Penang Chinese Town Hall’s (PCTH) Chinese New Year Open House on Feb 4

The Penang Chinese Town Hall’s (PCTH) Chinese New Year Open House in George Town is set to be a grand affair this year with myriad cultural activities and food for the public.

PCTH deputy chairman Datuk Lam Wu Chong (pic) said the two-hour event to be held on Feb 4 (the second day of the first lunar month), would start at 9.30am.

“All races are welcome to share in this joyful celebration. There will be a buffet and even halal Malay food for the public,” he told a press conference on Friday.

He said the open house was an important annual activity for the PCTH to strengthen the relationship with the community and to foster better mutual understanding between all races.

The event will include a lion dance, an appearance by the God of Prosperity to give away candy, Chingay, Chinese orchestra, festive songs by a choir and a colourful cultural performance.

Among the dignitaries expected are Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Wow, a grand event....but I'm just afraid the lack of parking space :(

Ride with Rapid Penang and win iPads !!!

Public bus operator Rapid Penang will hold a lucky draw as part of its upcoming Lunar New Year celebration where the top prizes are eight iPads.

The lucky draw is part of the public transport operator’s aim to reward loyal commuters.

The Rapid Ride to Prosperity Draw will be held from Feb 1 until April 30.

Rapid Penang chief executive officer Azhar Ahmad told a press conference at the Eastin Hotel on Friday that the company was finding ways to excite commuters as well as enticing new passengers.

“We hope to attract more white collared workers to use our servi-ces,” he said.

Azhar said the move was in line with the government’s drive to expand public transport ridership.


Commuters have several ways of becoming eligible for the draw.

They can either obtain the Youth or Emas receipt tickets, which are sold mainly to the young and elderly respectively, or by collecting 30 Rapid Penang bus tickets.

Those with such tickets are entitled to one lucky draw per entry.

They can also choose to purchase the Rapid Preferred receipt ticket, which will be an added bonus, as they will be entitled to two entries.

The contest is open to all commuters.

They can send as many entries as they want.

However, each winner can only win one prize in the draw.

Entry forms are available at all Rapid kiosks as well as via its website at www.rapidpg.com.my.

All entries must reach Rapid Penang before midnight on April 30.

If any uncle or auntie that got this IPad and willing to sell it out at a bargain price, please contact me, I want !!! Haha :)

Annual Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration 2011 Photography Contest

The annual Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration in George Town will see something new this year as for the first time, a photography contest will be held during the event.

Winners will win cash and prizes worth more than RM10,000.

Co-organised by Penang Press Club and sponsored by Canon, the contest is divided into three categories — press club members, students and an open category.

Contestants are required to submit photos depicting lively scenes of the celebration, which will be held on Feb 12 from 3pm to midnight.

Organising chairman Ang Yee Shyuan said the photographs submitted would be displayed in a gallery during next year’s celebration.

“Some visitors had complained that they did not have enough time to tour all the places. The photo gallery will allow our visitors to get a better idea of the available attractions,’ she said.

Another interesting event is the ‘human chess’ competition, where students would take on the roles of the various Chinese chess pieces on a giant board.

“The last time a similar event took place in Penang was back in 1975.

“This time, we are holding it to raise funds for private education institutions in Penang,” she said, adding that it is co-organised with Penang Chess Association.

It's always nice to capture the festive mood especially Chinese New Year celebration and environment, probably due to the fact that I'm a Chinese. For all the photography friends out there, this is just a nice reason and occasion for the CNY theme photoshoot :)

A change for the good @ Carnarvon Street

Motorist who are stuck in a jam during peak hours along Carnarvon Street can now enjoy a scenery of green trees to sooth their nerves as the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has given the street a new look.

The green pilot project saw the planting of 60 trees along the road and it was implemented in conjunction with the second anniversary of George Town’s listing as Unesco World Heritage Site.

An MPPP spokesperson said a total of RM101,604 was spent on the project, with RM75,144 of the total cost funded by Kha-zanah Nasional Berhad through its subsidiary Think City Sdn Bhd for the purchase of trees.

“The remaining RM26,460 was funded by MPPP for the purchase of materials,” he said.

He said four types of jungle species — Garcenia cova, Sterculia parvifolia, Syzygium syzygoides and Sindora coriacea — were selected among the 11 types proposed by the landscape consultant Sek San Design that was appointed by Think City Sdn Bhd.

“We planted 15 trees of each type respectively,” he said.

“The selection of trees was also in accordance with our aim to alleviate heat and add colour and fragrance to the city.

“It is also our objective to calm down road users in inner city roads as the greenery can be soothing. We also want to support the use of local flora,” he said.

He added that beautification work along the street started on Dec 17.

Parti Cinta Malaysia action team chief Tham Weng Fatt, in a statement, gave the beautification work a thumbs-up.

“This is a great move. They should also light up the road with colourful bulbs.



“I hope they will water the plants daily and repair the damaged road divider along Carnarvon Street.

“They should also bring up the concrete road divider height to 30.5cm to prevent motorcyclists from going over the divider,” he said.

This is a very good idea and implementation. I really hope that the council will continue to do the maintenance and care for the green plants there. After all, it's always so hot when travelling along that road. Hopefully this will be a thing in the past in few years' time.

Reminder: EPF workers' contribution back to 11% from January 2011

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has reminded employers that the monthly statutory contribution rate for the employees has reverted to 11% from 8% and this comes into effect from the January 2011 salary.

The EPF said employers had to ensure the correct amount was deducted from the employees’ wages based on this revised contribution rate and remitted to the EPF starting from the February 2011 contributions.

The employees’ statutory rate was lowered from 11% to 8% for two years from January 2009 to December 2010.

"Members who had previously submitted Form KWSP 17A (AHL) Khas/KWSP 17AA Khas to maintain the contribution rate at 11% during the two-year period, would not be required to take any action," it said.

It added the employers’ share of the monthly contribution to the EPF was unchanged at 12%.

I suggest that everyone that's working out there make sure you check your payslip come end of Jan to make sure that the deduction is now back at 11%. For those that have choosen to remains at 11% previously, do double check to confirm as well.

SP Setia wins Penang People's Park project deal

SP Setia Bhd (8664), the country's largest developer by sales has won a RM300 million project to build and operate the Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE), Bloomberg reported, citing an email statement from the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Last Thursday, Business Times reported that the property developer was the front runner and on the verge of winning the job.

Securing the project should bode well for SP Setia, which posted sales of RM1.74 billion and a net profit of RM251.81 million in the year ended October 31 2010.

The project aims to create a "Penang People's Park" that includes the country's first subterranean sPICE, a 2.83 hectares public park on the rooftop, a refurbished and upgraded Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa), a refurbished and upgraded Aquatic Centre and a four-star hotel with retail outlets and a spacious parking lot.

The project will be developed through a public-private partnership agreement between the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) and developer SP Setia Bhd's unit Eco Meridean Sdn Bhd.

On September 3 2010, SP Setia had bought 2 ordinary shares of RM1.00 each in Eco Meridian Sdn Bhd, resulting in the private company becoming a wholly owned unit of SP Setia.

Financing for the Penang project will see MPPP injecting some RM50 million, through a combination of land and cash, while Eco Meridean will finance the rest.


The proposed sPICE, which initially came with a RM50 million priceline, has been mired in controversy ever since Lim proposed it.

One of the concerns raised was that the project would incur huge expenditure, which could result in the council becoming insolvent.

Lim, however, claimed the council could save some RM25 million from the refurbishment, repairs and upgrading work on Pisa and the Aquatic Centre and that Eco Meridean will pay RM13.5 million for land to build a four-star hotel to complement sPICE.

This means that the net sum of MPPP's investment in the project would be RM11.5 million.

Work on the project is expected to start within three to six months' time and will be completed in three years.

Not sure if this project gonna go on smoothly as there are so many critics and complains from everywhere...

2nd Penang bridge project behind time

Construction work on the second Penang bridge is behind schedule by 3%.

Datuk Dr Ismail Mohamed Taib, the managing director of Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd — the biggest concession holder of the project — said however, that the delay would not affect the September 2013 completion date for the bridge.

“The total project completion stands at 40% and is just a little bit off schedule.

“We are confident that the contractors will be able to catch up (the 3%) in the year’s second quarter.

“These small delays are normal in construction and we have not yet reached a stage where the project is critically delayed,” Dr Ismail said, adding that projects would be considered critically delayed when construction was 20% behind schedule.

He said the construction of the RM4.5bil second bridge comprised five packages, of which only one — Package One by CHEC (China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd) (M) Sdn Bhd —was ahead of schedule.

Dr Ismail said CHEC was moving ahead at between 5% and 10% ahead of their timeline on their construction of the main navigation span and substructure, and foundation works of the approach spans.

He was speaking to reporters after a site visit and briefing for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) headed by chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid.


Azmi, who visited the CHEC office in Batu Maung, the bridge’s mid-span and the UEM casting yard in Batu Kawan, said PAC was visiting the project for a briefing and not an investigation.

Okok, I'm fine with the 3% delay. But please do not use this reason to accumulate more cost on it. At the end of the day, we rakyat are paying for it !!!