Little India shrouded by haze

Little India shrouded by haze



Little India, one of the popular tourist attraction area located in the World Unesco Heritage Zone, is seen deserted thick smog blanketed Penang since this morning.

The normally congested Little India was deserted today as thick smog blanketed the Penang skyline since morning.

A check by the Sun at the popular heritage zone saw fewer people thronging the place unlike other weekends.

As the air quality deteriorated, most people preferred to stay indoors due to health concerns.

A check on the Department of Environment (DOE) website showed that all three monitoring stations in the state recorded an unhealthy reading since 11am.

As of 2pm, the Universiti Sains Malaysia monitoring station recorded 171 while at Seberang Jaya and Prai station recorded 177 and 149 respectively.

An API of 0 to 50 is good, 51 to 100 is moderate while anything over 300 is hazardous.

~News courtesy of The Sun~

Air quality in Peninsular Malaysia remains bad

Air quality in Peninsular Malaysia remains bad

Air quality remained bad today as the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia continued to be blanketed by a heavy shroud of haze, with many coastal cities recording an unhealthy reading on the Air Pollutant Index (API).

According to readings published on the Department of Environment's (DOE) website, six locations including Seremban, Malacca, and Putrajaya were rated as unhealthy (100-200) on the API as at 5pm today.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement today that the haze is caused by open burning of forests and land in Sumatera, Indonesia according to satellite images captured by the Singaporean based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The agency detected 132 hot spots in Kalimantan, Indonesia, alone, while only one hot spot was detected in Sumatera due to incomplete satellite coverage as of Sunday.

According to satellite coverage, the ministry said, the haze is expected to spread to Pahang and to east Johor in the next 48 hours while in East Malaysia the haze from Kalimantan is expected to spread to west Sarawak and the waters surrounding both Sabah and Sarawak in the same period of time.

The ministry said the country is still experiencing the southwest monsoon phase that is expected to end by mid-September and noted that the haze will likely dissipate by the monsoon transition phase in October.

Meanwhile, the Environment Department will continue monitoring the status and trend of air quality on an hourly basis due to the uncertain haze situation and increased hot spots in Sumatera and Kalimantan.

All government agencies relevant to haze disaster response have also stepped up efforts in preventing open burning locally that will worsen the already unhealthy air quality.

Local governments and land owners have also been instructed to closely monitor and take preventive actions in places that could easily catch fire such as waste disposal spots, forests, farm land, and industrial complexes.

Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar will also head to Indonesia as soon as possible to meet his counterpart there to discuss solutions and to finalise a memorandum of understanding on cross-border haze prevention.

~News courtesy of The Sun~

Happy Independence Day

Iconic public art pieces vandalised

Penang's iconic public art pieces vandalised



The mural painting in Lebuh Armenia was vandalised with #4.0 sign while local tourists look on.

GEORGE TOWN: Two popular public art pieces in the heart of the city have been vandalised early Wednesday morning.

One in Lebuh Armenian of two children on a bicycle was found painted with the symbols “#4.0” while a wire sculpture of a rickshaw in Lebuh Cannon was vandalised the same way.

The art installations were part of the Mirrors George Town street art project created by international artist Ernest Zacharevic for the George Town Festival in 2012.

Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng said close circuit television camera (CCTV) recordings showed the incident happened about 3am.

He said what happened was uncalled for and the culprit must be brought to justice.

“I understand the Penang Island City Council will be lodging a police report soon,” he said when contacted.

This is not the first time public art works in Penang have been vandalised with the same happening in August 2012.

Then, the same artwork in Lebuh Armenian was splattered with wax while a mural of a boy with his pet dinosaur at Lebuh Ah Quee was marred with black scribbles a few days later.

At time of writing, Northeast district police chief ACP Mior Faridalatrash Wahid said police have yet to receive a report of the incident.



The heritage structure in Lebuh Cannon vandalised with #4.0 sign.

~News courtesy of The Sun~

Trams could be back in as early as 2017

Trams could be back in Penang as early as 2017

The return of trams in Penang could be a reality by 2017.

This is because the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is set to propose it under the Land Public Transport (PAD) Act 2010 during the Parliament sitting in October.

The amendment would augur well with the state government's plan to revive the tram service of the late 19th century until 1936.

Under Penang's Master Transportation Plan, the state administration applied to the federal government for licences to run the tram services last year, as an alternative to LRT or monorail, that is not in compliance with Unesco's requirement in preserving George Town's historical sites.

However, for the past couple of years the plans for tram services by historical cities Penang and Malacca, have been held up as the federal government needed to put the appropriate legislation in place first.

SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal told theSun there is no provision in the current law on the pedestrian-friendly tram service in the country.

"For trams to be in service, it requires amendment to the relevant laws since trams share the same space on the roads with other vehicles. On our part, we are proposing an amendment to the PAD Act to accommodate the request by the local councils," he said.

Nur Ismal said tram is a unique mode of transportation unlike LRT, monorail and other rail services.

"Unlike monorail, you can just walk in or get on the tram on the street level. It is low-floor, ideal and much easier to take the trams. It can transport many people for short distances such as in the central business district (CBD) or city centre," he said.

Stating that SPAD welcomes local council's effort to initiate tram services, he added: "It must also use technology that is proven to be safe, reliable and efficient."

In 2011, Malacca government had proposed to build 40km tramways that would run on eco-green tram with NGV engine, covering 11 out of 14 tourist spots, from Ayer Keroh toll plaza to the Heritage Town of Malacca and later, to be extended to Alor Gajah, Merlimau, Jasin, Durian Tunggal and Masjid Tanah.

It is learned that Kuala Terengganu City Council has also outlined tram service as part of its local plan to boost tourism.

Earlier this year, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor voiced out the intention to introduce trams in KL's CBD in responsed to theSun's exclusive report on SPAD's proposal to introduce 'tuk-tuk' or motorised tricycle in suburban areas by year-end.

~News courtesy of The Sun~

Life on the track

Life on the track



The new train travels at 160 kilometres per hour, and stops at Arau, Alor Setar and Bukit Mertajam, ending its journey at KL Sentral station.

Kedah, Malaysia's northernmost state, will soon be connected with Kuala Lumpur through a fast electric train service (ETS) that comes into service in September. The journey will take four hours 15 minutes, providing a comfortable choice for travelling from the Northern state to the capital. 

Travellers from Thailand can travel overland through Sadao Checkpoint before jumping into the ETS at Padang Besar. The new train travels at 160 kilometres per hour, and stops at Arau, Alor Setar and Bukit Mertajam, ending its journey at KL Sentral station.

~News courtesy of The Nation~

Selamat hari raya