ONCE notorious for being one of the dirtiest rivers in Malaysia, Sungai Segget has been rehabilitated as part of the Johor Baru City Centre RM1.8bil Transformation Plan.
Today, this radical transformation has led to the river being one of the most photographed places in downtown Johor Baru.
Walking through downtown Johor Baru now, one will see that the area has undergone major changes since the project started in 2013.
Landscaping and beautification works are now in the final stages and slated to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
The 1.4km-long and 23m-wide river was covered several years ago with a pedestrian walkway, making it the focal point of the revamped city centre.
Flash floods are no longer a major concern in downtown Johor Baru each time it rains heavily.
The last flood that affected the city centre was in 2016, when thousands of office workers were stranded and cars parked in the basements of office buildings and malls were submerged.
Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) was blamed when many knew that flood mitigation works were ongoing when the flash flood occurred.
In April 2017, the construction of a flood mitigation and sewerage system was launched to prevent flooding in the city centre.
The final part of the transformation plan saw the allocation of RM270mil to improve the sewerage system and flood mitigation as well as beautification of the river and its surrounding areas.
Kudos to Irda for a job well done.While building new infrastructure and transforming spaces can be done over time, it is a greater challenge to reform the habits and mindsets of locals.
Johor residents, especially Johor Baru denizens, should take pride and develop a sense of ownership of their state capital, which started out as a small Malay fishing village.
Originally known as Tanjung Puteri, Johor Baru was founded in 1855 by Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim Temenggong Abdul Rahman.
Sungai Segget is the core of the Johor Baru City Centre transformation project as the growth of the state capital has been associated with the river.
While millions of ringgit have been spent to rejuvenate and rehabilitate Sungai Segget, every one of us must also play our role to ensure the river and its surrounding areas are kept clean and free from litter.
Johor is one of the main entry points into the country, with the Johor Causeway and Second Link Crossing in Tanjung Kupang, Gelang Patah connecting the southernmost state with our neighbour Singapore.
The Johor Causeway is among the busiest land links in the world with tens of thousands of people, including locals working in the republic. Singaporeans and foreign tourists too move between the two countries.
The authorities must ensure that downtown Johor Baru is well maintained and that Sunggai Segget does not revert to its former image.
Otherwise, millions of ringgit of taxpayers’ money spent to turn Johor Baru into a vibrant city will go down the drain or in this case, down the river.
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