Far Eastern Economic Review to cease publication

The Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), one of Asia's most respected English-language news magazines, will close in December, its owner Dow Jones and Co. has announced.

"Unfortunately, despite several attempts at invigorating the brand, the Review's continued losses in advertising revenue and readers are now unsustainable," News Corp.-owned Dow Jones said in a statement.

It said the magazine, which was launched in 1946, "will cease publication in December so opinion and commentary resources from Asia can be expanded across all Dow Jones properties," which include The Wall Street Journal Asia.

Petronas coffee-break campaign returns on Sep 17

Petronas's Coffee Break campaign will be held at 32 selected Petronas stations nationwide for three days beginning September 17.

Entering its 10th anniversary, the campaign will offer more beverages and snacks with new partners coming onboard. 

NRD counters open at different times

The National Registration Department counters in Putrajaya and all state headquarters will be opened to the public from 9am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays beginning this month.

The time was changed from 8am to 1pm.

For Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, the working hours on Fridays are 9am to 12 noon and for Saturdays from 9am to 2pm, according to a statement by the Department.

Smart tunnel to be closed on Wednesday night

The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart) will be closed to all vehicles between 11pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday for the maintenance of the tunnel system, Smart said today.

Further enquiries can be made via Smart helpline at 1-300-88-7188. -- BERNAMA

Strong winds warning over Sabah and Malacca straits

The Meteorological Department has issued a first-category warning on the occurrence of strong winds and rough seas over Sabah waters and the northern part of the Straits of Malacca until Tuesday. In a statement, the department said strong southwesterly winds of 40 to 50km per hour, with waves of up to 3.5m are expected to occur over the waters off Kedah, Perlis, Langkawi, Kudat and the west coast of Sabah and Labuan. The condition is dangerous to small craft and sea sports, the statement said.

Strong winds of 50 to 60km per hour, with waves of up to 4.5m, which occurred over the northern waters off Sabah near Palawan island in the Philippines and Phuket, Thailand, as well as over Reef North, Condore and Layanglayang since Tuesday are expected to occur until Monday. -- Bernama

Strong quake strikes Java island, no tsunami threat to Malaysia

A powerful earthquake has caused buildings to sway in Indonesia’s capital and prompted a regional tsunami alert.

(The Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued an advisory that there is no tsunami threat to Malaysia -- ED).

The US Geological Survey says the quake struck Wednesday afternoon on the southern coast of the main island of Java with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4. It had a depth of 60km.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says it was powerful enough to cause a local tsunami. There have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Price of RON 95 at RM1.80 from Tuesday

The newly introduced RON 95 fuel is now priced at RM1.80 - five sen higher than the previous RM1.75.

Meanwhile, RON 97 is upgraded as a premium product and has gone up to RM2.05 from RM1.80.

Stamps with a photo of yourself for Hari Raya

Pos Malaysia has come out with a new stamp collection whereby consumers can print a photo of themselves on the stamps which can be used as greeting cards for the occasion.

Its marketing and customer service officer Karamjit Kaur Hakam Singh said in the ‘Setemku’ collection, there were four type of decorations on the stamp namely ‘Flower Bouquet’, ‘Teddy Bear’, ‘Heart’ and ‘National Icon’ for the customers to choose as a background.

Customers can take their photo at any post office or alternatively they can bring a soft copy of their photo in JPEG/TIFF format with the resolution of at least 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch).

The collection was launched on Aug 17 and has been well received by the customers especially with the coming of Aidilfitri and Merdeka celebrations.

The set of 20 stamps will be sold at RM19 for 30 sen domination and RM28 for 50 sen domination.

Phee: Avoid sea activities

The Meteorological Department has issued a warning on strong winds and waves up to 3.5m over the coastal waters of Perlis, Kedah and Penang from today till Tuesday.

Penang Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the high waves caused by strong northwesterly winds at the speed of 40kph to 50kph are expected.

“The condition of the strong winds and rough seas will be dangerous to small boats.

“The public should avoid recreational sea activities and any sea sports during the three days,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Pilot traffic project

A TRAFFIC decongestion pilot project in Pulau Tikus, which uses new measures including wheel clamps to deter illegal parking on road sides and five-foot ways, will be implemented at the end of next month in Penang.

Muslims to begin fasting on Saturday

Muslims in Malaysia will begin the Ramadan fast on Saturday, Aug 22.

Facemask prices now controlled

Facemask prices are now controlled at 7 sen each for 1ply, 20 sen each for 2ply, 80 sen each for 3ply and RM6 each for N95, with immediate effect, said Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

SMART tunnel to be closed on Wednesday night

The SMART tunnel will be closed to all vehicles from 11pm on Wednesday to 6am on Thursday for maintenance of the tunnel’s system.

Damage to submarine cables, slow surfing for Malaysians

Internet users in Malaysia may have trouble surfing websites hosted in the United States and Taiwan for the next couple of weeks due to damage to a submarine cable system.

Internet service provider TM said there would be slow connectivity after the Asia-Pacific Cable Network 2 (APCN2) submarine cable system was damaged by unknown causes.

The ISP has posted an alert on its website (www.tm.com.my) informing users of this, a company spokesman said.

The damage was first discovered in July. Internet connectivity was supposed to return to normal by Aug 16.

However, TM discovered two more faults which occurred on Aug 6 and Aug 12.

The last damage was detected near Taiwan but the cause has still not been ascertained.

Express buses to charge new fares during raya season

Express bus fares for the coming Aidilfitri celebrations will follow the new rate approved by the government on Aug 1, which is 8.5 sen per kilometre.

A surcharge of RM3 is allowed for tickets of additional express buses, said Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) chairman Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique. 

In a statement, she said the board would issue temporary licences to ensure there would be sufficient buses to cater to the public's demand. 

"Applications for the temporary licences will start from Aug 22 to Sept 18, whereby the licences will be valid seven days before Aidilfitri and seven days after (Sept 13 to 28)," she said. 

She added that only buses below 15 years old would be allowed as additional buses.

"No distance limit is imposed on buses below 12 years, but buses between 12 and 15 years are limited to a one-way trip of not more than 300km," she said. 

‘Two packets of sugar per family’

While hypermarkets and supermarkets are limiting amount of sugar a customer can buy, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association has called on enforcement officers to carry out their job diligently.

Several supermarkets here did not report any shortage of sugar although they have limited customers to a maximum of 4kg.

Switch to new stamp duty design

The old stamp duty design of the Inland Revenue Board’s (LHDN) was phased out on July 31.

The public could still convert their old stamp duty design to the new one between Aug 1 and Dec 31, said public relations officer Najlah Ishak in a statement yesterday.

“They can bring their old stamp duty design to any LHDN branch or service centres, along with two photocopies of their identity cards and fill in the conversion forms,” she said.

She added the denominations of the new design were RM1, RM5, RM10, RM50, RM100 and RM250 while the 10 sen, 15 sen, 50 sen, RM2, RM25 and RM1,000 denominations will be phased out.

For further information, contact the customer service centre at 1-300-88-3010.

RapidKL to discontinue daily pass system

RapidKL is discontinuing its daily pass system effective Sept 1, and commuters will now be charged according to the number of trips and the zones travelled in a day.

For local (feeder bus) routes, passengers will now be charged RM1 per trip, while for the main routes, the charge is RM1 to RM3 according to the number of zones travelled. There are four zones in all.

Presently, passengers on local and main routes pay RM1 and RM2 respectively for a daily pass, which allows unlimited travel in a day.

To ease the burden of commuters, RapidKL is introducing different types of monthly passes 
>> Local routes only – RM40 per month (new)
>> For all routes (local, city and main) – RM100 (up from RM80)
>> Integrated LRT and bus passes – RM150 (up from RM135)
>> Concession passes for senior citizens, schools kids and disabled persons for all routes – RM50 (new)

Suffian said the new monthly buses passes will be sold from Aug 20 onwards. 

He also announced that from September onwards, those using Touch ‘n’ Go cards to pay fares will no longer be able to do so on RapidKL buses due to upgrading works on the system.

RON95 petrol at 900 Shell stations by September

Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd is making rapid progress to roll out the RON95 petrol to all of its 900 stations across the country by September, said managing director Datuk Mohzani Abdul Wahab.

Speaking at a press conference after the launch of Shell Unleaded 95 here today, he said Shell Malaysia is aiming to reach out to one million motorists with the RON95 fuel to support the government's move to introduce the new fuel nationwide on September 1. 

The launch was officiated by Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. 

Marketed as Shell Unleaded 95, the fuel was first introduced at the Alisha Station along Federal Highway Batu 3 (Klang bound) on July 7. 

Mohzani, who is also the managing director of Shell Timur Sdn Bhd, said that Shell Malaysia is also planning to introduce another station with Shell Unleaded 95 by the first week of next month in Klang Valley.

"Customers at Alisha Station have been very receptive to the new fuel and we are very encouraged with the response. To assist with the introduction of the fuel, we have had staff stationed to assist customers seeking information," he added. 

RON95 is safe and suitable for most types of cars and is in accordance with EURO 2 emission specifications and thus, is environmental friendly. 
RON95 will replace RON92 and it is priced at RM1.75 sen per litre. 

No raise in rates

The Cabinet has decided to retain gas prices at their current level, and in line with this, also keep the average electricity rate at its current level until the end of the year.