State mulls third ferry service to Singapore

Onn Hafiz says the state government will come up with a mechanism soon to support the use of electrical vehicles (EV) in the state.

THE state government has proposed an additional ferry service to ease travel between those in Johor and Singapore.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said this was among the matters discussed with ministers from Singapore during his visit to the republic.

“We proposed a third ferry service between Johor and Singapore.

“Currently, there are two ferry services – between Tanah Merah and Desaru Coast and between Tanah Merah and Tanjung Belungkor.

“The route we proposed is between Puteri Harbour and Tuas.

“However, we will need approval from the Transport Ministry first before further talks can be held with Singapore’s Transport Ministry,” he said.

Onn Hafiz was responding to Andrew Chen Kah Eng (PH - Stulang) at the state assembly sitting who asked what was discussed during the Johor state government’s official visit to Singapore in February.

The Mentri Besar also said that Johor government would come up with a mechanism soon to support the use of electrical vehicles (EV) in the state.

“Among things that I have discussed with Singapore’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran was the use of EV and he shared that by 2030, they will stop the registration of vehicles that run on petrol,” he said.

“ We also need to have a plan on this and will work closely with the local governments.

“I will discuss with state secretary Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani the need to have a mechanism which will involve industries that could support our strategy (on EV) in years to come.”

During his visit, Onn Hafiz also met Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and four companies that are keen to invest in Johor.

Onn Hafiz also said resolving the traffic congestion issue between Johor and Singapore remains a top priority for the state and federal governments.

He said that among initiatives that had been carried out by the Federal Government were expanding the use of egates to Singaporeans, increasing the number of motorcycle lanes from 50 to 75 each way, and merging counters of the various agencies at the border.

“We are all aware that this (congestion at the Causeway) is not something that just happened today as the problem has been there for decades.

“However, this has not broken the spirit of the state and federal governments to work together to resolve the issue,” he said.

Onn Hafiz added that there would be four zones that would combine counters of all of the relevant agencies at the Johor Causeway to facilitate a single clearance system.

“Currently, travellers need to stop twice to clear their passport and pay for their Touch’n Go (TnG) fee but after this, they only need to stop once,” he said.

Earlier Chen told the state assembly that a Singaporean artiste, Wang Lei, had recently expressed his frustration at having to spend seven hours waiting at the Causeway due to congestion.

Chen said that while there were initiatives taken to monitor the congestion at the border, there was still room for improvement.

He added that the congestion problem would affect efforts by the state government to attract more investors.