KL building stands tall at Japan snow festival

KL building stands tall at Japan snow festival

KL building stands tall at Japan snow festival

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:01 AM PST

06 February 2014| last updated at 12:15AM

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Malaysia's participation in one of Japan's largest winter events was aimed at promoting Visit Malaysia Year 2014 in Japan.

"We are pleased and honoured to be one of the main sponsors of the 2014 Sapporo Snow Festival and International Ice Sculpture Contest, along with Malaysia Airlines, our national carrier, as the co-sponsor.

"Through our participation, we hope to highlight Malaysia's unique tourism offerings, and position the country as a must-visit holiday destination for Japanese tourists," he said here yesterday.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building snow sculpture measures 18m high, 28m wide and 20m deep. The festival is expected to attract more than two million local and international visitors over the week-long event, which opened yesterday.

Nazri thanked the Hokkaido Government for the honour and the Japan Self Defence Force for working to produce the snow sculpture.

"This historic building, which was built in 1857, serves as Malaysia's tourism and heritage showcase to the world."

Tourism Malaysia is also participating in the Snow Sculpture Contest showcasing a sculpture of the proboscis monkey, the official mascot of Visit Malaysia Year 2014. Bernama

Tourists checking out the 18m-high 28m-wide snow sculpture of the Sultan Abdul Samad building at the 65th annual Sapporo Snow Festival, Tokyo. AFP pic


Related Articles

Five receive Merdeka Awards

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

06 February 2014| last updated at 12:43AM
By ZARINA ZAKARIAH | zarinaz@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIANS should look beyond the developed nation status and  focus on building a sustainable source of talent, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Najib, who is also Merdeka Awards 2013 patron, said the Merdeka Awards was an example of ensuring the source of talent continued while it measures not only individual achievements but also the impact of that on wider societies.

"The recipients of the award are not only distinguished by their professional and personal excellence but also by their contributions to the country.

"These five award recipients, and the teams that  worked alongside them, have left their mark in Malaysia's history and laid the foundations for future successes."

In a  ceremony at the Petronas Dewan Filharmonik last night, five outstanding Malaysians were awarded the awards for their achievements and contributions to their  fields.

The recipients were Tan Sri Arshad Ayub and Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias Raja Muhammad Ali  for their contribution in the education and community category, Dr Lim Boo Liat in the environment category, Tan Sri Dr Yahya Awang in health, science and technology category, and Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit in the outstanding scholastic achievement category.

Arshad and Muhammad Alias were awarded based on their contributions to  shaping the Malaysia's education landscape through education reform and innovation, which had resulted in accessible education for all as well as their contributions to  rural reform, such as the successful land settlement projects for the landless and rural population.

 Lim was  recognised for  his contribution to the conservation of Malaysia's biological diversity and six decades of scientific research and environmental advocacy.

Dr Yahya Awang was recognised for  his contribution to pioneering  clinical research and cardiac surgery and his  role in the establishment of the National Heart Institute.

Recognised for his  scholastic achievement,  Lam was  honoured for his contribution to scholarly research and development in medical virology and infectious diseases, including dengue.

Each recipient received the Merdeka Award trophy, a certificate of recognition, a work of art and cash award of RM500,000.

The nomination and selection process begins in January each year with extensive search locally and internationally for individuals and organisations in areas that reflect focus to the growth and development of the country.

The recipients were announced by Perak Regent Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Azlan Shah, who is also Merdeka Award Board of Trustees chairman, while Najib presented the awards. Present were Merdeka Award founding members from Petronas, Shell Malaysia and Exxon Mobil Malaysia, Tan Sri Datuk Shamsul Azhar,  Iain Lo and Fatimah Merican.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (third from right), Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah (second from right) and Petronas chief executive officer Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas (right) with Merdeka Awards 2013 recipients at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur. They are (from left) Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit (Outstanding Scholastic Achievement category), Tan Sri Dr Yahya Awang (Health, Science and Technology category), Dr Lim Boo Liat (Environment category), Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias Raja Muhammad Ali (Education and Community category) and Tan Sri Arshad Ayub (Education and Community category). Pic by Aizuddin Saad

Current haze from local sources

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

06 February 2014| last updated at 12:14AM

The Malaysian Meteorological Department Central Forecast Office director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said the cause of the haze included open-burning, emissions from vehicles and industrial gas release.

Debris from Mount Sinabung and the forest fire in the Riau province, he said, would not adversely affect Malaysia.

"The situation will be bad only at areas close to these disaster zones.

"The mild winds from Indonesia are not strong enough to bring massive amounts of ash here.

"We do not predict the haze would worsen, as it is currently the northeast monsoon season, where wind is coming from China."

Helmi said the wind from northwest could transport only small haze particles to Malaysia and that at the most, only the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia would be affected.

The air quality in Seremban, Negri Sembilan and Cheras, Kuala Lumpur at 5pm yesterday, reached "unhealthy" levels with the Air Pollutant Index (API) recording readings of above 100.

The Department of Environment (DoE) website listed the API readings for both areas at 103 and 108 respectively.

The air quality in 23 areas was recorded at a moderate level, with API readings of between 51 and 100.

The department said the haze was caused by suspended particles in the air because of the hot and dry weather as well as human activities.

It also said the stagnant state of the atmosphere and the topography of the Klang Valley caused the suspended particles in the air to be trapped and not dispersed quickly.

Following the current air condition, DoE has enabled the Open Burning Prevention Action Plan in all states.

Kok 'misused social media'

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

06 February 2014| last updated at 11:47PM

As an elected parliamentarian, Kok had the responsibility of upholding values and ethics that sow the seeds of unity, not dissension.

"Kok clearly used satire to bypass political censorship in her most distasteful rendition of political criticism," Huan said in a strongly-worded statement yesterday.

He said those in the video clip, called Onederful Malaysia CNY2014, not only insulted the nation via innuendos, but made passing comments which criticised the country in a distasteful manner.

"Right-thinking viewers are appalled by the sick and warped humour. The fact that the culprits refused to acknowledge the whole production reeks with malicious content. "That she had the gumption to be in the video yet lacks the grace to accept that she had overstepped boundaries is disgusting."

Calling Kok's actions "mischievous", Huan questioned her motives behind the production of the clip.

"She claimed the video clip was produced with humour and fun for her audience among the Chinese community. Why, then, did she include English subtitles for those who cannot understand Chinese dialects?

"There is a mischievous motive behind the production as evidenced by the script and characteristics of the other three characters."

He also criticised Kok for refusing to admit her video clip was inappropriate and out of line for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Ti Lian Ker echoed Huan's sentiments, saying Kok had subjected herself to all manner of indignities following the release of her video clip.

"What she has done is not a parody. Constantly putting down others or the nation at large may be 'cool' when she was still an up-and-coming opposition politician seeking public acceptance.

"Now that she's paid well, she has nothing to show but putting down leaders, such as Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen who have much more than her, in Selangor and for the tourism industry."

Describing the video as "shameful", Ti said Kok's actions proved that she was not the kind of leader to bring the nation forward during a time when it faced various socio-political constraints and challenges.

Moody's positive on Malaysia

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

06 February 2014| last updated at 12:10AM

KUALA LUMPUR: THE economic outlook for Malaysia this year is positive as government policies gear towards sustaining long-term growth, says Moody's Analytics..

Improving global demand would also lift the incomes of export-based economies like Malaysia, said the sovereign rating agency.

Good governance in Malaysia, as well as in Singapore and the Philippines, will support the economic outlook for the next 18 months.

"However, the varying political landscapes and asymmetric capital outflows from tighter United States monetary policy will dictate the outlook in 2014," it said in its latest report.

A firmer US economy, a stabilising Eurozone, improvement in Japan and the steady Chinese economy are set to lift global growth to 3.1 per cent from 2.1 per cent last year.

"Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the most export-facing economies, should receive the largest boost from stronger global trade flows."

In the case of Singapore, its links to the global economy had weakened over the last five years because of its increasing reliance on pharmaceuticals, which tend to be acyclical. It said government policies in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines were geared towards sustaining long-term growth, with the latter two having made progressive strides on the fiscal front over the last couple of years.

"The Malaysian government recently reduced burdensome fuel subsides and increased welfare payments.

"It appears policymakers are trying to steer the economy towards a more developed, free market-based system, particularly as Malaysia is one of the more financially developed countries in Asean."

In the long term, the challenge remains lifting the economy out of the middle-income trap and transitioning into profitable higher-value-added industries.

In a January report, Moody's Investors Service also said that Malaysia's positive rating outlook reflected its improved prospects for fiscal consolidation and reform since the parliamentary elections last year.

The introduction of a Goods and Services tax next year to broaden the tax base and reduce the government's reliance on petroleum-related receipts and the subsidy rationalisation scheme would have an overall effect in bolstering finances, it said.

Sarawak abuzz over CM's future

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

06 February 2014| last updated at 11:52PM
By DENNIS WONG AND GOH PEI PEI | news@nst.com.my

KUCHING: For many Sarawakians, there is nothing new in the latest speculation of Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud calling it quits soon.

To them, it is just a rumour that has been circulating over the past four years.

The only difference this time was that the rumour was given a degree of credence with the tenure of Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng due to expire at the end of the month.

Talk of Taib taking over as the new Yang Dipertua Negeri is rife as the 93-year-old Abang Muhammad Salahuddin has been in office since 2001 and will not extend his tenure.

Almost all local political pundits are expecting a major announcement at the state Barisan Nasional meeting on Sunday.

Taib, who served as chief minister for the past 33 years since 1981, had been hinting on this since 2011, the year the last Sarawak state election was held.

At that time, Taib said he would retire in "two or three years" and leave "mid-term" without mentioning any specific dates.

But that plan may have got into a twist as the 78-year-old chief minister led the state BN to a convincing win in GE13 , with Taib's Parti Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak winning all 14 parliament seats it contested and forming the bulk of the 25 BN parliament seats in the state.

Taib's brand of leadership, which focuses on politics of development and power-sharing among the ethnic groups, was credited as the main driving force for BN's electoral success in the state.

Three names has been bandied as Taib's possible replacement since the last state election.

They are Special Affairs Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem who is also PBB information chief, Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Openg and Second Resource Planning and Environment Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan who is also PBB senior deputy president.

When contacted, Johari who is also PBB vice-president, declined comment.

PBB will hold a special supreme council meeting on Saturday before the state BN's meeting on Sunday.

Leaders of PBB and other state BN component parties are keeping mum about the agenda of both meetings.

Regardless of the outcome of the speculation, Taib's success in leading Sarawak over the years was evident in its rapid growth since the expansion of its economic potential particularly in the industrial sector.

Since the start of the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy initiative five years ago, the state's economy had grown to be the third largest in the country with a real gross domestic product of RM71.9 billion, which accounted for 10 per cent of the national GDP.

Tan Sri Taib Mahmud has been chief minister since 1981