Last call for citizenship applicants

The Home Ministry is offering a last chance to over 2,000 citizenship applicants who have changed their addresses to check their names on the ministry’s official website and attend the mandatory interview sessions from Oct 12-14.

The ministry’s National Registration and Societies Division secretary Datin Jariah Mohd Said said its notices to 2,303 people for the interviews under Section 19 (1) of the Federal Constitution had been returned unopened as they were no longer residing at the addresses listed when the applications were submitted.

She said the division understood that the applicants might have had to move out of the listed premises because these were applications submitted from 1997-2006, but added that they should have informed the National Registration Department of such changes.

Malaysia allows unskilled, semiskilled migrants

Unlike many countries that favour only skilled migrants and put up barriers against unskilled workers, it is a different picture in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Government allows unskilled and semiskilled migrants to work in the country, most of whom are in the construction, plantation and service sectors, as well as domestic care, said United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Malaysia Kamal Malhotra.

"Economic migration can be a win-win proposition and it is fairly evident in the Malaysian case.

German photographer’s book on old Malaya and Singapore

A pictorial book showcasing old photographs of Malaya and Singapore captured by German photographer Charles J. Kleingrothe in the early 20th century was launched on Thursday.

Titled Malay Peninsula: Old Photographs of Malaya and Singapore, the clothbound limited edition book, containing 139 photographs from the personal collection of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, was launched by the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah.

Najib: Port Dickson is now 'Army Town'

Port Dickson made history today when it was announced as Army Town by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The announcement was made in recognition of the contributions of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), the Army in particular, as Port Dickson has produced many army recruits.

"The government will implement a number of projects here to lend more meaning to this announcement of Port Dickson as Army Town. We will leave it to the Defence Minister, the Armed Forces chief and Army chief to suggest to the government what we should do," Najib said at an Aidilfitri function at the Army Basic Training Centre (Pusasda) Square, here, today.

Three new routes for AirAsia in India

AIRASIA, Asia's leading low cost airline, will fly to Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata come December, in a move to expand its network in India.

AsiaAsia Group's Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said AirAsia was flying now to Tiruchirappalli and would spread its wings to other destinations in India this year.

Laksa joins in food fight

Another dish has joined the food fight. This time it’s laksa — especially assam laksa which is otherwise known as Penang laksa — which is close to the hearts and palates of Penangites.

Although over time, many stalls have added a ‘lemak’ version to the laksa dish, to many, Penang laksa is still the best.

This is why Penangites were curious why Penang Laksa was not included in the list of 100 types of heritage food and drinks on the National Heritage website (www.warisan.gov.my).

Lantern Festival to be made an annual event to boost tourism

The 1Malaysia Lantern Festival will be made an annual event and promoted as one of the country’s tourism products, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Malaysian celebration and hospitality

Tourism Malaysia has launched a new programme that allows tourists to join locals in their festive celebrations in real settings.

The Mega Familiarisation programme was launched simultaneously at six homestays nationwide in conjunction with the Hari Raya celebrations.

It saw the participation of more than 100 tourists, including media representatives from 13 countries.

Programme coordinator, Norma-hani Ahmad, who is also Tourism Malaysia senior tourism officer, said the programme was launched at the homestays in Kampung Walai Tokou (Sabah), Kampung Santubong (Sara wak), Sungai Pasu (Pahang), Kam pung Pachitan (Negri Sembilan), Kampung Seterpa (Kelantan) and Kampung Wang Tok Rendong (Kedah).

“The programme offers tourists products like experiencing the Hari Raya celebration in Malaysia,” she told reporters after welcoming 19 German tourists and media representatives from Brazil at Kampung Wang Tok Rendong yesterday.

She said the tourists were placed with adopted families at the homestays to enable then to experience village life where they would participate in various activities like making ketupat and lemang. – Bernama

Celcom network failure caused by heavy traffic volume

Celcom’s disrupted phone lines nationwide were gradually restored some 10 hours after the interruptions occurred.

“The failure was mainly due to heavy call volume which had increased by five folds during Aidilfitri,” said Celcom chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly.

Other services such as SMS, email, GPRS, mobile broadband, roaming, IDD, and calls to other networks and fixed lines were unaffected.

As a result, some of its major network nodes experienced sudden overloading, causing a loss of signal between the nodes located at Kepong and Perda, Seberang Perai.

A call to the mobile service provider’s careline yesterday morning revealed their phone lines had been down since morning.

A pre-recorded voice message informed subscribers that they would experience some “disruption in taking and making calls in some parts of peninsular Malaysia”.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” said the message.

A customer care consultant said there was a “network problem” affecting the whole country, including Sabah and Sarawak.

Tourist arrivals up 4.4p.c.

Despite the outbreak of Influenza A(H1N1) and the global economy downturn, tourist arrivals to Malaysia went up 4.4% in the first eight months of this year compared with 2008, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

From January to August, the number of tourists who visited Malaysia increased to 14.73 million from 15.38 million in the same period last year.

In the month of August alone, tourist arrivals rose by 10.4% to 2.03 million from 1.84 million last year.

Malaysia ranks fourth in duty-free shopping, survey reveals

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia ranks fourth in duty-free shopping in Asia Pacific with an average expenditure of US$195 per traveller, higher than Japan, Australia and New Zealand, according to the latest Visa Travel Smart Survey.

The survey found that South Korean and Chinese travellers spent the most on duty-free items with an average expenditure of US$358 and US$333 each respectively. Hong Kong travellers ranked third, spending an average US$224 each.

The Visa Travel Smart Survey queried 2,226 travellers from across the Asia Pacific region on their travel spending habits from Sept 26 to Nov 15 last year at Singapore’s Changi Airport.

ATP set to boost Malaysia Truly Asia brand

The Malaysia Truly Asia brand is set to gain priceless global publicity at the Proton Malaysian Tennis Open, which is part of the ATP World Tour 250 series.

The famous catch phrase will be featured on the Hawk-Eye challenge system, which is the electronic line-calling system used when a player challenges a call on court.

Tournament director Nick Freyer said the system, to be used during the Malaysian Open from Saturday to Oct 4, would be officially known as the “Malaysia Truly Asia Review”.

“Every time a player challenges a call on the centre court, the ‘Malaysia Truly Asia Review’ will swing into action around the world, on televisions across the country and in faraway places, and the four giant screens at the stadium.

Express bus operators get warning on incomplete tickets

The Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) will take action against express bus operators that issue incomplete ticket information and those not following stipulated schedules and routes.

Its chairman Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique said passengers should check that their bus tickets had the information on the fare, name of the bus company and the date and time of departure before purchasing them.

KLIA to facilitate seamless connection

KL International Airport (KLIA) will introduce facilities called "Next Generation Hub" that enable passengers to connnect seamlessly between all types of carriers and between different types of terminals.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) announced this at the 15th World Route Development Forum that took place in Beijing from Sept 13 to 15, the company said in a statement today.

MAHB general manager (marketing) Sallauddin Mat Sah said KLIA''s Next Generation Hub would provide the passenger with "tools to plan an itinerary that best suit his or her needs, as well as the physical infrastructure to integrate and enable connections between full service and low cost carriers".

The airport operator said there was already a growing trend of passengers who self-connect between the Main Terminal Building and Low Cost Terminal at KLIA.

A study had revealed that there were at least 500 self-connect passengers per day or 1,000 passenger movements, representing an annual market of over 180,000 passengers, it added.

It said KLIA was well positioned as a Next Generation Hub as the airport offered both the largest volume of routes and traffic carried out by low cost carriers, making it a market leader in the sector in the Asia Pacific Region and globally.

Toll-free drive on KL-Karak and East Coast Expressways

Motorists can drive toll-free on the KL-Karak and East Coast expressways on Sept 18 and Sept 24, between midnight and 5am, says MTD Group President Chief Executive Officer Azmil Khalid.

1Malaysia F1 team to be formed

The 1Malaysia F1 Team, a joint venture between the Government and private sector, will participate in the F1 race beginning next year, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said the project involved the combined expertise of Proton and Lotus with the support of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), Motorsports Association of Malaysia, Naza Motor and AirAsia.

Toll discounts for motorists during Hari raya

The North-South Highway Project (PLUS) will be offering up to 20 percent discount on toll charges to Class 1 motorists using the North-South Expressway and ELITE in conjunction with Aidilfitri celebrations.

PLUS Expressways Chief Operations Officer Nik Airina Nik Jaffar said the discount would be valid from midnight to 7am on Sept 16, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25.

"The discount will be an addition to the current 10 percent discount enjoyed by Class 1 motorists using both highways at off-peak hours daily," she said at a news conference, here Friday.

Nik Airina also advised motorists to follow the Proposed Travel Schedule which was introduced by PLUS Expressways two years ago.

He said the schedule enforced was for six days starting on Sept 18, 19, 22, 23, 26 and 27.

Balik kampung rush: 1,200 buses tested for safety

The Road Transport Department has inspected some 1,200 express buses over the pass 10 days to ensure their roadworthiness during the “balik kampung” (homecoming) exodus this coming Hari Raya.

Its director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said some 2,000 enforcement officers are currently carrying out inspections of the tires and brakes of some 5,081 express buses to ensure they meet road safety requirements.

“The inspections involve some 5,081 buses used by 257 transport companies and we have so far inspected 1,200 since beginning the operation 10 days ago,” he told reporters here after holding a dialogue with express bus operators at Akademi JPJ Tiang Dua on Thursday.

He said 10 buses were found with brake problems while another 79 were found using worn out tires.

Tourism products under audit to improve quality

The Tourism Ministry is auditing its tourism products in an effort to enhance their quality.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the audit would be conducted through the innovation centre of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

“The results of the audit will be presented to stakeholders with a view to improve the tourism products,” Dr Ng said in her speech read out by ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng at the National Tourism Seminar 2009 here yesterday.

The seminar, themed “Optimising Excellence in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure” was organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute.

Stop sales of so-called Christmas lights: CAP

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) wants the sale of decorative lights originally known as Christmas lights to be stopped immediately as they can cause electric shocks and are potential fire hazards.

CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris said with festive seasons lasting from now until the end of February next year, several shops were selling the lights with various names such as running, chasing, net and rope lights, depending on the configuration and the animation effects.

“A survey conducted by CAP recently at several popular shopping centres showed none of the lights sold had the certificate of approval from the Energy Commission as there was no such label on the boxes.

“When we took the products back and tried them, some failed to function properly and with one, the components were dislodged and fell apart,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Mohamed Idris said the decorative lights usually come in sets of 30 to 800 miniature bulbs strung up in a chain, rope or net formation, their lighting effects adjustable with a control device. Some also had accompanying music.

“The latest products even include cardboard or paper cut-outs to suit the festival,” he said.

He said that CAP had been raising the issue with the authorities for nearly 30 years, but to no avail.

“I hope the Commission, Sirim, the Customs Department and the Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Ministry will stop the import and sale of these items immediately,” he added.