidence.
Yet that report was no scoop by the Singapore media; it was picked up from Bernama, a Malaysian news agency.
When that was pointed out to him, Datuk Ghani replied that the Singapore media had "blown it up".
This week, in a talk show on Malaysia's TV3 television station, he repeated the claim that some Singapore media are gunning down Johor, adding that they were using news in local papers as bullets to give the impression that the state is backward, unsafe and infested with problems. Such negative feelings by senior Johor officials appear to be echoed by considerable negative sentiment on the ground too, going by reports in Malaysia's own newspapers.
In a newspaper column last Tuesday, Johor-born Salleh Buang, a lawyer who writes in Malaysia's best selling newspaper, the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia, wrote:
"The reality in Johor Baru is this: while businessmen, shop owners and operators of entertainment centres in Johor Baru are celebrating the arrival of Singaporeans and relishing the over-abundance of Singapore dollars, most ordinary folks in the city continue to suffer."
He added: "One of my in-laws, who lives in a Malay kampung not far from the Johor Baru city centre, said to me the night before I returned to Alor Setar: 'If we give Singaporeans the chance, they will buy up not just half, but the entire Johor Baru city.' That night I slept badly."
When Datuk Ghani suggested that Johoreans shop during office hours or on weekdays and leave the night time and weekends free for Singaporeans, the idea incurred the wrath of many.
Johor Malaysian Chinese Association secretary Wee Ka Siong told The Star: "Why do locals have to compromise to accommodate the Singaporeans? This is our country, yet we are seeing to their needs first. This is ridiculous."
Such sentiments are not all that new to Singaporeans. The history of the two neighbours is littered with some rough patches, although common sense has helped both sides weather them well.
Nonetheless, Singaporeans were stunned by the depth of feeling against the Republic that exploded across the Causeway over SM Lee's remarks about Johor, especially as it was sustained for an inordinate period of time, despite two public apologies by SM Lee.
This does not mean Singaporeans are about to shy away from shopping in Johor Baru when the Singapore dollar has risen against the Malaysian ringgit to a record M$2 for S$1.
Whether it is buying toilet paper or ikan kembong -- shopaholics here have been having a whale of a time in Johor Baru recently.
They flood the malls, hypermarts and even wholesale and wet markets in search of purchases that can cost 50 per cent less than prices here.
According to a New Straits Times report, Johor Baru traders have seen a 40 per cent increase in sales since the ringgit weakened.
And this despite media reports that Johoreans are incensed by the "Singapore factor" and complaining that prices have spiralled upwards and that Singapore cars clog up the roads and carparks, and contribute to the pollution.
Many of them are also throwing their hands up in despair at the government's lack of action to solve the problem.
The recent economic downturn and the value of foreign exchange brought to Malaysia by Singaporeans probably means officials there are not likely to deter the Singapore bargain hunter for now.
Datuk Ghani has said quite clearly there are no plans to curb shoppers from Singapore as they bring in valuable foreign revenue which can be used for development purposes. But shopping for household goods is one thing, buying a household itself is another altogether, warn other observers.
The difficulty in reading the minds and the frequent see-sawing must mean that Singaporeans should be a little more careful in making decisions, whether it is to sink money into a business venture or a luxurious holiday home.
Feedback Unit's Mr Wong, for example, is one who is not persuaded by Datuk Ghani's latest bout of wooing.
As he puts it: "Actions speak louder than words, so whatever promises they give, people want to observe and see whether these are genuine and sincere offers and whether actions really follow."
Lawyer Shriniwas Rai, a Nominated MP, agrees: "It is very difficult to read their minds. There does not seem to be any clear signals from them as to where they are going."
This, he says, could be because Johor itself is not clear whether Singapore is a boon or a bane.
So his advice to Singaporeans is this: "Do your arithmetic yourselves, do not take anything at face value and take past actions into account before you commit yourself."