No. 5037 PP 2644/12/2010 (025832)
www.sun2surf.com
30 SENFORDELIVERY TOYOURDOORSTEP. CALL 03-77852731
30 SENFORDELIVERY TOYOURDOORSTEP. CALL 03-77852731
TELLING IT AS IT IS
ON
WEDNESDAY
JUNE 23, 2010
300,000
COPIESDAILY
MEMBER
INSIDE
X
Bomber:Attacks
will not stop
Americanadmits
travellingtoPakistan
wherehelearned
tomakebombs
page06
X
8-page
pullout:
Tohell
withprima
donnas
pages04-05
Looking for the highest savings interest rate in town?
Details inside.
BY KARENARUKESAMY
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
P
UTRAJAYA:
Toll charges at the
Second Link linkingMalaysia and
Singapore will be reduced by 30%
fromAug 1, the governments of both
countries announced yesterday.
Users of the link, which bypasses Johor Baru
centre, have to pay toll twice, once on the
Malaysian side and againwhen entering
Singapore. The current toll for passenger cars is
RM10.80 and S$4.60 respectively.
“We believe this decision is good news for
>Najib andHsien Loong also agree tofinalise land swapdeal within threemonths
SUMMER
LIE-IN ...
Participants
stretch out in a
mass yoga session
in Times Square,
NewYork, on
Monday tomark
the first day of
summer. The
day-long event
which attracted
hundreds of
yoga students
over five free
public sessions
was organised
tomark the
summer solstice,
the longest
day of the year.
Celebrants also
marked the event
at Stonehenge,
England.
Malaysians going to Singapore and
Singaporeans coming toMalaysia,” Singapore
PrimeMinister Lee Hsien Loong said at a joint
press conference withDatuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak after a four-eyemeeting at the Prime
Minister’s Department yesterday.
The Second Link (or Link Kedua) was
opened to traffic on Jan 2, 1998. Although its toll
charges aremuch higher than that for the
Causeway (RM2.90
for passenger cars on
theMalaysian side;
S$1.20 on the
Singapore side), users
can look forward to
less congestion.
Aside from the toll
rate announcement,
both leaders discussed
a proposal by Lee for a
land swap to resolve
the long-pending
implementation of the
points of agreement
(POA) onMalayan
Railway land in
Singapore, targeting to come to a deal by the
end of September.
Najib said: “We have agreed to study the
matter and tomeet again in threemonths, after
Hari Raya, to finalise the land swap decision.
“There are specifics whichwe have to look
into; the overall concept was to swap the three
plus three pieces of KTM landwith parcels of
land inMarina South and/or Ophir Rochor of
equivalent value.
“So I havemade the PMa proposal, laying
out several variations for PMLee to choose
from. He has raised some issues whichwe are
discussing. But as the PMsays, we aim to solve
this in threemonths,” Najib said.
He said the discussion on the POAwas
“warmandwelcoming” and there were no
other issues discussed.
On a previous deal between the countries to
jointly develop a parcel of KTM land that was
struck at a leaders’ retreat in Singapore less than
amonth ago, Najib said that plan remained.
That meeting had yielded a breakthrough in
the deadlock on the POA signed in 1990. Both
leaders had agreed tomove the existing railway
station fromTanjong Pagar to theWoodlands
train checkpoint by July 1 next year. They had
also agreed to set up a joint venture company
calledM-S Pte Ltd to jointly develop the land
that is left behind.
Malaysia will hold a 60% stake through
KhazanahNasional in that company.
Yesterday’s meeting focused on six parcels of
Malayan Railway land. The land – with one
parcel each in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and
Woodlands and three in Bukit Timah – is said to
be worth billions of dollars, according to a
report in
Business Times
, Singapore, website
yesterday.
The report said Lee had suggested last
month to obtain an updated valuation of the
KTM land and tomake an offer toNajib to swap
the six land parcels for land of equivalent value
inMarina South near theMarina Bay Sands
integrated resort and/or the Ophir-Rochor area.
At yesterday’s meeting, Lee presentedNajib
with a scratch post and a toy for Najib’s new
kittenwhich he bought recently at a fair
(photo
on page 02)
.
AFPPIX
We believe
this decision
is good
news for
Malaysians
going to
Singapore
and
Singaporeans
coming to
Malaysia.”
– Lee Hsien Loong
GivingMalaysianchildren
aheadstart ineducation
page07
30%
discount
for2ndlink