Friday, December 25, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Haze will not last till March 2016
Haze will not last till March 2016
The haze affecting the country currently will not last till March 2016, as claimed by certain parties.
"The current haze situation is caused by typhoon Champi and Typhoon Koppu, east of the Philippines, and when these typhoons hit landfall, the winds will change and the haze situation will improve after Oct 26," said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Madius Tangau in a statement today.
Madius said the coming northeast monsoon season from November will see a change in wind direction and will no longer carry over haze from Indonesia to Malaysia, despite the Indonesian forest fires expected to last until March.
Meanwhile, rainfall is expected to decrease nationwide due to typhoon Koppu, thus making the haze situation even worse.
According to the Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) weather outlook, typhoon Koppu is currently 1,187km north-east of Kudat, Sabah. It will eventually head north-west towards Taiwan.
In addition, typhoon Champi located 2,942km north-east of Kudat is slowly heading north.
The presence of both typhoons has affected the wind patterns across the country as a result, especially rainfall due to the moderate south-westerly winds.
Separately, the Department of Environment recorded 3,534 cases of open burning detected nationwide, from the start of the year to Oct 19.
As of 6pm today, a total of 27 areas recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, with Port Klang with the highest at 179, followed by Shah Alam at 164, and Kuala Selangor at 139.
~News courtesy of The Sun~
The haze affecting the country currently will not last till March 2016, as claimed by certain parties.
"The current haze situation is caused by typhoon Champi and Typhoon Koppu, east of the Philippines, and when these typhoons hit landfall, the winds will change and the haze situation will improve after Oct 26," said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Madius Tangau in a statement today.
Madius said the coming northeast monsoon season from November will see a change in wind direction and will no longer carry over haze from Indonesia to Malaysia, despite the Indonesian forest fires expected to last until March.
Meanwhile, rainfall is expected to decrease nationwide due to typhoon Koppu, thus making the haze situation even worse.
According to the Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) weather outlook, typhoon Koppu is currently 1,187km north-east of Kudat, Sabah. It will eventually head north-west towards Taiwan.
In addition, typhoon Champi located 2,942km north-east of Kudat is slowly heading north.
The presence of both typhoons has affected the wind patterns across the country as a result, especially rainfall due to the moderate south-westerly winds.
Separately, the Department of Environment recorded 3,534 cases of open burning detected nationwide, from the start of the year to Oct 19.
As of 6pm today, a total of 27 areas recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, with Port Klang with the highest at 179, followed by Shah Alam at 164, and Kuala Selangor at 139.
~News courtesy of The Sun~
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Air quality in Peninsular Malaysia remains bad
Air quality in Peninsular Malaysia remains bad
Air quality remained bad today as the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia continued to be blanketed by a heavy shroud of haze, with many coastal cities recording an unhealthy reading on the Air Pollutant Index (API).
According to readings published on the Department of Environment's (DOE) website, six locations including Seremban, Malacca, and Putrajaya were rated as unhealthy (100-200) on the API as at 5pm today.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement today that the haze is caused by open burning of forests and land in Sumatera, Indonesia according to satellite images captured by the Singaporean based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The agency detected 132 hot spots in Kalimantan, Indonesia, alone, while only one hot spot was detected in Sumatera due to incomplete satellite coverage as of Sunday.
According to satellite coverage, the ministry said, the haze is expected to spread to Pahang and to east Johor in the next 48 hours while in East Malaysia the haze from Kalimantan is expected to spread to west Sarawak and the waters surrounding both Sabah and Sarawak in the same period of time.
The ministry said the country is still experiencing the southwest monsoon phase that is expected to end by mid-September and noted that the haze will likely dissipate by the monsoon transition phase in October.
Meanwhile, the Environment Department will continue monitoring the status and trend of air quality on an hourly basis due to the uncertain haze situation and increased hot spots in Sumatera and Kalimantan.
All government agencies relevant to haze disaster response have also stepped up efforts in preventing open burning locally that will worsen the already unhealthy air quality.
Local governments and land owners have also been instructed to closely monitor and take preventive actions in places that could easily catch fire such as waste disposal spots, forests, farm land, and industrial complexes.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar will also head to Indonesia as soon as possible to meet his counterpart there to discuss solutions and to finalise a memorandum of understanding on cross-border haze prevention.
~News courtesy of The Sun~
Air quality remained bad today as the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia continued to be blanketed by a heavy shroud of haze, with many coastal cities recording an unhealthy reading on the Air Pollutant Index (API).
According to readings published on the Department of Environment's (DOE) website, six locations including Seremban, Malacca, and Putrajaya were rated as unhealthy (100-200) on the API as at 5pm today.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement today that the haze is caused by open burning of forests and land in Sumatera, Indonesia according to satellite images captured by the Singaporean based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The agency detected 132 hot spots in Kalimantan, Indonesia, alone, while only one hot spot was detected in Sumatera due to incomplete satellite coverage as of Sunday.
According to satellite coverage, the ministry said, the haze is expected to spread to Pahang and to east Johor in the next 48 hours while in East Malaysia the haze from Kalimantan is expected to spread to west Sarawak and the waters surrounding both Sabah and Sarawak in the same period of time.
The ministry said the country is still experiencing the southwest monsoon phase that is expected to end by mid-September and noted that the haze will likely dissipate by the monsoon transition phase in October.
Meanwhile, the Environment Department will continue monitoring the status and trend of air quality on an hourly basis due to the uncertain haze situation and increased hot spots in Sumatera and Kalimantan.
All government agencies relevant to haze disaster response have also stepped up efforts in preventing open burning locally that will worsen the already unhealthy air quality.
Local governments and land owners have also been instructed to closely monitor and take preventive actions in places that could easily catch fire such as waste disposal spots, forests, farm land, and industrial complexes.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar will also head to Indonesia as soon as possible to meet his counterpart there to discuss solutions and to finalise a memorandum of understanding on cross-border haze prevention.
~News courtesy of The Sun~
Monday, August 31, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
New deadline for High Speed Rail project
New deadline for High Speed Rail project
Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to re-assess the initial target of a 2020 deadline to complete High Speed Rail Project (HSR) connecting both countries, given its complexity and scale.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the development of the project will take five years, while the tender and design processes will take a year each, thus it would push the initial target of 2020 further.
"Bilateral issues on the matter will be settled by the year's end, and we will announce a new deadline for the project," Najib told reporters during a joint press conference between Najib and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the Malaysia-Singapore Sixth Leaders Retreat today.
Lee also announced that the HSR terminus for the Singapore's side will be located in Jurong East which is being developed by the republic as its next central business district.
The announcement follows Malaysia's announcement last year that the HSR project on its side will start from Bandar Malaysia in Sungai Besi.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak (L) and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) attend a joint press conference after a meeting at a hotel in Singapore. Najib is here on a two-day visit for the 6th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' retreat.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to re-assess the initial target of a 2020 deadline to complete High Speed Rail Project (HSR) connecting both countries, given its complexity and scale.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the development of the project will take five years, while the tender and design processes will take a year each, thus it would push the initial target of 2020 further.
"Bilateral issues on the matter will be settled by the year's end, and we will announce a new deadline for the project," Najib told reporters during a joint press conference between Najib and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the Malaysia-Singapore Sixth Leaders Retreat today.
Lee also announced that the HSR terminus for the Singapore's side will be located in Jurong East which is being developed by the republic as its next central business district.
The announcement follows Malaysia's announcement last year that the HSR project on its side will start from Bandar Malaysia in Sungai Besi.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak (L) and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R) attend a joint press conference after a meeting at a hotel in Singapore. Najib is here on a two-day visit for the 6th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' retreat.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Fares increased for taxi, train and express bus services
Fares increased for taxi, train and express bus services
Be prepared to pay more for your public transport. The increase in taxi fares takes immediate effect while train and express bus charges will be raised on May 1 and May 15 respectively.
Budget taxis in the Klang Valley and Johor Baru will charge 25 sen per 200m and 25 sen per 36 seconds although the flagfall will remain at RM3 for the first kilometre.
This is a sizable increase as each budget taxi will get RM1.25 per km (from RM0.87 per km, up by 44%) and 42.67 sen per minute (from 28 sen per minute, up by 49%).
For example, a budget taxi that is stuck in traffic for an hour will take in RM25 (RM30 for those in Penang) from time-based charges alone, up from RM16.80 previously. This is likely to make taxi drivers more willing to face congestions.
Express buses will charge 2.1 sen more (or 22.5%) per km, setting the new fare at 11.4 sen per km.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said taxi and express bus operators were facing rising costs, adding that the last fare review for both was in 2009.
“We took into account the needs of the operators and the public (in coming up with these new fares),” he told reporters at SPAD headquarters here.
Teksi 1Malaysia (TEKS1M) cabs – consisting exclusively of the brown Proton Exora – are the only taxis to have the flagfall rate raised from RM3 to RM4.
The hike in taxi fares does not cover airport limos and executive taxis (typically blue in colour), and is limited to Peninsular Malaysia.
According to SPAD, taxi fares would be reviewed each year based on operating cost changes.
Although the increase in fares took immediate effect, taxis could only charge the new rates after the meter had been recalibrated.
SPAD chief executive Mohd Nur Ismal Mohd Kamal said it would take one to two months for all taxis to use this new setting.
“There’s a panel of service providers they can go to. We have asked them to increase (operating) capacitym,” he said.
SPAD said that senior citizens, the disabled and children below 12 years old would continue to enjoy the 25% discount on express bus fares.
On train fares, Syed Hamid said SPAD had given its approval to KTM Bhd and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd to set new rates covering LRT, KTM Komuter, KTM Intercity and KL Monorail.
According to SPAD, the Ampang and Kelana Jaya LRT Line fares have not been reviewed for the past 19 and 17 years respectively. Monorail, KTM Komuter and KTM Intercity fares have remained the same for 12, 12 and 25 years respectively.
Mohd Nur said the fares of stage buses would not be increased now or in the near future.
“This is because low-income earners rely on stage buses for transport, and they cannot afford to pay more,” he said.
He added that the Government would cover stage bus costs.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Be prepared to pay more for your public transport. The increase in taxi fares takes immediate effect while train and express bus charges will be raised on May 1 and May 15 respectively.
Budget taxis in the Klang Valley and Johor Baru will charge 25 sen per 200m and 25 sen per 36 seconds although the flagfall will remain at RM3 for the first kilometre.
This is a sizable increase as each budget taxi will get RM1.25 per km (from RM0.87 per km, up by 44%) and 42.67 sen per minute (from 28 sen per minute, up by 49%).
For example, a budget taxi that is stuck in traffic for an hour will take in RM25 (RM30 for those in Penang) from time-based charges alone, up from RM16.80 previously. This is likely to make taxi drivers more willing to face congestions.
Express buses will charge 2.1 sen more (or 22.5%) per km, setting the new fare at 11.4 sen per km.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said taxi and express bus operators were facing rising costs, adding that the last fare review for both was in 2009.
“We took into account the needs of the operators and the public (in coming up with these new fares),” he told reporters at SPAD headquarters here.
Teksi 1Malaysia (TEKS1M) cabs – consisting exclusively of the brown Proton Exora – are the only taxis to have the flagfall rate raised from RM3 to RM4.
The hike in taxi fares does not cover airport limos and executive taxis (typically blue in colour), and is limited to Peninsular Malaysia.
According to SPAD, taxi fares would be reviewed each year based on operating cost changes.
Although the increase in fares took immediate effect, taxis could only charge the new rates after the meter had been recalibrated.
SPAD chief executive Mohd Nur Ismal Mohd Kamal said it would take one to two months for all taxis to use this new setting.
“There’s a panel of service providers they can go to. We have asked them to increase (operating) capacitym,” he said.
SPAD said that senior citizens, the disabled and children below 12 years old would continue to enjoy the 25% discount on express bus fares.
On train fares, Syed Hamid said SPAD had given its approval to KTM Bhd and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd to set new rates covering LRT, KTM Komuter, KTM Intercity and KL Monorail.
According to SPAD, the Ampang and Kelana Jaya LRT Line fares have not been reviewed for the past 19 and 17 years respectively. Monorail, KTM Komuter and KTM Intercity fares have remained the same for 12, 12 and 25 years respectively.
Mohd Nur said the fares of stage buses would not be increased now or in the near future.
“This is because low-income earners rely on stage buses for transport, and they cannot afford to pay more,” he said.
He added that the Government would cover stage bus costs.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Hot weather to ease by March end
Hot weather to ease by March end: Met dept
The hot and dry spell in many areas is in the final phase of the monsoon season which is expected to abate by the end of March, said Meteorological Department director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail.
“It is now the tail end of the northeast monsoon which causes many areas to receive less rain over an extended period, leading to the hot and dry weather,” she said when attending the 2015 message by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, here today.
Che Gayah said the current weather condition had not reached the ‘hot wave’ level and was still categorised as normal with 30 per cent rainfall based on the long term average.
Asked if the temperature of the hot and dry weather was different from last year, she said there was not see much difference with the temperature varying over three degrees Celcius.
The temperature in Malaysia is currently between 33 and 35 degrees Celcius.
Che Gayah said the inter-monsoon season would start in April until mid-May, when states in the peninsula would experience wet weather with thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening.
She said heavy rain and thunderstorm were common before the southwest monsoon begins from June to September which is the dry and haze season.
Che Gayah said under its standard operating procedure (SOP), the department would only carry out cloud seeding when haze reached the level hazardous to human health.
“The department is always prepared to conduct cloud seeding with private flight companies to overcome the problem. At times, dam operators will also carry out cloud seeding to raise the level of water. If they seek our help, we will be prepared to assist,” she said.
Meteorological Department director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail says the hot weather is expected to cool down by the end of March.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
The hot and dry spell in many areas is in the final phase of the monsoon season which is expected to abate by the end of March, said Meteorological Department director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail.
“It is now the tail end of the northeast monsoon which causes many areas to receive less rain over an extended period, leading to the hot and dry weather,” she said when attending the 2015 message by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, here today.
Che Gayah said the current weather condition had not reached the ‘hot wave’ level and was still categorised as normal with 30 per cent rainfall based on the long term average.
Asked if the temperature of the hot and dry weather was different from last year, she said there was not see much difference with the temperature varying over three degrees Celcius.
The temperature in Malaysia is currently between 33 and 35 degrees Celcius.
Che Gayah said the inter-monsoon season would start in April until mid-May, when states in the peninsula would experience wet weather with thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening.
She said heavy rain and thunderstorm were common before the southwest monsoon begins from June to September which is the dry and haze season.
Che Gayah said under its standard operating procedure (SOP), the department would only carry out cloud seeding when haze reached the level hazardous to human health.
“The department is always prepared to conduct cloud seeding with private flight companies to overcome the problem. At times, dam operators will also carry out cloud seeding to raise the level of water. If they seek our help, we will be prepared to assist,” she said.
Meteorological Department director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail says the hot weather is expected to cool down by the end of March.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Malacca airport a boost for tourism
Malacca airport a boost for tourism
As the entry point by air into the state, the Malacca International Airport (LTAM) in Batu Berendam has become busier since Malindo Air began operations to it last November.
The airport, says the state Exco for Transport and Rehabilitation Projects Datuk Lim Ban Hong, can be the catalyst for boosting Malacca’s tourism industry.
He added that Malindo Air’s five times weekly flights to Penang, Kelantan and Pekan Baru (Indonesia) are a key factor in encouraging the arrival of both local and overseas tourists.
“It includes tourists from Indonesia, particularly Pekan Baru, with Malacca being a medical tourism state now.
“The air entry point is now a very important one for the state and we hope that in time, we will start receiving tourists from other countries such as China,” Lim said.
The LTAM, completed in 2011, has a 2,135 metre runway with a 45 metre clearance for large aircraft, including the Airbus 320.
It started operations on a low key note but seems to have received a new lease of life with Malindo Air’s presence.
Malacca has set a target of 15 million tourist arrivals in the state in 2015 with 120,000 of them being medical tourists seeking specialist treatment at private hospitals.
Lim said the frequency of flights will encourage bigger participation by travel agents in Malacca and also promote it on the international stage as a heritage site.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
As the entry point by air into the state, the Malacca International Airport (LTAM) in Batu Berendam has become busier since Malindo Air began operations to it last November.
The airport, says the state Exco for Transport and Rehabilitation Projects Datuk Lim Ban Hong, can be the catalyst for boosting Malacca’s tourism industry.
He added that Malindo Air’s five times weekly flights to Penang, Kelantan and Pekan Baru (Indonesia) are a key factor in encouraging the arrival of both local and overseas tourists.
“It includes tourists from Indonesia, particularly Pekan Baru, with Malacca being a medical tourism state now.
“The air entry point is now a very important one for the state and we hope that in time, we will start receiving tourists from other countries such as China,” Lim said.
The LTAM, completed in 2011, has a 2,135 metre runway with a 45 metre clearance for large aircraft, including the Airbus 320.
It started operations on a low key note but seems to have received a new lease of life with Malindo Air’s presence.
Malacca has set a target of 15 million tourist arrivals in the state in 2015 with 120,000 of them being medical tourists seeking specialist treatment at private hospitals.
Lim said the frequency of flights will encourage bigger participation by travel agents in Malacca and also promote it on the international stage as a heritage site.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Friday, February 20, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
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