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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
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No Water Tariff Hike pg 16
Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin clears speculations pg 3
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INSIDE Feng Shui Tips for your home inculcated by Master Paw pg 34
IMSHA Headlines: 12 NGO
categories and 11 exemplary individuals were acknowledged at the Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) 2014
pg 4
VIPs Attend Seri Albion Ground Breaking ceremony pg 31
Johor Kaki takes on Magnum pg 27 Sports Bar
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
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Toll Wars: Singapore’s Turn Now Concern: The Republic has raised its toll charges at Woodlands Causeway from Oct 1 to match those charged by Malaysia By Maisarah newsdesk@theiskandarian.com
pic: IRDA
S
ingapore has begun its increased toll charges at Woodlands checkpoint to match Malaysia’s increased Causeway toll charges which took effect in August. Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo said that the policy of matching toll charges at the Causeway reflected the shared nature of the two crossings and ensured a fair distribution of total revenue. “Without a matching policy, lower toll charges by one side may be offset by higher toll fares rivalled by the other side,” she said. Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee Chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad however stated that Singapore’s reason for increasing the toll rates on the Woodlands side of the Causeway was unacceptable. He said he found it strange the reason was simply because the city state wanted to match its rates with Malaysia’s increased toll charges. “We have stated our reason for increasing the toll rates. Is Singapore sharing our reason, too?”. Hasni said Malaysia had clearly stated that the increase in
Woodlands Causeway is currently effected by the toll war toll rates was because of the hike in the maintenance costs of the Sultan Iskandar Building, the Eastern Dispersal Link and other roads linking to the building. The current toll rate for cars will rise from S$1.20 to S$3.80 (RM3.03 to RM9.62), while vans and light goods vehicles will see a hike from S$1.90 to S$5.80 (RM4.81 to RM14.69). Taxis and buses will see increases from S$0.60 and S$1 (RM1.52 and RM2.53) to S$1.90 and S$3.10 (RM4.81 and RM7.85), respectively.
Bus and lorry operators in Malaysia have said they already plan to raise their fees to cope with the new toll charges. The new toll means a round trip for buses will now cost S$10.60, while heavy-goods vehicles will have to pay S$26. Handal Indah, which runs the Causeway Link bus service between Johor and Singapore, will raise its fares by up to S$80cents from the October 6 onwards. Passengers boarding the yellow buses at the Queen Street station will be ticketed S$3.30 if they pay cash, up from S$2.50 now.
“Should Malaysia reduce or do away with the toll charges, Singapore will follow suit. This would be welcomed, I think, by both Singaporean and Malaysian businesses on both sides of the Causeway,” said Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo. Malaysia’s toll charges kicked in last month despite protests by transport companies and commuters. The charges for a round-trip from the Malaysian side range from RM8.20 (S$3.25) for taxis to RM33.30 for heavy goods vehicles. Motorcycles are exempt from the toll.
No site confirmation on Johor Rapid Transit System Highlight: The RTS will connect Johor Bahru to the Thomson MRT line and is set for completion by 2018
T
he Ministry of Transport said yesterday that Malaysian officials have not confirmed the location of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) link from Woodlands, despite media across the Causeway reporting that a site has been picked, reported The Straits Times in Singapore. Malaysia was informed in June 2011 that the RTS terminus will
be at Woodlands North near Republic Polytechnic, but no word has been received on where the JB station will be, a Transport Ministry spokesman said in a statement yesterday. The New Straits Times in Malaysia reported on the weekend that a site has been chosen. It quoted Datuk Hasni Mohammad, the Johor State’s Executive Committee Member for Public Works, Rural and Regional
Development, saying that Bukit Chagar has been picked. But the spokesman said the ministry looked forward to Malaysia’s confirmation (on the location of the JB terminus) when the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia meets next month. Datuk Hasni told The New Straits Times on Monday that the
RTS alignment - be it parallel or diagonal to the Causeway, under or above ground - has not been decided as Malaysia is waiting for Singapore’s agreement on Bukit Chagar. He added that Malaysia proposed the location to Singapore several months ago. Bukit Chagar is near the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex at the Sultan Iskandar Building.
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Published by True Soul Entertainment [14, Jln. Selasih 10, Taman Kemas, 81200, Johor Bahru]Printed by Percetakan Gemilang Sinar/Gan Seng Printing(M) Sdn.Bhd. [No.100, Jalan Tampoi, 81200, Johor Bahru] Copyright of articles, contributions and photos which are published by The Iskandarian is the property of True Soul Entertainment. The Iskandarian does its best to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of its contents, the publisher cannot accept any responsibilities for errors, mistakes and inaccuracies. The publisher reserves the rights of this product and no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
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LEGOLAND Indoor Star Wars brings the force to pg 28 Miniland
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WAVES Lifestyle Balan Kashmir talks about being illegally pg 20 Macha
MB SAYS NO WATER TARIFF HIKE Clear: Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin has brushed off talk that there will be an increase in the state’s water tariff By Maisarah newsdesk@theiskandarian.com
I
t was previously reported that State Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee Chairman, Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the Johor government will decide on the proposed hike in water tariffs not later than early next year. The Johor government’s last hike in water tariffs was in 2011 and the proposed hike of 20 per cent by Syarikat Air Johor (SAJ) Holdings Sdn Bhd was mentioned during a press conference after the opening of the Water Services Industry Seminar 2014. However, Menteri Besar Dato Khaled Nordin said that the state government has not received any proposal or request regarding the increase and what state
Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Exco Datuk Hasni Mohammad said recently could have been misinterpreted. “All comments were made when I was away and we have never even formally discussed anything on that matter, full stop,” said Khaled. At present, domestic users in Johor pay RM60sen for the first 20 cubic metres of water, RM1.65 for between 20 and 35 cubic metres of water and RM2.96 for over 35 cubic metres of water. The previously contradicting statement made by Datuk Hasni Mohammad mentioned that the proposed hike was made due to the rising cost of water treatment which doubled due to the hike in electricity tariffs and pollution. He said the hike in electricity tariffs was made twice while most
of the state’s water resources are polluted. “The Sembrong and Machap dams for instance, face the threat of severe pollution due to modern agriculture in Kluang, resulting in rising costs,” Hasni was quoted saying. The state government was addressing pollution by coordinating with the Johor Water Regulatory Body (Bakaj), Drainage and Irrigation Department, Forestry Department and the Land Office. Hasni said approval of amendments to the Water Enactment 2014 by the State Legislative Assembly will i n c re a s e the effectiveness of water resource management enforcement agencies.
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An oblivious driver continues on while his load is spilling over -Posted by Josh De Silva
Expose inconsiderate motorists at our facebook rant group: Against Inconsiderate Motorists (AIM)
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
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from cover page
Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) 2014 Headlines: 12 NGO categories and 11 exemplary individuals were acknowledged
at the inaugural Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) 2014
(from left) Tun Jeanne Abdullah, IMSHA Patron Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Datin Rosni Omar
L
e Grandeur Palm Resort Johor became the home for the inaugural Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) 2014 presentation dinner which was graced by the presence of the former Prime Minister and IMSHA Patron Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi. A brainchild of the Iskandar Malaysia Sustainable Communities Framework which is a public-private partnership product of IRDA’s Social Development Division, IMSHA was formulated to identify, recognise and celebrate individuals, organisations and groups who are making a difference in our communities. The awards are also intended to raise awareness on the need for all to share the responsibility of working towards a more inclusive, compassionate and effective society. Also present at the dinner was Menteri
Besar Dato’ Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, Chief Executive of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, said this is Iskandar Malaysia’s premier community award to publicly thank the unsung heroes for the inspirational work that they do for the broader community. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the heroes for their noble efforts to the society. By having this kind of award we hope that it will inspire others to take up social responsibility. “I don’t believe that the giving away of a mere trophy to these fine people in the social sector would recompense them for their efforts and sacrifices however I trust that their stories when told to the masses will inspire others to follow in their footsteps,” said Datuk Ismail.
The committee received 170 nominations for the 12 categories both for organisation and individuals. Those categories are Arts, Culture and Heritage Preservation, Animal and Wildlife, Disaster Relief, Education Advancement, Environmental Preservation, Health Services, Human Empowerment, Poverty and Hunger Relief, Public Safety, Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, Social Innovators, and Active Duty and Veteran Services. The nominations were analysed and rated against a ‘social impact rating’ system by Frost and Sullivan, an independent technical committee and the results vetted for a final time by a Leadership Council made up of prominent citizens. “Development should not rest only on the shoulders of the leaders but everyone,” Tun Abdullah said, adding that there was much to learn from the community. He called for friendship among all Malaysians, and for the need to set aside their differences and come together with the same objective of community and nation building. The event main sponsors are Medini Iskandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Iskandar Investment Berhad and Dynasty View Sdn Bhd of UMLand Berhad.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
news
IMSHA:
Factsheet and Voting Process
Innitiated by:
Open Voting via Social Networks
Elected Chairman
Analyzed using Social Impact Rating (S.I.R) System by Technical Partner
Thanam Viswanathan
Patron
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tan Chai Puan Chairman Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum
S. Aruel Prakash Assistant Commissioner RELA
Results presented to Leadership Council
Nor Hisham Hussein SVP, Social Development Division, IRDA
Dr Kassim Thukiman UTM
K. Krishnan JICCI Hon. Secretary General
All results were presented to the Leadership Council consisting of eminent local personalities who reviewed the findings and unanimously voted in favour of the winners. The Social Impact Rating System alongside the independent vote of the Leadership Council provide a two- step elimination process to ensure integrity of the IMSHA.
IMSHA:
12 Category + 11 Individual Winners
Category Winners
Individual Winners
Arts, Culture & Heritage Preservation: The Johor Society For The Performing Arts
Public Safety: Persatuan Penduduk Tmn Molek Zon 3
Animal & Wildlife: Homeless & Orphan Pets Exist (HOPE)
Social Innovators: Johor Bahru Happy & Joyous Club
Disaster Relief: Mercy Malaysia
Human Empowerment: Johor Area Rehabilitation Organization (JARO)
Education Advancement: Grace Covenant Community Care
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Iskandar Malaysia Ultimate Social Hero Award: Johor Area Rehabilitation Organization (JARO)
Environmental Preservation/Protection: Save Our Seahorses (S0S)
Arts, Culture & Heritage Preservation : Suzie Yap The Johor Society For The Performing Arts Animal & Wildlife: Joseph Chia (C.A.R.E.S)
Disaster Relief: Yong Yun Pin (Persatuan Xing Jun)
Education Advancement: Elilen Chandra
Environmental Preservation/Protection: Dr Serina Rahman (Kelab Alami) Health Services: Mrs. Harjeet Sandhu (Alzheimers Support Group) Human Empowerment: Dr Sivakumar Thurairajasingam Poverty & Hunger Relief: Lekha Nandy (Malaysian Red Crescent)
Health Services: Persatuan Cerebral Palsy Johor
Public Safety: Woo Soo Pheng
Poverty & Hunger Relief: Kechara Soup Kitchen
Social Innovators: (Posthumous) Azrafe Zaky (JOHO)
CSR Award: Dynasty View Sdn Bhd
Active Duty & Veteran Services: Ahmad Muhi Johari
All the winners of IMSHA 2014 alongside the Chairman Thanam Viswanathan, Patron Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin and IRDA’s Chief Executive Datuk Ismail Ibrahim (pics by: NWorks, Reel Studios)
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
news 5 Stars again for Thistle Achievement: Thistle Johor Bahru was once again awarded 5-star rating by Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia pic: Zarakay
Thistle ensures the highest level of services and facilities
T
he rating awarded to Thistle Johor Bahru is set in accordance to regulations by the Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia. Spearheaded by the hotel’s General Manager, Edward Kollmer, the team went through a thorough assessment process based on the detailed criteria outlined by the Ministry. Officials from the Ministry of Tourism & Culture in Johor, the Johor Fire
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Department, the Health Ministry, and representative from the Malaysian Hotels Association, Johor Chapter spent a full day evaluating and examining each and every area of the hotel as per the requirements mandatory to receive 5-star rating status. “It is definitely an honour for Thistle Johor Bahru to have its 5-star rating renewed as it enhances the hotel’s position as one of the leading 5-star hotels in
Johor Bahru, ensuring that the highest level of services and facilities are consistently delivered to satisfy our guests’ needs and expectations”, said Edward Kollmer. “This achievement would not be possible without the support, dedication, passion, commitment and honour of the entire hotel staff. It was very heart-warming to see so much of team work and enthusiasm“, added Edward Kollmer.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
news
A Good Cause to Have Fun Community: Sri Ara School held their annual charity fundraiser to support the community By Harish Mustak newsdesk@theiskandarian.com
S
ri Ara School located at Straits View recently held their annual charity fundraiser which received good response from both the children and their parents. This yearly event has always been part of the school’s cultural calendar since the 2010 Japanese Tsunami incident as a handful of students are Japanese and their parents initiated the idea to raise funds for the Japanese Tsunami victims. The Chairman of the school, Madam Nooraini Datuk Mohd Yasin decided to make this annual charity event a permanent celebration in the spirit of togetherness. This time, the event was organised by the Chairman’s daughter, Miss Niloufer Othman and the opening ceremony was inaugurated by Haji Abd Rashid Kasman, the secretary of the Pulai MP. Most of the booths opened on that day were planned and organised by the teachers and the students. Food, clothes, old books, lucky draws, games and challenges were open for all to enjoy while contributing to charity. There were also outside collaborators from JARO Arts and Crafts, local Henna
“Medium to help the needy”
The children showing off their singing skills
Madam Nooraini Datuk Mohd Yasin Chairman Sri Ara School
artists and RHB bank to make the event more successful. Sri Ara School’s Vice Principal, Mr Steve Cowan said, “This event not only focuses on happiness and responsibilities towards the people in need, but also instilling awareness towards the environment and providing the next generation with a green and clean future.” Madam Nooraini added that these fundraising charity events not only acts as a medium to help the needy but also to provide a training ground for the students to learn how to plan and organise events for future purposes whereby these
Everyone gets involved when it’s for a good cause skills are not easily obtained in the real world. Last year, Sri Ara School managed to collect enough money
to help fund the Children’s Ward at Sultanah Aminah General Hospital. The money was used to get new upgrades in facilities like hot
showers and better utensils. This year, the school plans to do the same but with a different target group of people in need.
Spirit to Serve Cause: Renaissance Johor Bahru cultivates empathy through its ‘Spirit to Serve’
The hotel supported Wishing Star Project by Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS) in July and September this year
T
he Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel through its ‘Spirit to Serve’ offers various programmes to enhance its relation with the local community including supporting local charitable organisations in order to create a compassionate society. The hotel’s General Manager, Marc Cosyns said, “Our Marriott’s “Spirit to Serve Our Communities” social responsibility and community engagement commitment blends financial contributions, charity and volunteerism not just in Asia Pacific but around
the world.” “We must ask ourselves are we sharing enough or are we merely working for our own interest? We need to be more open and caring in wanting to share with others and this is reflected in the culture of Marriott. ‘Spirit to Serve’ aims to promote good culture of sharing and volunteering at the workplace, as well as reaching out to help the community,” he added. Thus far, the hotel supported Wishing Star Project by Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS) in July and
September this year and to date; SCCS had assisted more than 700 families since it was registered in 2001. Marc added that their Marriott properties worldwide are focused on five areas of giving Shelter and Food, Environment, Ready for Jobs, Vitality of Children and Empowering Diversity. It also fosters strong employee volunteer programmes which unifies its staff to Marriott’s commitment to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
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Making A Difference with Leadership Series Leadership: Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and The London Speaker Bureau jointly organised a seminar titled ‘Iskandar Malaysia Leadership Series: Making A Difference’ which featured two distinguished speakers, Jonathan Yabut and Catherine DeVrye at Thistle Johor Bahru
T
he attendees comprising of young and aspiring executives were given the opportunity to learn how to become leaders of tomorrow. The half-day programme aimed to inspire leaders and leaders inthe-making to dream big, think out-of-the-box and challenge assumptions. Jonathan Yabut is the winner of The Apprentice Asia, and Catherine DeVrye, a best-selling author of eight non-fiction books and past winner of the Australian Executive Woman of the Year Award, gave their views on leadership. Yabut was the youngest male contestant in The Apprentice Asia programme at the age of 27, and was wellknown for his people skills, leadership and passionate speeches. “This programme is part of a series of training and leadership programmes that we are organising in Iskandar Malaysia for the benefit of the locals, and it
(from left) Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, Catherine DeVrye and Jonathan Yabut is especially targeted towards local business and corporate leaders wishing to excel at the highest level,” said IRDA’s Chief Executive Datuk Ismail Ibrahim. He said the objective of organising these seminars in Iskandar Malaysia is to expose the local folks to the skills and experience of internationally
renowned experts. As winner of The Apprentice Asia, Yabut is now based in Kuala Lumpur as AirAsia’s Chief of Staff under a one-year contract. Jonathan inspired thousands of young Asians with his popular quote, “You can never be too small to dream big,” and is a strong advocate for youth empowerment, leadership and
entrepreneurship. Devrye is an outstanding communicator with proven international management experience in the private and public sectors — speaking globally on customer service, change and turning obstacles to opportunities in our professional and personal lives.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 25 | SEP 2014
DRILL
EXCLUSIVE The Iskandarian aspires to be the voice of the rakyat and with that in mind, our Editor touches base with CEOs and Chairmen of organisations to Drill them with questions to hear their opinions and perspectives.
Nicole Yap S.L
Monthly Drill
Associate Director
Since young, I always wished to be in business without realising how challenging it could be. I always admired my clients who established their own business and succeeded financially at a young age. Possessing a degree in Business and Marketing studies, I started off my career in banking and then in the real estate industry. I realise young entrepreneurs made it because they are able to foresee the trend and embarked on it. When I learnt about EscapeRoom early this year, I did not hesitate to seize the opportunity to watch the trending wave. Johor Bahru was “picked” because Iskandar Malaysia, being the catalectic project which encourages business opportunities will definitely turn the entire region to a vibrant city. EscapeRoom is a reallife, thematic puzzle game which players have to find ways to escape from a locked room filled with numerous riddles, signs and secrets within 45minutes. This real-life escape game concept was originated in Japan, simulating virtual (online game) room escape game. The uniqueness of the game is that players are physically inside the story. This game provides an interactive and intuitive gaming experience that reading and online gaming have never done before. EscapeRoom Sutera Mall started operations in April this year. We have 6 rooms with diversified themes that suits people from all walks of life. We have families challenged “Up Bon-Voyage” together with grandparents while those who like action-packed would go for “KungFu”, “The Abandoned Factory” and “The Mysterious Room”. The thrill seekers usually challenge “Prison Break” and
Maze Game Sdn Bhd (Escape Room Johor)
“The Slaughter House”.
How did the idea of EscapeRoom come about and how many outlets do you have in KL & Penang? EscapeRoom was founded by Dato Jason Leung, Dato Victor Lo and Dato Patrick Ong in 2013 in Malaysia. EscapeRoom branches out by licensing its brand and game concepts to operators at different areas and regions. There are 6 outlets now including eCurve (PJ), Bandar Botanic (Klang), Setia Walk (Puchong), Berjaya Times Square(KL), Sutera Mall (Johor) and First Avenue (Penang). Outlet in Melbourne (Australia) opened its doors last month and we shall see more EscapeRoom worldwide.
Quote “We have a weekly challenge competition and mystery gifts are given out to every team members who manage to escape the fastest. There are players who have played the same room twice or more” How do you make the game more challenging for the players and also for those who have already played the game before? In EscapeRoom Sutera Mall, we emphasize a lot on storyline. Our
marshal will lead customers to immerse themselves in the game like playing the main role in a movie. They are now “Michael Scofield” in Prison Break. For instance, customers will be handcuffed and blind folded before we send them into the prison. Our puzzles and riddles are designed based on 3 difficulty levels whereby we recommend beginners to themes with 3 star ratings where observation skills are important while themes with 4 stars and 5 stars difficulties stimulate lateral thinking and encourage players to think out of the box. However, communication and teamwork are critical in order to execute the escape plan and complete the mission. We have a weekly challenge competition and mystery gifts are given out to every team members who manage to escape the fastest. There are players who have played the same room twice or more order to be the champion of the week.
EscapeRoom can really captivate the youths and corporate team building sectors; how has the feedback been so far? So far, we received overwhelming response among the youth due to the exponential advertising effect of social media. However, EscapeRoom is not only for the youth, we have players who come with families and friends from all ages as well. We prepare costumes and props for players to take photos after every game and we provide instant group photos to every team. For corporate team building, response has been lukewarm compared to KL and Penang. Our marketing campaign has been focused in creating awareness of EscapeRoom among corporate players. There has been an increase
in enquiries for team building lately I add.
In general do you perceive Johoreans to be thrill seekers or more conservative by nature? I will say there are 2 extreme groups. For the escape maniacs, they cannot wait to go for the next room right after they finish the first one. People get addicted once they started the challenge. On the other hand, we see people who are still observing “What’s going on here?”. It’s our challenge to stir their interest to give EscapeRoom a try.
What can we expect in the future for EscapeRoom? More branches or more heart stopping games? At this moment, we are focused in bringing crowds to EscapeRoom Sutera Mall since the environment here is conducive; the mall is easy accessible with ample car parks for customers’ convenience. We are also working on the seventh room which will feature a heart trembling challenge and scheduled to be launch year end. To ensure every customers “laugh out loud” while walking out from EscapeRoom Sutera Mall, we keep our facilities and puzzles to maintain the fun and safety element while maintaining high level of hospitality and enthusiasm in terms of customers service. Escape Run 2014, the Malaysia’s largest interactive puzzle event organised by EscapeRoomTM at Berjaya Times Square on 20/09/14 was a huge success. Response among the public and sponsors was overwhelming. We are looking at organising a similar event in Johor Bahru. This project shall kick start once we finalise on event venue and main sponsors.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 25 | SEP 2014
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peggy loh
My johor stories Peggy is a regular contributor to NST and actively writes in her blog www.peggyloh.com about matters that are close to her heart. She can be reached at write2peggyloh@gmail.com
Johor Bahru’s gifted special artist
Y
ap HanZhen, who was diagnosed with autism at age 2, started sketching as a hobby in 2009. With a daily routine in drawing, he filled up dozens of sketch books with fascinating images. To expand his vocabulary and to communicate with him, his architect parents, Yap Yew Peng and Yvonne, encouraged him to draw objects and pair them with words. So HanZhen drew everything he saw, from everyday items at home to things he experienced on holidays, often with great detail and accuracy. When he was just 13, HanZhen, a savant autistic teenager, had his first solo art exhibition at an event hosted by Leisure Farm Corporation and Mulpha International in Sept 2011. Impressed
went for holidays, HanZhen would sketch pictures of people, places and things. The Yaps are familiar with My Johor Stories and my interest in local heritage and I encouraged HanZhen to start sketching images of Johor Bahru’s charming old buildings to preserve their architectural beauty for posterity. HanZhen is a good-natured teenager who also plays the piano and attends a local mainstream international school where his teachers and school friends appreciate his art. He has an amazing gift in drawing where he may start to draw an image from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top but either way, his sketches would all be completed in the right proportions!
Yap HanZhen with some of his sketches of Johor’s iconic buildings by the 46 pencil sketches of dogs, cats and butterflies entitled, “Of Obedience, Solitude and Beauty,” visitors bought his drawings and profits were channeled to the Kiwanis Careheart Centre school fund. I met HanZhen and his family at this event and got to know him better. Yvonne said that it was almost by accident that they discovered he could draw while they were teaching him the names of things to increase his vocabulary for speech. He was encouraged to draw each item and they were pleasantly surprised to see that he could draw all the things at home and accurately labeled his pictures. Gradually, his vocabulary, speech and reading skills improved but his sketching skills were impressive. His parents bought drawing books that HanZhen could carry around and everywhere they went, he would capture a scene to draw from memory. When they
His school friends watch in fascination as Yap HanZhen sketches a picture in his unique way
Yap HanZhen’s sketches were commissioned for display in the lobby as well as other public areas in the DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru hotel He usually spends almost 2 hours every day drawing sketches with 3B pencils and is able to doodle a quick sketch in just 3 minutes or take a week to create a masterpiece. His sketches have been sold in his school’s Open Days and the profits are donated to the school’s choice of charities. HanZhen is no stranger to drawing for charity because he has been selling his art and donating the proceeds to charities since his first show entitled, “Of Routine, Memory and Details” at the 2011 Kiwanis Charity Dinner. It was very encouraging for both the artist and the Kiwanis Club because 40 pieces of his favourite sketches were sold in one night and all proceeds were donated to the Kiwanis Careheart Centre in support of autism awareness. In December 2011, this prolific young artist embarked on a project to sketch creatures where their natural habitat is being depleted in our mangrove forests. In February 2012, a series of these sketches featuring the flora and fauna in mangrove forests entitled, “River Biodiversity” was displayed in the Senibong Cove clubhouse to compliment the waterfront residential development’s mangrove regeneration programme. Thirty of his beautiful sketches were published in a book with the same title in late 2012. I met HanZhen again at his school’s fund-raising fair in April 2012 where 12 of his tiger sketches were sold and the whole collection of t-shirts printed with his favourite sketch of a butterfly, were sold out and all the proceeds were contributed to the school fund. In May, he started working on a new series; kettles – old, new, shiny or broken, and these were presented in “Kettles Reflections,” a show for the Kiwanis Club of Taman Sentosa charity dinner and auctioned off to raise funds for the Kiwanis Careheart Centre. When the Yap family visited Xiaozhou Art Village in Guangzhou in 2011, HanZhen was inspired by the artistic community to sketch a series of domestic gateways in ancient and modern China. A year later, 20 pieces of his fine sketches of centuriesold Xiaozhou gateways were exhibited at a Malaysian Institute of Architects event as a tribute to architectural heritage and autism art, in conjunction with World Architecture Day 2012. After the 2-days exhibition at the Glulam Gallery, the exhibit was moved to the newly refurbished main lobby of Landmark Towers, Johor Bahru. HanZhen’s sketch of the historical Cheng Hoon Teng Temple in Malacca was one of the winning entries from among
a pool of 1000 entries in the Asia Para Art 2013 competition in Japan. His success earned him a special invitation to Asia Para Art 2013 held in Tokyo in October 2013 and a spot in a travelling exhibition to various airport locations in Japan. At age 16, HanZhen has held 21 exhibitions in various locations around JB, Singapore and Tokyo. Recently his sketch of Meiji Jingu, a shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, was exhibited at the Japan Tottori Para Art Exhibition 2014, an international art show held at Tottori Prefecture Art Space Gallery until Sept 21. For a glimpse of his unique sketches, visit the DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru where he completed an extensive series of 101 sketches commissioned by the Daiman Group for the hotel. When HanZhen did a commissioned project for the Consul-General of Singapore in JB, his art took a leap from sketching single buildings to meeting the challenge of drawing JB’s panoramic skyline and causeway! He has started working on an exciting book with sketches of JB’s heritage buildings and a walking trail map of locations that should interest tourists, students and even locals. Incidentally, HanZhen is being featured in the Jetsetter column of the October issue of travel3sixty, AirAsia’s in-flight magazine. Blessed with a unique talent, it looks like the sky’s the limit for JB’s gifted special artist. Note the intricate details outlined in a sketch of the Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque by Yap HanZhen
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Quick Reads
Malaysia Airlines Restructure The Federal Government’s investment arm Khazanah which is the majority stakeholder in Malaysia Airlines (MAS), moved recently to buy out all remaining MAS shares, with a view to delist the airline from the stock market, restructure its operations, and make it fully private. Under the revamp, Khazanah plans to delist MAS and shift the airline’s operations, assets and liabilities to a new company by July 1, 2015. Khazanah’s revamp plan for MAS involved RM4.6bil capital injection (after privatisation), a 30% cut in workforce, and review of routes and renegotiation of supply contracts. Trimming its workforce may allow the carrier to save as much as RM715mil annually. This is to enable the new MAS to operate as a commercial enterprise, with the target to bring it back to profitability by the year 2017-19. Malaysia Airlines will continue to operate all current flights, schedules and reservations. Their focus remains on delivering world class customer service that they are known for around the world.
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DoubleTree Takes Off in Style
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oubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru hosted a “red” themed cocktail reception for members of the local and international media fraternity in celebration of its official launch. The event was hosted by Simon McGrath, General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru at one of the hotel’s innovative restaurants, Tosca, an Italian trattoria that offers stunning views of the Straits of Johor. Simon McGrath said that the hotel believed that it was the little things they did that create the biggest impact and impression on their guests. “We know that it is only through our action that we can stand apart from the rest. Our CARE Culture values cover principles like being real, attentive, cheerful, flexible, thoughtful, honest and caring. “Focusing on one of these CARE Culture values can inspire the hotel team to think intuitively, go beyond expected standards and provide individual touch for our guests,” he added. Simon said that he knew that it is through their actions that they have to stand apart and their values like attentive, cheerful, flexible, thoughtful and honest inspire the entire hotel team to go beyond expected standards and provide
Breast Cancer Awareness by the B’s Interest: Youths get busy in promoting breast cancer awareness
C individual touches that delight their guests. Located in the Central Business District of Johor Bahru, the hotel is less than a five-kilometre drive from the Johor-Singapore Immigration Checkpoint and 25km from the Senai International Airport. Its accessibility to Singapore and Changi International Airport is a boon to international travellers. The hotel is conveniently close to notable commercial and cultural landmarks, as well as Asia’s first Legoland theme park and other leisure establishments. DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru offers 335 well-appointed guest rooms and suites, including 22 apartment-style suites.
alling themselves the B’s, a group of young and vibrant individuals who are passionate about fashion, music, photography and well being have come together to raise awareness for breast cancer and learning preventions. The B’s who share the vision of promoting gender equality, social acceptance and harmony in our society want to create a platform for the young to showcase their talents as well creating an entrepreneurial stage for young startups in Johor Bahru. Taking a social stance however is their effort to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Support Group Johor Bahru (BCSGJB). The fund raiser will include an exquisite three-course Spanish dinner, a fashion show, medical sharing of breast cancer prevention from a verified gynaecologist, a presentation of the breast cancer survivors from the BCSGJB and their participation in the fashion runway to inspire the audience. There will also be a best dressed and best styled competition and lucky draw to enhance the interactivity of the
event. “We believe that together, we can make a better community,” said Eunice D. Wong who is organising the fund raiser. Every RM25 of the ticket and all leftover funds collected will be donated to the Breast Cancer Support Group, Johor Bahru. The end results for our audience are to provide an informative evening about health and lifestyle. The event will be held on the 8th of November at Eight Lido. For ticketing details, contact: Eunice D. Wong at +0167116439 or email eunicedaniellewong@gmail. com
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World Tourism Day @ Mall of Medini
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pics: John Lee
International: More than 300 participants took part in the World Tourism Day Treasure Hunt 2014
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ntroduced in 1980 by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), World Tourism Day is celebrated on 27th September every year to commemorate the contribution and importance of tourism in shaping and influencing social values, culture, politics and the world economy. The celebration, which was held for three consecutive days at the Mall of Medini, Nusajaya offered several activities such as the “WTD2014 Treasure Hunt” which took participants from Mall of Medini, Legoland Malaysia, Educity Sports Complex, Senai International Airport, Pasir Gudang’s Kite Museum, Kota Iskandar and ended at Lat’s Place, Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya. The main objective of the event is to create awareness and increase participation from the public, the ministry has launched a hashtag campaign #MY WorldTourismDay which
encourages the public to upload photos of their visits to tourist destinations in the country into their social websites. The event gives an opportunity to all to partake in the natural ambience and uniqueness of Johor and at the same time to understand our culture and diversity while enjoying the abundance of good food that the state has to offer. Over RM18,000 in cash and prizes to were offered for the event. The Treasure Hunt was won by ‘Idiot & Dumb’ from Kuala Lumpur and Penang, bagging the RM5000 cash prize, hampers and Legoland entry tickets. Second place was won by ‘Burger King (Johor)’ followed by ‘4 Karat’ from Kuala Lumpur winning RM3000 and RM2000 respectively with hampers and Legoland entry tickets as well. The event was flagged off by Datuk Ab Ghaffar A Tambi from the Tourism Ministry alongside YB Datuk Tee Siew Kiong, Johor Tourism, Trade & Consumer Exco
Over RM18,000 in cash and prizes were given out
Johor Tourism, Trade & Consumer Exco YB Datuk Tee Siew Kiong giving his opening speech
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MARKS & SPENCER’S in JBCC International: Renowed UK retailer reaches out to shoppers beyond Klang Valley
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or the past 20 years, leading UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has been providing Malaysians living in Klang Valley with high-quality British food and fashion. Now, Johoreans will be able to experience shopping at M&S in the heart of Johor Bahru itself with the retailert’s first ever outlet outside Klang Valley. With more than 800 UK stores and over 450 international stores in 56 markets, M&S’s success lies in its credo of Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and Trust. To date, there are six M&S stores in Malaysia
including the latest edition at KOMTAR JBCC. At M&S Johor Bahru, all signature products that M&S is known for will be made available including exclusive fashion collections for men and women and its popular Food Hall. M&S Malaysia assistant general manager Allicia Thau said the company had received many requests from the Southern and Northern region to open outlets there. “We will definitely open more outlets but we have yet to choose the locations. At least one will be opened by end of this year,” she told reporters at the media preview of the sixth
M&S outlet in Malaysia at Komtar Johor Baru City Centre (JBCC).” M & S’s clothing products offer distinct brand identities that allow customers to see what brand best meets their personal preferences. The Blue Harbour section offers stylish menswear while the Food Hall will showcase the quality of M&S through their signature biscuits, confectionery and their chocolates. M&S currently has five other outlets in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor namely Bandar Utama, Paradigm Mall, Sunway Pyramid, Suria KLCC and The Gardens Mall.
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he #SaySomethingNice Johor Bahru 2014 campaign was officially launched by Y.Bhg Dato’ Benjamin Hj. Hasbie, Federal Commissioner, Iskandar Regional Development Authority at JBPac Blackbox, Danga City Mall with many partners and supporters of the campaign in attendance. The #SaySomethingNice campaign, which originally began in Kuala Lumpur in 2011, seeks to use the 17-day time segment between 31 August until 16 September as a time of truce and to showcase Malaysia in a very positive light. Malaysians are encouraged to be creative with a medium of their preference to showcase the best of Malaysia while at the same time do good for
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the country. The #SaySomethingNice Johor Bahru campaign on the other hand is now in its second year, having launched its inaugural campaign last year to a supportive crowd. It is the positive message of the #SaySomethingNice campaign that attracted partners such as Danga City Mall to join in this Unity effort again this year by being the venue sponsor for the launch. “Danga City Mall is a landmark to the Johor Bahru community, and what better way for us to reach out to the community and play our role as a responsible corporate citizen by supporting this small initiative with big ambitions.” said Gary Seaton, Director, Danga City Mall.
At the launching ceremony, Dato’ Benjamin Hj. Hasbie, the federal commissioner of IRDA took the stage that day to welcome the supporters of the campaign. In his speech, Dato Benjamin expressed his wish for the campaign, “We supported the organisers of the Johor Bahru campaign not only for its cause to promote unity but also for its simplicity. To participate one only needs to say or do something nice. It enables ordinary Malaysians to take actions and do positive things that will lead to unity, using whatever strengths, and talents that we have.” “I strongly believe that if we are persistent enough to continue doing this on a yearly basis, the idea of making the time period between Hari Merdeka and Hari
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Malaysia as days of positive truce and days to showcase the best of Malaysia in the longer run will become 17 days of celebrating unity,” he added. “For the dream to materialize, this campaign needs the participation of everyone, be you an individual, a group or an organisation. We need to keep at it until we hit a certain tipping point where it will run almost automatically. We are aware of the challenges but as the saying goes, ‘sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit’. So while we are starting small here in Johor Bahru, we need to up the ante. We cannot continue to organize the campaign on the sideline to our business; instead we have to treat it with a more concentrated and dedicated attention.”
Keeping it R.E.A. L R.E.A.L International School @ Johor was incepted in alignment to the Government’s vision to make Malaysia as the regional hub for education excellence and to help reduce the number of Malaysian students making the daily trip across the causeway to Singapore in pursuit of educational excellence. Results Enhancing through Active Learning or in short; R.E.A.L, is committed to its motto ‘Light Unto the World’ in transforming lives of its students and upholding the Group’s mission of ‘Transforming Lives Through R.E.A.L Education.’ In our Active Learning in R.E.A.L, we expose our students to experiential learning. Since the inception of the R.E.A.L International School in the Southern Corridor in 2010, the continued commitment and dedication from our Principal and teachers in arranging activities to support and showcase our students in experiential learning has been unparalleled. In early 2013, we complemented our curriculum syllabus with numerous field trips for our students to visit AgroFarm in Kluang, Malacca and Singapore Science Centre. These field trips are vital as part of the learning
experience for our students as they get to see for themselves what modern techniques are involved in 21st century farming at the AgroFarm, they learn to appreciate our historical heritage in Malacca and explore different aspects of science via various engaging audiovisual and hands-on activities at the Science Centre. We believe that once Active Learning is promoted in schools, Results Enhancing will set in. This was evident in the success of our carnival to celebrate International Day on 12th July 2014. Our students learned to embrace diversity by showcasing the geographical, economical and cultural uniqueness of China, Japan, Egypt, India, Spain, Philippines, Korea and Malaysia. Students and teachers worked hand-in-hand to put forth a kaleidoscope of spectacular cultural performances showcasing colorful costumes, multi cultural dance/music and food. No doubt the school is still in its infancy; however, our students’ academic performance in the recent May 2013 IGCSE says it all with an overall 30% improvement in Science and Mathematics. The school is totally committed to transforming the lives of the students and upholding the Group’s mission statement.
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IIB Celebrates National Day with Golden Citizens
IM Klik Photography Competition
Cause: 100 personal care hampers distributed to Rumah Seri Kenangan Johor Bahru
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sk andar Investment Berhad (IIB) recently celebrated both National Day and Malaysia Day with the citizens of Rumah Seri Kenangan Johor Bahru (RSK). A total of 100 hampers were distributed at the home, and they were presented by YB. Datuk Abd Latiff bin Bandi, State Housing and Local Government Committee Chairman of Johor, and witnessed by Haji Amran bin A Rahman, Johor Bahru District Office. Receiving the hampers was Faiza bt Mohd Nandari,
YB Datuk Abd Latiff Bandi handed over a hamper to Huzaimah Jari, 70 years old, witnessed by Hj Amran A Rahman Head of Rumah Seri Kenangan Johor Bahru. “While IIB is committed to steering economic and environmentally sustainable growth in Iskandar Malaysia, and ensuring inclusive growth towards a common goal for local Iskandarians through employment and income opportunities, we have never overlooked the elderly and their contributions in building this beloved nation,” said Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, the President and
Chief Executive Officer of IIB. “Approximately 80% of the elderly cared at RSK were abandoned, with majority of them suffering from Dementia. The balance 20% is admitted voluntarily and only 30% of the whole population here has physical mobility,” said Faiza. The hampers consisted of personal health care items as well as food containers and snacks. This not only cheered the old folks but also lightened the burden of the house from providing these supplies.
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o encapsulate Iskandar Malaysia, Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) is organising the “IM Klik Photography Competition” with the theme “Liveable Iskandar Malaysia”. The competition is open to the public in the Open Category with a separate category dubbed Junior klikers, for students aged between 7 to 12 from now till October 22, 2014. The competition aims to provide photographers with an opportunity to showcase their talents and to encourage students to take up photography. The event was officiated by Johor Bahru Member of Parliament Tan Sri Shahrir Samad at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru. Also present was IIB’s President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim and Johor Education
Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad and IIB’s Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim launch the IM klik Photography Competition Department Assistant Director Md Hasidin Zaini. The judging of entries will begin on 27th October and the winners will be announced on 14th November. Winners can get up to RM4,000 in the Open category and RM1,500 in the “Junior klikers” category. Prizes also include vouchers, photography merchandise and certificates. The winning photographs from both categories would be on display at the IM Klik Photo Gallery as part of Iskarnival 2014 at the end of the year. “Through this competition, we want to showcase that Iskandar Malaysia is more than just bricks and mortar. We want the many faces, emotions and expressions of Iskandar Malaysia to be captured and celebrated by Iskandarians themselves,” said Datuk Syed who is a Johor Bahru native.
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AKPK’s Services – offered free to the Public
Quick Reads
Responsible: Agensi Kaunseling Dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank Negara Malaysia, was established in April 2006. Its inception stemmed from the need to ensure that the public is able to manage their finances prudently
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KPK operates to fortify the banking institution in Malaysia by assisting financial institutions in their bid to recover money owed and inadvertently reducing the number of non-performing loans. AKPK’s primary role is to educate people from all levels of income to ensure all Malaysians are equipped with sound personal financial management skills. AKPK offers three (3) core services free of charge, which are: Financial Education Talks and seminars are organised for both the government and private sectors. To assist in the dissemination of information on personal financial management, AKPK have developed two financial books, Money Sense and POWER! To make financial education more interesting, it has also published the OMQ Money Management Comic. These books assist in spreading the knowledge of financial
management to the public at large. To reach out to younger adults who are more computer savvy, AKPK has developed an online learning portal on its website for the POWER! Programme and is accessible at the link http://power. akpk.org.my/. This programme also serves as an alternative to a classroom learning session. Since 2008, AKPK has been introducing the Personal Financial Management (PFM) module to institutions of higher learning. The PFM is based on the AKPK’s Money Sense book and this initial proposal was accepted by eleven public universities. It is now offered at all institutions of higher learning either as an elective or curriculum subject. To enhance the effectiveness of PFM, this module has successfully acquired accreditation in 2010 from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), with one credit hour which translates to 40 Student Learning Hours.
Counselling Counselling is provided by trained personnel to assist customers who walk in AKPK’s office. One need not be in a financial problem in order to seek AKPK’s help; free financial counselling is offered for individuals who need guidance in managing their funds. Counsellors will have a oneto-one session with customers to help them manage their finances better in line with AKPK’s vision in making prudent financial management a way of life. Debt Management Programme (DMP) This allows individuals to sort their financial problems out with a restructured repayment plan after consultation with the individual’s financial institutions. Recently, a step-by-step Self-Help Guide was introduced to assist customers in communicating and/or negotiating directly with their lenders to restructure their debts directly with the respective
financial institutions under the purview of Bank Negara Malaysia. This promotes the usage of the guide as a benchmark for their debt repayment proposals to financial institutions. Customers are also advised to approach their lenders first before seeking assistance from any other parties. This guide can be downloaded at the link http:// www.akpk.org.my/services/debtmanagement/self-help-guide. Since its inception in 2006 and up to 31 July 2014, 280,428 individuals have attended AKPK’s counselling services and from that, 112,188 customers have been enrolled into its DMP. For further information, please visit http://www.akpk.org.my or call the toll free number 1 800 88 2575. For Johor Branch, please contact En Mohd Nasir Mustafa (Head of JB Branch at 07 2210533 or come to our office located at Bangunan Bank Negara Malaysia, Jalan Bukit Timbalan, 80000 Johor Bahru Johor.
Johor Bahru – Ipoh route successfully launched Firefly Sdn Bhd successfully launched its maiden flight from Sultan Ismail Airport, Senai in Johor to Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (LTSAS), Ipoh on 15th September. The news of this route first came to light during the Malaysia International Travel Mart (MITM) Fair 2014 in July. Firefly flights from Johor Bahru to Ipoh are available four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and takes about one hour and 25 minutes to reach Ipoh at 11.45am. The service will also support the efforts of the Tourism and Culture Ministry to meet its target of 28 million tourists under the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign. During the promotional period, a one-way ticket on the JB-Ipoh flight costs RM59 and the tickets are only valid for travel up to October 24, 2015.
Jobs Abundance Community: There are ample job opportunities in the state with over 30,000 job vacancies in Johor
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ohor Unity and Human Resources Exco R. Vidyanathan pointed out that presently the three main sectors that need skilled workers in Johor are the oil and gas sector, hospitality and tourism sector and creative and multimedia sector. “The oil and gas sector alone is expected to generate at least 50,000 jobs in future,” he said.
He urged the 90 private and government institutions in the state to offer skills training courses which were needed. “The state government through the state economic planning unit (Upen) is also giving out scholarships to students from low-income families for six-month skills training programmes,’’ said Vidyanathan.
He added that in an effort to match employers and employees, the state government was organising the four-day Kembara Kerjaya beginning Sept 25. Kembara Kerjaya was expected to cover at least seven districts in Johor namely Johor Baru, Kota Tinggi, Mersing, Muar, Batu Pahat, Kluang and Pontian. “This is the first time such an event is being held in the country,” he said, adding there would be 2,000 job openings available at the carnival. He added the state had matched at least 20,000 people with jobs via similar carnivals. At least 12 government and private agencies would be participating including Johor Corp, Skills Development Department, Johor Petroleum Development Corp, Mara, Tekun, National Entrepreneur Corporation Bhd, Iskandar Malaysia, police, armed forces and Desaru Coast. Vidyanathan mentioned that at least six institutions would give talks on the skills needed in Johor.
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ENDORSED BY
Calendar of Events >> pg 4
Oct 2014
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Artist
Balan Kashmir stays Illegally Macha
Go Local, Eat Local, Stay Local Things That Poison Our Relationships (pt II)
Music
Diana Krall’s new album: Wallflower >>pg 2
OCT 2014 | Page 2
The Iskandarian | WAVES Lifestyle
Editor ’s Note
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Full Name: Kokula Balan Muniapan Stage Name: Balan Kashmir Field: Music - Artist / Producer / Writer Quick intro: Balan Kashmir is a musician from Klang, Malaysia. He has performed in many local and international acts and worked as a solo rapper/ song writer with many established names such as KLG Sqwad, Too Phat, Pete Teo, Reshmonu, Joe Flizzow, Elvira, Sasi The Don, MC SAI from United Kingdom and others talents. Currently, he runs Starrsound Asia - a music label, studio and publishing house alongside beat-miner Dnavigator and lawyer, Gerard Lazarus. www.facebook.com/balankashmirfanpage instagram:balankashmir twitter: balankashmir
Priya Manikam editor@waveslifestyle.com
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ctober is a month of festivities for the Muslims and Hindus as we celebrate Hari Raya Haji and Deepavali. The Deepavali bazaar is back in town at selected locations and it’s a good time to get a bargain on deals to make your festival more cheerful and at the same time lending a supportive hand to the local traders. In this issue, we focus on a talented musician – Balan Kashmir, all the way from Klang to the hearts of JB fans. Learn more about him and what’s in store for the last quarter of the year. More on music, we bring you latest releases from Grammy nominated Mary Lambert and Grammy Award winner Diana Krall. On that note, Universal Music recently partnered with Giordano to launch a series of music tees collection titled ‘Music For All’ across their stores in Singapore. If you enjoyed reading Rose’s column on “Things That Poison Our Relationships” (Part 1) in the last issue, read on to know how to give space to your loved ones and yes, keep those gadgets away! Our Movie column takes a short hiatus this month and in our culinary page, Tony brings us Bar Food from Magnum Sports Café at Nusajaya. As its Visit Malaysia Year 2014 and close to the school holidays, we bring you a three part series on “Go local, Eat local, Stay local” as a perfect travel finale of the year. Flip over the pages and start planning your weekend getaway to a local hotel as a way to rejuvenate from the hectic lives of your home and work. As always, for those wishing to share their clothing line, travel tales, contribute articles, and would like us to review your restaurant/ property, or want to appear under the Personality column, drop me an e-mail at editor@waveslifestyle. com today and be featured. Last but not least, wishing all fellow citizens a Selamat Hari Raya Haji and Happy Deepavali from The Iskandarian team!
Priya
What’s new with Balan Kashmir? I worked on a new English mix tape called Midnight Jazz in April and a Tamil album is set for a year end release. Besides that, everyday’s grind of events, merchandise and more new songs. Dabbling in both English and Tamil hip hop, how is the music world from each side of the coin? I’m an outcast to both if you ask me. My music is played on Tamil stations but it’s difficult to get huge Indian based shows because I’m too ENGLISH for them! My Tamil records got me performing at “Raising The Bar”, but it didn’t get me playing on English station. It’s unbalanced. Many of us wish our local radios would push homegrown music in the likes of Thailand and Indonesia. How healthy is the music scene in Malaysia in terms of albums being released and reception received? The indie movement here got it going! Everybody is hustling, trying to get their music out and reaching new heights with
MUSI C U PD AT ES
their respective crafts. It’s a beautiful thing to see Malaysians artistes and new acts putting their heart and soul into this but I just wish the rakyat would support, buy and give them two minutes of their time because it’s well deserved. The support is there but it should be more. So come on people! Hip hop has always been plagued with a stigma of violence. Are any of those stigmas resonating here in Malaysia? There are acts that dabble and sing about it, but locally I rather keep my mouth away from something I don’t understand or represent. I come from a harsh city, but I was never taught or brought up to colour that energy to the society. Some people live that lifestyle so it’s pretty understandable when they write songs about it. But there are characters who portrays that lifestyle just to get more listeners and it’s dangerous when that happens because everyone is gonna follow suit. How do you divide being an artist who does music for passion and being a businessman who has to sell his
Source: Universal Music Singapore
MARY LAMBERT RELEASES NEW SINGLE “SECRETS”
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ou may recall Mary’s name as she is the Grammy-nominated singer and co-writer of the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis smash single “Same Love.” Mary performed the song on the 56th Grammys along with Madonna, Trombone Shorty and Queen Latifah. Inspired by confessional folk singers as well as spoken-word poets, Lambert is a fearless and candid writer, who empowers both herself and her listeners in her songs. She has
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showcased her ethereal, lilting voice and soul-baring lyricism on her debut EP, Welcome To The Age of My Body, which featured the Hot AC Top-20 hit “She Keeps Me Warm” and earned Lambert rave reviews. “Secrets” is the first single from her upcoming debut album – Heart On My Sleeve due on 14th October on Capitol Records. “’Secrets’ might be the first fun song I’ve ever written,” she says of the track, which she co-wrote with her album’s co-executive producers Eric Rosse and Benny Cassette, and MoZella (Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”). Lyrically, Lambert says the song is about loving yourself unabashedly. “I felt like there were a lot of songs coming out about self-empowerment and challenging beauty standards, and I wanted to write a song along those same lines, but in my voice,” she explains.
artworks to make a living? I’ve always tried to make music the way I like to broadcast it to the public (the content, sound and packaging). You win-lose, you learn some. The key is to be you. Keep doing what works for you and make ‘the brand you are’. There are tons of ways to generate income from the music business; nightlife, events, CD purchase, merchandise and etc. I’ve been a good student of the industry right from the bottom to where I am. I just wanna see more passionate Malaysians aiming towards local content. The math should be perfect then. What are the challenges faced? I’m not gonna stand here and complain. The world has changed in this past 10 years when comes to the music industry. Things from the past are coming back and we have no idea how the future looks. It’s becoming so digital where we can’t blame the radio and media but if Malaysian media and radio gives more interest to the local music industry, you’re going to witness the society purchasing music like they did in the 80’s when the connection was ‘mad steady’ between musicians and the society!
DIANA KRALL’S NEW ALBUM “WALLFLOWER”
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he release date for fivetime Grammy Awardwinning jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall’s new studio album Wallflower (Verve Records) is on 13th October, ex-North America (21st October). Wallflower is a collection of songs from the late 60’s to present day that inspired Krall in her early years. Produced by 16time Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster, the album finds Krall breaking new ground with her interpretations of some of the greatest pop songs of all time. On Wallflower, Diana Krall showcases her considerable gifts as a vocalist in a bold and beautiful way. Krall sings a set of songs that include familiar popular classics like The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreaming” and the Eagles’ “Desperado,” favourite vintage songs by Krall’s musical heroes Bob Dylan (he inspired the album’s title track “Wallflower”) and Elton John (“Sorry Seems
To Be The Hardest Word”). The album also features more recent gems like Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and a wonderful new composition from Paul McCartney (“If I Take You Home Tonight”). The new album marks Krall’s first studio effort since 2012’s “Glad Rag Doll,” produced by T Bone Burnett, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Jazz Albums chart. To date, she has won five Grammy Awards, eight Juno Awards and has also earned nine gold, three platinum and seven multiplatinum albums.
OCT 2014 | Page 3
The Iskandarian | WAVES Lifestyle
Things That Poison Our Relationships (pt II)
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Gadget Comes First! ne day whilst having dinner, I saw a husband fidgeting with his phone and his wife was playing with her tab. Even though both of them came to dine, no conversations were exchanged between them as they seemed preoccupied with their phones. Unfortunately, this scenario happens to almost all of us. Our lack of awareness contributes to the habit of giving priority to the gadgets than the real person in our given moment. We have lost the real touch of true relationship. The acknowledgement of others in our lives has simply gone missing and that connectedness in
a deeper level is foregone. Instead, try keeping away your gadget/s when you spend time with others. Give your full attention to the other person in front of you; as if that’s the last time you will see them. Acknowledge their presence in your life. Thank them for the lessons and experiences they taught you. Give them space to love, and then see what will happen in your relationship. Be the Way I Want It We often want the other person to be like us. Although our intention may be good but by doing so, we are forcing them to create a false self-image of themselves. Some people become
pretenders in the relationship and honesty becomes an illusion. In any relationship, if we try to make the other person like us, we have taken away the uniqueness out of the relationship. Every difference we have in the relationship is good as it gives a variety of experiences and knowledge. It also expands the capacity of information exchanged. Never try to close the gap of differences, instead give them space to be. Within the space to be, they will fill the relationship with love and joy. Remember that everyone is a piece of puzzle that completes the entire puzzles of life, and each person’s uniqueness matters.
Universal Music
By Rose Osman
Personal Motivator & Energy Coach yourpersonalmotivator BucketOfRoses
Source: Universal Music Singapore
goes Fashionable
U
niversal Music recently partnered with Giordano to launch a series of music tees collection titled ‘Music For All’. The collection consists of 8 artists featuring rock and pop icons - The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Queen, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, The Killers and PINK.
This is probably the first time that music tees are done in a large scale campaign locally in Singapore. The collection also sees Giordano taking an unconventional approach in their designs with focus on in-trend silhouettes / styles such as cropped raglan sweater, boyfriend-fit tees, loose tank tops and
more. The ‘Music For All’ collection were sold from S$19-S$29 at all Giordano stores. Besides that, Giordano also gave away amazing prizes such as two tickets to see Katy Perry live in Sydney with airfare and accommodation included and more.
OCT 2014 | Page 4
The Iskandarian | WAVES Lifestyle
Go local, Eat local, Stay local Calendar of Events
I October 2014
LAZE OUT ON LAZY SUNDAY…
f you’re approaching the weekend, it means it’s time for lazing around and treating yourself and your loved ones for a pampering day out of the house. The perfect venue to do this is none other than Thistle Johor Bahru. Dine by the poolside while you soak in the sun as the Lazy Sunday Brunch at Oasis restaurant overlooking the crystal blue waters of the pool will leave you feeling unperturbed and a craving for food. Chef Kamal Damiri, Chef de
Cuisine at the Oasis restaurant will be firing up juicy prime cuts of meats and seafood such as marinated chicken fillets, juicy lamb chops, steak cooked to your liking, plump chicken sausages, chicken wings, beef bacon and chicken ham, fresh salmon, red snapper, tiger prawns, sea bass and lobsters, complete with various homemade sauces. The Lazy Sunday Brunch also offers classic breakfast egg dishes such as scrambled eggs, sunny side up and poached eggs. The kids will also get to enjoy a wide selection of
JB, 5th Sep - 4th Oct 11th JB Arts Festival
JB, 1st - 21st Oct Deepavali Bazaar near Kotaraya
Spore, 2nd - 5th Oct S’pore Indian Shopping Festival @ Suntec Singapore
JB, 3rd - 5th Oct
Fresh mouth watering seafood prepared by the skilled chefs
Electrical & Home Fair’14 @ Persada Johor
JB, 4th Oct 3rd Private & International School Fair @ Traders Hotel
JB, 5th & 6th Oct Hari Raya Haji
JB, 13th - 15th Oct Energy Conversion Conference @ KSL Hotel
JB, 16th Oct MIA Johor Region Annual Dinner @ Persada Johor
Spore, 17th - 26th Oct 2014 WTA Tour @ S’pore Indoor Stadium
22nd Oct Happy Deepavali
25th Oct Awal Muharram
Spore, 25th - 26th Oct Game Start 2014 @ Suntec Singapore
Spore, 31st Oct - 9th Nov Singapore Writer’s Festival
If you need more information on the above mentioned events, drop us an email at:
admin@waveslifestyle.com
Lazy Sunday Brunch at Oasis Restaurant Thistle Johor Bahru
pizzas and a selection of pastas. The brunch comes with free flow of soft drinks, juices and Carlsberg draft from 12 noon to 3.00pm. There are also free icecream cones for the kids, and diners can take advantage of the complimentary Wi-Fi within the resort. Parking for diners taking the brunch is also free! Besides enjoying the juicy cuts of meat and fresh seafood, diners will also get to enjoy free usage of the adult and kid’s swimming pool from 12noon to late evening. The best part is that you don’t have to book a room to enjoy this one of a kind, resort style swimming pool. Towels are provided and you just need to bring along your swim wear. Sounds tempting enough to plan your getaway from home? There’s more… Indulge in a shoulder or neck massage to help you loosen up the knots as the Body Work Spa located in Thistle Johor Bahru is extending a complimentary five minute shoulder and neck massage for all adult diners. Besides that, they are also offering a 45 minutes body or foot massage voucher at only RM68nett. The Lazy Sunday Brunch at Oasis restaurant happens every Sunday from 12.00noon to 3.00pm and priced at RM150++ per adult and RM50++ for children aged 6 to 12. One kid below 12 years old with every paying adult gets to eat for free. To make your weekend more relaxing, try booking a room on Saturday itself where you can just sit back (or sleep) in the comfort of a hotel room and enjoy room service, and wake up late the next day for the brunch, spa and pool time. For more information and reservations, please call the hotel at 07 -222 9234 (9.00am to 10.00pm) or 07 – 267 8984 (9.00am to 5.00pm). Overall, the Lazy Sunday Bruch treat is a definite winner in our pick list and be sure to indulge in these pleasures of life. See you at another local hotel in the next issue!
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
live Students’ view on Kunkwan as one of the Best Learning Centre Ms. Sally Khor Seh Lee Principal of Kunkwan
unkwan is one of the best learning centres for Mandarin because of the many advantages it offers to those who are interested in learning Mandarin. It is not just a place for learning Mandarin but also a place for making new friends and learning new cultures as we always encourage our students to get to know one another as one big family.
me, as majority of my clients are Chinese. This allows me to communicate easily with them. Most importantly, the tutors are really amazing.” – Ms. Anisza binti Jani (Managing Director, TGS Maritime) Learning another language besides our mother tongue can give many advantages to us. For example, those who have majority of Chinese clients will find it helpful in dealing and building a good relationship with them by learning Mandarin. Besides that, your clients will feel appreciated and proud that you can speak in their mother tongue, and their level of respect for you will also increase. At Kunkwan, we have professional tutors who can assist and help you all the time, either in your lessons or speaking skills.
How does Kunkwan help most of the working adults and children to learn Mandarin? “Kunkwan is a perfect place for learning Mandarin. The schedule is extremely flexible for working adults. The tutors are very helpful and humorous, and their teaching method is also satisfying and effective.” – Mr. Mohd. Yatim Bin Ismail (Supervisor, Public Utility Board) Kunkwan is a perfect place not only for the children but for adults who have a busy work schedule and do not have fixed daily working hours. This is because we have prepared a flexible schedule from 10 A.M until 10 P.M daily to help those who are busy working, enabling them to find their own free time to come to the centre and learn Mandarin. Moreover, there is also a “Tutor on Duty” who will be on standby every day, anytime just to help those who need more guidance and help either for the lessons or to practice fluent Mandarin speaking skills.
Why Kunkwan is the best place for learning Mandarin? “The visual presentation makes the whole class even more interesting. Besides, Kunkwan provides a great platform for members to advertise our business.” – Mr. Annuar bin Mohd. Rohaini (General Assistant Manager, Great Eastern Takaful) To learn something new and totally different from our culture actually needs more concentration and effort. At Kunkwan, we strive to help students so that they can learn Mandarin in a more comfortable way. During a lesson, tutors always use many types of learning methods so that the students can easily absorb the language. We always make sure that the lessons taught are in a relaxed and happy environment, as it would help students to be stress-free and at the same time they can learn faster. Besides that, Kunkwan also gives many advantages for the members to advertise their businesses by utilising the meeting rooms for free.
How does by learning Mandarin at Kunkwan help you in your daily life? “Learning Mandarin is a great advantage for
How do the tutors at Kunkwan teach? “Tutors with dramatic expressions make the whole lesson really interesting. I am very happy to see how the
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tutors coordinate their mind mapping concept.” – Dr. M Chitra (Specialist Doctor, Specialist Hospital Johor Jaya) Kunkwan have professional tutors who have been trained to be a student’s friend instead of just being a teacher. This is how we ensure our students are comfortable to communicate with the tutors, either during the lessons or outside the classroom. We also make sure the students are involved in the activities organised by the tutors during the lessons. The method tutors use to teach students are different in every class so that the lessons become more interesting, and students will be attracted to come back to Kunkwan again without feeling bored. How tutors at Kunkwan help students in need? “We are able to go for a revision class if we have any questions about our lesson. Tutors have always been unselfish and willing to help us.” – Ms. Rina Binti Mohamad (ExecutiveFinance & Admin, Plenitude Tebrau Sdn. Bhd.) The difference between Kunkwan and other learning centres is that we provide unlimited classes for students that need more revision. Students can come in at any time when they are free and join the classes as many times as they want. Besides that, we also have “Tutors on Duty” where students can come and meet them for help or guidance. We welcome all races to join our family, not just Malaysians but also from other countries as well. Together, we can build a multiracial family that can converse in Mandarin.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
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Health and Wellness Carnival Effort: In conjunction with the College’s 10th anniversary celebrations and as part of its community outreach efforts, Sunway College Johor Bahru (Sunway College JB) organised a Health and Wellness Carnival recently at its campus
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rom as early as 10am, members of the public were seen arriving with their families, joined by the College staff and students at Sunway College. Everyone was eager in their effort towards the pursuit of personal wellness through a series of activities catered for all ages. A colouring contest for children aged 5 and 6 was scheduled in the morning while some 20 organisations participated in a health and wellness educational and product exhibition. Companies such as NASAM (National Stroke Association of Malaysia), BCSG (Breast Cancer Support Group) Johor Bahru, Diabetics Malaysia Tanjung Putri Johor, National Transplant and Resource Centre and and Tags-Spine & Joint Specialists Johor Bahru among others were on-campus to render their support. Many came forward to support the blood donation drive organised by Hospital Sultan Ismail. Regency Specialist Hospital provided consultation services to the public and a cooking demonstration was conducted by dietitians from the specialist hospital. About 200 eligible female students of the College benefitted from the free HPV vaccinations given by LPPKN (Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara).
“Personal wellness is not too difficult to achieve” Ong Mei Mei Organising Chairperson Health and Wellness Carnival
Visitors were also entertained with performances such as laughter yoga, martial arts and a zumba workout. Other fun-filled activities for the family included simple quiz games, lucky draw and the Nestle Challenge Bungee Trampoline. Visitors were also each given a bag full of goodies to bring home. “Through this carnival, we hope to raise the awareness on the importance of a healthy lifestyle and that personal wellness is not too difficult to achieve,” said Ms Ong Mei Mei, Organising Chairperson of the event.
Hospital Sultan Ismail orhanised a dloob donation drive at the carnival
Members of the Happy & Joyous Club conducted their famed ‘Laughter Yoga’ to keep everyone in the right spirits
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 25 | SEP 2014
work The Importance of Mega Trends for Long-Term Sustained Growth
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Manoj Menon Partner & Asia Pacific Managing Director at Frost & Sullivan
¬ Mega Trend 3: Urbanisation (pt II)
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he primary emphasis of the Smart City will be to increase the productivity of the citizens, enhancing its competitiveness whilst making the best use of scarce natural resources. This can be achieved through the effective use of Information and Communication Technology. Minimising CO2 emissions will be the other important component of the smart city plan. We believe that over 40 global cities will emerge and be labelled as Smart Cities by the year 2020. Many of these cities will be from the developed markets of North America and Europe. Many European cities such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Cape Town have already done a good job in positioning themselves as green and smart cities. For example in Amsterdam, the policy makers have set an ambitious target of reducing CO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2025 (from the 1990 levels). The policy development encourages the use of public transport, imposing stiffer tariffs on parking inside the city, imposing congestion charges, yearly reduction of parking spaces in the city and enabling more
charging stations for electric vehicles. Many cities have also set ambitious targets of achieving at least 10 percent of the total car population to consist of electric vehicles by 2020. Most North American cities are focusing their efforts on the use of innovative technologies. Boulder in Colorado will be amongst the first smart grid city with an investment totalling US$100 million. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco will likely emerge as the hub for Electric Vehicles in America. A lot of work is currently happening in the area
of water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management and low impact living. Closer to Asia, the development of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi will evolve as a research hub for green eco concepts. This city aims to be the world’s first carbon neutral, zero-waste city that will be fully powered by renewable energy. The city development is being developed by the Abu Dhabi future energy company with a budget of US$22 billion. There will also be a number of new cities which will be built from scratch that will adopt the
principles of smart and sustainable development. It is no surprise that many of these new cities will be from the countries of China and India. This is being done to decongest the population from the Mega Cities and help continue the strong economic growth. The Gujarat International Tech City is being built to cater to India’s large financial services potential by offering global firms access to world class infrastructure and facilities. The city planning is done in such a way that the integrated township of both residents and office is within a short radius of 5 to 10 kilometres. A large number of global players from diverse industries such as Energy, Automotive, IT, Telecommunications, Building Technologies are making significant investments to reap the benefits from this Mega Trend. There will be a convergence of competition and we will see the entry of new players with capabilities to provide fully integrated, sustainable and customised smart city solutions.
Many of the well planned and developed cities such as Singapore are offering their knowledge and services to other emerging cities in the areas of city planning. It is also very clear it is not possible for any one company to fully address the entire endto-end needs of any smart city project. Companies who wish to be successful in addressing this opportunity will need to forge strong partnerships with different participants in the ecosystem. Polic y makers in government agencies also see an important opportunity. In addition to doing this to enhance their city’s competiveness, they believe the right policies will encourage the development of their local companies which can then succeed in the global market place. Specifically in Malaysia, there have been several projects to develop cities, townships and corridors in the last decade. Local companies have gained significant experience in developing their capabilities. The emphasis now has to be to package these capabilities in a holistic manner and market this on a global scale.
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
invest
ACCUMULATING WEALTH ¬ Discovering Treasures by Reading the Company Annual Report (pt V)
I
n the last two issues, we’ve discussed two crucial segments of the annual report – Profit & Loss Statement (PLS) and Cash Flow Statement (CFS). Today, we’ll talk about Balance Sheet (BS), where together with PLS and CFS they become the cornerstone of a company’s financial highlights. Let’s look at the following questions: What is a Balance Sheet? A Balance Sheet is a financial statement that summarises a company’s assets, liabilities and shareholder’s equity at a specific point of time. In layman’s term; it’s a reflection of how much a company owns and owes, plus the amount invested by the shareholders. A balance sheet is represented by a formula: Assets = Liabilities + Shareholder’s Equity Assets are belongings the company owns, such as cash, property,
problem by seeing its debt condition, as the short term or long term debts are clearly indicated in the Balance Sheet.
machineries and so forth. Liabilities are the financial obligations that the company has to fulfill, such as debts, account payable and so on. Shareholder’s Equity is the amount invested by the shareholders. It’s also the net worth of the company. Why is it important to look at the Balance Sheet? It gives you an overview of the company’s financial position. In particular: • It tells you how much profit the company has made since it’s listed, as all the earnings goes to ‘Retained Profits’ under Shareholder’s Equity. If the company has been listed for a few years and had always been profitable, it means the company’s net worth has increased. • You can see how much cash the company has under ‘Current Assets’. The company is in a good position if it has lots of cash, because it means they’d have enough capital
Lam Kwai Soon is a qualified accountant with ACCA qualification, and is a member of Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He is a Tax Director at Cheng & Co. Taxation Sdn Bhd. (A Member of Cheng & Co Group).
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ne of the frequently asked questions revolves around what sort of goods and services are exempted from GST. To clarify, the Government will issue a Statutory Order on exempt supplies which are not GST chargeable, and goods and services which are not in the Exempt Supplies List (note that these are considered taxable supplies). There are two types of taxable supplies, Standard Rated Supplies and Zero Rated Supplies. To briefly explain what are the differences between these three: 1. Standard Rated Supplies (GST charged at 6%) - These are goods and services which will be charged GST. Businesses collect GST and pay it to the - government. - Businesses can recover credit back on their inputs. - If the goods or services are not in the Exempt Supplies Statutory Order and Zero Rated Supplies Statutory Order then they are Standard Rated supplies.
Tey Bin Yuen is the founder of BY Enrich Resources and the author of ‘Life beyond the Comfort Zone’. His books are available at major bookstores in Singapore & Malaysia. He’ll be conducting a workshop ‘Profit from Share Investment’ on 26 October 2014. Reach him at contact@teybinyuen.com
to expand their business, or paying dividend to their shareholders. • You may have an idea of how much the company is worth by looking at the Net Tangible asset (NTA). NTA means how much the company is worth if it ceased its operation today, sold all its assets and paid off its debts. (It is total assets subtracting total liabilities). • You can spot some potential
How do we evaluate the Balance Sheet? There are many ways to assess a balance sheet. Below are a few examples: 1. Examine if the company is a net cash company If the difference between the current assets and the total liabilities is a positive figure; it’s a net cash company. The formula below illustrates it well: Net cash = Current assets – Total Liabilities = ‘+’ 2. Look at the retained earnings. If the company was listed five years ago and the retained earnings is RM500 million, this means it has made RM100 million on average per year. 3. Assess the company’s value
by comparing its share price (market price) versus its NTA per share. If the company’s share price is RM1.50 and the NTA per share is RM2.60, it’s obviously undervalued. 4. You can tell if the company is financially healthy. First, you can use the current ratio (CR), which is the ratio of the current assets over current liabilities. If CR is more than 1.5, it’s very healthy; if it’s between 1 to 1.5, it’s considered reasonable. Second, if the Long Term Liability is less than 4 times of its yearly earnings, then it’s pretty good. Therefore, you’ll need to refer to the Profit & Loss Statement to find out the company’s earnings. In essence, reading The Balance Sheet helps you understand the financial position of the company. With more knowledge in mind, you’d be able to invest with more confidence, and ease of mind while increasing the probability of winning.
Goods & Services Tax (GST) ¬ The readiness of the businesses and
the impacts of GST (pt II)
7 Reasons Why We Need GST 2. Zero Rated Supplies (No GST charged) - These are taxable supplies subject to zero rate charge. Businesses do not collect any GST on - their supplies, but are entitled to claim input tax credit in making these supplies. - Goods include basic food items e.g. rice, flour, raw meats, vegetables, fish etc. - In order to promote the export business, all exported goods and services are Zero Rated. (Source : Appendix 9 and Appendix A1 of 2014 Budget Speech) 3. Exempt Supplies - These are non-taxable supplies and are not subject to GST. - Businesses are not eligible to claim input tax credit in their process of making these supplies. - Exempt supplies cover the supplying of education services, financial services, childcare services, residential properties and etc. (Source: Appendix 9 and Appendix A1 of 2014 Budget Speech) The GST mechanism seems to be much more complicated that the Sales and Service Tax in terms of tax computation, its technicalities and tax submission timelines. There are a few aspects which those in the franchise businesses and SMEs should take note of which will impact on their accounting and tax submission procedures.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the new consumption tax to replace the current Sales Tax and Service Tax. It is not a new additional tax. GST is to be implemented on April 1, 2015. The government has decided to replace Sales and Service Tax (SST) with GST because GST is a fair, effective and efficient taxation system. GST vs. SST 1. Lower business cost Under SST, some businesses pay multiple taxes (double taxation) and higher levels of tax-on-tax (cascading tax). With GST, businesses can benefit from recovering input tax on raw materials and incurred expenses, thus reducing costs. 2. Increase Global Competitiveness Prices of Malaysian exports will become more competitive on the global stage as no GST is imposed on exported goods and services, while GST incurred on inputs can be recovered along the supply chain. This will strengthen our export industry stimulating further economic growth. 3. Enhance Compliance The current SST has many inherent weaknesses making administration difficult. GST has in-built mechanism to
make tax administration self-policing and therefore will enhance compliance. 4. Reduce red tape Under SST, businesses must apply for approval to get tax-free materials and also for special exemptions for capital goods. Under GST, this system is abolished as businesses can offset automatically the GST on inputs in their returns. 5. Equity With GST, taxes are levelled among all the businesses involved, whether they are in the manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing or service sectors. 6. Fair Pricing to Consumers GST eliminates double taxation inherent under SST. Consumers will pay fairer prices for most goods and services compared to SST. 7. Greater Transparency Unlike the current GST, the consumers would benefit under GST as they know exactly whether the goods they consume are subject to tax and the amount they pay for. GST is a more comprehensive, effective, transparent and business friendly tax system. GST can eliminate the various weaknesses inherent under SST.
http://gstmalaysiainfo.com/7-reasons-need-gst/
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
play
Johor kaki
The Mighty Magnum Sports Cafe Tony is a very passionate Johor food blogger. He is fascinated by Johor’s unique culinary heritage created by its melting pot of diverse cultures. He hopes that his writings about the delightful experiences with Johor food and the people behind it, visitors from around the world will appreciate the potpourri of Johor culinary art.
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agnum Sports Cafe at Puteri Harbour is a hip and trendy new place in Johor Bahru to watch sports with friends while enjoying good food and drinks. The food here
Chicken Quesadilla
Magnum Combo starter Mighty Magnum Burger is in the good hands of veteran Chef Stanley (formerly from Lazio, Danga Bay) and his talented young charges, chefs Leon and Pansy. The menu here is American inspired. We first tried the Magnum Combo starter which consists of fried fish sticks, tupelo chicken tenders, onion rings, steak fries (French fries), chips and salsa. It is served with tartar and house blended chicky sauce. I loved the tupelo chicken tenders - crispy on the outside while moist and tender
in the inside. This combo costs RM40. Next was the signature Mighty Magnum Burger also priced at RM40. The burger is a combination of juicy house minced grilled double beef patties, with melted double cheese and lots of crunchy leafy vegetables between the fluffy sesame buns. Definitely worth every single bite. The Philly Steak Sandwich was next on the list and priced at RM26. Once again, I loved the combination of the juicy savoury tender beef, sautéed mushrooms in creamy sauce between fluffy,
crusty rolls. Then came the Chicken Quesadilla (RM20) where the chicken, chopped bell pepper, tomato, jalapeno and creamy cheese were served in a warm tortilla fold. All Magnum’s burgers and sandwiches are ser ved with American potato chips. These over-sized chips were thick and crispy, and there was hardly any grease at all – the perfect beer food. Next up was the New Yorker pizza, regular size (RM24). It came with a topping of green peppers, tomatoes, and minced beef on a thin crispy crust. Our final dish was grilled lamb shoulders glazed in a secret marinade which Stanley made using a version of his grandma’s recipe. The stash of Australian lamb was served on a bed of mashed potato with fresh garden salad and micro cress. The tender juicy lamb was savoury with distinct sweet notes.
Location Restaurant name: Magnum Sports Cafe Address: Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dldGp GPS: 1.416812,103.658698 Hours: 11:00am to 2.00pm No pork, no lard, no Halal cert (alcohol served)
New Yorker pizza
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
Hello Kitty turns 40!
play
Celebration: Sanrio Hello Kitty Town Nusajaya will be celebrating Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary in festive style
The Force comes alive at LEGOLAND Attraction: LEGOLAND Malaysia announced the opening of LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model display at their resort
H
ello Kitty Friends Forever will be the theme of celebrations as Hello Kitty turns 40 this year. The celebration is scheduled from 31st October till the 2nd of November at Sanrio Hello Kitty Town Nusajaya will be a fun filled three-day carnival with activities for all fans. The carnival will feature four major highlights consisting of the Hello Kitty Friends Gathering, Hello Kitty Friends Fiesta, Hello Kitty Friends Catwalk and Hello Kitty Friends Rock Music Festival. “Hello Kitty has brought so much happiness and her motto ‘you can never have too many friends’ has taught us that friendships endures and transcends, irrespective of who we are and where we come from. It is our hope that as we celebrate her 40th Anniversary, we are able to spread her infectious happiness and to give her fans the ultimate Hello Kitty experience,” said Philip Whittaker, Chief Marketing Officer, Themed Attractions and Resorts Sdn Bhd. As the only official Hello Kitty experience outside Japan, the three-day 40th Anniversary celebration promises to be the focal point for the celebrations in South East Asia and will be the place for fans to meet, share and bond with one another. Popular Malaysian J-Rock band Fly1ng Pan and Malaysian Pop Punk band BunkFace are slated to perform at the Hello Kitty Friends Rock music festival. The Hello Kitty Friends Gathering event will play host to the first and largest Hello Kitty fan gathering in South East Asia and is expected
Mark Germyn officiating the Star Wars attraction at LEGOLAND Malaysia
T C-3PO and other Star Wars figures are featured at the new attraction to be a record breaking gathering as thousands of fans come together in an attempt to create a record of the largest Hello Kitty fan gathering outside Japan. Attempting to make record history over this 40th Anniversary milestone, Hello Kitty fans from all over South East Asia are expected to make their way to Sanrio Hello Kitty Town Nusajaya to celebrate with Hello Kitty herself.
he attraction is the first of its kind in Asia and the latest Lego model to open at LEGOLAND around the world. It features seven scenes from the six Star Wars films and The Clone Wars animated series. In total, more than 2000 Lego models were built for the attraction using 1.5 million bricks. “We are confident that the guests will find their visit
(pic by J’sen)
here more exciting than ever for the whole family. Being fully indoors and air-conditioned, families can easily spend more than an hour exploring this new model display alone in addition to the over 70 hands on rides, slides, shows and attractions at the resort,” said Mark Germyn, General Manager of LEGOLAND Malaysia. With RM 6million invested in the Star Wars attraction, the resort is continuously looking to grow with stronger tourism value and attract moiré international visitors. The featured seven scenes depict planets such as Naboo, Geonsis, Kashyyyk, Mustafar, Tatooine, Hoth, Edor and Christophsis. Visitors can take a chronological walk through the Star Wars timeline to marvel at the models including a 2.65m tall Crystal City. Interactive buttons are also added to allow visitors to activate the animatronics within each scene to add on to the excitement.
@home
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
PROPERT Y INSIGHT
PROPERTY
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RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
Ground Breaking at Seri Albion
Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin alongside Tun Musa Hitam attend ground breaking pg 31
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APARTMENTS
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VILLAS
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2 Premiers witness launching in Spore
“Agrobazaar” Your Business: Selling Malaysia to the World via Singapore pg 32
CONDOMINIUMS
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OFFICE/ RETAILSPACE
Feng Shui Tips by Master Paw Find out the harmony of all human centric
pg 34
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The Iskandarian Issue 26 | OCT 2014 Advertisement
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The Iskandarian ISSUE 26 | OCT 2014
Quick Reads
Forest City must comply with EIA Country Garden Pacificview (CGP) Sdn Bhd, the developer of Forest City must comply with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before developing the project at Tanjung Kupang, Gelang Patah. Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin said it was important to ensure issues such as environment were given full attention and regulations were adhered to. The project has generated a lot of public attention as there were claims that the villagers’ land will be taken for the construction of 10 golf fields to complete the Forest City development project. However, Khaled refuted such claims, saying that the government would avoid taking their land for building roads to Forest City and would inform them if it took place. He added that the project’s developer should make public the project’s hydraulic and environmental impact assessment report to allay the peoples’ concerns.
CapitaLand delays launch Singapore-based CapitaLand Ltd has become the latest property company to delay a new launch in Iskandar Malaysia amid growing concerns that the massive build-up by developers from China is overwhelming the market. However some analysts say some local developers are continuing to enjoy a steady take-up rate, especially for landed houses. It was reported that CapitaLand, South-East Asia’s largest developer, was postponing the launch of its first phase in the Danga Bay township. The company is also looking to adjust its development plan and reduce the number of the 900-unit condominium project. Many property players have been timing their movements due to the massive emergence of China’s property players. Guangzhou’s Country Garden has launched 9,000 highrise condominium units at onego while Guangzhou R&F plans to launch over 30,000 houses over time.
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Breaking Ground for Seri Albion Highlight: Ground breaking at Taman Seri Albion, ‘The City that Gives you More’, was led by Menteri Besar Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Tun Musa Hitam By Maisarah newsdesk@theiskandarian.com
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nited Malayan Land’s (UMLand) wholly-owned subsidiary Tentu Teguh broke ground for its modern integrated township development Taman Seri Albion in Pasir Gudang, the company said in a statement. The project first phase, “Dove Business Park,” consists 89 units of Terrace, Cluster and Semi-Detached factories with built-up size from 3,276 sq ft to 14,532 sq ft comes with estimated pricing start from RM300 per sq ft, with estimation gross development value of RM 178 million. Located in Flagship D of Iskandar Malaysia, the mixed commercial township consists of small industrial, commercial, retail and residential developments in a 347–acre of land. “We expect the development will generate an investment of RM3.5 billion which indirectly will create an estimated of 12,100 work opportunity. It will be able to motivate the development of macro and micro economy in ‘Flagship D’
(from left) UMLand Group CEO Charlie Chia, Dato Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Tun Musa Hitam, Datuk Hj Abd Latif Bin Hj Bandi and Md Zaanal Misran of Iskandar Malaysia that relates to air, water and land transportation hub for Iskandar Malaysia and also Singapore,” said UMLand Group’s Chief Executive Officer Charlie Chia while emphasising that township project is the group’s third township in Iskandar Malayasia, and also the fourth in Malaysia. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was also sealed between Tentu Teguh and
Fiber at Home City Networks where the agreement will make Taman Seri Albion being the first Township in Johor that will be equipped with high-speed broadband with an “ultra-speed connection” that can be upgraded up to 1GB. “With the development of Green Field Area in this Cahaya Baru Felda, we will ensure that Taman Seri Albion will be a bright township with lush surrounding. Stimulating
recreation park and landscaped will be the main priority in the development of Seri Albion. Other than that, the gated and guarded surrounding will uphold a secure area and promote a harmonious, viable and will make it a better place to live, work and play. All the aspects that have been featured are appropriate with our tagline of Taman Seri Albion which is “The City that Gives you More,” added Charlie.
Property Corner
¬ Case Study 5 : Embassy Suites A.Devadason CA(M), FCCA, MDRT Deva is a partner in the firm of Dason & Dason, Chartered Accountants who specialise in tax advisory and consultancy. He can be reached at deva@dason.com.my
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veryone loves a good insider tip that supposedly no one else knows. This can range from the location of the next monorail station, site of a new hospital, construction of a new bridge, etc. Johor Bahru has seen its fair share of such “confirmed” projects and how the landscape and skyline will be transformed forever. More often than not, either the project got delayed or in quite a few cases, seems to be delayed indefinitely. The Scenario One such tip came to the ears of a friend sometime back in 2010. Being a surveyor, he has the benefit of getting early information on some matters that gets transmitted via the grapevine, and word was going around that a major property
developer was about to descend to Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir and launch their high-end lifestyle condominium project. It was just a rumour but based on the developers’ track record, if indeed this turned out to be true, the surrounding development will have an upward re-rating. He decided to do some independent checks and all pointed to the same direction that something big was in the works. The nearest residential developments there was Plaza DNP and Embassy Suites (now known as Duta Impian). These were apartments that were around 10 and 7 years old respectively (or a couple of years). He decided to spend more time researching Embassy Suites as it was closer to existing commercial units such as Naza and Menara MAA (now known as Menara Zurich). Furthermore, the units were smaller and more affordable, thus providing a potentially higher return on investment should things go as expected. He then went on to scour for units for an entire duration of one year but none seem to suit him. It’s either too dark, watermark on the walls, unkempt, etc. In the process, he made friends with many property agents who were more than happy
to introduce him the many units that were on sale then. He made it a point to be in good working relations with these agents and on many occasions, had a cuppa with them to build relationships. All this paid off when a nice unit presented itself towards the end of 2011. It was a fully renovated unit on the 20th floor with complete furnishing and it was offered for sale at RM 220,000. Good relations with agents pay off well when one is on the top of their minds whenever premium units turn up in the market. This was one of those occasions where the “time investment” made an exceptional return. He paid the deposit almost immediately despite his wife’s objection, proclaiming it to be steal. The question is, how does one know whether a unit is indeed value for money? Value for money Well, one needs to know what a lousy unit looks like first so that a good unit is indeed appreciated as being good. This is where his 12 months of multiple visits made him somewhat an expert on that building. He knew what exactly to look for and when a choice unit turned up,
he grabbed it with no hesitation. A novice would have tried to bargain and may have ended up losing that unit to seasoned players. Today, a similar unit is being retailed for nothing less than RM 350,000 with a rental of RM 1,800 per month. Not bad for a unit purchased less than 2 years ago to have a capital appreciation of RM 130,000 and a gross rental yield of 9.81%. His “gamble” paid off because by early 2012, announcements were made for the Twin Galaxy and Sky 88 luxury condominiums to be built in the same vicinity. Almost instantly, offers for sale at Embassy Suites dried up. Owners simply refused to sell these days as they await the completion of the newly launched condominiums. They are all hoping of the spill over effect of the new units and hope to capture the alternative market who wants to be at a desirable address but lacks the financial means to do it. Back to our case study, although he gambled with the location by picking up on rumours, it was research that helped him decide on the exact unit. Rumours are ok, as long as they only invoke an interest but actual decisions must be backed by hard research.
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Property Investment
¬ “Agrobazaar” Your Business: Selling Malaysia to the World
via Singapore
Ed Cheong is the Singapore founder of the Iskandar Malaysia Investors Forum and Rafflesland Group of Companies which provides platform for property investors to gain insights and world-class investment strategies. He is contactable at iskandar@rafflesland.com
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n 27th August 2014, 400 invited business and diplomatic dignitaries from Singapore, Malaysia and foreign embassies congregated at 37-43 Sultan Gate in Singapore. They were there to witness the grand opening of a unique Malaysian enterprise, Agrobazaar. The special guests of honour were the two respective Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Mr Lee
Hsien Loong. In a testament to the strong and enduring relations between the two countries, Agrobazaar was celebrated like no other enterprise before it. Apart from the invited guests, hundreds more from all walks of life looked on and joined in the festivities. The ceremony was reported in major media internationally and the place was featured for many more weeks to rave reviews. So what exactly is Agrobazaar and what does it mean for crossstrait business and investments? In particular, what does it mean for Iskandar Malaysia? I was among the privileged few who were there and subsequently met with key players involved in this out of the box project. An initiative of the Malaysia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority
PURPOSE-BUILT OFFICE SPACE: Iskandar Malaysia’s office sector in need of quality office space Review: CBRE’s Iskandar Malaysia MarketView Q1 2014 Report (ptIV) No new office supply as at Q1 2014 As at Q1 2014, the cumulative office supply of private office space (accounting for 71.9% of the total purpose built office space stock) stands at 5,978,593 sq ft. This existing stock is mostly located around or within Johor Bahru city centre. The total net lettable area (NLA) of purpose built office space inclusive of both private and public sectors in IM is about 8.7 million sq ft, coupled with an average occupancy rate of 73.6%. Iskandar office market very affordable compared to Greater KL Rents for purpose built office space in IM are affordable compared to Greater Kuala Lumpur, with the prime buildings in IM going on average at a rate of between RM2.50 and RM3.50 psf. Secondary offices rents range between RM1.50 psf and RM2.50 psf. However, the affordability is linked to a lack of quality office space in Johor Bahru, as most of the office buildings are old. Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) of Iskandar Malaysia to help
to bring more quality office space to the market The main function of CDP is to increase the services sector contribution within IM from 50% to 65% by 2025. Currently, most of the existing offices are lacking in quality and functionality. In this limited market, a small number of these buildings enjoy high occupancy rates at 85% or more. Other offices have occupancy rates in the range of 55% - 80%. Based on the statistics obtained from JPPH, the estimated average occupancy rate is approximately 74% as at Q1 2014. There is not a central office cluster within IM at the moment. The substantial amount of office space currently under design is expected to change IM’s landscape. Projects include in particular Medini Business District, Tanjung Puteri Waterfront, Danga Bay, Vantage Bay and Capital 21. According to IRDA, Financial Advisory & Consulting, Education and the Creative Industries sectors will create more than 100,000 new jobs by 2025 which will in turn translate into a requirement for more than 10 million sq ft of office space required.
(FAMA), it is a specially designed retail and wholesale concept marketing agro-food products from Malaysia into Singapore. Singapore is the single biggest market for the product category of 1 billion USD annually. Singapore was chosen to be Agrobazaar’s first launch because of its strategic location with high international visitors and ability to project common food preferences. I have long advocated that industries from Malaysia should use Singapore as a launch pad for their services. There is such synergy in comparative advantages that all industries targeting the international market should explore the “Agrobazaar” formula. It works not only for consumer goods but also general business, to business goods, financial services, outsourcing and many more service categories. The possibilities are endless. The next question to ask is
Malaysia’s Agrobazaar launching at Sultan Gate in Singapore what about Iskandar Malaysia in this game plan? The fruits from Johor were featured most prominently in Agrobazaar because of the assured supply stream from nearby sources. Iskandar Malaysia is a vital last point of shipment before goods reach Singapore. Associated supply chain logistics, human resources and capital goods are needed in Iskandar Malaysia to facilitate the increased trade. Therefore, it is Iskandar Malaysia who will benefit most.
I have been approached by various Malaysian industry groupings to help facilitate their international business expansion in Singapore in recent months. Each and every engagement has resulted in highly fruitful results. Therefore, I strongly urge both large and smaller Malaysian enterprises to start riding on the explosive early growth on good bilateral trade relations. It is time to “Agrobazaar” your business!
Quick Reads
Mah Sing turns 20 Mah Sing Group Berhad brought the Group’s 20th Anniversary celebration down south to Meridin Bayvue @ Sierra Perdana sales gallery. Meridin BayVue is a mid-ranged residential-cumcommercial project priced from RM300,000 onwards. Chief Executive Officer, Ng Chai Yong said, “This year marks Mah Sing’s 20th year in the property sector. From our humble beginnings in 1994, we are now one of Malaysia’s leading premier lifestyle property developer. We count ourselves among the elite of fully-integrated property developers in the region offering both high-rise and landed residential homes, integrated commercial centres and Grade A offices and niche concept industrial parks.” To date, Mah Sing has a total of 7 projects in Johor. Mah Sing’s track record in Johor has been built over 14 years with the Group’s first township project of Sri Pulai Perdana in year 2000 followed by Austin Perdana, Sri Pulai Perdana 2 and more recently, Bandar Meridin East. Mah Sing’s Meridin@ Medini in Iskandar Malaysia is into its second and final phase with the release of affordable small sized commercial units such as the Meridin Suites and Meridin SOVO.
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The Harmony of all Human Centric Feng Shui Master Paw, International Feng Shui Consultant, Lecturer and Columnist is the Chairman of Tiong Hua International Feng Shui Consultancy and a renowned speaker and VIP for Multinational Corporations.
more productive and successful at their workplace, businesses and homes, clearing and balancing the energy flow between spaces is essential. Master Paw’s approach on humanity in Feng Shui is unique, as she believes in giving tactful guidance to benefit those who seek her assistance for their overall well being.
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aking inspiration from the 21st Century; an era of modernity and combining the traditions of Feng Shui, Master Paw gives a new outlook to what Feng Shui and Interior Design is about. How does Feng Shui work and what are its benefits? Feng Shui is actually the understanding of relationship based on human interaction with the environment, the flow of energy and ancient Chinese science. Modern physics understand that all matters are energy and Feng Shui is no exception when everything is connected with kinetics. As people are always looking to feel
Feng Shui Tips: How to choose a house with good Feng Shui? Many people wish to live in a house with good Feng Shui, hoping that their own property can bring them utmost comfort, hence welcoming good fortune to the household. Master Paw has provided some tips to help you create a “Prosperous Feng Shui House”. 1. The shape of the building The appearance of a house is very important like an appearance of a human being. For example, if it has a lot of “missing eyes or hands”, it is certainly not ideal. Appearance is at its best when it is well-organised, neat and elegant. 2. Ideal surrounding environment
The environment around the house encompasses of topography, terrain, mountains, rivers, trees, roads, buildings and etc. The surrounding environment is very important when buying a house. Besides looking out for the traditional signs such as the “Left Green Dragon”, “Right White Tiger”, “Front Phoenix” and Back Tortoise”, one should also take negative aura into consideration such as the impact from light reflection, sound and smell. A good Feng Shui house must never have a higher building or road at the right side, and more greenery or plants on the left side of the house. 3. Avoid staying nearby a cemetery One should not stay nearby a cemetery, funeral parlour, hospital and other places that are prompt to absorb negative aura as it will bring unknown illnesses and bad luck to the tenant; such as nightmares, ruining a marriage or relationship. Besides that, the house shouldn’t be facing government agencies, fire brigade, hospitals, power supply room and places with maximum negativity.
4. Avoid building a house on a higher ground Your house should not be too windy or it will blow away the auspicious aura. When buying a house, it’s critical to check the wind flow. Feng Shui emphasises on gathering the wind and aura, meaning a place with strong winds will never be an auspicious house. The ideal living environment should only have soft breeze and refreshing air flow. Buying a house on the hill welcomes wind from all sides and it will bring loses to the occupants. 5. Flat ground level If a house is situated on a slope, you must be very careful of the surrounding area because from Feng Shui perspective, slopes connote danger as opposed to a house on a flat ground level which is steadier. 6. Basic shape of the house Shallow and wide, or shallow horizontal dimension denotes that the tenant is in low spirits. On the other hand, deep and long, or deep vertical dimension will bring prosperity and luck to the tenant.
Propernomics by Dr Daniele
¬ Propenomics or how to get it right in
property investment (part I)
Dr. Daniele Gambero is the CEO and co-founder of REI Group of Companies, gives presentations on the property market and welcomes feedback at: Daniele.g@reigroup.com.my
THE GENERAL IDEA When did the “Propenomics” concept pop up? It is hard to pinpoint an exact date as it has been around for a long time, growing and taking shape through the day-by-day practical experiences plus all the studies and researches I’ve done within my 30 years in the real estate business. I’ve been studying and working in the real estate industry in several countries around the world, from USA and Canada to Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Then it was back to Europe in Italy, Spain and Austria. Thereon in 1998, I discovered a “magical” part of the world: South East Asia. I term it magical because then, opportunities abounded everywhere and one simply had to decide where and when and then move forward. Malaysia itself has been growing rapidly with a decently performing economy and I’m not regretting my decision to elect it as my first home.
Going back to the meaning of Propenomics, I have coined this new word (which, as far as I know, has never been used in the subject of property) from two very powerful terms: property investment and economic performance. How they relate to each other and how they affect each other is the underlying meaning of Propenomics or “how to get it right in property investment”. THE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS AND GETTING STARTED Property or real estate is not an economic driver but the logical and natural consequence of a properlyplanned and executed economic
growth. In other words, the property market is not something that can stay, grow and develop on its own but is normally prompted by the industrial, agricultural and services development in a certain area. All these growth developments are part of a much bigger plan known as the country’s economic development. We need to look at the big picture first to see the current and future areas of growth. We need to understand that there are much higher chances of profit (either capital gain or ROI – return on investment) in a country that is moving towards the fully-developed economy status
compared to a fully-developed one. Certainly there is a higher risk involved as growth can be delayed or even stopped by external and internal factors but these negative factors can be partially forecasted and avoided, provided the country one chooses for his/her investment is within safe parameters and fundamentals as shown in the “house of sustainable growth” table:
are more opportunities in being within the top 10 compared to being the first as the latter must defend its position while the others “attack” through better performance. As shown above, we have been talking about economic performance long before looking into the property market. To step into the property market, we must walk through a “macro to micro”
Malaysia is a good example of sustainable growth with all the parameters almost properly placed. Some may say that Malaysia is not performing well in certain areas. However, based on the overall decent performance and considering the big room for improvement from some negative indexes, it does allow a rather positive medium-to-long term outlook. I always say that there
analysis which starts from the country’s growth planning and goes down to state performance first, ending within smaller areas of economic development. Thereon it will be possible to understand the current and future performances and population growth together with per capita income and its distribution which will lead us to a proper forecast of the property market performance.
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