2018年11月14日星期三

离境税征收机制未决 陆兆福:稍后公布

离境税征收机制未决 陆兆福:稍后公布

交通部长陆兆福表示,政府尚未决定征收离境税的机制。

“究竟会加入乘客服务费或者由关税局征收?我们将会稍后公布。”

他今天在亚航总部的数码机场控制中心主持推介礼后,受询及离境税的课题时,如是表示。

他说明,2令吉乘客服务费与20令吉或40令吉的离境税不同,前者由马来西亚机场控股有限公司征收作为营运用途,非政府征收;后者是由政府征收,以提高政府的收入,政府预计每年可征收数亿令吉。

他说,离境税并非首创税务,实际上在泰国与印尼等国家早已经征收离境税。

陆兆福也希望我国机场与航空公司可以合作,缩短飞机抵达与起飞的周转时间(turnaround time)。

他透露,昨日甫从曼谷公干返国的他在4时25分抵达吉隆坡机场,但在5时10分才领取行李,令他认为有改善的空间。

“我希望在我们从抵达到行李运输带时,就可以领取行李。这需要航空公司、机场公司及相关单位的配合。”

针对政府希望出售30%机场房地产投资信托基金股权筹资40亿令吉资金,陆兆福表示,政府尚未鉴定涉及的机场(参与该机制),政府会稍后宣布。

另一方面,亚航创办人丹斯里东尼费南德斯则表示无意参与收购30%机场房地产投资信托基金股权的计划。

他说,亚航作为航空公司将会聚焦在航空事业,兴建机场并非他们的工作。

不过,他表明愿意与机场公司合作降低成本,从而调低机票价格。

询及政府落实的离境税会否导致亚航调高机票价格或者会否吸纳部分的离境税,东尼费南道斯说,由于整个机制尚未明朗,且让他们了解整个税务架构后才发言,目前,一切言之过早。

~光华日报~

2018年11月13日星期二

Departure levy different from airport tax

Departure levy different from airport tax

The departure levy proposed in Budget 2019 is completely separate from the existing passenger service charge (PSC), said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Loke was responding to a question on the need to impose the levy which was set at RM20 to Asean countries and RM40 for non-Asean countries.

The PSC is not something collected by the government, that’s collected by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to run the operations of the airport, he said.

“The departure levy introduced by the government, is a form of tax for anyone travelling out of the country. That is completely by the government, not by the airlines, not by the airports,” he said during the launch of AirAsia Bhd’s first fully-digitalised ground handling services control centre at klia2.

The departure levy is needed to raise revenue and the government could collect a few hundred million ringgit annually, he said.

Loke pointed out other countries such as Thailand and Indonesia had similar taxes for outbound travellers.

The mechanism, he said, would be announced later as implementation only starts on June 1.

He added the ministry has not decided on the mechanism to offer the 30% stake in the proposed Airport REIT (real estate investment trust), which forms part of the Budget 2019 proposal.

Fernandes hopes the proposed REIT would not increase costs.

“Obviously we would like to see full privatisation, so new airport operators can come in, we may see different ways of running airports, and not just giving 30% to Malaysian Airports as a different form of funding,” Fernandes said.

What the low-cost carrier needed, he added, was an airport operator and airport which understood AirAsia’s model in reducing costs, which he said would in turn reduce the costs of flying for passengers, allowing the carrier to build Malaysia into a strong aviation hub.

Meanwhile the ground handling services control centre will allow AirAsia’s Ground Team Red (GTR) to track aircraft handling, with real-time information on passenger boarding, baggage reconciliation and ramp-loading compiled on a digital dashboard at the control centre.

Loke was given an overall briefing of the way the centre functioned to compile the different data and identify any soft spots in the aircraft’s turnaround process.

~News courtesy of The Star~

2018年11月12日星期一

Laksa

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup popular in Peranakan cuisine. Laksa consists of rice noodles or rice vermicelli with chicken, prawn or fish, served in spicy soup based on either rich and spicy curry coconut milk or on sour asam (tamarind or gelugur). Laksa is found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Southern Thailand.

The type of laksa is based upon the soup base employed in its recipe; either rich and savoury coconut milk, fresh and sour asam (tamarind, gelugur or kokum), or the combination of the two. 

There are three basic types of laksa: curry laksa, asam laksa, and other variant that can be identified as either curry or asam laksa. 

Curry laksa is a coconut milk curry soup with noodles, while asam laksa is a sour, most often tamarind-based, soup with noodles. Thick rice noodles also known as laksa noodles are most commonly used, although thin rice vermicelli (bee hoon or mee hoon) are also common, and some recipes might create their own rice noodle from scratch. Some variants might use other types of noodles; Johor laksa for example uses spaghetti, while a fusion recipe might use Japanese udon noodle.



Laksa lemak, also known as nyonya laksa (Malay: Laksa nyonya), is a type of laksa with a rich coconut gravy. Lemak is a culinary description in the Malay language which specifically refers to the presence of coconut milk which adds a distinctive richness to a dish. As the name implies, it is made with a rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced coconut gravy. Laksa lemak is usually made with a fish-based gravy (with vegetarian food stalls omitting fish) and quite similar to Thai laksa (Malay: Laksa Thai), perhaps to the point that one could say they are one and the same.



Asam laksa is a sour, fish and tamarind-based soup. Penang Asam Laksa listed at number 26th on World's 50 most delicious foods compiled by CNN Go in 2011. Asam is the Malay word for any ingredients that makes a dish tastes sour (e.g. tamarind, gelugur or kokum). Laksa typically uses asam keping, known as kokum in the English speaking world, which is a type of dried slices of sour mangosteens. 

The modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used.
The main ingredients for asam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung (small mackerel of the Rastrelliger genus), and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, daun kesum (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint), and pink bunga kantan (torch ginger). Asam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with petis udang or "hae ko" (蝦膏), a thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste.







Source: Wikipedia and Facebook

2018年11月11日星期日

Prepare for stormy days ahead

Prepare for stormy days ahead, says weather department

Bring out your umbrellas and rubber boots because heavy rains are expected to lash out soon, bringing with it high chances of floodings.

Malaysian Meteorological Depart­ment director-general Alui Bahari said the north-east monsoon was expected to last until March and has already brought heavy rainfall to Kelantan and Terengganu.

Rain will make its way to Pahang and Johor before shifting to Sabah and Sarawak later in the season.

“These states are expected to experience four to six heavy rainfalls as in previous years,” he said.

“If heavy rainfall, high tides and strong winds occur, it could cause rivers to overflow,” he added.

The situation could be worsened by spring tides that take place during the new and full moons.

While the east coast is typically the worst hit by floods during the rainy season, west coast residents should also be on the alert.

Last year, Penang was also hit by major floods, where the state sought help from armed forces after winds and rain lashed out, causing landslides and falling trees.

However, Alui said he did not expect such rainfall over Penang and Kedah this season.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Professor of Climatology and Oceanography Prof Dr Fredolin Tangang said the country was entering the monsoon period earlier compared to the average mid­-November onset date.

However, he said this was within the “natural variability” of the monsoon period, which was affected by phenomena such as El Nino.

“Sea surface temperatures in the Eastern-Central Pacific Ocean are warmer than usual, indicating the progression of a weak El Nino by year end or early next year,” he said.

Due to this, he said, there was likely to be heavier rainfall in southern Peninsular Malaysia, which includes Johor and the Klang Valley.

He added there was a low possibility of extreme rainfall, which could lead to large-scale flooding as the Kelantan and Terengganu floods in December 2014.

According to his research, three phenomena should take place for such extreme weather to occur.

Firstly, he said there should be cold surges from the north and secondly, the Borneo vortex, a wind circulation system should be located close to Peninsular Malaysia.

“The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) must also be active and its low pressure-centre must be located near West Sumatra,” he said.

The MJO is a phenomenon in which a low pressure system crosses eastward from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

The people can monitor weather and flood situations through http://portalbencana.nadma.gov.my and www.met.gov.my or download relevant mobile applications such as myCuaca and myJPS.

~News courtesy of The Star~

2018年11月10日星期六

槟城中环广场22日启用 州交通系统将迈开新章

槟城中环广场22日启用 州交通系统将迈开新章



槟城中环广场(PENANG SENTRAL)将在11月22日午夜12时开始正式投入运作,现有的临时车站将关闭。

好消息要告诉槟威及北马区民众,槟城中环广场(PENANG SENTRAL)将在11月22日午夜12时开始正式投入运作。

随着这一项消息公布,也意味着现有临时车站将踏入历史,槟威交通系统将迎来新页章,新起点。

槟州首长曹观友及一众行政议员和政府官员,于8月中应马资源邀请,到槟城中环广场参观。当时,该广场是预计今年12月杪启用及开幕。

PENANG SENTRAL有限公司通过一项通告,吁请所有交通使用者,可直接前往该广场2楼办理各项有关交通转乘的手续。

槟城中环广场土地面积22.65依格,第1至 第4阶段达13.79依格,未来的发展土 地8.86依格。耗资2亿3000万令吉兴建,槟城中环广场将迎合未来10-15年的公共交通发展需求。



槟城中环广场候车室。

该广场底楼即转运站面积29万6000平方尺,拥4层停车场 ,第一层是38条巴士停道,第二层属于巴士售票柜台,零售店、的士柜台及等候室以及衔接至渡轮及火车站的走道。值得一提的是,马资源有限公司也履行其责任,提升衔接至火车站及渡轮的走道,加盖及进行冷气设备。

第3至第5层则是零售商店、小贩中心。第6-9层则是停车场,可容纳577辆汽车停放。其他的设备包括警务室 、陆路交通局柜台、陆路公共交通委员会柜台、特殊人士厕所、特殊人士亲善道路设施、急救室、资讯柜台、行李储藏区、哺乳室、年长者休息室,均是冷气设备等等。

巴士乘客只允许在巴士出发前30分钟,才能进入等候区,避免等候区过于拥挤。等候区内有闭路电视及车票安检措施绝对是保安的提升,民众可以放心走动。

除了柜台购票,广场内也设有自助购票系统,民众可通过电子系统购票。任何询问,可联系04-3242762或电邮pssb.marketing@mrcb.com.

曹观友:料12月22日开幕

另一方面,针对槟城中环广场开幕日期,首长曹观友表示,该广场整体工程已完工,根据发展商的回应,如果进展顺利,上述广场预料将在今年12月22日开幕。

无论如何,他说,当局如今还没有定下确切的开幕日期,不过,他不排除当局会以先营运,后开幕的方式运作,让有关广场尽快开放。

~光华日报~

2018年11月6日星期二

2018年11月3日星期六

明年6月起 离境国内外飞机乘客须缴税

明年6月起 离境国内外飞机乘客须缴税

明年6月1日起,政府将向所有乘搭飞机出国的本地与外国乘客征收离境税。

政府建议2019年6月1日起,向所有乘搭飞机出国的本地与外国乘客征收离境税。

财长林冠英说,离境税共分为2种,飞往东盟诸国的收费为20令吉,东盟以外的国家则收40令吉。他说,有关收费不比其他国家和地区征收的离境税来得高,例如香港15美元、日本10美元及泰国20美元。

~光华日报~

Departure levy at airports

Travel, departure levy at airports

AVID traveller Shahida Sakeri will think twice about going overseas for her holiday next year when the departure levy on travellers leaving Malaysian airports is introduced on June 1.

The government has proposed a fee of RM20 per head for those departing for Asean countries and RM40 for other countries.

Shahida said since she was used to travelling solo, it might not affect her as badly as those travelling in a large group. 

“For my aunts and uncles with many children, they will now have to bear the additional costs,” she said.

“I want to see more facilities for the disabled at our tourist attractions, such as increasing accessibility at museums and parks,” she added.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Datuk Tan Kok Liang, on the other hand, described the move as “disappointing”.

“It will not have any significant impact on domestic tourism as leisure travellers are on extreme budget constraints and very price sensitive.

“Domestic tourism can be improved by providing healthier tourism fundamentals, better tourism packages and capping on domestic airfares,” he said.

However, Tan welcomed the RM100mil grant for private companies to boost international tourist arrivals through marketing efforts, which he called a “good surprise”.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Uzaidi Udanis said the money collected from the departure levy could be used to promote inbound travel.

However, he also warned that the move might deter airlines from increasing connectivity from the country.

“If there is lower demand for outbound travel, airlines might not be interested in introducing new routes from the country,” said Uzaidi.

Malaysia Airlines in a statement said that any funds generated and channelled back to the development of the aviation industry in general would only be positive for the sector.

Budget 2019 also allocated RM20mil to the Malaysia Healthcare Tourism Council (MHTC) to promote the country’s medical tourism industry.

MHTC chief executive officer Sherene Azli said this would further propel Malaysia’s profile as a leading global destination for healthcare tourism.

“This will go a long way in bringing Malaysia’s healthcare tourism to new heights while making a significant positive economic impact on the nation,” she said.

~Courtesy of The Star~

2018年11月1日星期四

Kedah local food 吉打本地美食

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Apam Balik

Apam balik (English: 'turnover pancake') or terang bulan (English: 'bright moon') or martabak manis (English: 'sweet martabak') common in Southeast Asia. It is usually sold at specialist roadside stalls throughout Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.



The pancake's batter is made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk and water. The batter is cooked upon a thick round iron frying pan in plenty of palm margarine to avoid it sticking to the pan. 

Then other ingredients are sprinkled as filling; the most common or traditional is crushed peanut granules with sugar and sweetcorn kernels (available from cans), but modern innovations such as chocolate sprinkles and cheddar cheese are also available. Then, the pancake is folded (hence the name: "turnover pancake") and cut into several pieces.

The texture of the apam balik can vary depending on the amount of batter and type of pan used, from one that is akin to a crispier form of crumpets to small thin light pancake shells that break when bitten (the latter is usually called apam balik nipis, 'thin apam balik').

The dish has been declared a heritage food by the Malaysian Department of National Heritage.

~wikipedia~