More trains and buses for Raya

More trains and buses for Raya

The Transport Ministry hopes to add more trains and express buses to serve the balik kampung crowds during the coming festive season.

Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said he had already directed KTM Berhad to increase its services for the period.

“Most of the demand is from Kuala Lumpur to the northern states. So, they will be providing 27 trips daily to the northern states, some up to Padang Besar.

“There is a limit to how much we can increase for the time being, however, because we do not have enough train coaches,” he told reporters after launching the Hari Raya integrated operations and road safety campaign here yesterday.

The ministry, said Liow, was also working with express bus operators to try and increase the number of buses during the Hari Raya period.

However, he said there was a lack of bus drivers due to more stringent selection criteria.

Promoting safe trips: Liow talking to a passenger after launching the Hari Raya integrated operations and road safety campaign.

“(For some routes) we will need two drivers to take turns because of the long distance.

“These are among the shortcomings we have during the Raya season but we will work towards overcoming them,” he said.

On the road accident statistics for last year, Liow said the numbers had increased, especially for fatalities.

“Last year, we had 521,466 road accidents compared to 489,606 previously.

“The number of fatalities from road accidents showed a sudden increase – going up to 7,152 deaths last year compared to 6,706 in 2015.

“During the two-week road safety campaign last year, police recorded 20,982 accidents, with 299 deaths,” he said.

As over 60% of the fatalities involved motorcyclists, Liow said this year’s campaign would focus on raising awareness among this group of road users.

“None of these statistics mean that the previous campaign have failed. If you look at the ratio of accidents to registered vehicles, that has actually gone down.

“We went from four deaths for every 10,000 vehicles in 2010 to 2.59 deaths for every 10,000 vehicles last year.

“In developed countries, the ratio is two deaths for every 10,000 vehicles and we aim to reach this by 2020,” he said.

This year's road safety campaign, with the theme “Pandu Cermat Sampai Selamat” will run for two weeks and includes advocacy as well as enforcement of road safety rules and regulations.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Matta supports tourism tax

Matta supports tourism tax, but ...



The Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (Matta) is urging the Government to delay the rollout of the impending Tourism Tax (TTx), or at least parts of it.

While saying the association is behind the tax, its president Datuk Hamzah Rahmat said the Aug 1 implementation date may not be an ideal time.

The TTx will not only affect domestic tourists, but also Malaysians who have to travel for other purposes such as studies, medical treatments or family obligations.

"Those people who have to travel will have to travel, and they will be forced to pay for it. It doesn’t just affect tourists," he said on Wednesday.

Hamzah suggests the TTx be imposed on 4-star and 5-star hotels first, but be deferred on lower-rated hotels, hostels and accommodation premises to a later date.

“I’m not saying that this tax shouldn't be imposed at all, but now is not the time for it,” he said.

Hamzah added that domestic travel is currently picking up due to the high cost of overseas travel, and he was concerned that an additional tax would deter Malaysians from travelling domestically.

The Penang, Langkawi and Malacca state governments are already charging RM2 to RM9 depending on the type of hotel the guest is staying in.

Passed as part of the Tourism Tax Bill 2017, TTx will see local and international tourists paying a levy to the operators of accommodation premises.

The tax rate is fixed and charged on a per-room, per-night basis.

The rates are RM20 for five-star accommodations, RM10 for four-star accommodations, RM5 for one- to three-star accommodations, and RM2.50 for non-rated accommodations, including budget hotels.

Engineer Lim Chze Hong, 33, who travels twice a month for work, said the TTx would be an unnecessary burden for Malaysians and should only be imposed on foreign tourists.

"It is an extra burden on top of the funds we need to spend to travel outstation for work, regardless if the rooms are paid for by the company or not.

“If this is a ‘tourism tax’, then they should not impose the tax on anyone who books a room using their MyKad,” he said.

Meanwhile, 41-year-old writer Vivan Chong said that she wouldn't mind paying the tax if the revenue was used to develop the local tourism industry.

She however asked if there are solid plans in place regarding the funding.

"The rates are not a burden money-wise, but I think the real question is, who is this supposed to benefit in the first place and why are we being taxed for already contributing to the economy by travelling locally," she added.

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had said that the tax revenue would be spent mainly on tourism and infrastructure development throughout the country.

He said the tax was necessary because the Government needed to mitigate uncertainties in the oil-and-gas industry, adding that the Government was expected to collect about RM800mil annually through the new tax.

~News courtesy of The Star~

AirAsia warns of ticket scams

AirAsia warns of ticket scams

AirAsia is warning the public of a scam using its brand name on social media.

In the scam, free tickets are offered through an online survey and participants are directed to the website www.airasia.com-2017-givea.us where they are required to answer a few questions to redeem vouchers.

There is also another scam circulating on Facebook offering 268 free AirAsia tickets in conjunction with AirAsia’s 28th anniversary.

In a press statement released yesterday, AirAsia stressed that the two social media posts are scams.

“The public is strongly advised to ignore those posts and not click on any link or provide any personal information, as AirAsia is not held liable for any claims pertaining to the false schemes,” said the statement.

All official announcement will be made through AirAsia’s official channel and credible mass media, it added.

Should the public encounter any suspected scams or would like clarification, please access www.facebook.com/airasia, www.twitter.com/airasia or www.airasia.com/ask.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Floating mosque to hold feast on June 22

Floating mosque to hold feast on June 22



Welcoming sight: The floating mosque in Tanjung Bungah will be hosting a feast to mark Lailatul Qadar.

The mosque qariah committee of the Tanjung Bungah floating mosque will hold a kenduri (feast) after breaking of fast and terawih prayers on June 22.

Committee deputy chairman Badarul Jamal Mohd Ariffin said the feast, which falls on the 27th day of Ramadan, is to commemorate the auspicious time of Lailatul Qadar when the Quran was revealed.

“Everyone is welcome to join us. After breaking fast, we will invite preachers to deliver sermons and also recite the Quran,” he said in an interview here yesterday.

Badarul Jamal said during the Ramadan month, the mosque provides break fast meals for about 100 people daily, followed by nightly terawih prayers and Quran recitals.

The picturesque Tanjung Bungah floating mosque’s minaret is seven storeys high.

From the air, its star-shaped design is evident, while concealed pilings and stilts below give it a floating effect.

Inspired by Moorish architecture, the mosque, which stretches over 70m out to sea from the shoreline, was built at the cost of RM15mil to replace an older mosque which was damaged by the 2004 tsunami.

Orderly rows of fishing boats floating around the mosque preserve its heritage as a fishermen’s place of worship to this day. Over 1,500 Muslims can answer the call to prayer at any one time at the mosque.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Hot, dry days until September

Hot, dry days until September

The southwest monsoon has brought with it hotter and drier weather to peninsular Ma­­laysia and Sarawak.

Malaysian Meteorological Depart­ment (MetMalaysia) director-general Alui Bahari said the monsoon season started yesterday.

He said the southwest monsoon came after the end of the inter-monsoon period which brought heavy rains to the peninsula last month.

The monsoon is expected to last until September.

“Generally, during the southwest monsoon, the country will experience lower rainfall in the peninsula and Sarawak,” Alui said in an email.

He said there would be more dry days ahead than wet ones in these two areas during this period.

“But Sabah will receive more rain than other states” he added.

According to the MetMalaysia website, there are four seasons in Malaysia - the southwest monsoon (May to September), northeast monsoon (early November to March), and two inter-monsoon seasons in between.

Rain is only expected to return in October during the next inter-monsoon period.

The northeast monsoon will bring heavy rain to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, west Sarawak and the northeast of Sabah.

Meanwhile, to escape the hot weather, more people have been seeking shelter in shopping malls

Malaysia Shopping Malls Asso­ciation adviser HC Chan said families would spend more time in malls when the weather got hotter.

“They will have many options in­­clu­­ding going to the restaurants and shops to escape the heat,” he said.

Chan said since the hot spell began recently, there has been a 10% increase in the number of visitors to shopping malls in the Klang Valley.

~News courtesy of The Star~

PLUS highway tolls go cashless

PLUS highway tolls go cashless



Traffic snarl: Motorists stuck in traffic jam on the first day of toll plazas going cashless.

KUALA LUMPUR: All tolls on PLUS highways are now fully electronic and no cash payments will be accepted.

PLUS Malaysia Berhad managing director Datuk Azman Ismail said as of yesterday, PLUS highway users were required to pay toll with PlusMiles card, Touch ‘n Go (TnG) Card, SmartTag, or MyKad equipped with TnG chips.

“The objective of a fully electronic system is to ensure a smoother and faster toll transaction and a more comfortable journey for road users,” said Azman.

“The electronic toll collection system is 300% faster than the manual cash system.”

A SmartTag lane can cater up to 1,000 vehicles per hour and a TnG lane, 600 vehicles per hour, compared with only 180 vehicles per hour at a manual cash lane, he added.

Azman said the migration to full electronic toll collection system was implemented by PLUS in stages since 2008.

The affected highways, which have a total of 94 toll plazas, are the North-South Expressway (NSE), North-South Expressway Central Link, New Klang Valley Expressway, Federal Highway Route 2, Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, Malaysia–Singapore Second Crossing and Penang Bridge.

Speaking at a press conference at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza, Azman said that feedback and the level of awareness from highway users on the cashless system have been positive, with a 92% penetration nationwide.

He added that PLUS has been running campaigns and advertisements to create awareness on the migration to the new system.

Lanes to top up and purchase TnG cards will be opened for 24 hours at all toll plazas.

PlusMiles cards are also available at all PLUS Customer Service Centres operating at selected toll plaza offices.

Meanwhile, Azman gave an assurance that all existing PLUS toll booth attendants numbering more than 2,000 would not be affected and that some would be redeployed to nearby toll plazas to assist with the new system.

Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Syahrunizam Samsudin said there were no plans to reduce the price of the SmartTag (RM127.20) or TnG card (RM10.60, without pre-loaded value).

He also clarified that the service charge to top up a TnG card and the cap on the reload amount were business models of respective retailers, and customers always have the options to reload their cards elsewhere.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Penang International Food Festival 2017