Johor to help Suluks over marriage certs

Pasir Gudang: The Johor government has pledged to assist Sabahans residing in the state who face difficulties over their marriage documentation.Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the state government was aware of the problems faced by the community especially in enrolling their children in school.

"We will try to assist them with their marriage certificates so they can rigester their children in schools without any hassle," he said after the Leaders with the Sabahans Community programme in Bandar Seri Alam here.

Mohammed Khaled also announced a RM50,000 allocation to the Sabah Suluk United Association Johor and Umno Sri Delima Branch.

He added that each of them would get RM25,000 to assist in carrying out cultural and community-based programmes here.

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CHIEF Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor’s 2021 Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya Plan and the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) have laid out a road map to an exciting future for all Sabahans, with a target of increasing Sabah’s income levels and GDP per capita from about RM 23,000 to about RM 40,000 by 2030.

In another development, he said that a Borneo Market project at Jalan Suria was also in the pipeline for the Sabahan community and residents of Bandar Seri Alam.

"The Pasir Gudang Municipal Council will begin work soon after the planning and negotiations with developers are concluded," he said, adding that over 10,000 Sabahans are currently residing in Johor.

Mohamed Khaled said the stae Government appreciated the contribution of the Sabahans community in the area to Johor.

Most came to Johor seeking better opportunities in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Johor is facing a major water crisis if it relies on existing resources and does not start exploring new alternatives.

"The time has come for Johor to explore underground water reserves and harvest rainwater on a large scale," said state Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad Hasni said Johor was too dependent on surface water that supplied 99pc of consumption, with only 1pc from underground water.

"We are working with two universities in Johor and the Japan Water Forum to conduct research on underground water reserves in the state," said Hasni.

He said the state government had allocated RM1mil to identify several locations in Johor where exploration for underground water reserves could be conducted next year.

It is part of the RM 79.7 mil allocation under the state's Budget 2017 for 14 initiatives to develop sustainable water management in Johor.

He said the state would be adopting Japan's Kumamoto City in Kumamoto prefecture as the model where some 780,000 residents had used underground water for more than 20 years.

"We will be conducting an indepth study on the potential usage of underground water with an expert from Kumamoto for a master plan on its usage until 2050," added Hasni.

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He said the state government would also look at other options, including building desalination plants for new development projects along the coastal areas and those located far from existing water supply facilities.

Hasni said the developer of the multibillion ringgit Forest City project in Gelang Patah was required to build a desalination plant because of the scale of the project.

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