No plans to open casino in Pulau Tioman

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~

离境税征收机制未决 陆兆福：稍后公布

离境税征收机制未决 陆兆福：稍后公布

交通部长陆兆福表示，政府尚未决定征收离境税的机制。

“究竟会加入乘客服务费或者由关税局征收？我们将会稍后公布。”

他今天在亚航总部的数码机场控制中心主持推介礼后，受询及离境税的课题时，如是表示。

他说明，2令吉乘客服务费与20令吉或40令吉的离境税不同，前者由马来西亚机场控股有限公司征收作为营运用途，非政府征收；后者是由政府征收，以提高政府的收入，政府预计每年可征收数亿令吉。

他说，离境税并非首创税务，实际上在泰国与印尼等国家早已经征收离境税。

陆兆福也希望我国机场与航空公司可以合作，缩短飞机抵达与起飞的周转时间（turnaround time）。

他透露，昨日甫从曼谷公干返国的他在4时25分抵达吉隆坡机场，但在5时10分才领取行李，令他认为有改善的空间。

“我希望在我们从抵达到行李运输带时，就可以领取行李。这需要航空公司、机场公司及相关单位的配合。”

针对政府希望出售30％机场房地产投资信托基金股权筹资40亿令吉资金，陆兆福表示，政府尚未鉴定涉及的机场（参与该机制），政府会稍后宣布。

另一方面，亚航创办人丹斯里东尼费南德斯则表示无意参与收购30％机场房地产投资信托基金股权的计划。

他说，亚航作为航空公司将会聚焦在航空事业，兴建机场并非他们的工作。

不过，他表明愿意与机场公司合作降低成本，从而调低机票价格。

询及政府落实的离境税会否导致亚航调高机票价格或者会否吸纳部分的离境税，东尼费南道斯说，由于整个机制尚未明朗，且让他们了解整个税务架构后才发言，目前，一切言之过早。

~光华日报~

Departure levy different from airport tax

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

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

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

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~

Happy Deepavali 屠妖节快乐

明年6月起 离境国内外飞机乘客须缴税

明年6月起 离境国内外飞机乘客须缴税

明年6月1日起，政府将向所有乘搭飞机出国的本地与外国乘客征收离境税。

政府建议2019年6月1日起，向所有乘搭飞机出国的本地与外国乘客征收离境税。

财长林冠英说，离境税共分为2种，飞往东盟诸国的收费为20令吉，东盟以外的国家则收40令吉。他说，有关收费不比其他国家和地区征收的离境税来得高，例如香港15美元、日本10美元及泰国20美元。

～光华日报～

Departure levy at airports

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~

Traditional local food 传统本地美食

Apam Balik

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~