Broadband boost - More community Internet centres and lower rates from Telekom

This better be true and really up to what is being said and reported...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced six initiatives last night to encourage broadband usage among Malaysians, including a reduction in rates on broadband packages from Telekom Malaysia.

The initiatives will benefit some 17 million Internet users in the countryand boost broadband coverage. Najib said the measures would be implemented under the National Broadband Initiative (NBI), which he launched together with Telekom’s High Speed Broadband (HSBB) service at Dataran Merdeka here lastnight. The initiatives are:

• to set up community broadband centres to serve 615,000 people in 246 locations nationwide at a cost of RM60 million;

• to establish Internet centres at 138 offices of the Information Department to provide broadband access to 400,000 users;

• to have e-kiosks at community centres and sub-district (mukim) offices in 1,100 locations at a cost of RM4 million;

• expansion of cellular coverage by setting up 873 new telecommunication towers, including 278 in Sabah and 257 in Sarawak;

• an allocation of RM1 billion from the Universal Service Provision (USP)fund to be used with the consensus of service providers to distribute notebookcomputers to needy students; and,

• Telekom to make available broadband packages together with netbooks, with rates reduced from RM50 to RM38 a month, and in USP areas a further reduction of RM20 a month.

Najib said attention should be given to the development of worldclass infrastructure to transform the nation into a progressive and high-income country.

“The HSBB is a key enabler to transform the country from a medium-to-high-income nation and Malaysia into a 21st century country.”

He said it would also enhance the country’s competitiveness and provide confidence to local and foreign investors.

Under the NBI initiative, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has targeted a 50 per cent broadband penetration by the year-end to 3.2 million homes.

NST

'Rare' fossil of new dinosaur species found in US - "Seitaad Ruessi"

Hmm, I'm just wondering how many more species of uncovered dinosaur or what else more can human discover....

A new species of dinosaur has emerged from the rocks of in the western state of Utah.

Buried by a collapsing sand dune, perhaps 185 million years ago, the new dinosaur was probably a plant eater and an early relative of the giant animals later known as sauropods, researchers report in Tuesday's edition of the journal PLoS One.

Named Seitaad ruessi, the species was 10-to-15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters) long and 3-to-4 feet (0.91 meters to 1.2 meters) high. Its bones were found protruding from sandstone at the base of a cliff, directly below an ancient Anasazi cliff dwelling.

No humans were around at the time of the dinosaurs, but researchers say the bones could well have been visible when the early Indians lived there.

The name Seitaad comes from the word "Seit'aad," which was a sand monster that buried its victims in dunes in Navajo legend, according to the researchers. The newly-named skeleton had been swallowed by a sand dune.

So, might visible dinosaur remains have given rise to the ancient Indian monster legend?

"That's a lot of speculation, but anything's possible," said Mark Loewen, a paleontologist at the Utah Museum of Natural History and instructor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah.

One of the Anasazi dwellings included a stone with a dinosaur footprint in its center, he noted.The ruessi part of the name is in honor of poet and naturalist Everett Ruess who disappeared in southern Utah in 1934.

Understanding how dinosaurs lived in the past, how their environments changed and affected them, is important for understanding our changing world today, Loewen said.

The nearly complete skeleton is missing only its head, one toe and a lower shinbone, he said, noting erosion over the years probably accounts for the missing parts.

What the researchers have is similar to other sauropodomorphs found in South America and southern Africa, which were all vegetarians, he explained in a telephone interview. However, Seitaad did have a claw on its front limbs, which Loewen suggested was probably used for defense.

"We were absolutely shocked" by the discovery of this dinosaur, Loewen said. It was found in 2004 by a local artist studying rock paintings and the scientists went to the area immediately when they learned of it, he said. The bones were excavated the following year by Museum researchers.

While dinosaur remains have been found in other parts of Utah fossils are rare in the Navajo sandstone areas and generally have been from smaller creatures.

"This new find suggests that there may be more dinosaurs yet to be discovered in these rocks," said Joseph Sertich, co-author of the report and currently a doctoral student at New York's Stony Brook University.

AP

6th Relay for Life 2010 : 5/6th June 2010

Relay for Life 2010

Date : 5/6th June 2010
Venue : Youth Park, Penang

Registration is now open for the ‘6th Relay for Life 2010’ which will be held on June 5 and June 6 at Youth Park. Teams of 10 are invited to register for the event organised by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (Penang Branch). Participation of cancer survivors is free but with prior registration. For more details, call the society at 04-2284140 or visit http://www.relayforlife.org.my/.

PepsiCo looks for new, zero-calories, natural sweeteners

A race to develop natural, zero-calorie sweeteners is bubbling up in America's US$100 billion beverage industry.

PepsiCo, looking to revive itself in the declining soda industry, is boosting its development spending for this search and to mix up new drinks.

PepsiCo Inc. said Tuesday at an investor meeting that it is putting "unprecedented resources" toward reformulating its beverages with natural, no-calorie sweeteners such as stevia, an herb grown in South America and Asia, and to find new ones.

Soft drink sales are falling as people look to cut calories and worry over other sweeteners such as high fructose corn syurp. Shopper thriftiness in the recession is also hurting sales.

So coming out with new, no-calorie drinks is a way to keep people buying.

The race gets even more pressing now that there's talk of a tax on sugary beverages.

PepsiCo has used a version of stevia in some of its Tropicana and SoBe Lifewater drinks, said Massimo d'Amore, CEO of PepsiCo's Americas Beverages unit, which overseas drinks in North and South America.

Having employed the technology in non-carbonated beverages, now PepsiCo wants to do the same for soda.

"The next barrier we have to break is to do the same with carbonated products," d'Amore said at the second day of an investor meeting Tuesday.

"The reason they're not out there yet is because there are some taste issues we are working on."

PepsiCo said it has a pipeline of zero calorie, natural sweeteners in the works, but it declined to say when they might be released, how much of its portfolio would have them or how much it's spending on research.

Rival Coca-Cola Co. is likewise looking for these sweetener alternatives, said UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala.

"I think the scramble is on to get the taste profile, and it seems like both companies are close to it," he said.

Coca-Cola has used a version of stevia in its Odwalla juices, Vitaminwater, and some carbonated beverages such as Sprite Green, among other products.

The company said in a statement Tuesday it is looking into using stevia-based sweeteners in several of its beverage categories.

The possibility of a tax on sugary beverages, which some health leaders and lawmakers are calling for to fight obesity, makes the search all the more important, d'Amore said.

He added PepsiCo has been working on the developments since before talk of the sugar tax surfaced.

AP

A Greener GeorgeTown?

The World Heritage Office is mulling over the idea of setting up a committee to look into landscaping George Town’s Unesco World Heritage enclave.

Its head Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the suggestion was discussed during a talk with several stake holders and department heads recently.

“Once we get all the relevant information and feedback then a comprehensive blueprint will be developed,” she said.

Penang Heritage Trust president Khoo Salma Nasution said it would be good to make George Town especially the inner city green as it would make a lot of difference in terms of environment quality.

“Having more trees and plants will help lower temperature which is hot currently.

“Nutmeg, clove, sugar cane, pepper are some agricultural plants associated with Penang. These plants were once important to the state’s economy, and I am sure that planting such trees will add additional heritage value to the enclave,” she said.

Khoo Salma said more community gardens should be created around the area, adding that more trees should also be planted along the roads, although this would require cars to share the road space.

“Neem trees and others plants can play an important role to create shade and make the heritage city a better place to visit,” she said.

My personal view : Being a nature lovers, I'll sure support this idea and program. More green is even better. Furthermore the idea is to plant those iconic plants that are associated to Penang, which makes it even much much more meaningful :) Love it !!!

Book on Penang economy on sale via online

A BOOK, entitled ‘Pilot Studies for a New Penang,’ is now on sale through Amazon.com.

The book is a compilation of studies on Penang’s current economic condition and is jointly published by the Socio-Economic & Environmental Research Institute (Seri) and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

The book is part of Seri’s Penang Studies Series which promotes the concept of Penang studies through publications, seminars and digital library.

Most of the chapters in this volume were first presented at the Penang Outlook Forum 2009, held on 1-2 June 2009 at the E&O Hotel in Penang. A few others have been added to complement those debated at the conference.

At present, comprehensive and authoritative studies on Penang's current economic conditions are a rarity. This book is thus an effort to correct that lack. Evidence does suggest that the state had not been doing well in the first half of the first decade of the new millennium.

Being a small state situated relatively far away from the administrative capital of Putrajaya, Penang has been economically innovative if it is to regain its place at the forefront of Malaysian development. The relationship between the state and the federal government remains a vital matter.

Table of Contents

Pilot Studies for a New Penang

Preliminary pages with Introduction

1. Moving Penang from Past to Future, by Lee Kah Choon Chan Huan Chiang

2. Asia's Shift towards Innovation and its Implications for Penang, by Wong Poh Kam Ho Yuen Ping

3. Shallow Pockets but Close to the Action: Industrial Policy at the Sub-national Level, by Francis Edward Hutchinson

4. Implementing Pro-Employment Policies at the Sub-national Level, by Liew Chin Tong Francis Edward Hutchinson

5. Re-thinking Health Care and the State, by Chan Chee Khoon

6. Social Justice and the Penang Housing Question, by Goh Ban Lee

7. Some Thoughts on Private Higher Education in Penang, by Sin I-Lin

8. Re-examining Penang State Finances and Governance, by Suresh Narayanan Lim Mah Hui Ong Wooi Leng

9. Tweaking the State's Delivery Mechanism: The Case of the MPPP, by Ooi Kee Beng Goh Ban Lee

10. Positioning Penang for Sustainable Growth, by Nungsari Ahmad Radhi Hamdan Abdul Majeed

11. The Wage-Productivity Question and Women in the Workforce: A Labour Statistics Approach for the Penang State Government , by Hwa Yue-Yi

12. Embodying Social Justice in Employment Legislation and HR Practices, by Ajit Singh Jessy

13. Epilogue: Social Dimensions of Economic Development, by P Ramasamy

Wanna know more, why not get yourself one copy, it's just yours for RM45 :)

6b AS1Malaysia units still available

Worth to buy? Still got so much allocations left. I think many are waiting to see how the dividend performs :)

SOME six billion units of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M) are still available for public subscription.

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said most of the available units are for Bumiputeras and Indians.

"Only eight per cent or 238 million units of the three billion units allocated for the Chinese community is still available," he said after announcing the income distribution for ASM.

The AS1M fixed price fund, with a size of 10 billion units, was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on July 31 2009. Half of the units were allocated for Bumiputeras, 30 per cent for the Chinese, 15 per cent for the Indians and 5 per cent for other races.

Hamad Kama Piah said the equity income fund enjoyed brisk sale among the Chinese community as not many funds offered by PNB are open to non-Bumiputeras.

For the Bumiputeras, they have more options such as Amanah Saham Bumiputera and Amanah Saham Didik.

"Many people are still waiting for the maiden dividend to be announced. They want to compare with other funds, under PNB, to determine if the returns from AS1M is as attractive as other unit trusts," he added.

BTimes