Day: July 22, 2022

MELAKA, July 22 (Bernama) — Melaka still has the lowest house prices in the country, going at an average index price of RM181,203 per unit in the first quarter of this year.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali said that terrace houses were priced at an average of RM181,428 during the same period. 

“Currently, there are 211,049 residential units in the state, 21,511 units under development and 11,768 in planning.

“The state government is also targeting home ownership in the state to touch 88 per cent by 2030, involving 244,508 units.

“So far, home ownership in Melaka stands at 83.5 per cent,” he told reporters after opening the Melaka Affordable Houses and Real Estates Expo (MAPEX) 2022 today.

Sulaiman said that the price spike in raw materials to almost 40 per cent since last year was expected to directly impact the increase of house prices in the future.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

GEORGE TOWN, July 22 (Bernama) — Syarikat Yusof Taiyoob Sdn Bhd executive chairman, Datuk Seri Yusuf Taiyoob leads the list of 1,380 recipients of Penang state honours and honorary medals in conjunction with the 73rd birthday of the Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri, Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak.

The businessman and two other individuals namely the Malaysian Semiconductor Industry Association president, Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia former chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Mohamed Hassan Kamil will receive the Darjah Panglima Pangkuan Negeri (DPPN) which carries the title ‘Datuk Seri’.

According to the list of recipients, Ahmad Fuzi will be awarding the Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negeri (DGPN) which carries the title of ‘Datuk Seri’ to 21 recipients.

Among the recipients are Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara, Datuk Indera Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin; former Penang State Secretary, Datuk Dr Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus; Securities Commission Malaysia chairman, Datuk Seri Awang Adek Hussin, and former Penang Hospital pathology expert Prof Madya Datuk Dr. Bhunpinder Singh who is now a pathology lecturer at a private college in George Town.

Other recipients of the DGPN are Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang chief executive officer, Datuk Ir. Jaseni Maidinsa; Universiti Tenaga Nasional vice-chancellor, Prof Datuk Ir Dr Kamal Nasharuddin Mustapha; Public Works Department director-general, Datuk Ir Mohamad Zulkefly Sulaiman and Seberang Prai City Council former mayor, Datuk Sr Rozali Mohamud.

A total of 18 recipients will receive the Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negeri (DMPN) and 117 to receive the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) that carry the title ‘Datuk’.

Among the DMPN recipients are the Penang Chinese Clan Council chairman, Datuk Ang Cho Teing and Penang Crime Consciousness and Public Safety Society chairman, Datuk Mohamad Anil Shah Abdullah.

Meanwhile, Penang deputy state secretary (Management), Ahmad Rizal Mohd Hanapiah; Penang State Health Director, Dr Ma’arof Sudin; former president of Football Association of Selangor, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal and Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines, Norman Muhamad will be honoured with the DSPN.

A senior media practitioner attached with Malaysiakini, S.Arulldass will also receive the DSPN award.

Earlier, in a press conference, Penang State Legislative Assembly speaker, Datuk Law Choo Kiang said that apart from that, a total of 107 individuals will receive the Darjah Johan Negeri (DJN) award; the Bintang Cemerlang Negeri medal (19); the Pingat Kelakuan Terpuji medal (197); the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian medal (333); the Pingat Jasa Masyarakat (536) and the Pingat Bakti Setia (29).

The investiture will be held at the Sri Pinang Hall here for four days starting tomorrow.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) — In a viral TikTok video, a woman is seen attending to a ‘wound’ sustained by a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex) animatronics which is on display at the Taman Teruntum Mini Zoo in Kuantan.

Nur Syahirah Harun, 29, is sewing back the skin of the animatronics body after it was cut open so that faulty motor components could be repaired.

Nur Syahirah who is a ranger attached to the National Science Centre Dinosaur Encounter here said it was a part of the repair and maintenance process of the various animatronic figures that are put on display at the mini zoo.

She said the main part of her job was to provide detailed information on prehistoric species to visitors, adding that she would also repair the damaged motor components encased in the animatronics bodies by cutting open the skin.

“After it’s done, it has to be resewn.  Seems easy right? It’s not easy actually and not all rangers can do it.  I am currently training other rangers to carry out this task,” she told Bernama.

Nur Syahirah said ‘wounds’ refer to damage on the surface of the animatronics bodies, including the nails and teeth, and needed to be sewn with a curved needle and illusion cord using the blanket stitch method.

She said in addition to interest and basic sewing skills, rangers should be small built so as not to put pressure on the animatronics dinosaurs and ensure that the framework of the animal replicas will not break while they are performing the stitching procedure.

According to her the process can only be done manually starting with applying glue to the wounds, followed by stapling them before they are sewn back together.

“I have to make sure that all parts that needed to be repaired have been fixed before I start the stitching,” she said, adding that she will normally take up to two days to complete the task depending on the condition of the ‘wounds’.

When the task is completed, she will cover the patched surface with matching colours, she added.

According to Nur Syahirah, the Dinosaur Encounter exhibition, which is based on augmented reality (AR) technology, allows visitors to watch life-size animatronic figures of prehistoric animals at three locations, namely the National Science Centre, Melaka Zoo and Taman Teruntum Mini Zoo, Kuantan.

She said the animatronics have realistic motions and are set in a forest environment which gives the impression that the animals have come alive. 

“Through science and technology, we provide visitors with the experience of being in the prehistoric times including when dinosaurs began to become extinct through natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions,” she added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA BHARU, July 22 (Bernama) — The Keluarga Malaysia JaminKerja Career Carnival held in conjunction with the Malaysian Family Aspirations Tour (AKM) in Kelantan has attracted visitors, especially job seekers.

Checks by Bernama found that a total of 316 visitors, including job seekers from among university graduates, visited the booth as of 12.30 pm today.

One visitor hopped onto his motorcycle and rode for over 50 kilometres just to attend the carnival.

Mohd Nasrul Hashim, 25, who graduated from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) told Bernama he was excited to come to the carnival to look for employment offers after quitting as a restaurant waiter at a fast food outlet in Tanah Merah, near here.

“I came here with a friend on a motorbike from Kampung Bukit Gading in Tanah Merah to look for work and I was here as early as 10 am today,” said the holder of a Bachelor of Social Science (Sociology and Anthropology).

Fariza Adyani Mohd Na’im, 25, said the carnival made it easier for her to find a permanent job after graduating with a Bachelor of International Business from Management and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam last year.

“Before this, I worked in the hotel industry. I came here to find a permanent job and I was more interested in protégé programmes to hone my skills.

“Through this carnival, I have sent job applications to over five companies, including Maybank,” she said.

Some 4,000 job opportunities are offered through the AKM Kelantan Tour programme that started today until this Sunday, involving 28 employers from various industries.

The AKM Kelantan edition is the latest in a series of tours held in 14 locations across the country with programmes offered in the form of services to the people.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) — The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (K-KOM) will launch the Ketereh Digital Hub in Kelantan, a centre for education aimed to upskill and enrich the community in e-commerce and e-learning.

Located at the Kompleks Yayasan Kemiskinan Kelantan (YKK) in Melor, the digital hub is set to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob tomorrow, along with the presence of Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who is also the Ketereh Member of Parliament.

The digital hub is a collaboration between YTL Foundation, YES by YTL Communications, Shopee, K-KOM and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) who had the vision of creating a hub out of an existing community centre in Ketereh.

An official from YES told Bernama that the company saw it as an opportunity to showcase its high-speed internet connectivity to the community by providing the technology of 5G and data to power this digital hub.

“The Ketereh Digital Hub will be a one-stop centre that allows the community to get free access to experience the world of 5G high-speed internet, training tools for e-commerce and quality online learning programmes.

“Through Shopee University and ‘Jadi Boss Dengan Shopee’, entrepreneurs will be trained to succeed in the digital market,” he said.

Additionally, he said the digital hub would also provide the Frog Classroom, a 5G connected learning space that would encourage students to use technology, creativity, collaborative learning, critical thinking and communication through an after-school learning programme called KelasKita.

“KelasKita will conduct Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics and Science lessons to help students improve in learning as they learn alongside students from other KelasKita communities all around the country,” he said.

He added that the long-term goal toward the setup of the digital hub is to have it spread across Malaysia, giving more opportunities to every community in Malaysia to partake in the 5G movement and upskill their digital literacy.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, July 22 (Bernama) — Malaysia scored 6.48 which is a Happy level in the Malaysia Happiness Index (MHI) 2021, said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

According to the findings of the MHI which was conducted for the first time by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Labuan recorded a score of 9.29 which is Very Happy, 11 states including the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya were at a Happy level, while Melaka and Selangor were Moderately Happy.

The study was carried out to measure the level of happiness of the Malaysian population from the physical, social, emotional and spiritual aspects.

The level of Malaysia’s happiness was categorised into five scores, where the value of 0.00-2.00 is very unhappy; 2.01-4.00 unhappy; 4.01-6.00 moderately happy; 6.01-8.00 happy and 8.01-10.00 very happy.

“Overall, Malaysians are generally happy even though the country is facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, in the implementation year of the MHI Survey 2021,” said Mohd Uzir in a press conference after launching the MHI Report here today.

The study which was conducted between September and November 2021 and comprised 42,446 survey respondents nationwide, was developed based on international manuals, among others, the World Happiness Report and the Human Development Index.

Mohd Uzir said the MHI report had 73 indicators that were grouped into 13 components, namely family; housing and environment; social participation; health; communication facilities; education; working life; income; public safety; time use; religion and spiritual; culture and emotional experience.

He said analysis by component showed that the highest index score recorded was the family component which was 7.23, followed by religion and spiritual (7.21) and health (6.75).

MHI score by urban and rural areas in Malaysia were at a Happy level of 6.46 and 6.54, he added.

Mohd Uzir said for the urban strata, the states that recorded the highest MHI score were Labuan at 9.21, followed by Kuala Lumpur (7.77) and Putrajaya (7.28), while for the rural strata, the states with the highest score were Labuan (9.50), Terengganu (7.14) and Perlis (7.07).

Analysis by gender showed that females logged an MHI score of 6.49 while males scored 6.46.

Mohd Uzir said based on the MHI report, the scores that recorded by citizens and non-citizens were not much different, namely at 6.49 and 6.32, respectively.

“This means that we accept non-citizens as part of the country and they can also live a life just like citizens of our country.

“This is an interesting finding that we can show to other countries, in terms of the Happiness Index among citizens and non-citizens there is no element of discrimination,” he said.

At the international level, Mohd Uzir said Malaysia ranked 79th out of 146 countries surveyed in the World Happiness Report 2021, with a score of 5.384.

He said the MHI was important as an input in assessing the level of happiness of Malaysians at the national and state levels that could be used in achieving prosperity and creating an inclusive society.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency