Penang To Learn From Japan and Hong Kong On Public Transport

Chow-Kon-Yeow-GEORGE TOWN: Penang will tap into Japanese expertise to manage its future mass transit infrastructure, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

Chow said private Japanese rail companies were highly profitable as they ran a sustainable operations regime, which Penang hoped to emulate closely.

“A major reason for the success of Tokyo’s private rail lines is because they diversified their businesses beyond transportation into real estate holdings and retail outlets.

“Rather than relying strictly on farebox revenue and ads, the transit system in Penang should also develop other revenue sources, just as the Japanese private railways have done successfully.

“For this reason, we will look to Japan for its sustainable operations regime for mass transit infrastructure,” he said in a briefing on Penang’s Transport Master Plan (PTMP) to some 50 reps of Japanese companies operating in the state.

Also present were Embassy of Japan in Malaysia Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Yoshinori Kodama and Japan Consul-General to Penang, Kiyoshi Itoi. They were accompanied by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Penang plans to build its own Light Rail Transport (LRT) and other modes of public transport via PTMP.

The RM27 billion project will be financed by creating three artificial islands south of Penang Island.

The PMTP includes a 5-in-1 transport solution encompassing an undersea tunnel; a cable car service across the channel; ferries and water-taxis; light rail transit and monorail; including buses, taxis and highways.

Earlier, 48 representatives from 31 Japanese companies based in Penang participated in the seminar on PTMP. It was hosted by PTMP’s project delivery partner, SRS Consortium.

GEORGE TOWN, June 13 — Penang hopes to secure a conditional approval for its first railway scheme connecting Bayan Lepas to Komtar by next month, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

The local government committee chairman said SRS Consortium, the project delivery partner (PDP) for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), met with Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) last week.

“The meeting went well and seemed favourable,” he told reporters after a PTMP briefing with Japanese delegates at Komtar this morning.

Chow added that a July approval for the proposed Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) would allow the state to proceed with a three-month public inspection beginning August, to allow public feedback.

The Bayan Lepas LRT project, along with the pan island highway link and the reclamation of two islands off southern Penang, are part of the first phase of the PTMP implementation.

Chow also said that once SPAD grants the approval, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up to administer the implementation of these projects.


The SPV will be a government entity that that will also be tasked with facilitating city planning, development, promotion and management of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, he said.

Chow added that the state hopes to commence construction on the Bayan Lepas line - the first phase of the LRT project - by next year. Operations for the first phase should begin by 2023 while the full line should be operational by 2030, he said.

Earlier, during a question and answer session, SRS Consortium business development senior manager Andrew Chan said it will take up to three years before they could have land to sell under the PSR to fund the PTMP.

He said they can proceed with construction of the LRT and highway project first but would still need to time it with the sale of lands from the reclamation.

“We will depend on bridging financing first to fund the reclamation and construction of the LRT and after the third year, we will have lands to sell to fund the project,” he said.

When asked about sustainability of the future transport assets, Chow said the transport system will not rely strictly on farebox revenue and advertisements.

“We are looking at property development to generate another revenue source to sustain the transport assets, like in Japan and Hong Kong. I think Hong Kong’s MTR is known more as a property developer than as the LRT operator,” he said.

Source: The Malay Mail

A Malaysian In Singapore

The post, though written in a listicle format, is surprisingly poetic – especially when she talks about her personal experience when she first came to Singapore alone at 19 to work. Her post has garnered over 1,900 reactions and has been shared over 766 times at time of writing – quite an impressive feat for 3 day old Facebook post.

She shares with her readers (or, ‘friends’, as she refers to them) the reality of working in Singapore – from the amount of money needed to survive, to the types of permits foreign workers hold, to asking if their urge to work in Singapore is simply for pride’s sake, since scrimping and saving in Malaysia might earn them similar rewards.

Here’s our translation:

#latenightinspiration #workinginsingapore #tips #thingsyouneedtoknow

I still remember I was 19 when I came to Singapore alone for work.

The first job had a basic salary of S$700 – I had to OT to death to get the salary I’m earning now.

Along this journey,

I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t miss home;

saying that I’m not feeling sad when I’m sick and alone is lying to my parents;

eating instant noodles for 3 consecutive weekends and pretending I’m not hungry is also a lie I tell myself.

But since you want to earn 3 times the amount of money,

you need to work at least 3 times as hard!

Especially in a financially-advanced country like Singapore,

I’d suggest you find another route if you want to enjoy and yet earn 3 times the salary.

When you think about home expenses,

when you think about buying clothes, bags, shoes and plane tickets,

do you also realise that by earning and saving back in Malaysia, you can get them too?

Did anyone force you to come to Singapore to work at gunpoint, or is it simply for your pride?

Even though I’m simply a young person in society,

but I still wish to give some piece of advice to those who have just arrived in, or are planning to come to Singapore to work:

• Please prepare a resume before coming to find a job: a person with a proper resume will always succeed over someone who calls and says, “Hello, are there any job vacancies? I’m Malaysian, do you hire Malaysians?”
• Please do not use your Malaysian educational background to ask for a higher salary: do you think Singaporeans have lower education levels? Or do you think they aren’t as skilled in verbal communication?
• Please ensure that you can afford at least one month of living expenses before coming down (1 month of rent + 1 month of deposit + 1 month of food expenses + 1 month of transport expenses)
• Holding the same job for over 6 months can help you avoid taxes from the government, and is also good for your resume (even if you change your work permit, the record follows you)
• If you came to Singapore for a friend/relative/significant other with plans to live with each other, you’re simply wasting your time. Yes, you thought about the other person, but will the other person think of you? *Bosses very rarely hire sisters or friends because when one runs, the other does too.
• Don’t be limited by locations, Singapore’s public transport makes travel very convenient. “I want to find a place in Yishun because my boyfriend lives there”, “I want to find a place in Jurong, so I can live between M’sia and S’pore”, “I want to find a place near town, it feels more high class”. Why don’t ask for a job at the house next door then?
• When starting at your job, never ask your boss to lend you money, even if it gets tough. Once you ask, you’re done for.
• Malaysians need to be 18 years old before coming to Singapore to work.
• You must have a work permit before starting work, or else your boss and colleagues would be fined.
• You can’t do part-time jobs with your permit – if found out, you’ll be fined.
• You need to have a medical examination before applying for a permit. Those with diabetes, heart disease and other serious illnesses would not be allowed to get their permits. Most importantly, get appropriate spectacles if you are short-sighted.
• The company needs 2 Singaporeans’ CPF before they can hire 1 Malaysian.
• Levies are subject to grades: If foreign workers account for 25-40% of your company, and if you don’t have SPM, then the levy would be S$700. 10-25% would bring it to S$550, and those below 10% would be S$420. (With SPM, the amount would be cut by S$100, and so on)
• What is considered a pass in SPM: This is subject to approval. Even though the Malaysian government says that failing Bahasa Melayu and Sejarah means that you don’t possess SPM, an official from Ministry of Manpower (MOM) would sometimes accept it on a case-by-case basis. *You must have at least one pass. The transcript must be original with the green-coloured paper and the education ministry’s logo. Transcripts on white paper will not be accepted.
• A diploma in welding can only be used to reduce levies in a welding factory!
• Renting a HDB in Singapore: 1 room costs around S$700-1,000; sharing a room with 1 person would cost around S$250-350.
• The landlord will definitely ask for your temporary permit or passport – this is because they need to declare to HDB before you can apply for a formal permit.
• Regarding WP, SP, EP: WP is the lowest grade of permits (you can apply with even with Primary School education); SP is when your monthly salary is at least S$2,200 (Diploma); EP is when your salary is S$3,500 and above (Diploma/Degree).

If there are any mistakes, please correct me, and do message me if there are any queries!

I’ll help when I can, because Malaysians should help each other!

Malaysian readers who have experienced working in Singapore, do you agree with her statements?

Source: Vulcan Post 

And here is her original Facebook post in Chinese:

#‎深夜有感而发‬ ‪#‎新加坡工作‬ ‪#‎Tips‬ ‪#‎须知‬
还记得19岁那年一个人来到新加坡找工作
第一份工作底薪也就700新币 OT到死才换到我现在的薪水
这一路走来
没有想回家是骗自己的
一个人生病不难过是骗爸妈的
连续几个礼拜吃泡面假装不饿也是骗自己的
不过既然你要赚三倍的钱
就要比别人多付出三倍的努力！
尤其新加坡也算是经济发展最快国家之一
要享福又要赚三倍建议你绕道

当你给得起家用的时候
当你买衣买包买鞋买机票的时候
又有想过这些你其实都可以在马来西亚省吃俭用得到的？
来新加坡工作有人拿枪逼你来吗？是自己的虚荣心还是...？
我虽然算是这个社会的初学者
但是我还是想给那些刚来/想来/计划来新加坡的朋友们一点建议和须知
-麻烦请准备一份简历（Resume）才来找工作
一个有简历的人会比一个打电话说“hello找人做工是吗？我马来西亚人 请吗？”好太多
-请不要拿在马来西亚的学历来要求更高的薪水
难道新加坡人比你拥有的学历差吗？或没有比你更好的语言能力？
-请先确定有能力负担第一个月的生活费才找新加坡工作（一个月房租+一个月押金+一个月伙食费+一个月交通费）
-同一份工作待超过至少半年可以避免政府抽税 也对你未来往后寻求更好的工作有利（就算你换过准证卡记录也会跟着你）
-如果你是因为朋友/亲戚/另一半要来新加坡找工作选择一起来 一起住 配合对方 那你根本是在浪费时间 你为人家着想 人家就一定为你想吗？
*老板很少会请情侣姐妹朋友 因为你们要跑就会一起跑啊
-尽量不要局限于地区，新加坡MRT巴士都很方便
“我想找yishun因为我男朋友住那边”
“我想找jurong，我要来回”
“我想找市区，感觉比较highclass”
那不如你去家隔壁问工作好了？
-刚开始工作不要跟老板借钱
多么困难都好 你一开口就完蛋了
-马来西亚人必须要过生日满18岁才可以在新加坡工作
-一定要有临时准证才能上班，不然老板跟员工都会被罚款
-拿准证的都不能做part-time，被发现会被罚款
-申请准证前需要做身体检查，糖尿病心脏病等严重疾病都不会被批准 最重要的是有近视记得去配眼镜（这是常识）
-公司要有2个新加坡人的CPF才能请1个马来西亚人
-人头税有分等级
如果你公司外籍劳工占了25%-40%，而刚好你又没有SPM，那人头税就是700新币，10%-25%是550新币，10%以下就是420新币
（有SPM就扣100新币，以此类推）
-SPM怎么才算及格
这个是Subject to Apporver
虽然马来西亚政府说Bahasa Melayu&Sejarah不及格就不算有SPM
但有时候MOM（人力部）的长官也会看情况批
*至少要有一科及格
*一定要有正版的成绩单（纸是青色底，有教育部的logo），白色像收据的成绩单绝对不接受
-烧焊文凭只能在烧焊行业/工厂才能减人头税！
-在新加坡租HDB
一间房间大概介于700-1000新币
一个人share房大概250-350新币
入住时房东一定会跟你要临时准证或护照
因为他们必须申报HDB，这样你才能申请正式的准证
-准证分WP，SP，EP
WP没有最低薪水标准（小学学历也可以申请）
SP是每个月薪水至少2200新币（Diploma）
EP则是3500新币或以上（Diploma/Degree）
如果有错误请更正我 或是其它疑问都可以留言！
能帮就帮 因为马来西亚人应该一条心！

Source: Facebook

Brock Lesnar Hits Out At B

Brock Lesnar

Conor McGregor

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Brock Lesnar has hit out at Conor McGregor for boasting about being the biggest draw in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). McGregor has said: "If somebody wants to state that they're the biggest pay-per-view draw in the world, I don't care". Lesnar is scheduled to make a one-off appearance at UFC 202, almost four years after his last fight, post which he decided to move back to WWE.

Lesnar's return to the UFC octagon saw him arguably become one of the biggest draws of his day and his clash against Frank Mir at UFC 100 was regarded as one of the top fights.

Since then, several fighters have taken the spotlight, but one name has garnered the most support that of the featherweight champion McGregor. At the moment, he is the most popular UFC fighter and has no qualms in calling himself "the biggest draw" in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

"If somebody wants to state that they're the biggest pay-per-view draw in the world, I don't care. I've never came out and said, 'Hey listen, I hold the most pay-per-view buys'. All I know is what I got paid and I'm happy to do so", Lesnar said, as quoted by Fox Sports.

"I don't know him, but I know of Conor McGregor and this sport has evolved even from the first time that I entered into the Octagon. I think that people were finding out that you have to talk the talk and more importantly you have to walk the walk, and so for guys that can talk and walk the walk, I think it's great. It's great for the company," the WWE superstar said.

Lesnar will take on Mark Hunt in the co-main event show at UFC 200 on 9 July at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada while McGregor will be in action six weeks later when he faces Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 202.

Source: MSN

Mahathir Advises The People

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in Penang as part of his cross-country tour – and as a guest of Penang Institute – to gather at least one million signatures for the Citizen’s Declaration he initiated. He spent 20 minutes talking with Ooi Kee Beng in between arriving from KL with Tun Dr Siti Hasmah and rushing off to deliver his speech at the packed Straits Quay Convention Centre. The interview took place in the late afternoon on May 8, 2016 at the E&O  Hotel.

Ooi Kee Beng: Tun, your generation fascinates me. You are of the nation-building generation who dared to imagine that it would not only change the world, but configure it to fit local conditions. The impact of that generation has of course been enormous in all post-colonial countries, but that generation is passing. What advice would you give young Malaysians about the future, given what you see now of global economic dynamics and the political situation in Malaysia today?

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad: The first thing for people to learn is the history of the country, because if you don’t have an understanding of the background of the country, you cannot make an assessment of events or of the improvements that have taken place. Many Malaysians today were born long after Independence. I would tell them that what we are seeing today is completely different from what we had under the British or even in the early days of Independence. So we must be able to make a comparison between the past and the present.

 OKB: If there is one word to describe you, Tun, I would use the word “nationalist”. You are very much, for want of a better word, a situationalist. Your analysis of events and different times shifts as things evolve; you seem very tuned into evolving dynamics. In that sense the methods you adopt would be understood best in a tactical mode. Would that be correct?

MM: I was trained as a doctor, and a doctor approaches a problem with a certain method. He has to know the background, the history of the patient, and do an additional examination to see what the problem is. For a sick person or for a community, it is the same thing. Once you adopt that approach, you recognise a problem much more clearly. And after recognising what the problem is, you can think about how to resolve it. Having been trained as a doctor, I approach most problems that way. I find it to be really very easy. It is methodical and it is very consistent and often quite accurate.

 You may end up with three possibilities, for example, and then you will have to do a further analysis to determine which disease it really is and what the cure should be. It is the same with a community – you have to determine what the problem is first.

OKB: But are there shortcomings to that kind of approach?

MM: Well, I suppose there are. There are of course people who can instinctively see what the problem is and come up with a solution. But instinct is not methodical. It may come or it may not come. You have no control over it. But the methodical process of examination by doctors is something that you do almost automatically, and you eliminate other possibilities to arrive at the right diagnosis.

OKB: One has to always consider multiple factors.

MM: Yes.

OKB: Since you have been in the limelight for an amazingly long time – in fact since after the Second World War, when you started writing as Che Det – you are very overexposed by now, and one would expect people who are overexposed to be very predictable. Yet you are not. You can be very unpredictable. I tend to think that when people are unpredictable, it is usually because they are being misunderstood. People have their own logic and in following that logic, they are really being consistent.

I would like to ask you a straightforward and personal question: “What motivates you deep down?” How do we see consistency and how do we make sense of your actions over the last 70 years? You do know that many think that you are often contradictory.

MM: Like you said earlier, I am a nationalist. That’s what motivates me. I have been exposed to many things inside the country and outside the country. The desire to do things, to achieve and to be proud of what [I] can do… [that] is consistent. You just have to do something to improve any situation. The situation may be already good, but you have to think – what else can you do?

So in that sense, there is consistency all the time. When I was a young boy, I saw poverty, I saw people who were jobless and living very poor lives. I felt it was not right. You see that some people are rich, and some people are very poor, and some people do not even have regular meals. These are social problems and when you see problems like that, you want to do something. We are brought up that way, to be concerned about people who are less fortunate than we are. So if they are less fortunate, what do we do for them?

Throughout my career that has been my motivation, and even the approach has been very consistent. I don’t come up suddenly with some fantastic thing. I think things over to myself. For example, when I wanted to resign [as Prime Minister in 2003], I did not tell anybody. I thought it was time for me to resign and give place to others. So without anybody pushing me out, I resigned.

OKB: I suppose the poor usually can’t help themselves, and so those who have the opportunity have the responsibility to help them.

MM: That is true of course. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer – at least relatively speaking. The rich can get richer because they have the means. For example, in business, they have the capital and if they see an opportunity, they make use of that opportunity to enrich themselves. A poor man may see an opportunity, but he has no capital, so he will forever be poor because he does not have the means. So what we should do is not only give him the opportunity but also give him the means to make use of that opportunity.

OKB: You are practically a socialist, are you not?

MM: Socialism itself is not bad. But it is used sometimes to oppress people, and that is bad. A system is good only if you make use of it properly. During colonial times, the Europeans were the “masters”. You called them “Tuan”, and you think that they are superior and that they know a lot while you don’t. And they can do what you cannot do. And in a way, you feel very inferior. You get an inferiority complex.

OKB: The whole of society, really…

MM: Yes. I asked myself, am I as inferior as they make it out to be? Well, I thought, they are there because of their dominance over the people. They have practically colonised the country, and they are given [good] jobs, authority and power. That was what made them superior people. They could do what you could not do.

OKB: These experiences in your younger days must have affected you very deeply.

MM: Yes, very much. But I was fortunate. I was among the 20 or so boys who had the opportunity to go to an English school. There were hundreds of others who were equally good, but they did not get the opportunity to get a good education. It seemed to me quite unfair.

You had the opportunity, they didn’t have the opportunity. So, the solution to that is to create the opportunity and to give them the means to make use of the opportunity for their own good.

OKB: Being one of the few privileged ones, you felt this to be your responsibility then?

MM: Yes.

OKB: One of the great innovations of your time was Vision 2020. If I ask you to reformulate Vision 2020 today, would there be things in there that would be different from before?

MM: We wanted to be a developed country, but a developed country in our own mold, not just a copy of some other developed country. So we started spelling out what we meant by “in our own mold”. What do you mean by being developed?

If we do not define it properly, people tend to take the simple definition, which is that if you have money then you are developed. So you see the stress on per capita income. If you have a per capita income of [US$]15,000 or 30,000, then you are developed.

But that is not true. I have always thought that thinking in averages is a very bad way of assessing anything. I tell people that they can drown in a river with an average depth of two feet. If one man is a millionaire and 999 men are poverty-stricken, then the average [wealth] is $1000. You see, averages are not a very good measurement of achievements.

So you have to define what you mean by development. And to me, it is not just about per capita income. It is about our capacity. Do we have very well educated people? Do we do research and development? Do we produce things by ourselves? Are we industrialised? All these things must be there before you can consider yourself developed. At the moment, the stress is far too much on per capita income. Per capita is an average, and it is not a good measurement.

OKB: It’s more about people’s integrity and dignity, isn’t it?

MM: Yeah! People must be able to hold their heads up, to stand tall like other people.

OKB: Something that would have happened along the way since the 1990s would be the development of “Melayu Baru” – the New Malay. It’s a new world today and the Malays are in a different place – as a community and also in their relationship with other communities. Are we seeing something that you would have foreseen, that once the Malays reached a certain level of development a lot of conflict would also come into play?

MM: I spent a lot of time when I was Prime Minister to try and change the value system and the culture of the Malays because I believe it is the value system that determines if you do well or not. I must admit that I wasn’t very successful. But a few of them have acquired new values, new ways of thinking. We do see quite a number of Malay professionals and Malay businessmen who do well. But the rest are not doing so well.

 This can be corrected if you can change their mindset.

OKB: You just need to go to the next stage… But do you then think that things are going backwards? I suppose you do.

MM: Now, the focus is not on changing the culture. The focus is now on… well, giving [people] things without their earning those things. That’s bad.

OKB: But people generally don’t like to change, or don’t like to be told to change.

MM: Yes, but we change all the time.

OKB: We do.

MM: Whether we like it or not, we change. If you lived in a kampung and you move into a town, and you still want to live like you did in the kampung, that’s not possible. In fact, we had a problem housing people in places like Kampung Abdullah Hukum and Kampung Kerinchi in KL. They wanted to have a house like they used to, elevated so they can rear chickens underneath, plant some vegetables around the house.

That is not possible in town. In town, you have to have high-rise buildings, you have to live in flats. And living in flats means there are adjustments to be made. You cannot grow vegetables, you cannot rear any chickens. If you don’t make these adjustments, you can’t really live in an urban area.

OKB: One amazing aspect of your life is that you have fought from within Umno and you have fought from outside Umno. And by Umno, I am connoting mainstream politics in Malaysia, really. That has left many people confused, even pundits. It must at times get rather confusing even for you.

MM: Well, when you form a political party, you have an objective. What are you struggling for? When you are running Umno and you forget your objective, and you veer away and you go for other things, then I don’t see any reason why I should be inside the party. Umno is [supposed to be] dedicated to developing Malaysia, to ensure that people enjoy a good life, that everybody has a share of the wealth and power in this country.

But then you find that some leaders do not focus on that. They focus instead on something to make themselves happy. For example, they think that the best thing to do is to give money to people, and in that way, become popular. These are not to be found in the objectives of founding Umno.

That’s why sometimes I am in, and sometimes I am out [of Umno].

OKB: Two Malaysian Prime Ministers ruled for a substantial period of time, and were very influential. These are you and Tunku Abdul Rahman. What is your appraisal of Tunku Abdul Rahman today?

MM: The Tunku contributed a lot to the country. He was the one who won independence for the country. He was also the one who solved a very difficult problem – the problem of multiracialism. Normally, in a multiracial country, there will be conflicts for different reasons. Such countries will not be stable and you cannot develop such countries. But Tunku found a way out for Malaysia. He decided that they should share this country, all these races. He came up with this idea of a coalition – not a single multiracial party because a single multiracial party doesn’t work. Some have tried to have a party with multiracial membership but that didn’t work because people were still not familiar with each other.

So he came up with this idea of a coalition. You remain as you are in your own party looking after your community, and yet you have a common objective [with the other communities], you see? And when wealth is created, then all will have a share. Even the power. You must share the power, you must share the wealth.
So this was put into the Constitution.

OKB: I see your aides are telling us that we have to stop talking now. Let me squeeze in one last question. You are from Alor Setar, not very far away from Penang. Can you share some thoughts about Penang, your reminiscences of the place perhaps?

MM: My father came from Penang. In those days, when you wanted to go someplace different, you went to Penang. Penang was a developed town. But Penang has not changed that much. Some parts are very modern. The quay and all that, they are all still the same – ramshackle buildings and all that, and not very tidy, I must say.

One part has changed, the other has remained as it was before independence. But I think this is a problem with democracy. When you want to do something that is good all round, there will be people who will object. And well, you don’t want to be unpopular, so you allow these things to go on.

I think they did a better job in KL. If you go to KL, you don’t see those ramshackle zinc sheds anymore.

OKB: Thank you for your time and for sharing.

Source: Penang Monthly

No More Underwater World Singapore and Dolphin Lagoon

It's sad but true. After 25 years of service, Underwater World Singapore will cease to exist after June 26. 

With its lease at Sentosa expiring in less than two years, it will have to vacate the facility and, most importantly, find suitable homes for the animals. 

So far, the pink dolphins, fur seals and otters have been transferred to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China — that means the 'Meet the Dolphins and Fur Seals' sessions will no longer be available. 

UWS has faced stiff competition from the Marine Life Park ever since it opened at Resorts World Sentosa with Dolphin Island and the S.E.A. Aquarium in 2012. 

The newer and bigger attractions drew the crowds in, even after the Dolphin Lagoon at UWS was relaunched in 2010 with a facelift. 

To mark the closure of this nostalgic aquarium, which holds many a fond memory for '90s kids, anyone who plans to revisit the space before it's gone forever can get tickets at the same opening price back in 1991 — $9 for adults and $5 for children (from June 7 to 26). 

If you can remember who Underwater Santa and Underwater God of Fortune are, wave goodbye to them as they make their final appearances daily at the Underwater Tunnel.

Source: MSN

Malaysia Second 'Most Good' Country

Finally....some good news for Malaysia!

After years of negative reporting about politics, crime and economy, Malaysian could use some music to their ears.

The Star Online reported that Malaysia has been ranked the second 'most good' country in ASEAN, according to the Good Country Index.

The Good Country Index, it's a global ranking indicator aimed at measuring the contribution of every country to the common good of humanity. 

The index tabulates the score from 35 indicators taken from sources like the World Bank and the United Nations.

This edition, Malaysia ranked 46th out of 163 countries - which is good for second place in ASEAN. Guess which country is no.1 from ASEAN...it is Singapore which ranked 24th.

The other ASEAN countries in the list include Thailand (57th), the Philippines (74th), Indonesia (83rd), Brunei (104th), Vietnam (115th), Cambodia (149th) and Laos (151st). Malaysia’s highest contribution to global wellbeing was in the 'prosperity and equality' category. 

Malaysia also ranked ninth globally, thanks to its open trading and direct investments in other countries.

According to the report, Malaysia is also rated positively in several areas such as Internet security, the freedom of movement of its citizens, international health regulations compliance and the deployment of peacekeeping troops for UN missions, to name a few.

However, the one area that Malaysia performed badly was the 'planet and climate' category. No thanks to its exports of hazardous pesticides, carbon dioxide emissions and deforestation issues, Malaysia was ranked 153rd in the world - 15 spots behind Indonesia.

Without much surprise, Sweden is the 'most good' country in the world.

The World Will Miss Muhammad Ali

The death of Muhammad Ali, the three times heavyweight champion of the world, set off a torrent of tributes from sporting stars, civil rights campaigners and ordinary fans on Saturday reflecting how the silver-tongued boxer transcended barriers of race and expectation.

He died with four of his daughters gathered at his hospital bedside in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was being treated for breathing difficulties.

The man who called himself “The Greatest” and spent a career living up to his own description died at the age of 74 on Friday night.

His death was confirmed by Bob Gunnell, his long-time spokesman, who said the cause was "septic shock" due to natural causes.

“It was a very peaceful passing and they are with him as we speak,” he said. “You know, we lost a great person in this world tonight.

Ali is survived by his fourth wife Lonnie, whom he married in 1986, and nine children.

A public funeral will take place in Ali's home town of Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.

Fans gathered outside the Osborn Medical Centre, where he died, taping roses to the wall and lighting candles at a makeshift memorial.

His daughter Hana Ali encapsulated what many saw as his unique combination of strength and tenderness, describing her father as a "humble mountain”.

Even Parkinson's could not stop him expressing his views in his usual eloquent and outspoken manner.

In one of his final public statements at the end of last year, he took aim at not just violent jihadists who brought carnage to Paris but at politicians such as Donald Trump who sought to make political capital from terrorist attacks.

"We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda. They have alienated many from learning about Islam,” he said. “True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anyone."

Inevitably, Donald Trump, Republican candidate for president, sent a tweet in tribute, describing Ali as a “wonderful guy”.

His rival for the White House, Hillary Clinton, issued a statement with her husband saying: “From the day he claimed the Olympic gold medal in 1960, boxing fans across the world knew they were seeing a blend of beauty and grace, speed and strength that may never be matched again."

Friends and rivals in the ring spoke of a boxer with an unorthodox style and a magnetic personality. George Foreman, who lost the world title to Ali in Zaire in a classic 1974 bout known as the Rumble in the Jungle, said: "No doubt he was one of the best people to have lived in this day and age. To put him as a boxer is an injustice."

He added that Ali always loved London. “If he had been born and raised and fought, he never would have changed his name,” he told the BBC's Today programme. “They made him even as Cassius Clay feel like he was the toast of the town.”

He lived his latter years near Phoenix, Arizona. 

Source: MSN

Mahathir Under Probe

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 ― Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today spent 30 minutes answering 37 questions from the police in a criminal defamation investigation triggered by his recent suggestion that the Malay rulers may be under house arrest.

His lawyer Ahmad Bazlan Che Kassim told reporters, however, that most of the questions centred on the Citizens’ Declaration, the petition calling for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s resignation that Dr Mahathir started.

"The questions are about the (police) report lodged against him in making remarks related to house arrest of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. A total of 37 questions were asked and most of them were on Citizen's Declaration," he told reporters outside Yayasan Albukhary, where the former prime minister was interviewed.

He added that both parties were very cooperative during the session and that Dr Mahathir responded to all the questions.

The lawyer also confirmed that Dr Mahathir was being investigated under Section 500 of Penal Code, which covers defamation.

Another lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali later told reporters that there was no confirmation on whether the former prime minister would face charges.

If convicted under Section 500 of the Penal Code, Dr Mahathir faces a maximum two-year jail term or a fine, or both.

Last month, Dr Mahathir told a forum that he had not been able to secure an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to deliver his Citizens’ Declaration memorandum bearing over a million signatures.

He claimed this was likely because the rulers have been confined to their palaces.

Source: MSN

Warning From Malaysian Government

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians who discredit or ridicule the Government in whatever way can be barred from travelling overseas for three years.

Those who disparage the Government while abroad will also be barred from travelling abroad again for three years upon their return.

A source said that the Immigration Department had enforced this ruling several months ago in a move to safeguard the country’s image.

“Anyone who runs down the Government or ‘memburukkan kerajaan’ in any manner will be barred from going abroad.

“Only the Immigration Department director-general will be authorised to look into their appeals,” he said, adding that the department would act once there was a request from enforcement agencies such as the police.

Immigration director general Datuk Sakib Kusmi, in an email reply to The Star, confirmed the existence of such a provision, adding that the ownership of a Malaysian international passport was a privilege and not a right.

“The Malaysian international passport is a travel document issued by the Government under the aegis of the Yang DiPertuan Agong.

“So, the Government has the discretion to either issue, defer or revoke the travel document,” he said.

Sakib could not provide statistics on the number of Malaysians who have been barred from leaving the country for discrediting or ridiculing the Government.

However, it is known that those who are bankrupt, have legal cases against them or have yet to pay government loans, are regularly stopped from leaving the country. 

Asked if Malaysians who are barred from travelling abroad could challenge this in court, Sakib said they had the right to do so.

He said the Government had initially made a list of offences that could cause a Malaysian to be temporarily barred from leaving the country back in 1995.

Individuals convicted for committing a crime at home or abroad, deliberately damaging passports and visiting Israel without approval are among the offences listed. 

They can be barred from travelling abroad for between two and 10 years.

Under the latest ruling, the source said, Malaysians who are caught and deported for overstaying, committing a crime or working without a valid permit abroad will also be barred from going overseas again for two years.

“The names of these offenders will be added to a special blacklist,” he said.

Separately, the source said Malaysians who are negligent and lose their passports three times in five years will not be issued another one for a minimum of two years.

“Negligence means losing your passport if your car is stolen or while you are moving house,” he said.

Those whose passports are destroyed due to carelessness – by leaving the document in clothes put into washing machines, for example – will also be penalised.

“If your passport is destroyed twice, you will be issued with a written warning.

“If it happens three times in five years, then you too will be barred from applying for one to two years,” he said.

Source: The Star

Mega projects for Penang Traffic

Two major projects are in the pipeline to alleviate traffic congestion in the state, said state exco member Lim Hock Seng.

 

In his oral reply to Nordin Ahmad (BN-Bayan Lepas), he said the Bayan Lepas LRT and the Pan Island Link I Highway under the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) were scheduled to be carried out between 2017 and 2023.

The Bayan Lepas LRT willhave interchange stationsconnecting three more future LRT and monorail lines still on the drawing table.

The 20km Pan Island Link Highway will connect Gurney Drive and the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas.

He said the project would be carried out by SRS Consortium, the appointed project delivery partner.

He added that three proposed islands have been planned on the southern tip of Penang island which are financial model to carry out the PTMP.

Lim said the proposed undersea tunnel and three paired roads would be carried out by Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd.

The 6.5km Penang Undersea Tunnel will connect north Butterworth to the Gurney Drive-Pangkor Road junction.

As for the three paired roads, Lim said it would be carried out in stages from 2016 to 2025.

The three paired roads are from Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang and Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drivejunction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

“In fact, the paired road from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Express-way to Air Itam can be carried out in June.

“Next year, it will be the road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang followed by the one from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Express-way to Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive in 2018,” he said.

On why the three paired roads could not be carried out simultaneously, Lim said some of the lands were not ready.

“Besides, we also cannot afford to pay lump sum for the roads. It is not feasible. That’s why we have to carry out everything in stages,” he said.

Source: The Star

Transformer 5: The Last Knight

The Transformers: The Last Knight cast is confirmed to include the return of Transformers: Age of Extinction star Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager as well as new roles for Isabela Moner (100 Things to Do Before High School, Growing Up Fisher) as the film’s female lead, Izabella. Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show, Neighbors) is also set to play an unspecified leading role.

Production on Transformers: The Last Knight is set to begin June 6 in Detroit with production planned to take place at various locations around the world. 

“Having one of the highest-profile film franchises created in Michigan is a major economic boost and a testament to the talent of the state’s production community,” said Jenell Leonard, commissioner of the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office when production plans were first revealed. “The production and economic investment is now happening sooner rather than later, and obviously, the project is a certainty rather than merely a possibility.”

Michael Bay returns to the director’s chair for the film, which is set to be written by Iron Man scribes Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down). Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto will produce the sequel.

Combined, the previous four Transformers films have brought in over $3.7 billion at the global box office with 2014’s Age of Extinction the second-highest grossing in the series. Current plans call for Transformers: The Last Knight to be followed by a Bumblebee spin-off film in 2018 before Transformers 6 arrives in 2019.

What do you think of Transformers: The Last Knight as a title? What do you think this film will be about? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

UPDATE: The official Transformers: The Last Knight Instagram has just launched and, with it, an animated look at the film’s title! Check it out below and check back for updates from the production as they become available.

Source: Comingsoon

Komtar-Bayan Lepas LRT

The LRT line linking Komtar and Bayan Lepas, estimated to cost around RM7bil to construct, is expected to generate about RM2bil worth of jobs for the local construction industry, said Penang Master Builders and Building Materials Dealers Association.

 

Its president, Datuk Lim Kai Seng, said the first phase of the LRT, which involved soil investigation and alignment studies, had already generated about RM100mil worth of jobs for the local construction industry.

The proposed 30km LRT project will cushion property prices in Penang, according to Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Penang) past chairman Datuk Jerry Chan.

“Although the volume of transactions has declined by about 30% in the first quarter compared to the previous year’s corresponding period, the price of properties, however, has not been affected yet by the decline, due to interest rates remaining at the same level, and high land and building construction costs.

“The other factor that will help to bolster property prices in Penang is the proposed LRT project. The project will definitely help (hold up) the property prices in areas where there is a high density.

“In popular areas of the island where properties are sought after, we will see prices moving up due to the accessibility of the LRT over time,” Chan said.

Zeon Properties Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Leon Lee said that the price of properties near integrated transportation systems in other countries was either stable or tend to move upwards most of the time.

He said infrastructure such as transportation centres and bridges were vital elements.

“The completion of a bridge connecting Shenzhen (China) and the New Territories of Hong Kong resulted in property prices in the surrounding areas escalating by about 155% over a period of 10 years.

“In 2002, the property price in New Territories of Hong Kong was about HK$2,742.69 per sq ft.

“It shot up to HK$7,007.38 per sq ft in 2013, which took only about 10 years,” Lee said.

Lee added that the price of property in Batu Maung had increased significantly when the second Penang bridge open.

“In 2007, a terrace house in Batu Maung was worth about RM700,000. A similar unit now is priced at RM1.4mil. This proves my earlier point (about bridges),” he said.

The Komtar-Bayan Lepas LRT is the state’s first rail network proposed under the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

It will begin from Komtar in the northeast corner of the island and pass through Jelutong, Gelugor, Bayan Lepas and Penang International Airport before ending at the proposed Penang South Reclamation development. It is expected to provide a fast route to the airport and will traverse densely populated residential, commercial and industrial areas.

There are 27 LRT stations along the alignment, with the maintenance depot located on the first island that is to be reclaimed on the island’s south coast. The alignment also factors in interchanges with future LRT, Sky Cab and monorail lines that are being planned, including one that will cross the channel to connect Gelugor with Penang Sentral in Butterworth.

Source: The Star