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

All airports are safe, says Liow

All airports are safe, says Liow

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has assured Malaysians that airports in the country are safe following tight security.

 "The airports are safe, and we will we will continue to strengthen our security," he told reporters after the launch of the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Sungai Long Campus).

This follows the Feb 13 murder of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2).

The 45-year-old half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was killed at KLIA2 when two women swiped his face with a liquid. 

The liquid has since been identified as the deadly nerve agent VX, a banned chemical weapon of mass destruction.

The airport was declared cleared of any trace of the VX nerve agent after a sweep by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), the Fire and Rescue Department and police early Sunday.

~News courtesy of The Star~

4,000 lanterns add to festive air in Penang

4,000 lanterns add to festive air in Penang



Path of prosperity: Lanterns brightening the way along Jalan Pasar in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Motorists travelling along several roads here will be greeted by 4,000 red lanterns put up by various associations and business owners in conjunction with Chinese New Year.

The satin lanterns with golden tassels can be seen along Jalan Pasar, Jalan Teh Cheok Sah, Jalan Datuk Ooi Chooi Cheng and Jalan Danby, giving the areas a festive atmosphere. Shop owners also joined in to brighten the mood by putting up red decorations at the entrances.

Penang Youth and Sports, Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Chong Eng said funding for the lanterns came from donations and also a RM40,000 allocation from her.

“So far, we’ve collected about RM260,000 in donations and whatever left over will be used to organise a drum festival to be held in the middle of the year.

“We hope to increase awareness on local culture and promote heritage value with such programmes,” she said before switching on the lanterns on Saturday night.

Thousands of people gathered in Jalan Pasar to witness the event. They also had fun watching the cultural dances and a lion dance on stilts performance.

The red lanterns, which will be up until mid-February, are lit from 7.30pm to 12.30am daily.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Tourism industry ecstatic at Penang making it into CNN Travel list

Tourism industry ecstatic at Penang making it into CNN Travel list



Hot spot: Foreign and local tourists alike strolling along the narrow streets in the George Town heritage enclave in search of good food, murals and bargains in Penang.

Tourism industry players are excited and pleased with Penang being named by CNN Travel as one of the 17 best places to visit in 2017.

Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter chairman Khoo Boo Lim said it was always good to be recognised inter­nationally.

“The accolade is a ‘strong’ marketing tool for hoteliers and agents to promote the state overseas.

“This will definitely help us to bring in more tourists who are keen to find out more about Penang. I am really happy about it,” he said.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had earlier said that the naming of Penang by CNN Travel makes Penang and Malaysia proud.

“This is good news to start the new year.

“I would like to congratulate and thank Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz for his help in promoting Penang’s tourism to the world,” he said.

Penang came in second after Prince Edward Island of Canada, and is one of the three destinations in Asia named on the list.

Penang has been described in the CNN Travel article (http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/06/travel/best-places-to-visit-in-2017/) published on Friday as a destination with one of Asia’s best street foods.

The article said Penang was arguably one of Asia’s best street food destinations. It offers a mix of traditional Malay, Chinese and Indian dishes, as well as fusion cuisines such as Baba Nyonya, or Peranakan, which incorporates regional ingredients and Chinese and Malay cooking methods.

Association of Tourism Attrac­tions Penang chairman Ch’ng Huck Theng said the industry players and state government had been working very hard to protect and promote the beauty of the state.

“We are reaping the rewards after years of hard work. We are also placed on top of many other lists for our food, culture, arts and the people,” he said.

Penang Hawker Association chairman Lam Tong Ying said he was proud that Penang made it into the list, especially with emphasis on Penang’s hawker food.

“Penang serves the best street food in Malaysia, and this is not the only thing we have, we also have nice food, nice scenery, nice seaside and nice people.

“These are what tourists love Penang for,” he added.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Happy New Year 2017