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.

Pos M'sia to produce stamps on children’s rights

Pos Malaysia Berhad will produce stamps and first-day envelopes on children's themes to create a sense of social awareness on their rights, as outlined by the United Nations Children's Fund.

In view of this, it has printed four visual designs for a 30sen stamp, and a single design for a RM1 stamp.

In all, there are 800,000 pieces of 30sen stamps; 120,000 pieces (RM1), 45,000 (first-day envelopes) and 1,000 folders.

The stamps are available from Friday. - Bernama

Long dead and forgotten

BENEATH this stone lie the remains of Francis Light Esq who first established this Island as a British Settlement. Died 21st October 1794.’

Although it is more then two centuries old, the black words are still clear on the marble grave that houses the remains of Captain Francis Light — the founder of the Prince of Wales Island.

Illegal traders cash in

UNLICENSED traders are cashing in on the Deepavali festive season at Little India in George Town, Penang, raising the ire of shopkeepers who are already feeling the pinch due to the economic slowdown.

The 150-odd resident traders are urging the Penang Municipal Council to take action against the unlicensed traders numbering about 20.

All set for island event

THE sixth Perhentian Island Challenge to be held at Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Terengganu, from Oct 9 to 11 has been changed to an individual competition instead of a team event in an effort to keep it interesting.

The challenge, organised by PIC Adventures, has so far received encouraging response with more than 500 participants registered.

It is the biggest event since its inception in 2004, when only 103 participants registered.

There are four categories — men’s elite, women’s elite, men’s novice and women’s novice — this time around.

Aglow with cheer

A DOWNPOUR lasting more than three hours did not dampen the high spirits of some 700 spectators who converged on the Esplanade in George Town for the Lantern Festival on Saturday night.

Instead of a sea of colourful lanterns, there was a sea of umbrellas at the site and some events like a lion dance on stilts had to be cancelled.

A(H1N1) still active despite reduction in cases

Influenza A(H1N1) is still active and spreading in the community despite a reduction in cases of late, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.

He advised the public to take precautions and abide by the guidelines set by the ministry, and to refrain from visiting crowded areas.

“The are no new deaths from the flu and the death toll remains at 77,” he said in a statement on Monday.

He said 123 influenza-like illness (ILI) patients were admitted while 106 more were discharged on Monday.

Pay less for parking with Touch 'n' Go card at LRT station

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) will be testing the Touch 'n' Go payment system at Taman Paramount LRT station, Petaling Jaya starting Monday.

Customers using the Touch 'n Go card to pay parking charges can then use the same card when boarding RapidKL's LRT or bus, it said in a statement today.

It said upon exiting the car park on their return, they have to use the same card again to entitle them to a maximum of RM3 a day parking charge.

If the customers use the Touch 'n Go card to pay parking charges but not the RapidKL's LRT or bus fares, they will be charged RM2 for the first one hour and subsequently RM1 per hour for parking.

The payment system is on trial run for three months. The system will be implemented at the other LRT stations if it is successful.

Penang Hill railway upgrade to start soon

The RM60 million upgrading of the Penang Hill Railway will start at the end of the month and be completed before the end of 2010, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said today.

The project would involve replacing the whole rail system with a more modern one for long-term efficiency, he told reporters after attending a Hari Raya open house in Kampung Paya Tok Akil here.

The funicular railway service up the hill would be stopped and other modes of transport like vans would be used until the project was completed, he said.

Sumatra quake: AirAsia helps out with charity flight

Anxious family members and rescue teams have snapped up all free air tickets on the Jakarta-Padang charity flight by AirAsia on Sunday.

The 260 tickets, to and from Padang, were booked up within 20 minutes of AirAsia putting them up on its website at 9am Friday, said AirAsia group regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan.

Lantern procession for a good cause

A MID-Autumn Festival lantern procession will be held in Penang for a charitable cause on Saturday.

Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai said the 1.5km procession would start at 7.30pm from Gurney Plaza on Kelawei Road and end at Mr. Pot Cafe on Gurney Drive at about 8.45pm.

“Funds raised will be given away to five charitable organisations,” he told a press conference.

He said children from the charitable organisations would also take part in the procession, adding that free lanterns would be given to children who register for the event.

Koay encouraged Malaysians from all races to take part in the event which was aimed at introducing and promoting Chinese culture apart from celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival which is also known as the Mooncake Festival.

Among the activities lined up are chingay performances, cultural shows, a band parade, clown performances, a magic show, dragon and lion dances, and a float procession.

Koay said 10 hawker food stalls would be set up where the procession ends.

Penang expands market for medical tourism

PENANG is set to become a world-renowned medical tourism hub with Europe, the United States and Papua New Guinea emerging as new potential markets.

State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said the state’s medical tourism was currently well known among regional tourists from the Asean and the Middle East markets.

He said tourists from western countries were attracted to the medical tourism industry here as they would only be paying about a fifth of the total medical costs in their respective countries.

“We plan to expand the market to cater to tourists from Europe where surgery fees are exorbitant compared to our rates.

“For instance, a tooth extraction may cost about RM6,000 in Europe while over here, the Europeans only need to pay less than RM1,000,” he told reporters at the ‘World Tourism Day’ press conference at Traders Hotel in Penang on Sunday.

A(H1N1): No new deaths, 70 new patients

There were no new deaths related to Influenza A(H1N1) reported over the past 24 hours, keeping the death toll in the country since Sept 19 at 77.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said that 110 new patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms were warded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of those being treated in hospitals nationwide to 843.

Immigration bigwig, officers transferred on 24hr notice

The assistant director of Immigration heading operations at the Penang International Airport, Fatimah Hashim, and 12 officers have been transferred out on 24-hour notice effective Thursday.

State Immigration director Abdul Rahman Harun said the action was taken following the case of passengers on a Hong Kong-bound flight being stranded for 55 minutes on Sept 28 because no Immigration officers were on duty.

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.

Jetstar to double S’pore-Penang flights

Jetstar Asia plans to double the frequency of its Singapore-Penang flights to twice a day tomorrow. The new route was launched on July 1.

The new route marked the 17th destination for the low-cost airline that now services four Malaysian cities — Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Penang.

“Jetstar services on the Singapore-Penang route will expand to double daily or 14 times weekly from tomorrow,” said Jetstar Asia chief executive officer Chong Phit Lian in a media statement.

Quake in Sumatra, tremors in Malaysia

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale struck off the city of Padang off the coast of southern Sumatra at about 6.17pm on Wednesday, causing tremors as far away as peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

The earthquake which damaged houses, brought down bridges and buildings and caused fires in Padang, also caused people to evacuate buildings in various towns and cities in Malaysia.

The epicentre of the quake was about 481km southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

Dried cuttlefish contaminated with cadmium: CAP

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) said its tests have found dried cuttlefish contaminated with cadmium.

CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris said random tests conducted on samples of cuttlefish found that the amount of cadmium exceeded the safety level.

He said the amount of cadmium detected in the samples tested ranged from 0.33 to 4.33 parts per million (PPM); according to the Food Regulations Act 1985 the amount of cadmium present in food should not exceed 1.00 ppm.

Should drivers renew licence once in 5 years?

The Transport Ministry will study the existing practice of allowing drivers to renew their licence once in every five years, said the minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

He said the drivers involved in accidents would not be easy to detect they went to renew their licence.

“This is the loophole in law enforcement we must study thoroughly. We want to know how many of them really pay their fines and what is the general attitude of the people when they are served with summonses,” he said after launching the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) Malaysia Report at Hilton Hotel here Tuesday.