Yesterday, I was at Johor Bahru with my parents. Drove around, did some shopping and ended up at ‘The Store’, Sentosa. When I was young, I used to visit this complex very often. In those days, my family have this habit of doing weekend getaways to JB. We used to do that very often until safety in JB becomes a growing concern. Now, that we are back. I realized that things have changed. ‘The Store’ is now undergoing a major revamp to keep up with the times. For now, it is generally very quiet with some shops. 10 years ago, this complex have its glorious days. Now the crowd had turned to Jusco@Tebrau City and Carrefour. I guess with this make-over, the crowd will return again.

In the morning, I travelled to Johor Bahru with my friends. After crossing the customs, we shopped at City Square before going to Tebrau City Jusco. Tebrau City Jusco is a much bigger mall than City Square, so we spent our afternoon there. We went for shopping and food mainly. Lunch was at Kenny Rogers, and after lunch we continued shopping before taking a break at Vivo. Vivo was a great place to dine in. Not only did they offered good service, they also gave us free Wi-Fi access, hence allowing us to update our Twitter and access the internet.

It is quite a well-known fact that Johor Bahru has a high crime rate with thefts and robberies being the most common. Today proved the fact, as we witnessed 2 thefts in 1 day on the same bus. One which I almost became a victim.

It happened when we were returning from Tebrau City Jusco to the checkpoint. I was getting up the bus when one man cut into my friends’ queue behind me, sticked close and tried to slip his hand into my front pocket. He didn’t manage as I felt his hand and realised early. Then he responded really naturally by asking directions from the bus driver before leaving the bus. I thought it was an audacious attempt, as I already took precaution by keeping my wallet and phone in both my front pockets, which are harder to steal than back pockets.

The next case is one of the most well carried-out theft I ever encountered. 3 men squeezed behind an Indian passenger, pretending to alight the bus hurriedly. The next moment, the three men were pushing this passenger as if he was blocking their way, but which was not the case. After their brief struggle, the 3 men managed to get down the bus. The bus drove off and a lady told the Indian that he might be robbed. The Indian checked his back pocket and realised it was empty. The strange thing was that the Indian didn’t panicked or gave chase, instead he behaved really calm and kept his cool. There could only be 2 reasons – he doesn’t have much money or he knew there was no hope in retrieving.

I have heard stories that in China, some bus passengers are so used to thefts and robberies that they even watched the thieves carry out their acts. It is probably a big open secret that everybody knows but turn a blind eye to. To them, being robbed is probably like having a bad day at work and they are used to it. Furthermore in big countries like Malaysia or China, there is zero chance of getting their wallets back. I guess they would just consider it their bad luck and move on.

I observed that theft cases usually occurred at bus-stops or on buses. These 2 cases plus another theft attempt on my friend when I was in Chengdu, all occurred at bus-stops or buses. The similarity being that the thieves strike when people are shoving and squeezing up the bus. That’s when they will come in from behind. Otherwise, they would be lurking at the bus-stop, finding their “prey”. This is coming from my friend’s experience in China and today’s encounter in Malaysia.

Some tips which I thought might be useful when going overseas:
1. Keeping spare cash in another area, other than the wallet
2. Being aware of the surroundings

Lastly, I still recommend the “front pocket rule” (keeping important items in front pockets) until another audacious thief comes by.

Went to Johor Bahru with my family and relatives. Took a bus from Causeway point where there was no traffic jam, went to City Square. Shop around but did not find anything to buy. Have lunch at food junction, realised should have learn speaking basic malay which makes ordering food easier.

Realised JB changed alot since the last time i went there. Last time it is very crowded but now it’s quite empty.

Had dinner at Pizza Hut near Kortaraya Plaza. The price is same as SG but is in Ringgit so means it’s half price, but the taste not as good as Sg or Chengdu, but still quite value for money.

Small traffic jam when going home:)