Date: 29th May to 14th June 2009Time: Lunch or dinner
Location: CityBayview Hotel
From Friday, 29 May 2009 - 11:00am
To Sunday, 14 June 2009 - 8:00pm
Every day
The Malaysian economy contracted 6.2% on-year in the first quarter of 2009, the worst since the Asian financial crisis, as manufacturing output shrank sharply as exports and industrial production fell.
Bank Negara said on May 27 that manufacturing contracted 17.6%, mining fell 5.2% while agriculture saw a 4.3% decline. Services also showed a decline of 0.1% but construction rose just 0.6%.
According to economists, the contraction was worse than expected. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the economy grew at only 0.1%.
A rare headed goal by Lionel Messi helped Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final on Wednesday, giving the Spanish side its third European Cup title and third trophy in a magical season. E'to scored the other early of the game and Barca were never look back. To be fair, MU were outclassed, outplayed and outsmarted. Barca is the best team of the night and they simply deserved the win. As for MU, they were soundly beaten and every player themselves and even Sir Alex knows and admits it.
From Sunday, 31 May 2009 - 10:00am
THE Penang Floral Festival 2009 will be held from May 31st to June 7th, is expected to draw some 50,000 local and foreign visitors.
The Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas’s consort Toh Puan Majimor Shariff would be the guest of honour at the opening event on 31st May.
In conjunction with the Penang Floral Festival this 31st of May, Penang Botanic Gardens has brought in four mini trams for one month starting from 20th May. The environmental-friendly 1,300cc mini tram will take the visitors slowly around the green enclave during joggers' "non-peak" hours. It is small and occupy only 1/3 of the drive way.
Come try out the 15 minutes ride through Malaysia oldest botanical garden. Bring along your camera to snap photos of trees and plants that are bountiful in the gardens.
Events and programs:
31st May (10am to 2pm) - Official Opening Ceremony at Bandstand
31st May to 7th June (9am to 7pm) - Orchid Show & Competition at Formal Garden
31st May to 7th June (9am to 7pm) - Adenium Show & Competition at Formal Garden
31st May to 7th June (9am to 7pm) - Floral Art Show at Information Center
31st May to 7th June (9am to 7pm) - Carnivorous Plant Show & Competition at Formal Garden
31st May (9am) - Sculpture Competition at Bandstand
6th June (9am) - "Fancy Dress Competition" at Nature Heritage Exhibition booth
6th June (9am) - Children Drawing Competition at Bandstand
6th June (9am) - Children Colouring Competition at Nature Heritage Exhibition booth
31st May to 7th June (9am to 5pm) - Nature Heritage Exhibition
A blank disc that can store two million photos and 100,000 songs will be available within 10 years, Melbourne researchers predict.
The team at Swinburne University of Technology yesterday revealed it had used nanotechnology to record information in five dimensions. Today's discs record in two or three dimensions.
This means DVDs could potentially hold up to 10 terabytes of data -- equal to 10,240 gigabytes, whereas the average disc now can store 4.9 gigabytes, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Dr James Chon, co-author of the research, which will appear in "Nature" magazine, said the new disc could hold 100,000 songs instead of fewer than 100, and the equivalent of 2,000 movies.
Professor Richard Evans, from the CSIRO's Molecular and Health Technologies division, said the technology would first be used in medicine, finance and government sectors.
"Things like medical imaging, with MRIs that generate huge amounts of data, will be where this is introduced first," the AAP quoted him as saying.
The research was conducted by Swinburne University of Technology's centre for Micro-Photonics, supported by a discovery grant from the Australian Research Council.
And in a similar fashion to last year, when Simon tabbed David Archuleta as the winner and then hedged his bets in the finale results show, he told both contestants tonight that "I thought you were both brilliant. Unusually, incredibly nice people. And I think both of you should be very proud of what you achieved last night and the future's all yours."
After appearances by infamous contestants Nick Mitchell (aka "Norman Gentle") and Tatiana del Toro, the show got down to business. The Top 2 finally teamed up to sing together -- alongside the band Queen, no less.
Head of strategy and new business Albern Murty said it planned to target one-third of the broadband users in Penang. Currently, its services cover 31% of the population in Penang. The areas covered included George Town, Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Bungah and Bayan Baru.
“We will allocate RM75mil for the expansion of our broadband services in Penang for the next three years,” he said at a media question-and-answer session recently.
Murty said DiGi’s strategy placed great emphasis on quality and addressed issues faced by broadband users.
“As part of efforts to make broadband affordable and accessible, DiGi will introduce an interest-free easy-payment plan called ‘Explore’ where the subscriber pays RM138 a month for 24 months. In return, he will receive a mini laptop worth RM1,799, and enjoy increased bandwidth quota of 16GB,” he said.
Murty said DiGi would target Johor Baru next. “We will look at cities with broadband user demand to launch broadband services,” he said.
DiGi Telecommunications is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia-listed DiGi.Com Bhd.
GSC GURNEY Plaza in Penang is giving away 81 free tickets today for the special screening of the action-packed 3-D movie "Monster vs Aliens".
Those interested can cut out the newspaper release in the StarMetro today to redeem the free tickets at GSC Gurney Plaza from 6pm onwards on a first-come first-served basis.
The redemption is only allowed for those aged above 18 and it is limited to a maximum of two tickets per person.
The special screening of the movie will be at 11am on Saturday at GSC Gurney Plaza.
The movie is about a Californian girl Susan (voiced by Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon) who is hit by a meteorite on her wedding day and she mysteriously grows to about 15m tall.
Alerted to the threat of this new monster, the military captures Susan, and secrets her away to a covert government compound.
There she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of other monsters including the brilliant but insect-headed Dr Cockroach and the half-ape half-fish The Missing Link (Will Arnett).
Their confinement is cut short when an alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country.
In a moment of desperation, the President enlists the motley crew of monsters to combat the Alien Robots and save the world from imminent destruction.
I'm sure most of us in Penang will went pass Komtar at regularly in our daily lives and activities. Recently, did you noticed the heavy construction there at the empty lot in front of Pacific Supermarket? I'm sure you won't miss it since the project is so huge that it took quite a length of times to complete it. Well, here it is....next month you will see a brand new draw over there...The Komtar Walk!
Shedding its image of neglect, the Komtar complex would be buzzing with locals and tourists alike once the project dubbed the “One-Stop Dinning Place” opens its doors.
Komtar Walk, which covers a 155m-long stretch parallel to Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, is a food and beverage hub being developed by Pacific Hypermarket & Department Store Sdn Bhd.
The attraction is expected to create a spinover of activities in the heart of George Town by linking Upper Penang Roa (the state’s clubbing central) and Prangin Mall.
The company’s design manager Ooi Wooi Yaw said Komtar Walk’s layout was designed to be a breezy, hip and happening relaxation spot for Penangites and visitors to unwind.
“It’s mostly open-air to allow for a lot of wind flow but the Walk will also have a lightweight roof supported by contemporary steel structures to protect visitors from the rain and sun.
“The roof itself will be state-of-the-art with tiny LED lights embedded and the portion leading up to the new Komtar en-trance will be higher (than the rest of the roof) towering 15m above the ground,” Ooi said.
He added that out of the 19 new outlets, five single-storey ones will stand in a single structure at the foot of the overhead bridge facing the outdoor carpark.
Hmm...let's hope this Komtar Walk will really bring back the shine to our state icon. Of course let's also hope the management will keep the place in check to keep on attracting people there...
If you happened to visit our Penang Botanic Garden recently, did you notice there's a new attraction there? Well, apparently while I was coming down from my weekly hike from Penang Hill last Saturday, upon reaching the bottom of the hill (using the tar road beside the Botanic Garden), straight away I noticed there is a new tram in the garden. This tram is exactly the same we see in Taiping Zoo or even Disneyland HK to ferry tourist around the garden for those who are lazy to walk or have difficulties to travel around the garden but still wish to tour around. Turned out that this is the new move by the state government to promote the garden and boost up tourism in the state. Good move!!! Read the article below from The Star:
IF all goes well, the Penang Botanic Gardens will soon have a new attraction - an environmental-friendly mini-tram to take people for a ride around the green enclave.
Tram operator Richard Wong told The Star that four mini trams would run at the oldest botanical garden in the country from Wed-nesday for a month-long “trial run”.
It is learnt that the tram ride will be launched by state Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law on tomorrow.
“If public response is good, we may continue operating at the garden on a profit-sharing basis with the state. It is still pending discussions,” Wong, who is the managing director and chairman of Aqua Bike Malaysia, said.
“The trams can ferry a total of 100 passengers if all are running at the same time. Two of the trams have been specially decorated with orchid motives for the Penang Floral Fest.
“This will be the first tram ride in the Botanic Gardens since the garden was opened in 1884. We are expecting a lot of visitors,” he said, assuring the public that the trams would not pollute the surroundings.
“It travels very slowly. In fact, people will probably be zipping past it.
“The 1,300cc engine runs on unleaded petrol. The head of the tram is imported from Japan and the coach is made locally.
“The tram is small and will only occupy one-third of the path so there will be plenty of walking space for visitors,” he said.
The company also operates the tram service at the Taiping Zoo and Sungkai hot water springs resort in Perak and the Terengganu Museum and Islamic Civilisation Park in Kuala Terengganu.
Botanic Gardens agriculture assistant officer Ahmad Razali said the trams were brought in for the upcoming Floral Fest from May 31 to June 7.
“We hope the public will come and enjoy the trams as part of the whole Floral Fest experience.
“The rides will be available from 8am until 9pm daily.
“We will set up a booth where visitors can purchase the tickets for the rides,” he said, adding that the rides would cost RM1 (adults) and 50 sen (kids).
The 1.5km trip will take between 15-20 minutes.
World No.2 Roger Federer won his first title for 2009 at the Madrid Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open defeating Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 and breaking the Spaniard’s 33-consecutive clay court match-winning streak. Federer served six aces and broke Rafa’s serve on both occasions when he had the opportunity, fought off four break points on his own serve and won 63 points to the world No.1’s 58 during the course of the one hour and 26-minute match.
Tournament top seed Nadal was gracious in defeat. “Roger was much better than me and deserved to win today,” he said immediately after the match, “the surface was faster than the courts I’ve been playing on recently and suited him better.” And the world No.1, who defeated Novak Djokovic in a marathon semifinal on Saturday, said that fatigue had not been a factor in the final. “Playing four hours was not a problem for today,” he said. Federer was delighted to have broken his 2009 title duck. "I thought that I played well - you have to play well against Rafa on clay - there are no easy ways and he's not going to hand it to you," said the world No.2.
"It's definitely good for my confidence, especially beating Rafa in the finals, I'm working hard and doing the right things and it gives me a lot of confidence going into the French Open which maybe wouldn't have been the case a couple of weeks ago. "The No.2 seed said he was pleased with the way he'd adapted his game to take the Madrid title. "I served well, mixed it up well and took all the right decisions today. In the end it looked quite comfortable out there for me, it was a good win for me, so I'm very satisfied. "I've had some bad losses this year in terms of the way I've played but I've felt this win coming for a few weeks so I am very pleased."
C'mon Roger, great job and bravo! Let's hope you can land the exclusive French Rolland Garros title come end of the month :)
Date: 27th May & 28th May (Wednesday & Thursday)
Time: 8.30pmLocation: Dewan Sri Pinang
Organizer: Korea Tourism Organization & LG Electronicsweb site: www.breakout.co.kr
Tickets: RM63 and RM93
Tickets available at:
1) Switch Gurney Plaza New Wing (04-2295591), Switch Queensbay Mall (04-6465591), Switch Sunway Prai (04-3999591)
2) Axcess Hotline 03 – 7711 5000 or on-line at www.axcess.com.my
3) New Bob Property, Gotlieb Road
Break Out sets to be one of the most expensive stage performance in Penang. This London West End and Broadway performers will amaze their audience with their new concept of non verbal production.
Break Out tells the tale of five clumsy convicts who long to taste the freedom that lies beyond the walls of prison. These five prisoners are inspired to plan a daring escape into the outside world when they received a mysterious and sacred text.
The story is told in a form of a dance that adapts pre-existing dance moves and combines gymnastics, break dancing, yoga and martial arts moving to unparalleled DJ music – a performance as never before.
Proceeds from the Penang shows will be donated to D’Home Mental Health Association, a charitable organization that provides support, guidance and education to family members and care-givers of the mentally ill.
I found this article talking about the current bank's BLR rate a few weeks back. With the current economy situation here in our country, it's interesting to say that if you have the cash and money to move around especially for those who are planning to buy a house for personal stay, now it's kind of good time. Just look at the attached picture, the BLR rates for banks in our country is currently at a very attractive and tempting number. I was just thinking it was nice to share this out...hehe.
RapidPenang Sdn Bhd (RapidPenang) is the first bus company in the country to have WiFi facility in its buses in a move to get more people to use public transportation.
Above is the route map for the run (both 26km as well as 6km). For more information, please visit the official website at http://www.malakoffrun.com.my/.
Best of luck to all those runners that have registered for this event. Happy training and happy running :)
THE sale of RON95 petrol at RM1.75 per litre will be implemented from September 1 as an alternative to RON97 whose price will be increased to RM2.00 per litre.
At the same time, RON97 would be made a premium product while RON92 would be removed from the market, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He also said that in view of its status as a premium product, the price of RON97 would not be controlled by the government unlike RON95 that would become a fixed-price product.
The company said on May 10 the promotion features an "All-In-Fare" policy which makes booking plans easy and efficient. Seats are provided free and the passengers only pay for airport tax and administration fee.
“The free seats promotion kicks off from May 11 to 15 (booking period) for the travel period between Jan 5 and April 30, 2010. Guests are welcomed to log on to www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com to find out more about this promotion,” said the low-cost airline in a statement.
AirAsia regional head of commercial, Kathleen Tan said the one million free seats promotion was to “honour our guests, for their utmost support and faith in our services all these years as without them, we would not have achieved anything”.
She said AirAsia’s success in winning the recent Skytrax’s Best Low Cost Airline 2009 award would not have been possible without the passengers rating the airline as the best.
“Like previous occasions, our free seats campaign is always important in boosting tourist numbers and extends economic benefits brought on by tourism to every point connected by our extensive network,” she said.
Tan said the free seats promotion would prompt travellers to be smart with their travels plans and look for the best fares available. She added AirAsia, with its incessant great deals, had always receive a steady flow of travellers with its unbeatable low fares.
“From now on we will also be introducing ‘All-In-Fare’ policy for the Malaysian market, making it easier for our guests to choose and decide. What you see is what you’ll pay! And rest assured it will be all low fares!” she added.
Today is Wesak Day and also the so called mini Thaipusam day. If you happened to past by the botanical garden area or Burmah road, I'm sure you will be stucked there for quite awhile due to the crowd and procession going on. Hope you have a nice day as I'm too tired to write more....off to sleep then...
RAPID Penang bus users stand to win a 3D/2N holiday package for two at the Coral Redang Island Resort.Its creative and communications manager Yap Lee Ying said the prize includes a two-way ferry transfer from Kuala Trengganu, accommodation in a semi-detached chalet, boat trips for snorkelling and snorkelling equipment worth RM2,000.
All commuters have to do is attach their bus tickets to lucky draw forms and answer a simple question on Rapid Penang. The forms are available at Rapid Penang headquarters, depot and terminals and at www.rapidpg.com.my.Yap said commuters can submit their forms at Rapid Penang headquarters at Lorong Kulit, Butterworth depot, Balik Pulau bus terminal or post them to Redang Getaway Contest, Creative & Commu- nications Department, Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd, Lorong Kulit, 10460 Penang by May 31.
“They can send in as many forms as they wish but are eligible to win only one prize. The contest is our way of thanking our commuters for their support,” she said in a statement. For enquiries, call Rapid Penang (04-2281313 ext 203, 216 or 223).
