The "development" Of Mr. ISA (aka Umno's "Rohaizat II")

"I couldn't bring myself to spend another night here. After a few hours I wanted to leave Seremban".
- CochinJew, Virtual Tourist

That was the sentiment of the tourist after visiting Seremban and it is very true. I went there just yesterday, hoping to show a dear friend the "beauty" of this place ..... It was so embarrassingly dead, that I made the excuse that I need to find a decent parking space!! In the end, I just dropped her off at Terminal-1 which has an abandoned "skyscraper" (see picture below) which has some make-up on to cover its "blemishes" (like the fat lady who today helms our country's and Umno's leadership la...).

By and large, the development there has been quite "ecofriendly" during the time of Mr. Isa - in that it didn't change much. It is still the same old boring town it was 30 yrs ago - albeit with some "cosmetic surgery" after Isa's departure.

Tersergam Indah - the leftover of the structure used for "Musabaqah membaca Al-Quran" which was moved from the NS Padang after eons to house a "museum".

The "Olympic size swimming pool" smack at the entrance of Seremban - the former site of the Convent, which was flattened and apparently acquired by the state. Some say that the water has developed "supernatural" powers (like the zam-zam water la ...)

Addendum:
["Ammar" said in the comment below, that saying "zam-zam" here is "sensitive" might offend Muslims - so I'll rephrase that sentence to "offend" everybody alike- Some say that the water has developed "supernatural" powers (like the Lourdes, Bukit Mertajam, Ganges and maybe even Yang-Tze water la ...).
Hmmm - that should do it. If more are really offended - please highlight it, and I shall offer my heartfelt apologies, and also delete the names of these special places and waters]

This has definitely gotta be the "pride and joy" of Isa - the Wisma Punca Emas, which is apparently a famous drug addicts' haunt. I vaguely remember a notice put up at the onset of the project saying that it was supposed to be a quite tall .... 20 or 28 floors. It was the old Location for SPI - St. Paul's Institution. Yes my friends - the pace of development in Seremban was like Dubai on steroids, and they had to acquire these lands from the heritage sites like the Convent and SPI.

This my friends, is a pedestrian friendly city - laid back,
and fit for anyone who wishes to have a boring holiday.

Okay la - they have a Jusco in Seremban 2 which renders some respectability and normalcy to the otherwise dead project. This is what NST Property had to say to future homeowners of Seremban 2 -"They will feel uplifted by the gorgeous views and wideopen spaces that can inspire them to set higher goals, for they will be perceived to be more successful by society."
Hmmm - Wide open spaces ... how inspiring ....

Beyond the "Seremban Siew Pau" that came out of it, Seremban has been pretty much left out of the economic boom of the 90s just next door in the Klang Valey and Melaka.
You could read "'Abandoned projects mar Seremban's image' - Story and photos by CHARLES FERNANDEZ" (from The Star) here, at the entry on February 13th, 2009, 05:48 AM.

You could also consider the destruction of the waterfront in Port Dickson (that's where Bagan Pinang is right?) beaches of its beauty, after the waterfronts were sold off wholesale (or whatever) to hoteliers - and now the public cannot use these beaches anymore, unless they fork out mega bucks.

Diaphenous Memories gives a pretty "polite" picture of what Seremban is after much cosmetic surgery - believe me ... he was extremely polite in his review. Probably, he had some good company to overshadow his boredom.

Here are some comments on the review page of Virtual Tourist:
"Seremban is one of the few State capitals that has not obtained city status yet. So the Municipal of Seremban is working hard to achieve city hood by 2009."

"Today, as you go around Seremban you can see the interesting design of the five-foot way outside each building - like a connecting corridor and the window and door decorations."

Here are some things you can check out about the development brought by Isa. I cannot find anything about a sprawling ghost-town called Bandar Baru Nilai, but you could pay it a visit if you think counting your fingers was an interesting thing to do.

Yes my friends ... these were the developments Isa boasts about!

PS
I hear that the state coffers were wiped clean during Isa's time (apparently to the tune of billions!!), and it was the current MB who did at least did some face-saving gesture to give this town some respectability as a state capital. (Oh ya ... I forgot - after Isa's departure, Rasah has got Seremban's first flyover okay ... don't play, play!!)