Mersing to be declared national geopark next year
Mersing would be declared the first national geopark site in the state in March next year.
Its assistant district officer Mohamed Afiq Zubir said the matter had been agreed upon by the National Geopark Development Committee, and the papers on the proposal by the state executive council, which would be examined by the Valuation Committee, were already in the works.
He said geology is the most important element in applying for the geopark status, but it must be accompanied by others including biodiversity and culture of the local community.
“The proposal to make Mersing a geopark is in line with government’s effort to position the district as a thriving tourist destination, both domestic and internationally.
“The district’s uniqueness is based on the belief that it was one of the earliest land formed in the peninsula, apart from the existence of a once active volcano 300 years ago.
“Every week, hundreds of tourists would arrive in Pulau Tioman, making it a popular tour destination.
“The geopark status would encourage tourists to spend time to explore the district,” he said in his speech at the launch of 2018 Mersing Geopark awareness programme at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim, here, on Thursday.
Mohamed Afiq said for the past 10 years, the state government, with the assistance of the East Coast Economic Regional Development Corridor (ECERDC) have carried out various infrastructure projects in efforts to achieve this.
He said geopark was part of a sustainable regional development which would focus on restoration of the natural heritage, people’s wellbeing, and generation of income through tourism.
“It is hoped that a comprehensive plan would be prepared in ensuring that the aims of the geopark development would be achieved.
“The aims include elevating the socio-economic status of the people while protecting their wellbeing, apart from contributing profit for Johor,” he said. Also present was National Geopark Development Committee chairman Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Ibrahim Komoo.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Pahang MB: No plans to open casino in Pulau Tioman
Pahang state government has no plans to consider applications to open a casino in Pulau Tioman, near Rompin here.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said such matter was never been discussed and would never be given consideration even if there were parties interested to apply for the casino licence there.
“We will never consider or have plans to offer gambling or casino licence on Pulau Tioman. We will never look into such applications and we hope the state government had made its stand clear on the matter,” he said when replying to a supplementary question by Sim Chon Siang (PKR-Teruntum) at the 14th state legislative assembly sitting at Wisma Sri Pahang here today.
Sim had earlier asked the state government on the proposal to offer casino licence to interested operators to start the business on the island and the status of the Pulau Tioman airport in a move to lure more visitors to the island.
Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy said plans to build a new airport on the island was still being discussed between the state government, federal government and East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC).
He said a meeting was held between Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as well as menteri besar of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor early last month but there had yet to be any decision on the matter.
“Johor Menteri Besar (Datuk Osman Sapian) presented a proposal (to build an airport in Mersing, Johor) during the meeting but it was rejected as the priority is now to build an airport here (Pulau Tioman).
“However, there is no decision yet on the implementation of the project. It (construction of a new airport) might be carried out later,” he said.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Departure levy different from airport tax The departure levy proposed in Budget 2019 is completely separate from the existing passenger service charge (PSC), said Transport Minister Anthony Loke. Loke was responding to a question on the need to impose the levy which was set at RM20 to Asean countries and RM40 for non-Asean countries. The PSC is not something collected by the government, that’s collected by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to run the operations of the airport, he said. “The departure levy introduced by the government, is a form of tax for anyone travelling out of the country. That is completely by the government, not by the airlines, not by the airports,” he said during the launch of AirAsia Bhd’s first fully-digitalised ground handling services control centre at klia2. The departure levy is needed to raise revenue and the government could collect a few hundred million ringgit annually, he said. Loke pointed out other countries such as Thailand and Indonesia had similar taxes for outbound travellers. The mechanism, he said, would be announced later as implementation only starts on June 1. He added the ministry has not decided on the mechanism to offer the 30% stake in the proposed Airport REIT (real estate investment trust), which forms part of the Budget 2019 proposal. Fernandes hopes the proposed REIT would not increase costs. “Obviously we would like to see full privatisation, so new airport operators can come in, we may see different ways of running airports, and not just giving 30% to Malaysian Airports as a different form of funding,” Fernandes said. What the low-cost carrier needed, he added, was an airport operator and airport which understood AirAsia’s model in reducing costs, which he said would in turn reduce the costs of flying for passengers, allowing the carrier to build Malaysia into a strong aviation hub. Meanwhile the ground handling services control centre will allow AirAsia’s Ground Team Red (GTR) to track aircraft handling, with real-time information on passenger boarding, baggage reconciliation and ramp-loading compiled on a digital dashboard at the control centre. Loke was given an overall briefing of the way the centre functioned to compile the different data and identify any soft spots in the aircraft’s turnaround process. ~News courtesy of The Star~
兴楼云冰国家公园 ENDAU ROMPIN NATIONAL PARK 兴楼云冰国家公园横跨彭亨及柔佛的交界处，佔地约870平方公哩，是马来西亚最新的自然保留区。这裡的生态旅游设施比较不够完善。兴楼云冰公园原先是专为生物学家及科学家充当研究用途的森林保留区。 这座未经开发的公园区域内，拥有濒临绝灭的苏门答腊犀牛、罕见的老虎、大象及貘等。此处的低地雨林是马来半岛硕果仅存的，其动植物皆非常独特。 兴楼云冰国家公园可以从云冰及TANJUNG GEMUK出发。 原：Facebook Johor My Hometown 我来自柔佛
Laksa is a spicy noodle soup popular in Peranakan cuisine. Laksa consists of rice noodles or rice vermicelli with chicken, prawn or fish, served in spicy soup based on either rich and spicy curry coconut milk or on sour asam (tamarind or gelugur). Laksa is found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Southern Thailand. The type of laksa is based upon the soup base employed in its recipe; either rich and savoury coconut milk, fresh and sour asam (tamarind, gelugur or kokum), or the combination of the two. There are three basic types of laksa: curry laksa, asam laksa, and other variant that can be identified as either curry or asam laksa. Curry laksa is a coconut milk curry soup with noodles, while asam laksa is a sour, most often tamarind-based, soup with noodles. Thick rice noodles also known as laksa noodles are most commonly used, although thin rice vermicelli (bee hoon or mee hoon) are also common, and some recipes might create their own rice noodle from scratch. Some variants might use other types of noodles; Johor laksa for example uses spaghetti, while a fusion recipe might use Japanese udon noodle. Laksa lemak, also known as nyonya laksa (Malay: Laksa nyonya), is a type of laksa with a rich coconut gravy. Lemak is a culinary description in the Malay language which specifically refers to the presence of coconut milk which adds a distinctive richness to a dish. As the name implies, it is made with a rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced coconut gravy. Laksa lemak is usually made with a fish-based gravy (with vegetarian food stalls omitting fish) and quite similar to Thai laksa (Malay: Laksa Thai), perhaps to the point that one could say they are one and the same. Asam laksa is a sour, fish and tamarind-based soup. Penang Asam Laksa listed at number 26th on World's 50 most delicious foods compiled by CNN Go in 2011. Asam is the Malay word for any ingredients that makes a dish tastes sour (e.g. tamarind, gelugur or kokum). Laksa typically uses asam keping, known as kokum in the English speaking world, which is a type of dried slices of sour mangosteens. The modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used. The main ingredients for asam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung (small mackerel of the Rastrelliger genus), and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, daun kesum (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint), and pink bunga kantan (torch ginger). Asam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with petis udang or "hae ko" (蝦膏), a thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste. Source: Wikipedia and Facebook
Prepare for stormy days ahead, says weather department Bring out your umbrellas and rubber boots because heavy rains are expected to lash out soon, bringing with it high chances of floodings. Malaysian Meteorological Department director-general Alui Bahari said the north-east monsoon was expected to last until March and has already brought heavy rainfall to Kelantan and Terengganu. Rain will make its way to Pahang and Johor before shifting to Sabah and Sarawak later in the season. “These states are expected to experience four to six heavy rainfalls as in previous years,” he said. “If heavy rainfall, high tides and strong winds occur, it could cause rivers to overflow,” he added. The situation could be worsened by spring tides that take place during the new and full moons. While the east coast is typically the worst hit by floods during the rainy season, west coast residents should also be on the alert. Last year, Penang was also hit by major floods, where the state sought help from armed forces after winds and rain lashed out, causing landslides and falling trees. However, Alui said he did not expect such rainfall over Penang and Kedah this season. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Professor of Climatology and Oceanography Prof Dr Fredolin Tangang said the country was entering the monsoon period earlier compared to the average mid-November onset date. However, he said this was within the “natural variability” of the monsoon period, which was affected by phenomena such as El Nino. “Sea surface temperatures in the Eastern-Central Pacific Ocean are warmer than usual, indicating the progression of a weak El Nino by year end or early next year,” he said. Due to this, he said, there was likely to be heavier rainfall in southern Peninsular Malaysia, which includes Johor and the Klang Valley. He added there was a low possibility of extreme rainfall, which could lead to large-scale flooding as the Kelantan and Terengganu floods in December 2014. According to his research, three phenomena should take place for such extreme weather to occur. Firstly, he said there should be cold surges from the north and secondly, the Borneo vortex, a wind circulation system should be located close to Peninsular Malaysia. “The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) must also be active and its low pressure-centre must be located near West Sumatra,” he said. The MJO is a phenomenon in which a low pressure system crosses eastward from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The people can monitor weather and flood situations through http://portalbencana.nadma.gov.my and www.met.gov.my or download relevant mobile applications such as myCuaca and myJPS. ~News courtesy of The Star~
Travel, departure levy at airports AVID traveller Shahida Sakeri will think twice about going overseas for her holiday next year when the departure levy on travellers leaving Malaysian airports is introduced on June 1. The government has proposed a fee of RM20 per head for those departing for Asean countries and RM40 for other countries. Shahida said since she was used to travelling solo, it might not affect her as badly as those travelling in a large group. “For my aunts and uncles with many children, they will now have to bear the additional costs,” she said. “I want to see more facilities for the disabled at our tourist attractions, such as increasing accessibility at museums and parks,” she added. Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Datuk Tan Kok Liang, on the other hand, described the move as “disappointing”. “It will not have any significant impact on domestic tourism as leisure travellers are on extreme budget constraints and very price sensitive. “Domestic tourism can be improved by providing healthier tourism fundamentals, better tourism packages and capping on domestic airfares,” he said. However, Tan welcomed the RM100mil grant for private companies to boost international tourist arrivals through marketing efforts, which he called a “good surprise”. Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Uzaidi Udanis said the money collected from the departure levy could be used to promote inbound travel. However, he also warned that the move might deter airlines from increasing connectivity from the country. “If there is lower demand for outbound travel, airlines might not be interested in introducing new routes from the country,” said Uzaidi. Malaysia Airlines in a statement said that any funds generated and channelled back to the development of the aviation industry in general would only be positive for the sector. Budget 2019 also allocated RM20mil to the Malaysia Healthcare Tourism Council (MHTC) to promote the country’s medical tourism industry. MHTC chief executive officer Sherene Azli said this would further propel Malaysia’s profile as a leading global destination for healthcare tourism. “This will go a long way in bringing Malaysia’s healthcare tourism to new heights while making a significant positive economic impact on the nation,” she said. ~Courtesy of The Star~
Apam balik (English: 'turnover pancake') or terang bulan (English: 'bright moon') or martabak manis (English: 'sweet martabak') common in Southeast Asia. It is usually sold at specialist roadside stalls throughout Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The pancake's batter is made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk and water. The batter is cooked upon a thick round iron frying pan in plenty of palm margarine to avoid it sticking to the pan. Then other ingredients are sprinkled as filling; the most common or traditional is crushed peanut granules with sugar and sweetcorn kernels (available from cans), but modern innovations such as chocolate sprinkles and cheddar cheese are also available. Then, the pancake is folded (hence the name: "turnover pancake") and cut into several pieces. The texture of the apam balik can vary depending on the amount of batter and type of pan used, from one that is akin to a crispier form of crumpets to small thin light pancake shells that break when bitten (the latter is usually called apam balik nipis, 'thin apam balik'). The dish has been declared a heritage food by the Malaysian Department of National Heritage. ~wikipedia~
