The Iskandarian E-Paper August 2019

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The Iskandarian Iskandar Malaysia’s Official Newspaper, is an effort by True Soul Media PLT & IRDA’s Social Development Division

NEWS

PROPERTY

CEO DRILL

Rogue Film Business for Rebel Filmmakers

Iskandar Halal Park Sales Gallery Launched

Managing Director of EduCity

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Tan Sri Lee: Implement the “Cradle-to-Grave” Strategy

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Diffuse the ‘Ticking Bomb’ Situation Preventive measures at work could save everyone in the long run

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s the recurring issues of Pasir Gudang’s air pollution incident came to light yet again, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye suggested the need to implement the “cradle-to-grave” strategy.

Lee said authorities and companies involved must address a series of key issues including chemical disposal, taking Sungai Kim Kim incident as an example at World Day for Safety and Health at Work celebration.

According to Lee, the illegal dumpsite case is like a ‘ticking bomb’ to the nation that would cost a lot of lives within a

short time. “Now we talk about Pasir Gudang but how about other places? I am very worried,” adding other states have their own chemical industry as well, where the same concerns should apply in order to foresee and take precautions beforehand.

The authorities and industry players must adopt best practices in chemical management including the “cradle-to-grave” strategy where each chemical compound is tackled at all stages.

The people want more proactive measures from all the agencies involved and they must take whatever measures needed to ensure the safety of the people including students from nearby

schools.

Lee also urged chemical companies to self-regulate and support the “Responsible Care” initiative by the chemical industry that builds confidence and trust in the global chemical industry, which has been adopted by Malaysia since 1994 and led by Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia (CICM) as its sole custodian.

Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, Lee said NIOSH had also set up two laboratories - Environmental Ergonomic Laboratory and Human Ergonomics and Assessment Laboratory - to help employers improve the working condition of their staff. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

Halal is “The Food of the Future”

Group photo featuring all the VIPs invited with the exception of Director of MIDA Johor Shahzul Jayawirawan

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he business forum “Invest in Halal Industry Johor” that occurred on the 4th of July 2019 was jointly hosted by Iskandar Halal Park (IHP), a subsidiary of UMLand Bhd, Senai Airport City Sdn Bhd (SAC), Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Johor Branch and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) as a way to attract investors and strengthen multilateral ties to the newly established Iskandar Halal Park in Johor in an effort to establish a regional hub for Halal products.

S h a h z u l Jayawirawan, Director of Malaysia Investment Development Authority Johor (MIDA) outlines the Johor State economy to have an emphasis on the “3H” based economy which entails “High Technology, High Value and Halal Industries” and

that manufacturing has been and will continue to be a key pillar of the M alaysian economy.

He added that, “Since 2013, Johor has become the highest recipient of approved investments in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia for six consecutive years”.

The Halal industry includes three main market segments of food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and it has reached an estimated 1.8 billion consumers in 2017 and is expected to reach 2.2 billion by 2030.

For prospective foreign investors such as France, “Halal is a certification of quality control”, says key-note speaker International Tr a d e , Investment and Utility Committee Chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse drawing upon his recent visit to France and their expressed interest

in Halal products urging people to change their perception of the Halal label.

Ahmad Lokman bin Ibrahim, CEO of IHP also voiced out that Taiwan has gotten their Halal certification for bubble tea to better penetrate the market.

Highlighted in the forum were the various developments the Johor region may provide, such as the necessary infrastructure to assist local or foreign SMEs and bigger corporations with manufac turing, certification, fundamental wastewater management, transpor tation por ts strategically situated around SAC and IHP alongside investment rebates by MIDA to further provide prospec tive investors with the necessary support required.

Illuminated by a shining example of Hershey’s largest chocolate factory outside of North America situated in SAC, and the confidence given

by Jimmy Puah, the Chairman of SMF Packaging Council Singapore, Betty Tan lauded that this could be an era of opportunity to both companies and individuals to tap on the infrastructure to capitalise on a market worth USD 2.3 Trillion and she looks for ward to improve ties between the two countries. - by Evan Lim TI

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye reminding everyone the importance of workplace safety and health

444 Micro Entrepreneurs Benefited through Jcorp

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ohor Corporation (Jcorp) via its subsidiar y Waqaf An-nur Corporation Berhad ( WA N C o r p ) successfully leveraged 444 micro entrepreneurs to expand its business through a syariah-compliant noninterest-bearing financing scheme (Dana Niaga) worth RM 1.05 million since 2007.

According to Dato’ Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim, President and Chief Executive of Jcorp, the financing of Dana Niaga focuses on target groups who need prudent and comprehensive guidance to advance their business to a prestigious level.

“Competitive entrepreneurs who receive business funding will be guided through entrepreneur development courses covering various modules such as business management, motivation and marketing. We provide noninterest free schemes ranging from RM3000 to RM7000 to micro entrepreneurs with a financing period of up to 3 years with business conditions being compliant with syariah laws and

registered under SSM”, he added.

Earlier, more than 1000 visitors had attended the Waqaf An-Nur Entrepreneur Carnival 2019 (KUWAN 2019) which was held at @Mart Kempas Johor Bahru.

The two-day carnival involved the participation of 26 exhibitors comprising of micro entrepreneurs of Dana Niaga, entrepreneur’s planning classes and from Johor agencies such as Permodalan Usahawan National Berhad, Lembaga Perindustrian Nanas Malaysia, TEKUN National, Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia and Perbadanan Usahawan Johor, as well as handicrafts.

Meanwhile, through a speech, Johor MB Datuk Dr Sahruddin stated the state government welcomed the efforts of JCorp in bringing and promoting the products and business of local entrepreneurs to the community through KUWAN 2019 which is seen as the best medium for entrepreneurs to share knowledge, information and business proposals for mutual benefits. - by Moazan Emran TI

Official opening of the Waqaf community centre

Published by True Soul Media PLT [No.51-B, Jalan Impian Emas 5/1, Taman Impian Emas, 81300 Johor Bahru] Printed by Percetakan Osacar Sdn Bhd [No. 16, Jalan IDA 1a, Industrial Desa Aman, Taman Desa Aman, Kepong, 52200 Kuala Lumpur] Copyright of articles, contributions and photos which are published by The Iskandarian is the property of True Soul Media PLT. 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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news Moving Towards a Nation of Launch of The Caring Home Skilled Youths at Hospital Sultanah Aminah

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The state government is giving its full commitment in the effort to ensure the number of unemployment in Johor stays at the lowest every year by offering different initiatives that would aid in creating quality, and job offers, especially for the youths of Johor,” Tuan Haji Aminolhuda as Education, Human Resources, Science and Technology Chairman said in the National Dual Training System (NDTS) Offer Letter Awarding at Johor Strategic Human Capital Unit (Unit Strategik Modal Insan Johor).

N DTS is an industry-oriented training

programme that combines workplace and institutional training where trainees would experience 70% hands on training within the industry and 20%30% learning at the training institutions. At its inaugural, the programme targets secondary school graduates, youths with no skills’ certification or employees in certain industries. The effort through Johor Strategic Human Capital Unit (Unit SMI) is to cultivate and certify the target group of people and training centres and localised industries are encouraged to join in the NDTS effort under the Department of

Skills Development (JPK).

9 institutions were present to receive the offer letter for the first 105 trainees that would join in the programme through their centres.

The training institutions cover 6 industries such as food preparation and production, automotives after sales, industrial sewing machine operation, makeup artistry, aesthetic service and hairdressing.

Trainees would receive incentives for their participation of 6-8 months and the first batch of graduation will complete their training in the month of October 2019. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

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izza Hut Malaysia (PHM) collaborated with Mutiara Johor Corporation and Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) to launch ‘The Caring Home’ at Tunku Laksamana Johor Haematology Ward as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative known as ‘Hut to Heart’ that champions a cancerfree life.

Officiated by Her Majesty, Permaisuri Johor, Raja Zarith Sofiah Binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, The Caring Home is a place equipped with welfare facilities, to improve the palliative care of patients, which is a crucial aspect to assist recovery, as well as providing better rest and relaxation facilities for their caretakers and

medical staff.

Datin Noor Laila Yahaya, Chairman of Mutiara Johor Corporation expressed, “We are grateful and humbled by our customers who have come forward to contribute in support of our cause. Giving back to the society is more than just donations – it’s about making a difference.”

The Caring Home consists of areas which have been thoughtfully designed to provide comfort for patients and caretakers. The resting rooms are well-lit with natural sunlight, fully air-conditioned with comfortable beds for patients and their family members to rest. Besides, there are also facilities like the nurses’ lounge and a healing garden.

“I commend PHM for

taking the initiative to rally support from Malaysians in improving the quality of life of our patients and provide support to their caretakers as well as the medical staff in HSA. We hope that this would be a model to demonstrate how strides can be made through partnership between corporation and public sector to better meet the necessities of the people,” said Johor Health Director, Dr. Selahuddeen Bin Abd Aziz.

In support of ‘Hut to Heart’ initiative, Pizza Hut customers may donate 20sen with every total bill either via Dine In or via Pizza Hut Delivery.

Donation boxes are also placed at all Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide. - by SMay Tan TI

Attacked For Being All Ears to the Community

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due to an accident by the roadside.

Innately ready to see how he could offer help, James stopped.

Unfortunately, his offer to lend his ear was taken literally. The man involved in the incident confronted and charged at James with a long pole hitting the ear and tearing the cartilage. While another woman charged at James’s friend John with another long pole. She failed, but managed to get away with John’s

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ost of us might be wary to step into a commotional situation; afraid it might backfire.

We would perhaps quietly walk away, hoping for a hero amongst us to save the day.

James Ho, a name no stranger to the community for being selfless, was driving by at Jalan Tun Abd Razak/Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru when he saw a commotion

phone. James managed to tackle his attacker down and tied him up. The attacker was found to be intoxicated.

For heroes like James, this attack wouldn’t stop him from helping. Instead, he sees humanity unfolding even more. A passer-by gave James the video recording he took of the incident as evidence and a doctor offered to waive the ear surgery fees for James.

It’s comforting that kindness is

everywhere at least.

“All real and selfless people have some kinds of scars. Each scar has its own unique story,” said James, sharing a message from his friend adding, “May yours be memorable.”

James Ho is an Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards winner in 2015 and founder of Yayasan Suria Permas JB, an NGO helping hunger and poverty relief. - by Salamahafifi TI

Ear-to-ear grin after a successful surgery

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Government Online Services, Go or No? Would you risk relying on outdated and unsecured sites?

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displayed at 1.4 million, and a marquee scroll of tiny logos hovered above it. It also lacks an SSL, a Secure Sockets Layer that indicates the website is secure.

A website as I had described above, would have been something I’d have designed as a beginner at nine years of age, where changing background images and playing with the sliders, scrolling marquee, would feel like an accomplishment!

I understand the ability to change font sizes and colour as part of an inclusion for visitors with disabilities, but otherwise, changing background image and having a marquee scroll is redundant. A good, updated website is clean and has information I need accessible at the tip of my fingers.

Never mind that their main phone number is not listed on the front page of the website, after I found the number and called them, my Doing your transactions over the call was passed from counter with helpful one officer to another government officers to assist where I became a

t the top header of the website of Department of Agriculture (DOA), you will see options to change font size, font colour, background colour, and even the background image. On the slider at the centre of the site which is to give visitors quick and updated information, are compressed images and too small to read, though by clicking on each slider takes you to a separate page with extensive information. At the footer of the site, a “Contact Us” section with no phone number, only their office address and their email written as “pro[at]doa[dot] gov[dot]my” intended to keep away spam email.

A visitor count is proudly

broken record playing the same story again and again.

Nothing has changed, and you would have experienced something similar too.

Maybe not everybody frequents the website of the Department of Agriculture like I do.

I then remembered I have an unpaid summon for my car. I have always tried to be the better citizen, but having to download different apps to pay for my parking in different areas of Johor, especially feeling bitter from having 500 in credits burned in an app that the municipal previously used, I totally forgot. I went on to eKhidmat, a promising e-service that allows you to pay for your compound online and goodbye to queues! I have used it once and had faith eKhidmat would not let me down.

But it did. Record for my compound was “not found”, and by the side of the address bar (where you key in the domain name), in red it clearly stated “Not Secure”, also lacking the SSL, meaning financial transactions and other information transmitted between me

From cover (the user) and the site is not secure. “Not Secure” means it might have loopholes for data pirates to hack and read my information. I was ready to pay for my compound and key in my bank details into this website. Thankfully it has problems, or else I would have risked my information being stolen! eKhidmat’s website is also “Copyright 2016” like DOA, three years behind current time.

Keeping a website updated means enhanced security and improved user experience. A website master is not only responsible for keeping the website up and running, but ensuring good site accessibility with important information across all devices as well.

Traditionally, I think our services are good. I enjoy the Malaysian hospitality and warmth provided by the helpful government officers face-to-face. However, if we want to compete on the global scale, having a smooth and secure website, without the superfluous elements would make us at least viewed respectfully.

It’s 2019, not 2016! - by Salamahafifi TI

Revving Johor Manufacturing Engines for Industry 4.0

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anufacturing industr y key players and SMEs all around Johor had attended the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance (MIDF) I 4.0 & Automation Seminar at Trove Johor Bahru to get an overview and understand in depth of Industry 4.0 endorsed by the Federal Government.

The seminar held a discussion and informed participants about Industry4WRD Readiness Assessment, in order to be prepared for the Industry 4.0 transformation.

Sabariah M ohd Sofian, Director of Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Johor shared that the manufacturing sector has remained as the nation’s backbone for the economy with RM283bil contribution to GDP. She also stated that there is a rise in labour productivity and Malaysia is among the top South East Asia countries that dominates the top five locations globally for labour intensive manufacturing according to Cushman

and Wakefield’s report.

Therefore, implementing Industry 4.0 is just in time and tremendously necessary for the nation to accelerate its global position.

“To further enhance and value our customers, we are in the midst of setting up a business advisory unit to initiate sales force, facilities and provide enterprises services,” added MIDF’s Head of Development Finance Azizi Mustafa. The unit is targeted to be launched this month.

There are plenty of financial assistance and consultancy services that can be tailored to SMEs’ needs. For more information on loans and assistance offered by different bodies in accordance to Industry 4.0, visit these sites: MIDF : http://www.midf. com.my/index.php/en/whatwe-do-en/sme-financing MITI : https://www.miti. gov.my/index.php/pages/ view/industry4WRD SJJP : http://www.sjpp. com.my/ MTDC : https://www.mtdc. com.my/apply-pitch/ - by Norfy Shafeq TI

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Johor Based SK Medini Teacher Awarded in India

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ohamad Rizal bin Kapandi, a highly contributing teacher of SK Medini in Iskandar Puteri, Johor has received an award for Innovative Teacher of The Year and also an Award for Contribution to Student Development at an International School Award 2019 (ISA2019) event at Chitkara University, Chandigarh, India.

Known better as Cikgu

Rizal, he got the Iskandar Puteri community together to do numerous activities and among them was the Medini Mind CSR Programme, Earth Day & Campfire, Earth Day & Plodging, Iskandar Learning Festival, Low Carbon & Sustainable Exhibition, Medini Live, Edible Festival, Harvest Festival and many more.

Cikgu Rizal’s efforts doesn’t just stop there and as an Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Award

(IMSHA) 2017 winner for Education Advancement category, he has also organised various workshops like Paper Engineering, Pop-up Book for schools and communities using different themes such as safety awareness, superheroes, climate change and Independence day to name a few. Besides that, he also gathers his students to experience and understand how sustainable living works. It’s notable that this effort has earned him an Award for

Fancy A Walk In The Sky of Johor Bahru? you see the glimpse of the LED tunnel. If you are prone to photosensitive epilepsy or the likes of it, do inform the staffs so they could help you go by the tunnel safely.

Have a Step into the ‘sky’ at the Skyscape’s go at the Virtual Sky Bridge at Menara Jland Reality ( VR) games booth ancy walking on top of the world or there, or just watch your at least the skies of friends play it. What they Johor Bahru? This is are experiencing, would be made possible at Menara broadcasted on the screen Jland, located right beside outside of the booths.

Komtar JBCC. Go to the There are three types of lobby to purchase your games from skiing, zombie tickets and there is a time hunt and roller coaster.

Next, experience limit of 2 hours so visitors could maneuver the sky the climax of the visit here by taking off your footwear comfortably.

Reaching the 34th and wear the special antifloor, feel the intense urge slippery socks. But do keep to take pictures when tabs on your personal wear

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promoting the UN SDG4 Quality Education in the 2nd Global Sustainable Summit and Award 2018/2019.

Cikgu Rizal recently held a MTS Lion King Day Out with activities and movie as a bid to stress on animal conservation and SDG15 Life on Land. He would also be co-organising a Biodiversity Kids Digital Camp and SDGs Outdoor Classroom under the name Fireflies Campfire Night in

news

Cikgu Rizal with his trophies and certificates for ISA2019

October with Sireh Park and other departments and NGOs. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

A Day to Learn About Voicing Your Truth as a Citizen

like scarves or hats and etc because of the wind and keep it safe first.

Savour the moment as you take your steps into the sky. Look around Johor Bahru city, feel the air of this sky space and look down if you don’t have acrophobia.

Most importantly, take as many pictures and videos to freeze these special moments!

Finally, get some merchandise sold right at the exit of the sky walking experience as remembrance or souvenirs.

Opening hours are from 9.30am – 10.00pm with the final session at 8.30pm. Adults’ ticket is priced at RM28 each and kids at RM18 per pax. Do take note that MyKad is required for tickets purchasing. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

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emember when main sources of information were from printed newspaper, magazines, radio and television? It was where the content went through strict and heavy proofing and checks by professionals, ensuring people received accurate and well-conveyed information.

But internet happened and Malaysians got caught off-guard with the rise of social media. Before we know it, the carefully guarded dam of information exploded, flooding towards people no matter if it was the truth or entirely made up. Everyone are telling their stories and some even got into hot water for being unaware of the consequences that followed by their little fun in the internet!

Here is why the Youth Truth News Basic Citizen

Journalism Course was held by The Iskandarian, at Infinity8 E-Commerce Hub as its joint partner.

All 20 participants, of all ages came together as early as 9am to learn in depth on how to express Participants of Youth Truth News themselves better in the Basic Citizen Journalism Course media law and what citizen digital age.

Peggy Loh, the author journalists should be aware of.

The final session was of My Johor Stories shared her experiences as a newspaper held by Vishnu Dev, Founder journalist for decades and the and Director of Reel Studio challenges that were bundled Sdn Bhd, giving extensive with it and how she overcame tips and tricks on using mobile phone to take better pictures it all.

Salamahafifi, a which is an essential asset to journalist with The Iskandarian accompany your news.

After a practical and a published author went participants in depth about processing s e s s i o n , information and conveying it were each awarded with certificates at the end of to the public responsibly.

Balbeer S i n g h the day. Don’t miss out the Jessy, Iskandar Regional next Youth Truth News Basic Development Authority Citizen Journalism Course (IRDA) Head of Department, on 24th Aug - http://www.

Legal & Secretarial spoke cj-truthnews.com/ - by Norfy about the fundamentals of Shafeq TI

RCJB Interact Club Career Fair

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he Rotary club of Johor Bahru (RCJB) had organised a career fair with their sponsored interact clubs SMK (P) Sultan Ibrahim (SIGS), SMK (P) Sultan Ismail (SSI), SMK IJ Convent and SMK Dato’ Jaafar (SDJ). The career fair held at SIGS’ main hall, was officiated by RCJB President Teoh Cheng Siang and SIGS Senior Assistant Siti Mahani Adnin.

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The event included speakers from several professions such as medicine, accounting, law, financial services and more. Over 400 students registered for the career fair and gained valuable insight from the industry speakers as they shared about their working experiences. This was followed by Q&A sessions for students to find

SRI ARA Schools

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We would like to congratulate our last batch of IGCSE students on their outstanding results.

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No. 23 Jalan Straits View 80200 Johor Bahru araschools.edu.my +607-2222089

out more about the professions they were interested in.

The career fair also featured ‘The End Polio’ booth, which raised awareness among the students about poliomyelitis; a crippling and infectious viral disease that attacks the nervous system. Rotary Club has led the battle against polio since 1985 and made incredible progress

worldwide in its effort to fight polio.

To develop future leaders in the workplace, the career fair also featured Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). RYLA is a leadership programme coordinated by Rotary Clubs around the globe to help youths build self-confidence and encourage leadership in youths.

Participants had the opportunity to

find out how they can benefit from RYLA and register for the upcoming programme in December.

Rotary Youth Service Director Gan Chin Soon hopes the participating students benefitted from the speakers, and finds the information useful in future when chartering their career paths. - by The Iskandarian TI

We would like to

congratulate Sourashis Ghoshal for accomplishing the prestigious

Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards for Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management

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drill

MO N T H LY DR I L L e Exclusiv w Intervie

Wan Ahmad Saifuddin has a wealth of experience in the Education, eBusiness, Management Consulting as well as Corporate Transformation sectors, and he has donned various roles from an Entrepreneur, Head of Unit, Project Leader, Senior Management and CEO. He has built a strong reputation in the field of Education, eLearning and Knowledge Management, having set-up an eLearning company for PETRONAS from ground up.

Before he joined EduCity as a Managing Director in 2019, he was the Executive Vice President of Special Projects in Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), focusing on the Corporate Transformation of the IIB Group of Companies, as well as its Digital Strategy.

Now he leads EduCity, a catalyst development driven by IIB. As a fully integrated education hub, EduCity is expected to be a feeder of talents to support Iskandar Malaysia’s various economic activities whilst grooming future generations of leaders. Partnering with luminaries in education from around the globe, EduCity with its institutes of higher education, R&D centres, student accommodations and recreational and sports facilities is the first of its kind in Asia.

Tell us more about EduCity and what are its unique selling points?

I think EduCity is very different from other education hubs around the world. EduCity exists within the context of Iskandar Puteri, Johor; an effort by Khazanah Nasional and the state government, to develop the area. If you look at any city’s development, education is always one of the pins in the foundation because people will always consider schools and institutions when moving or investing in. These schools and institutions are also the generators of talent and workforce for the region.

Most education hubs would invite universities or institutions over, so the initial investment would be higher. Whereas, what we do is to just invite one of the faculties to come. The first university to actually commit was the Newcastle University. They focused on just bringing their medical faculty here.

Another attractive factor is that is while we invite universities to open, we also provide shared facilities. There’s no need for universities to invest extra on facilities such as sport complexes, student accommodation and more. It’s like a plug and play solution.

What is the most important element in running an education hub?

Our sustainability really comes from the rental of facilities and sale of land. In the grand scheme of things, we have to balance the revenue that we get collectively with the cost of running the area. Our presence has a ripple effect towards the surrounding developments. EduCity is not just a hardware play, or real-estate play. To make a city or a micro city successful, you have to have all sorts of elements such as social experience. We have to ensure that the student experience is good here because the best ambassadors to EduCity are the students themselves.

What are among the facilities provided?

Director

Wan Ahmad Saifuddin

The sports complex itself consists of 3 main facilities which sits on a 21.5 acre site with a total seating of 14,000. We have an outdoor stadium which is accredited by IAAF (6,000 seats), a football pitch worthy of international standards, indoor arena (1,500 seats), as well as an aquatic centre (50m Olympic size pool).

The most unique one is the canopy

Man a g ing Dire c tor E duC ity

How does EduCity facilitate students’ current and future needs?

One thing we are increasingly trying to do is that this is the first year we are establishing a cross-institution student representative council. We want students to not only study at their own universities in EduCity but we want them to mix and mingle with students from the other universities here and organise events together. This is an advantage in education where students can pick up soft essential skills in organising and managing things.

In our new student hub, which will be ready by the end of the year, we get students

have the Henley School of Business under the University of Reading that has an entrepreneurship component.

What are the CSR activities conducted by EduCity?

We organise CSR activities with the students, hopefully to produce caring communities that gives back. The engineering students have built water filters to keep the water clean and they have even built drones to help farmers map areas. It’s a higher level of CSR by empowering students to apply what they have learned in their faculties and help the community while at it.

What’s your take on STEAM (Science, Te chnolog y, Engine ering, Ar ts, Mathematics)?

that covers all three facilities, which are suitable for outdoor events and which acts as another hub of meeting point as well.

The new student hub will be a 24hour accessible facility which will benefit the students as it will include a whole floor dedicated to the students.

How do you manage perceptions from the public? Is EduCity open to the public?

A part of EduCity is. On one hand, we want to maintain a safe and secure environment for the students, so there is limited access for public in certain areas, especially on campuses. This is of course governed by the safety and security of each institution.

However, the sports complex is a public area.

The public are invited to use the amenities and facilities there.

to decide what they want to be included in there such as food, amenities, and more.

There will also be a co-working space which will nurture the students to start their own thing or serious businesses. They will be able to learn new experiences and how real life businesses work, as well as mingle with the businesses that would take up space there.

This would also give the students the hands-on opportunity to test out their entrepreneurship skills. For example, we

Well, I’m educated as an architect and I think the embodiment of STEAM is actually architecture because half the subjects you do are arts based and the other half are science based. I think, sometimes in this world there are too many specialisations that people don’t venture across disciplines. The approach to STEAM is good. I am fully in support of any cross-discipline initiatives because there are bound to be expectations as such in the real working world. The most important thing in education is honing the capability to keep on learning because you can never stop learning.

This is my 13th job and 5th industry that I have been involved in. That flexibility comes from not being afraid of doing things you’ve never done before and secondly, once you’ve committed to it, you’ve got to learn and pick it up quickly. People worry about the jobs of today and how it’s going to change, but that’s not a problem if you adapt quickly and are brave to try new things.

What do you do in your free time?

I spend time with my family and make the most out of it. TI

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PEGGY LOH

news

view of the green. I had the privilege to enjoy this impressive view and sample their banquet facilities in their annual Ramadan food review.

Our resident writer, Peggy Loh, actively writes in her blog www.peggyloh.com Opened in about matters that are close to her heart.

March 2017, the 18She can be reached at write2peggyloh@gmail.com hole Valley Course is the product of the world’s first collaboration with Els’ long-standing friend, fellow Major Champion and World We had to buy provisions Golf Hall of Fame, Vijay n my growing-up years, group outings – whether organised by school or family from Penawar town and experienced Singh.

Equipped with View of a section of the three-acre wide Wave Pool in Desaru were usually excursions to Lido Beach the adventure of an unplanned and or Kota Tinggi Waterfalls, to be closer unforgettable extended stay at the a short game practice Coast Adventure Waterpark area for chipping, apartment, just days ahead of Christmas. to Nature.

After a temporary Bailey bridge was bunker shots and In the 1980’s, a holiday destination and it’s a thrill to see more than 30 pieces with 22km of pristine beaches, washed by built to facilitate traffic, we left Desaru on putting, it also has an Els Performance Golf of exhibits displayed at various locations the waters of the South China Sea, was time for our family’s Christmas Eve reunion. Academy that offers a 9-Hole Par 3 Academy including in the Sessions restaurant within When the Senai-Desaru Expressway Course. developed on Johor’s East coast. the Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast.

Around June 2018 I learnt about Situated about a two-hour drive opened in 2011, drive time to Desaru was Nearby, the 275-room five-star from Johor Bahru via Kota Tinggi, the scenic dramatically reduced with just 45 minutes Desaru Coast Riverside, a waterfront Westin Desaru Coast Resort, operated by route that cuts through FELDA schemes of smooth drive between the Ulu Tiram landscaped retail and lifestyle village, from Marriot International, was opened in April my friends at Desaru Fruit Farm who had 2019 and is linked to the Desaru Coast was bordered by oil palm plantations and Interchange to the Penawar toll gates.

Since 2016, interest in Desaru opened an outlet there. village settlements.

Conference Centre.

Designed around a water feature, the This destination was aptly named was revived with the development of an On 5th July, Desaru Coast was Desaru, a word coined from two Malay integrated holiday destination further Riverside is a central hub for Desaru Coast that officially launched by His Majesty Sultan words; desa which means countryside or North on the same coastline that covers offers exciting retail, restaurants, cafés and Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, the entertainment outlets Sultan of Johor, witnessed by VIPs and other rural area and an abundance of Pokok Ru with convenient access guests (including me!) in a colourful event or Casuarina trees along its coast. to the Desaru Coast held in the Desaru Coast Conference Centre.

This ambitious plan by Lembaga Adventure Waterpark, Kemajuan Johor Tenggara (KEJORA) With better infrastructure, travel the Hard Rock Hotel connectivity by road, air and sea, it’s now a or Southeast Johor Development Desaru Coast, The breeze to get to Desaru. Since my first visit in Authority for visitors to enjoy day trips Westin Desaru Coast October 2018, I’ve had the privilege to visit and beachfront holidays included the Resort and Desaru again and again to attend exciting events development of hotels and a golf course Coast Conference hosted by the hotels here. as well as the nearby Penawar town.

Centre.

Over the next two decades, Desaru By end 2020, Desaru Coast will While Desaru become more accessible through the Desaru became the destination of choice for Coast Adventure Coast Ferry Terminal which will provide ferry holidaymakers and golfers who came Waterpark was opened access from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry mainly for weekend escapades, not only in July 2018, I did not Terminal directly to Desaru Coast. by road but also by ferry from Singapore have the opportunity via the Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal.

Having experienced the all-new to visit until the park’s Desaru Coast, I eagerly anticipate the My family and I have fond memories Comfortable cabanas and poolside deckchairs at The Westin first Splash Fest in April opening of the 123-room family-oriented of our frequent visits to Desaru, not only Desaru Coast Resort 2019, an event which Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas and as day-trippers but also for staycations coincided with the the ultimate bespoke lifestyle experience at hotels and corporate-owned private over 3,900 acres of land with 17km of traditional Songkran Festival. apartments here. resort in the luxurious One&Only Desaru It was simply thrilling to see one of Coast, scheduled to open by end 2019.

One of our most memorable stays beachfront.

Branded as Desaru Coast, its the world’s biggest waterparks that boasts must be that year when we were marooned by the monsoon because a bridge – on the master developer is Desaru Development a three-acre wide wave pool – one of the route that linked Desaru to Johor Bahru – Holdings One Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of biggest in the world, and the first-ever water Desaru Development Corporation Sdn Bhd, coaster in the region, for a wet and wonderful was washed away by heavy downpours! within the Themed Attractions Resorts & water festival experience!

The Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast Hotels Sdn Bhd group of companies.

Curated as a new destination resort welcomed their first guests in September in Malaysia, Desaru Coast is designed with 2018 and a month later, I was among the a portfolio of globally renowned hotels, Media Rock-Stars who had a sneak peek into resorts, golf courses and conference centre the hotel.

Located adjacent to the Desaru Coast for an indulgent getaway for both leisure Adventure Waterpark, guests at this 365and business travellers.

In September 2016 when the Els room hotel will enjoy their signature Hard Club Desaru Coast opened, golfers could Rock Rock-Star treatment complete with a enjoy the rolling fairways and signature selection of music in various genres for inholes in the Ocean Course to a backdrop room entertainment plus an exclusive audio treat with the Sound-of-your-Stay experience. of the South China Sea. The iconic guitar that marks the entrance Golfers loading up their buggies to teeto Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast, a Hard Rock International is renowned Designed by Ernie Els, this 27off at the Ocean Course of The Els Club prestigious international brand to open in hole championship course includes a for its more than 80,000 pieces of memorabilia Desaru Coast Johor Clubhouse that commands a panoramic contributed by local and international stars

MY JOHOR STORIES Welcome To The All-New Desaru Coast

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Local Legends Leave a Mark on Hard Rock

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rancissca Peter, Dato’ Jamal Abdillah, Dato’ Khadijah Ibrahim, and Datuk Ramli Sarip were among the four more musical legends who contributed their memorabilia to Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast (HRHDC) recently, adding to the growing roster of local stars who will be featured at the Constant Grind Coffee Bar for Rockstars (patrons) to gaze upon their glory back in the day.

The Hard Rock memorabilia history goes back to 1979 when Eric Clapton, one of rock and roll’s most incredible guitar gods, was a regular of the original Hard Rock Cafe in London.

Eric asked to hang his guitar over his bar stool to “mark his spot.” A week later, a package arrived with another guitar and a note that stated, “Mine’s as good as his! Love, Pete.”

Pete was, in fact, the one and only Pete Townshend, guitarist extraordinaire for The Who. The collection began as

a good ol’ fashioned oneupmanship between two of rock’s greatest guitar players and has grown to over 80,000 pieces – with more being added every day.

Among the items donated were a green glitter jacket worn by singer songwriter, Francissca Peter during her first gig in the USA promoting her single, an autographed LP vinyl record of Dato’ Khadijah Ibhrahim’s best hits in celebration of her 40th anniversary in the industry in 2018, a special hand-painted tee worn by singer songwriter, Datuk Ramli Sarip @ Papa Rock

during his live performance on RTM2’s Blues di Aidilfirti Concert in June 2019, and an autographed CD of Dato’ Jamal Abdillah’s songs from his studio album first produced in 1980.

As of now, there are a total of 8 Malaysian legends who have contributed a piece of themselves including Yuna, Alleycats, Hael Husaini, and Wani Hasrita.

“HRHDC is proud to host such great legends and are grateful to be part of the history of the local music industry,” said General Manager of HRDC Clinton Lovell. - by Harish Mustak TI

The legends along with HRHDC General Manager and CEO of Desaru Coast, Roslina Arbak

news Winter Sports in Malaysia?

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lthough ice skating is not a popular sport in Malaysia, Johoreans should nevertheless be proud as the state hosted the Johor Ice Skating Challenge 2019 the first international winter sports competition in Johor.

The competition that was organised by Blue Skating Rink had attracted 85 skaters from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

The 2-days-challenge took place at Paradigm Mall Johor Bahru on the rink sized at approximately 45m x 25m and was endorsed by the Ice Skating Institute of Asia.

“There are many people in Malaysia who are unfortunately not aware of winter sports and those who are aware do not realise that Malaysia can excel in it,” said Irene Cheow, President of Malaysia Ice-Skating Federation during her launch speech.

The Johor Ice Skating Challenge 2019 is a good platform for young athletes

Performance by Chloe Ng Xin Yao (FS7), High level competitor from Malaysia National Ice Skating Stadium, Malaysia

to showcase their talent before participating in various international competitions where there are more than 20 categories introduced.

Nor Azra Fazeera A. Rahman, 15, student from SMK SETA who participated in the figure skating category was looking forward to become a better skater since skating has now become her career.

As fo r Regita Maharrani Gagarin, 17, from Indonesia, skating is her hobby and she enjoys challenging herself besides

creating new experiences throughout the 2-daychallenge. Another skater, Melyssa Tarpin-Lyonnet, said she was proud to represent Indonesia in the challenge and happy to express herself in the rink.

The competition was judged in accordance with the Ice Sport Industry (ISI) Judging System from the USA and the participants were evaluated based on their techniques, authenticity, perfection and presentation.

According to Allen Yeoh, Director of Blue Frost Ice Rink, there are 9 active coaches and 500 registered students in their academy and he hopes that more talent from Johor can represent Malaysia in the ice skating sports.

Meanwhile, William Goh, Manager of Blue Ice Skating Rink encouraged the public especially Johoreans to explore ice skating since the sport can help release stress. - by Nurfarahin Zahiridin TI

Industry Students Engaging in Rogue Film Business for Rebel Filmmakers

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ilm and movies are powerful storytelling tools. In Multimedia University (MMU) at EduCity, Iskandar Puteri, budding filmmakers flocked to learn some insight from Rogue & Rebel Studio about the industry and how to stick with the field that they are passionate about even after graduating.

Rozinor Razali or Ajin disclosed that it is tough for Malaysian film students to sustain their interests and passion in filmmaking after graduating as they often land in jobs that are out of the industry. This is the sort of brain drain that Ajin is trying to tackle by enriching the knowledge of the young filmmakers and help them

see more options by going independent.

He conducted a brief on his visionary about the independent film ecology around Johor with Rogue & Rebel Studio Project that involves curating ideas and nurturing Johor talents to produce their first feature film. The project has 5 milestones with the final

A Coloured Run in the City

one being in July 2020, hosting a Neo-Johore International Independent Film Festival. The event is placed as milestone 2 and the next one would be community tour and p ro d u c t i o n wo r k s h o p afterwards.

Rogue & Rebel also flew in Fajar Nugros and Susanti Dewi of Demi

Istri Production all the way from Indonesia to give the students and attendees an overview on how film business work.

Fajar handed out plenty of wisdom on how to get audience captivated in your movies while Susanti ro l l e d o u t g e n e ro u s sharing on how to pitch films to potential partners

Mid-Autumn Brings Exquisite Mooncakes

Running event to promote healthy lifestyle and clean living

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BJB Colour Run was held recently at the Johor Bahru City Council to promote healthy lifestyle and to foster the relationship between MBJB and citizens of JB. Two categories of the running event – 5km and 10km, attracted over 3000 participants of all ages.

Booths offering kampungstyle games were also up for new-generation children to understand what their parents played with as a child, and for the adults to relive childhood memories.

The event was also to promote Johor as an attractive sports location for locals and tourists, as well to promote the 20th Sukma Games, which will be held in

Johor next year.

“Colour Run” is a running event involving colours during the run.

Participants were thrown bags of dyed powder at the start and throughout the race just for the laughs and fun. As a result, we will see smiling and happy runners smeared in different colours on their shirts and hairs!

Speaking to the press, mayor of Johor Bahru, Dato Hj Amran bin A Rahman said, “The event will encourage citizens to take part in an active lifestyle. He also mentioned cleanliness as a part of their campaign; to raise awareness for cleanliness to be a part of one’s culture”.

“We spend about RM60 million a year on

cleanliness alone, which is a big amount. Cleaning is a huge cost of burden for us and it keeps increasing with more litter. If tax-payers play their part in keeping the environment clean and stay civic-minded, they will help us with our cleaning efforts,” said Dato Hj Amran.

“We want cleanliness to be a culture, that even after events, the place should be clean. No more synonyms of events and rubbish. Learn from Singapore and Japan.”

He also added that education is important and it begins from home. Many people may have the knowledge, but it is not practiced.

He hopes JB will be a clean and successful city in all aspects. - by Salamahafifi TI

and funders.

The event also held short films screening and open casting to fill in the casts for the studio’s upcoming projects. Find out more about Rogue & Rebel’s aspiration on their Facebook page https:// w w w.facebook.com/ rogueandrebel/. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

Traditionally baked mooncakes with the signature R stamped on it

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he Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival comes back to Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel (Renaissance JB) in the form Mooncakes. Both traditionally baked and snow skins varieties are available and Wan Li Chinese Restaurant at Renaissance JB has come up with a new mooncake box design that is appealing to the eye.

Mooncakes are a renowned Chinese delicacy, traditionally gifted, served and indulged in the presence of a full moon to celebrate the Autumn harvest.

Renaissance JB’s Chef De Partie, Lim Pei Shi presents the traditional sweet and savoury recipes of the festive desserts

prepared daily with fresh and fine-quality ingredients without preservatives. These include Pure Lotus Paste, Lotus Paste with Single Yolk, Lotus Pastes with Double Yolk, Green Tea Paste with Single Yolk, Jade Custard, Assorted Fruits & Nuts, and Red Bean Paste.

This year, the snow skin Mooncake variety includes Dark Chocolate Crunchy Pearl, Coffee Truffle, Taro Paste Truffle, Green Tea Matcha Truffle, Passion Fruit Truffle, Peppermint Chocolate Truffle, Strawberry Frizzy Truffle and Lemon Truffle. All-time favourite Fresh Durian is also available for purchase as well.

Order window will be open from now till 13th September 2019 where the mooncakes will be specially prepared and packaged in a new custom designed gift box in a set of eight and priced at RM98 nett for snow skin mooncakes. The traditionally baked mooncakes in a set of four are priced at RM98 and Fresh Durian at RM168 nett.

To order these exquisite mooncakes, please call +607-3813388 or email to rhi.jhbbr. wanlirestaurant@renaissancehotels.com or henry.lee@renaissancehotels.com. WhatsApp business is also available at +017-7713327, +018-7800787 or +6011-36715383. - by Harish Mustak TI

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A U G U S T 2 0 19

INSIDE Vacationing at The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat & Retro Rahman 2.0

AUG 2019 | Page 2

The Iskandarian | WAVES Lifestyle

editor’s T note

he Iskandarian newspaper is into its 7th year and we’d like to thank all our supporters, sponsors and readers for believing in us and trusting us to be the voice of the Iskandarian rakyat thus far.

Indian music fans please mark 3rd August in your diaries as Retro Rahman 2.0 is coming back to the capital city with big wigs from the music industry to entertain you.

Purchase your tickets from AirAsiaRedtix. com or call 012-2000505 for a night not to be missed.

The flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to

Priya Manikam waves.lifestyle@gmail.com

the next level in The Angry Birds Movie 2 this month. Also from Sony Pictures is Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood by famed Writer-Director Quentin Tarantino.

For meat lovers, DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru has a month long special from Wagyu Beef Rump to Roasted Cajun Rubbed Chicken, Australian Dukkah Crusted Leg of Lamb and more!

As there are a couple of holidays in August from Raya Haji public holidays and Merdeka day, why not indulge in a little luxury amidst nature at Sunway’s The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat in Ipoh, Perak.

As always, for those wishing to share

their fashion collection, travel tales, or like us to review your restaurant/hotel for a staycation, drop me an e-mail at waves. lifestyle@gmail.com and be featured. For more news, do access www.theiskandarian. com The Iskandarian wishes all celebrants Selamat Hari Raya Haji and all Malaysians a Happy Merdeka Day!

Music Updates

Retro Rahman 2.0 Back this August

By The Iskandarian

A night not to be missed by Rahmaniacs and music lovers alike!

Mani & Band of Vijay TV Airtel Super Singer talent show

M

ojo Projects presents R e t r o Rahman 2.0, its second tribute concert to music maestro A.R. Rahman. Reliving the magic after a sold-out night last year, expect a fresh set of stars to entertain you, including two legends that were here previously.

Happening on 3rd August 2019 at Star Xpo Centre Kuala Lumpur, the evening will see veteran singers Mano and Srinivas who are currently judges of singing competitions on Indian television. Joining

Veteran singer Mano

Priya

them will be popular singers Sadhana Sargam (of Alaipayuthey fame), Harini and Sathyaprakash.

Rahman, known as the game changer of his generation, introduced a new genre of music with catchy, melodious, singalong tunes in the 90s.

Songs like Urvasi Urvasi, Puthu Vellai Mazhai, Chinna Chinna Asai, Ennavale Adi Ennavale, and Hello Doctor became instant hits back in the day.

This year’s lineup will be enhanced by the musical direction of pianist and stellar e n t e r t a i n e r, Anil

Srinivasan, together with the energetic Mani & Band ensemble (of Vijay TV Airtel Super Singer talent show) featuring Nikhil Ram on flutes.

M a n o ’ s relationship with Rahman began in 1994 when he was approached by the maestro to sing Mukkabla for the film Kadhalan.

A professional vocal modulator, he hit the ball out of the park with Aathangara Marame for

Sargam is one of the very few Indian singers who could surpass Rahman’s expectations with her renditions of his songs.

Her most critically acclaimed songs were in the film Water, composed

by Rahman, in which she sang three songs: Aayo Re Sakhi, Piya Ho and Naina Neer. Sargam has recorded since songs for Rahman in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.

Harini was Melodious singer Sadhana Sargam

Veteran singer Srinivas belting out his tunes

Kizhakku Seemaiyile, a tune that is forever embedded in the minds of Rahman fans.

Srinivas on the other hand, gained recognition with Maana Madurai from Rahman’s hit musical direction for Minsaara Kanavu, followed by En Uyire from Mani Ratnam’s Uyire (the Tamil version of Dil Se). These Rahman compositions catapulted Srinivas into fame.

With a career spanning over three decades, Sadhana

approached by Rahman to sing Nila Kaigirathu in the award-winning film Indira at the age of 15.

She’s sung more than 2,000 songs in Tamil, including Telephone Manipol from Indian and Hello Mr. Edhirkatchi from Iruvar.

Retro R ahman 2.0, as it’s been called this year, will also see the youthful exuberance of Sathyaprakash. His contribution to award winning songs such as Nallai Allai for the movie Kaatru Veliyidai and

Aalaporan Thamizhan for the movie Mersal has ensured his steady growth, making waves in the process with his mellifluous voice.

According to Mojo Projects, this second installation will see a refreshing repertoire of hits. “We are also looking at a totally new setlist and songs that were not performed last year,” said Mojo Projects’s Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ratna Kumar Nadarajah.

“We had a sold-out

Flutist Nikhil Ram

show last year at a smaller venue. This time we are at a much larger space, and we promise the sound is set to be spectacular.”

This year, Mojo Projects promises a different set of hits by the musical wizard. Catch them all at the indoor Star Xpo Centre, from 7.30pm till midnight on 3rd August 2019. Get your tickets now from AirAsiaRedtix.com or call 012-2000505.

For more details, visit www.mojoprojects. asia. TI

AUG 2019 | Page 3

The Iskandarian | WAVES Lifestyle

Taming Anxiety and Depression through Food – Part 2

F Rose Osman is a Certified Human Design Professional.

She’s a guide for Living Your Design Workshop and coaches others on self healing for anxiety via E-courses and group workshops

yourpersonalmotivator BucketOfRoses www.roselifecoach.com

ood can be a healing catalyst but it can also be a poison to the body. In addition to that, how we eat our food can improve our digestive system which affects the relationship between the gut and the brain. However, how aware are we when we eat our food?

All the little things we consume do affect our mental and emotional health.

There are a few things you can do to promote healing for anxiety and depression. For example, try the Sugar Detox

programme. If you can remove processed sugar from your daily meals, you are likely to improve your mental health entirely. This is the hardest healing process because sugar is addictive. We can find processed sugar in almost every food we eat and this is the biggest addiction we face. Unfortunately, we hardly acknowledge sugar addiction as an addiction. Excessive sugar intake can impair the cognitive function and it slows down our healing potential mentally, physically and

emotionally.

The other way is to reduce the amount of processed food that you eat. Instead, feed your body with natural food. Whenever you consume foods that have a high resource of natural nutrition and information, it gives your gut-brain access to nature. On the spiritual level, when we take natural food, we begin to align with nature too.

That means, we begin to take life at a slow pace and energetically move gracefully. Anxiety, on the other hand, accelerates our pace and

depression decreases our flow.

Practice mindfulness when we eat. Pay attention to the body when we eat. Notice how our body communicate with us. There are many eating programmes that can help you improve your mental health. Look for any programmes that may change your consciousness around food and not just by mere diet. Do give yourself the courage to change the way you eat and see what happens to your anxiety and depression. TI

Discover your True Self, Inner Power, Potentials and Purpose with Human Design. Visit Facebook Page : Human Design Malaysia for more info.

W

hen a new threat emerges that puts both Bird and Pig Island in danger, Red (Jason Sudeikis), Chuck (Josh Gad), Bomb (Danny McBride), and Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage) recruit Chuck’s sister Silver (Rachel Bloom) and team up with pigs Leonard (Bill Hader), his assistant Courtney (Awkwafina), and techpig Garry (Sterling K. Brown) to forge an unsteady truce and form an unlikely superteam to save their homes. TI

Genre: Character Comedy/Drama

Genre: Animation

Release date: 15th August 2019

Release date: 29th August 2019

Written and Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Directed by: Thurop Van Orman

Screenplay by: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers

Produced by: John Cohen

Produced by: David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino

Screenplay by: Peter Ackerman Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez, Danny McBride Peter Dinklage, Zach Woods, Pete Davidson, Dove Cameron Lil Rel Howery, Beck Bennett, Nicki Minaj, Brooklynn Prince

Source:

Sony Pictures Malaysia

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie

Q

uentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognise anymore. The ninth film from the writerdirector features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age. TI

AUG 2019 | Page 4

The Iskandarian | WAVES Lifestyle

travel

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AUGUST 2019

2nd – 4th Aug Johor Matta Fair @ Capital City Mall

3rd Aug • • •

Sunset Charity Run @ Le Grandeur Palm Resort Gleneagles Medini Charity Run @ Gleneagles Medini Hospital UTM Cybergames @ UTM Johor

Indulge Your Senses at The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat The Water Villas overlooking the water canal that’s adorned by a spread of plants and greenery

6th Aug Konvensyen Inovasi & Kreativiti Farmasi 2019 @ Berjaya Waterfront JB

8th Aug •

•

“Fight Breast Cancer” Charity Golf Tournament @ Ponderosa Golf & Country Resort Green Camp 2.0 @ UTM Johor

8th – 12th Aug Johor Indian Shopping Expo @ Capital City Mall

9th Aug Singapore National Day

10th Aug Extreme Youth Archery @ Adm Archery Johor

11th Aug Hari Raya Haji

13th Aug Mid-Autumn Fair @ AEON Bukit Indah

15th Aug Hungry Ghost Festival

16th Aug My E-Games Championship Fifa’19 @ Arena Futsal Sports Prima JB

17th Aug JomRun Merdeka 5KM Fun Run @ Citrine Hub Sunway Iskandar

17th – 18th Aug Cosfun Fiesta 2019 @ Capital City Mall

30th – 31st Aug Bizet’s Carmen Opera @ The Esplanade Singapore

31st Aug Malaysia National Day Block your dates for this month!

If you need more information on the above mentioned events, drop us an email at: waves.lifestyle@gmail.com

By Moazan Emran waves.lifestyle@gmail.com

L

ocated right in the backyard of Ipoh surrounded by 280-million-year old limestone rocks and natural thermal steam caves is The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat by Sunway. Its view is so breathtaking that the retreat is considered as one of the best in the world. Nestled in a valley cradled by lush tropical rainforest, this award-winning sanctuary of bespoke wellness is a 15-minute drive from the city of Ipoh, in the northern state of Perak, and 2 hours from Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur.

At the heart of The Banjaran View from the top of the newly opened Sky bar experience is its Spa and Wellness Centre. cocktails or beverages. Next, get dressed the limestone hills pumping 2000 litres per Here, a team of wellness practitioners in your best and make your way down to minute worth of water from the ground comprising an Ayurvedic specialist, Jeff’s Cellar, one of the best Wine Bars in below with temperatures ranging from Yoga instructors and personal trainers the world. Here, the private wine cellar is 40 - 70 Deg Celsius. Its source is a deep are available at your disposal. With a built in the caves, which is indeed unique comprehensive list of and will be well appreciated by any wine services that range from 40 aficionado. The ethereal lighting and authentic spa and wellness intimate cave interiors, together with its and therapies inspired natural water features and organic wines

by Malay, Chinese and deliver a whole new dining experience.

Indian cultures as well as Besides, for an all-day dining option, beliefs, it is truly a getaway visit Pomelo which has both indoor and for the soul. In addition outdoor seating. to authentic Ayurvedic, The Banjaran Retreat is located at traditional Chinese No. 1, Persiaran Lagun Sunway 3, Sunway medicine and Malay City Ipoh, 31150 Ipoh, Perak. There are treatments, they also offer three types of villas that guests can choose a variety of massages, foot from that vary in pricing, ranging from reflexology, organic facials RM1600 - RM7000 a night. For reservations and body treatments.

One of the 4 dipping pools that lie in the shadows of and package deals, visit https://www.

Geothermal hot the limestone hills thebanjaran.com/ or call +605 210 7777. springs lie in the shadow of Do take note that due to the exclusivity of the resort, The Banjaran, only accept adults underground reservoir fed by rainwater and guests 12 years of age and above. TI that slowly percolates downwards through the limestone hills and underlying granite.

Whereas, the Thermal Steam Cave which is fitted with a platform overlooking the body of crystal clear hot springs water with temperatures of 65 – 70 Deg Celsius presents a natural source that allows for restorative therapy to soothe, relax and detox.

There are also meditation caves fitted with amethyst and quartz crystals, which facilitate metaphysical healing. It is the perfect place for Silence therapy, to relax, or to just contemplate on your own thoughts.

If you’d like to take a higher view of the Hot springs, you can head to their newly opened Sky Bar to relax and unwind Welcoming earthy tones seen at the Exquisite collection of wines for your and watch the beautiful view of the hot lobby of The Banjaran pick springs coupled with their signature

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Snoring Might Be Detrimental To Your Health

Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

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vira Medini Sales Gallery had opened its doors to a health and awareness talk; “How to Improve Your Sleep Quality” by Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeon Dr. Raj Kumar Krishen Lal which was jointly organised by Eastern & Oriental Berhad and Gleneagles Medini Johor.

The talk highlighted the symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea as: • Snoring loudly at night (more than 3 times a week) • The snores being louder than regular speech • Excessive daytime sleepiness/fatigue during the day • Poor sleep quality • Choking sensation at night • Decreased libido The condition which is caused by an obstruction from the pharyngeal muscle collapse does not only cause immediate dangers such as falling asleep while driving or operating heavy machinery but also stops the body from fully recovering and repairing itself leading to an onset of forgetfulness and overall poorer health which may lead to a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

With 16 years of experience under his belt, Dr. Raj points out that snoring occurs in 40-50% of adult men, 24% in adult women and 10% in children. This causes the brain and body to receive less oxygen and thus interrupts Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep which are crucial to repair and regenerate tissues, releasing growth hormones, building bone and muscle, and strengthening the immune system.

asopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumour of the nasopharynx, which is the upper part of the throat behind the nose. It is more prevalence in Southeast Asia, Southern China and North African countries.

NPC is the fourth most common cancer among Malaysians. There are several risk factors associated with the disease including genetic (especially among the Chinese), Epstein-Barr virus infection, family history of NPC, tobacco smoking

The host, YC Chan, Senior Manager at Eastern & Oriental Berhad giving the participants a warm welcome

The risks of developing OSA is increased with obesity and age as our muscles become less toned which will prevent us from attaining the 6-8 hours of sleep necessary for our body’s recovery. It is important that early diagnosis is done via a medical history, a sleep study or an endoscopy in order for treatment to be determined.

Two of the biggest factors stopping most of the population from seeking help for OSA are the lack of awareness and the cost which could be above RM1500. Dr Raj urges people to consider their health seriously because one third of our lifespan are spent sleeping and he candidly jokes that “our partners will have better sleep as well”.

After the talk, free blood pressure and blood glucose tests were sponsored by Eastern & Oriental Berhad for the participants along with a free basic health screening to the winners of the lucky draw held that day. - by Evan Lim TI

and consumption of salted fish.

NPC is usually diagnosed late because the symptoms are similar to other less serious conditions. It commonly presents with painless neck lump, blood stained saliva or nasal secretion, and/or unilateral ear block. Unilateral headache, facial numbness and diplopia are seen in more advanced cases.

The management of NPC requires a multidisciplinary team to ensure optimum treatment planning. The mainstay of treatment is radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy. With advancement

live

Dr. Sarmad Abduljabbar Abdulsattar M.B.Ch.B, MS ORL-HNS Fellowship in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery Fellow of the European Board of ORL-HNS Consultant Ear, Nose & Throat – Head & Neck Surgeon Gleneagles Medini Hospital

of radiotherapy and the current use of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), there has been a significant reduction in the side effect of the radiation therapy.

Follow up is necessary to all patients with NPC to assess the response to treatment, managing the side effects or complications which may arise during the treatment, and to provide surveillance and early detection of recurrent disease.

Early diagnosis will lead to better outcome and prognosis, therefore, improving the awareness about the disease and early presenting symptoms among the people and the caregiver is crucial for early detection and better quality of life for the patients. TI

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Making Friends with Macaques midday nap (although the young ones are said to play while the adults sleep). Before dark, they search for food on their way to the trees that are their regular roosting sites.

Family groups take over a single

many predators, including monitor lizards, pythons, eagles and wild cats. As they are excellent swimmers, they just drop off their roosts into the water if surprised by a predator overnight and swim to safety.

It is never a good idea to feed macaques as they can become aggressive in their excitement to get the food and it encourages them to see humans as a food source. Smiling at a monkey can be mistaken as an act of aggression – if it bares its teeth at you in return, it is a warning to stay away! TI

Serina Rahman Serina Rahman is the co-founder of Kelab Alami and a Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

M

acaques are often seen as a menace; they are infamous for chasing after unsuspecting passers-by for food. Macaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaque) is commonly found in forest areas and mangroves and like to live near humans as they can raid homes, gardens and farms for food. Macaques are said to have been first introduced to Southeast Asia in the 1600s by Portuguese explorers.

They have a daily routine of wandering around their 1.25km home range to look for food – but they ensure they have a

tree and sleep huddled together for warmth. They usually choose trees near a river, and opt to sleep on branches near the very top (crown) of the tree, overhanging the river. Macaques have

Quit Smoking for a Better and Longer Life

E

verybody knows smoking is dangerous and addictive, yet 5 million Malaysians are still hooked onto this habit. With the implementation of high tobacco taxes, increase in cigarette prices, advertising bans, graphic health warnings, and most recently, a smoking ban in eateries, the government is exerting serious efforts to get smokers to quit.

In Malaysia, about 23 % of the population smoke and annually, about 20,000 deaths are linked to smoking.

Scientifically, nicotine is addictive but it is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases.

Instead, it’s the tar and chemicals produced from burning cigarettes are the culprits here. Therefore, the moment a smoker stops burning tobacco, the reduction in exposure to dangerous chemicals is substantial.

There are now alternative products to cigarettes that produce significantly fewer harmful chemicals than those found in a cigarette’s smoke.

However, since these products are still relatively new in the market, more scientific studies need to be conducted to validate their safety and to raise awareness among adult smokers.

Meanwhile, here are some tips on how to quit smoking through the START system:

S = Set a quit date.

Choose a date when you want to quit this unhealthy habit, so you have enough time to prepare without losing your

motivation to quit. If you mainly smoke at work, quit on the weekend. This way you have a few days to adjust to the change.

T = Tell family, friends, and coworkers that you plan to quit.

Tell them of your plans to quit smoking and tell them that you need their support and encouragement to stop.

A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges you will face while quitting.

Most people who begin smoking again do so within the first three months. This could be due to stress or even peer pressure. You can help yourself to make it through this by preparing ahead for common challenges.

R = Remove cigarettes and other

tobacco products from your h o m e , c a r, and workplace.

T h r o w away all your cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, and matches. Wash your clothes and freshen up anything that smells like smoke. Put air freshener in your car, clean your drapes and carpet, and steam your furniture.

T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.

Your doctor can prescribe medication to help you with withdrawal symptoms. You may also purchase many products over the counter at your local pharmacy, including nicotine patches, lozenges, and gum.

Medical support may be sought at Columbia Asia Hospital – Iskandar Puteri on smoking cessation by booking an appointment with Dr Gobinath Palani Gondi at 07-233 9938.

Don’t ponder too much and start living a smoke-free life and adopt a healthy lifestyle. - by Columbia Asia Hospital Iskandar Puteri TI

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Tips to Increase Your Chances in an Unlawful Dismissal Matter

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or the past few years, we have been experiencing more cases on unlawful dismissal, and in some cases, we see employers s p e n d i n g unnecessary money to resolve an u n l aw f u l dismissal m a t t e r.

T h i s means that more o f t e n than not, employers find themselves at the losing end or in some cases; employers do not wish to spend the time and resources to defend a claim. In this issue, I would like to shed some light on some potential actions which might tip the scale in the employer’s favour.

Firstly, it is important for employers to realise that internal policies, culture and its people leaders are factors in deciding whether a dismissal

is lawful or otherwise. If the blueprint suggests that the Company is in favour of positive reinforcements, it often leads to positive outcomes. Even if the dismissal is necessary after numerous attempts of reinforcing positively, the court m i g h t a w a r d s o m e brownie p o i n t s due to the attitude and culture of the Company. Don’t forget, positive reinforcement promotes bona fide (good faith) acts. Since the Industrial Court is a court of equity and good conscience, any acts suggesting a mala fide (bad faith) intention would certainly put the case into jeopardy.

Apart from acting in good faith, it is important to ensure that every situation is well documented. We believe

that people are dismissed from work based with cause. However, in court, some employers find themselves in uncomfortable position because the cause could not be proven. The key to succeed here is to accept that case building is an important part of every case.

If you build your case through the compilation of a solid document trail, you will not have problems explaining and establishing your case in court. Further, it is also important to understand that the legal process is a lengthy one. If experiences a re not recorded, it is likely t h a t you will forget certain k e y aspects of the case 2 years later in court. The chances of this increases if you are not used to presenting facts in a

courtroom setting and you get nervous on that day.

Some key tips for you to gather from this article are: • C a s e building and documentation is the key here. Make sure your documentation is tidy and complete enough to take you down a trip to memory lane 2 years later, or, just in case you decide to resign a year down the road. In that case, your successor must be able to go to court and present as if you were there.

• When dealing with a 5 0 / 5 0 situation, a l w a y s remember that benefit of the doubt should be given to the employees.

Instead of making a rash decision to terminate, you

Victor Gan Managing Director MECA South Sdn. Bhd. victor@meca.com.my

•

•

should explore alternative arrangements.

Keep your emotions out of the way and be objective.

Always seek consultation or a second opinion on whether you are acting in good faith.

An indication of bad faith will change things completely.

Embrace training and keep yourself updated. Laws are alive; so it is important to keep yourself up to date with the latest trends and developments. TI

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Accumulating Wealth Tips & Tricks

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Spotting Dark Horses amidst Uncertainties

he stock market is the best entertainer for any twists and turns you see as they’re always beyond your expectations. Do you still remember that just a month ago, many did not expect President Xi and Trump would reach a favourable outcome (even short term) during the G20 meeting? But they reached a trade truce, albeit without specified period.

Furthermore, Trump had announced that he now allows US companies to sell goods to Huawei once again. While the market was feeling positive about the progress, the Chairman of Huawei, Liang Hua, said on 12th July 2019 that the Chinese tech giant has yet to see any benefit from the lifted ban. “So far we haven’t seen any tangible change,” he said.

Apparently, the so-called trade ceasefire is like a show.

Despite the ongoing trade dispute, it seems the global stock market has adapted and adjusted to a new paradigm. At the time of writing, the three major indexes in the US have broken new highs, while the stock market indexes for the rest of the world are above the MA200 line, indicating the bull is in control. This is much attributed to the expected rate cut by the US Reserve Bank end of July. Malaysia Composite Index FBMKLCI, on the other hand, is still below the MA200 line.

With the widely anticipated global economic slowdown, and ongoing tussles between the US and China, but bullish stock markets, how would investors navigate? Are we still able to find dark horses amid uncertainties? In this issue, let’s discuss the traits of a potential dark horse. But first, let’s have a glimpse of our portfolio on 15th July 2019:

Tey Bin Yuen Binyuen is the founder of BY Enrich Resources and the author of ‘Life beyond the Comfort Zone’ and ‘Profit from Share Investment’. His books are available in major bookstores in Malaysia, Singapore or online http://www.teybinyuen.com/ profitfromshareinvestment .

your products whether they like it or not. For instance, the smart phone boom since 6-7 years ago has revolutionised the world. So, what would change the world in the next 5 to 10 years? Perhaps; artificial intelligence, renewable energy, vegan food, cashless transactions, automotive LED, low cost airline and so on.

• High Entry Barrier Doing global business and selling products in trend is not enough. If everybody can do it, soon you would see the market flooded with similar businesses. Business with high entry barrier is not easy to replace and duplicate.

For example, business in a monopoly position, strong branding, intellectual property and long and tough qualification processes.

• Rising Revenue and Profit If your business possesses the above three characteristics, it is likely that both your company’s revenue and profits are on the rise too. Therefore, if a company’s profit is growing on double digits for the last three to

Disclaimer: The companies or strategies mentioned in this article are meant for study purpose only. It doesn’t constitute any ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ recommendation. Please consult your financial professional if you want to make any decision.

The portfolio above has showed a gain of 226% since November 2015, which is a 13% increase compared to a month ago. We received dividends of 0.5 cents and 1 cent from JHM and GFM, respectively. Therefore, the total dividend received is RM2000. The cash on hand is now at RM43915.

Six Traits of a Dark Horse A dark horse is a company that has hidden potential for tremendous gain within a period - For example, a 500%-1000% gains in share price within 10 years. Here are the five traits of a potential dark horse: • Doing Global Business If you can serve the whole world, you would have a huge potential for growth, compared to serving only a country. Your revenue growth potential would increase in tandem with the growing population and untapped markets. This would translate into higher profits and eventually the share prices.

• Business in the Global Trend Because of the trend, consumers have to buy

five years, there is higher potential it could be a dark horse.

• Strong Cash Flow with Dividends What would happen if the company keeps making more profits? Should it have received more cash? Unfortunately, not all companies’ cash increases in tandem with its profits. The company might not receive payment from customers, or it has used the cash to pay off the debt or interest.

Strong cash flow is a crucial factor that separates a dark horse from the rest.

If the company has strong cash flow, it’s in good position to pay regular dividends.

Therefore, always see if the company has good record of paying dividends, for it is an implication of good cash flow.

Conclusion There are always potential dark horses around whether in good times or bad times. The good news is, during uncertain times like now, dark horses might be resting so you would have more time to spot them before they start running! TI

invest

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The All New Thistle Johor Bahru

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Guests at Thistle Johor Bahru’s Hari Raya themed dinner

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ollowing the refurbishment of guest rooms and banquet facilities that started since last November, Thistle Johor Bahru gave a sneak preview by hosting a Hari Raya themed dinner for 300 guests from the corporate, government, travel agencies, state and national tourism as well as media members.

The dinner saw lucky guests winning hotel stays and other guests were presented with a room voucher entitling them to stay

Lucky draw during the dinner - guests were entitled to a night stay at the newly refurbished rooms

in Thistle’s refurbished deluxe sea view room at a special rate of RM208 nett per night inclusive of breakfast. Helmi Gimmick, one of Malaysia’s top performers entertained the guests.

Rebranded in 2009 as Thistle Johor Bahru, the hotel embarked on a major refurbishment project for its 381 rooms and suites from November 2018 and it will be completed by September 2019.

The 381 refurbished rooms and suites include the King and Twin version

One of the newly refurbished rooms/ suites in Thistle Johor Bahru

of its Deluxe Standard, Deluxe Straits View, Executive Standard, Executive Straits View, Jr Suite, Family Suite, Terrace Suite, and Presidential Suite.

Guests staying here will enjoy the beautiful sea view overlooking the Straits of Johor or the bustling cityview. All you need to do is pick the right kind of room that could fit your travel group and staying needs.

For room booking or enquiry, please email reservations-malaysia@thistle.com.my or contact 07-222 9234. - by The Iskandarian TI

Let Us Meat at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru A meat lovers feast all round in August at the Makan Kitchen and Tosca featuring meat buffets, barbecues and premium Black Angus Beef

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et’s pile on some meat as DoubleTree

by Hilton Johor Bahru (DoubleTree) throughout the month of August will be upping its meat ante to please all those carnivores out there!

‘It’s All About The Meat’ at Makan Kitchen, from Satay Padang and Rendang Daging, to premium meat selection on a live carving station such as Wagyu Beef Rump, Australian Dukkah Crusted Leg of Lamb and Roasted Cajun Rubbed Chicken. This is a feast meat lovers do not want to miss out on. End the night on a sweet note with a variety of chocolate desserts served at this month-long buffet. The buffet is available

from Sunday to Thursday from 6:30pm10:30pm and priced at RM88nett per adult and RM44nett per child.

This Merdeka season, there will be a one-day only (24th August 2019) alfresco charcoal grill Backyard Barbecue dinner special at DoubleTree’s Tosca Italian Trattoria. A treasure trove of succulent roasts at the live grill station freshly prepared by

The dinner is from 6.30pm till 10.30pm and priced at RM130nett per adult and RM65nett per child.

Those born on 31st August are

Thick chunk of Wagyu Beef Rump

Grilled Chateaubriand Steak fit for Kings

Drool over the Wagyu Beef Rump, Roasted Cajun Rubbed Chicken and Australian Dukkah Crusted Leg of Lamb

talented culinary team awaits you and your guests or that special someone. To set the mood, the ambience is made even better with live music, a hookah corner and a free flow of wine and beer (RM90nett).

privileged to enjoy the ‘It’s All About The Meat Buffet’ at the Makan Kitchen and Backyard Barbecue at Tosca for free!

Have you heard of the Grilled Chateaubriand Steak? Get your taste buds going during dinnertime, because Tosca will be serving this premium cut in August. The premium Black Angus Beef is grilled on a fired-up mesquite wood, which results in an impressively juicy meat from Australia

Roasted Cajun Rubbed Chicken to tantalise your taste buds

seasoned to perfection with a drizzle of sea salt and Basso balsamic reduction.

The cocktails crafted by skilful bartenders will certainly please cocktail hour Jug-heads, choose from a range of inhouse specialties such as Asam Boi Mojito, Pineapple Sangria, Long Island, and many more at only RM100 nett per jug!

For reservations, call +607 268 6868 or email them at JohorBahru.FB@hilton. com - by Harish Mustak TI

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Discover and make Tanah Sutera your ideal living, work and play community pg 26

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RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

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Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru Takes stringent action against property pg 27 tax defaulters

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Amari Johor Bahru

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KPRJ-HOPE is looking for Volunteers, Veterinars and Muralists to help us with our Zooventure programmes for 2019.Come and join us to help our animal friends at Zoo Johor.

If you can spare a little time, love working with animals and would like to do your bit for the community, Please do get in touch with : ‘Ainul Aziem +60 14-719 4418 ainul.aziem@kprj.com.my

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Amari Johor Bahru Awarded Tripadvisor 2019 Certificate of Excellence

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mari Johor Bahru has been awarded the 2019 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, an honour that is only awarded to businesses receiving an overwhelming number of positive reviews.

“Being awarded the TripAdvisor 2019 Certificate of Excellence makes us feel extremely delighted and it is indeed rewarding to read the excellent reviews that our guests and customers post on the TripAdvisor website. The recognition that we have received has strengthened our continuous

Amari Johor Bahru Malaysia exterior

commitment in providing our guests the very best of service and also the facilities of the hotel. We would like to thank our guests and customers for sharing their experiences on TripAdvisor during their stay with us,” said Dean Rossilli, Area General Manager for Amari Johor Bahru.

Be it for business or leisure, Amari Johor Bahru is nicely nestled in the heart of the thriving city of Johor Bahru. This oasis of comfort and service, which opened its doors on 15th May 2017, with fresh and modern facilities, is encompassed by the iconic heritage trail, popular

KPRJ’s Crisis Communications Training

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5 p a r t i c i p a nt s consisting of Head of Departments (HODs) of Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd (KPRJ) had recently participated in the Crisis Communications Training that was held at Capri by Fraser Johor Bahru.

Th e one d ay training that focused on crisis preparation plans and media spokespersons was conducted by Suhaimi Sulaiman who is the former Group Editor-In-Chief and Anchorman for Astro Awani. Another trainer who conducted the training programme was Kamarul Bahrin from Astro Awani who is the currently the Deputy Chief Editor of Astro Awani.

As one of the participants, Dato’ Hj Mohd Noorazam bin Dato’ Haji Osman, KPRJ’s Chief Executive Officer said, “Crisis Communications training is crucial for hazard mitigation and conflict resolution. I believe everyone in this company must anticipate in order to have a well

implemented continuity plan. With this kind of synergy and support will enhance the company’s reputation further by emphasising our core values and integrity. “ Some of the modules that were included in the training consist of a role play of interview by media, mock up press conference that shows the right way in answering questions and exciting exercises related with crisis communications issues.

Meanwhile, KPRJ had hosted a Hari Raya event at Sunway Iskandar Event Gallery, Iskandar Puteri, Johor for more than 2000 par tners and stakeholders. The honoured guest for the

shopping centres, commercial buildings, traditional bakeries, museums, old coffee shops and trendy cafes. The hotel is a couple of steps from Komtar JBCC and City Square and the Persada Johor International Convention Centre.

Offering easy access, it is a 30-minute drive from Senai International Airport, 80-minute drive from Singapore’s Changi International Airport, and a five-minute walk from JB Sentral Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex.

Originally from Thailand and expanding across Asia, Amari

has a rich and long standing heritage. It celebrates the colours and rhythms of modern Asia with each hotel highlighting the textures and flavours of its unique setting through architecture, design, cuisine and service.

Being the first Amari built in Malaysia, the hotel interiors incorporates contemporar y Malaysian and Thai touches with the hotel lobby on the 6th floor offering a warm and friendly welcome and serves as the first chapter of the Amari Johor Bahru guest experience. - by Priya Manikam TI

PTP to Embrace More Foreign Investors

event was the Menteri Besar of Johor, Datuk Dr. Sahruddin Bin Jamal. Also present were Dato’ Azmi Bin Rohani (Secretary of State Government), Dato’ Amran Bin A Rahman (State Mayor of Johor), Sr. Dzulkefly Bin Ahmad (Multimedia, Communication and Housing Exco), Syeikh Umar Bagharib Bin Ali (Youth, Sports, Entrepreneurial Development and Cooperatives Exco), Mohd Khuzzan Bin Abu Bakar (Health, Culture and Heritage Exco) and all the Board of Directors of KPRJ. At the event, KPRJ HOPE – KPRJ’s CSR brand contributed to the residents of Pusat Jagaan Warga Emas Nur Ehsan, Johor Bahru. - by The Iskandarian TI

KPRJ’s top management and HODs participated in the Crisis Communications Training

I

n the efforts to enhance the development and sustainable growth of port and maritime industries in the state, Port of Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd (PTP) has pledged to continue working closely with the Johor state government.

The statement was made during the working visit by Mohd Solihan bin Badri, Johor state Public Works, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee Chairman to PTP. PTP, a member of MMC Group plans to expand its Free Trade Zone (FTZ) to double its size, adding approximately 350 acres more of land for developments, to entice both foreign and domestic investors, as well as existing and new investments.

Apart from that, PTP is also planning on the expansion of its berthing terminals to accommodate the forecasted increase in traffic that will be coming in to the port.

Details of the expansion have not been finalised. However, the comprehensive expansion and development plans will come

with significant sustainable elements that will definitely bear fruit in the end.

Marco Neelsen, PTP’s CEO mentioned that the pace of change in the port industry has been unprecedented in the past couple of years Group photo of PTP top brass due to shipping mergers with the representatives from and acquisitions, global Johor Port Authority (JPA) and economic uncertainty, the state government as well as the fast pace economic well-being and the technological advancements.

“PTP in its quest to importance of trade economy remain competitive and in to the state. As such, it is search of higher efficiency crucial for PTP to work closely and productivity has been with the state government undertaking some progressive to ensure the development development work. All this is and growth of the port in in line with our aspiration to an increasingly competitive become an advanced preferred global market. When the port is expanded, we will also port in the region,” he added.

Speaking to the be developing our logistics media, Mohd Solihan industry which will contribute commented that the Johor to Johor’s economic growth,” government acknowledges he said.

Mohd Solihan the achievements and contributions that PTP has also commented on the made over the years in opportunities that come strengthening the port and along with the expansion, maritime industry in the state. “Currently, our free trade zone “ The tremendous comprises of 350 acres with 41 growth of port and maritime companies and warehouses, activities in Johor over the which has created about years underlines the value 10,000 jobs.” - by Harish of the maritime sector to its Mustak TI

Soft Launch of Pekan Sentral Phase 2

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aragon Globe Berhad (PGB), has soft launched its second phase project of Pekan Sentral, a freehold commercial project located in Pekan Nenas Industrial Park by Paragon Bizhub Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary companies of PGB. Pekan Sentral has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM126.1 million covering 15 acres of land, with total 158 units of 2-storey shop office and 3-storey shop office.

Set in the growing township, Pekan Sentral Phase 1 comprises of 112 units of 2-storey shop office and 3-storey shop office, while Pekan Sentral Phase 2 comprises of 46 units of 2-storey shop office, feature with contemporary design

aim to provide unlimited business potential to its investors and business owners.

Pekan Sentral is strategically located beside the Skudai-Pontian Highway and highly accessible via the North-South Expressway and Coastal Highway which makes Pekan Sentral possible with connections through numerous highways.

Speaking at the soft launching event, PGB Group Executive Director Dato’ Sri Godwin Tan Pei Poh said, “Following the successful sales of Pekan Sentral Phase 1 that launched in November 2017, Paragon Globe Berhad marked another milestone achievement with the soft launching of Pekan Sentral Phase 2.”

“Despite the challenging market conditions coupled with uncertainties in the local market, the soft launch of Pekan Sentral Phase 2 remained with positive response and support, and we believe that there is still a strong demand within the Pekan Nenas’s area for commercial properties and business activities,” he added.

“We see a bright future in Pekan Nenas, with the completion of 29 units of semi-detached factory in 2016, we will soon be launching a new phase comprising of 7 units of detached factory in Pekan Nenas Industrial Park, which cover 18,000 to 68,000 square feet built-up area,” said Dato’ Sri Goodwin.

The soft launch of Pekan Sentral Phase 2 was officiated by

Yeo Tung Siong, ADUN Pekan Nenas.

In his speech, Yeo said, “I believe with the Pekan Sentral Phase 2 soft launching; it added another milestone to the PGB’s impressive list of Paragon Globe Berhad contributes achievement and it is also a RM10,000 to 5 non-profit organisations significant effect that Pekan (RM2000 for each organisation) Nenas today is in its social and economic transformational graciously contributed RM10,000 process to develop into a large (RM2000.00 each) to 5 non-profit commercial and industrial organisations namely Pertubuhan township. Pekan Sentral will Kebajikan Amal Kasih Sayang, definitely be a compelling area in Persatuan Kebajikan Yen Sang Johor, Lions Club of Pekan Nanas, the near future.”

With the soft launch of Rumah Orang Tua Pekan Nanas and Pekan Sentral Phase 2, and to Pertubuhan Kebajikan Pemulihan further celebrate the completion Dalam Komuniti (PDK) Titian Kasih. of Pekan Sentral Phase 1, PGB - by The Iskandarian TI

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A Lustrous and Luxurious Neighbourhood Make Sutera your ideal living, work and play community Sutera Development Sdn Bhd’s latest launches now.

Surrounding Amenities Taman Sutera Utama is a mature township development that is s u r ro u n d e d with entertainment, education, F&B and fashion businesses that are sure to fulfil the lifestyle that you are looking for your family and for a thriving and productive working environment.

Actual Site Photo of Inspired 2 Storey Semi-D concept home

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bout Tanah Sutera Discover the township that has been instilling great community since 1990 with Tanah Sutera Development Sdn Bhd. Their beginning started out with the most strategic land banks in Taman Sutera Utama and Taman Sutera, Johor Bahru that is wellconnected to Jalan Skudai, the Coastal Highway and Second Link which makes travelling to and from JB city centre and Singapore more convenient.

Having a clear vision to become a premier property company, creating the best neighbourhoods has always been their top priority. It’s their mission to consistently deliver confidence, convenience, hope and happiness to everyone. The townships are well planned to suit your lifestyle needs as it comprises education and entertainment hubs especially through its well established Sutera Mall, an education hub, Sutera Biz Centre, and residential homes.

Building concretes, paving roads and making beautiful gardens on lands, planning an urban yet serene lifestyle can be achieved with a great

community to live with.

Tanah Sutera Development Sdn Bhd believes in nurturing communities and at the same time, promoting green living.

Their effor ts in the past decades have received recognitions and achievements like The EdgeProp Best Managed Property Award (Silver), The

The latest rows of 3 Storey Shop Office and 3 Storey Terrace Houses are nearby few of their flagship amenities such as: Sutera Mall A hip and happening shopping mall including enter tainment options and is only a 15-minute drive away from JB City Centre. Sutera Mall offers a creative mix of tenants for

Sutera’s lush green environment

EdgeProp Editor’s Choice Awards, QLASSIC High Achievement Award, JOM HIJAU Green Initiative Gold Award, Johor Landscape Gold Award, Singapore BCA Green mark Gold Award and the Green Accord Initiative Award (GAIA) among others.

Communal living has now become the top in the list for future homeowners.

Make your choice with Tanah

Artist impression for New 3 Storey Shop Office

shoppers and visitors to indulge in dining, shopping and leisure activities. The mall has recently received EdgeProp’s Editor’s Choice Awards and Malaysia’s Best Managed Property Awards in Silver (Above 10 Years Retail Category).

MyLibrary Located within Sutera Mall, MyLibrary is the first full-fledged library that is looking into fostering the habit of reading within the community. It is a vibrant info-hub for learning and it caters to all layers of the community, organising various programmes and workshops.

Sutera Biz Centre Built as 3 storey shop lot office, now it has become a thriving food paradise. The centre has attracted a variety of shops encompassing local and international cuisine, fashion boutiques,

hobby arena, design and home improvement. As the retail and F&B outlets are mushrooming there, running errands are a breeze what with the service-based outlets like banks, travel agencies, beauty salons, boutique hotels, medical centres, event planners just to name a few that are just within the area.

Community Farm Following the success of Tanah Sutera’s green initiatives, it then introduced a community farm project.

The farm, now named as Sutera Good Earth Farm was established to spread green consciousness by feeding our loved ones with good food made of ingredients that we know that where it came from, mostly vegetables that are healthy, organic and pesticide-free.

The community farm is located near Sutera Mall and beside Tanah Sutera’s first high rise residential project - The Seed. It is a great place to cultivate the love and care for mother nature and also an extension of Tanah Sutera’s effort to incorporate greener lifestyle within its community.

Sutera Sports World Located at Sutera Utama the sports centre has hosted several indoor sporting activities, classes and tournaments like futsal, badminton, zumba snd soon to open mix martial art. It is definitely a great place for an active lifestyle be it rain or shine.

Hsing Ma Si Centre In between rapid and busy lifestyle, there is Hsing Ma Si communal education and spiritual centre that brings balance to your life.

Equipped with a library and

The Vibrant Sutera Mall

Jom Hijau Green Initiative Gold Award

a huge hall, the centre is a place to host learning, arts and spiritual activities with large number of participants involved.

Latest Launches Sutera Walk - New Shop Office The 28 units of the new, 3 storey shop office at Sutera Walk in Taman Sutera Utama is built larger than its peers in the market with 6,733 sq ft built up and 24’ x 93.5’ in land area. The extra size gives business owners more space for implementing concepts, and provides a conducive environment for clients. Car park spaces are plenty so flow of visitors is smooth-sailing.

Sutera Ideal - New Terrace House The 3 storey terrace house

has 2 options of sizes; 22’ x 86’ and 24’ x 86’, with a total of 57 units available. Sutera Ideal is indeed an ideal home to house big families with an ample of space for a gathering with friends and family. The precinct is currently well-managed by its residents who have formed a Home Owner’s Association (HOA) within a gated and guarded community. Since its formation, the HOA has developed a sense of security among the community and this has becoming a plus for home buyers at Sutera Ideal’s new terrace house.

Limited units are available and the projects are now open for booking.

For more information, please call 019-7719009 or visit: Tanah Sutera Sales Gallery Jalan Persisiran Sutera Danga 1, Taman Sutera Utama - by The Iskandarian TI

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@home

One Stop Centre for Information on Iskandar Halal Park

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skandar Halal Park (IHP), previously known as Johor Halal Park is a subsidiary of UMLand Bhd focusing in developing the Halal Sector with the objective of creating a worldclass integrated Halal industrial park within a freehold industrial development site in the Eastern corridor of Iskandar Malaysia has launched its Sales Gallery

on 2nd of July 2019.

Present at the sales gallery was UMLand’s Chairman, Tan Sri Tun Musa Hitam who also officiated the launch ceremony. “Halal product has an international and world market, and everybody has now realised, discovered and recognised it,” he said as he envisioned the expansion of the industries nurtured

within the Iskandar Halal Park to the international market by taking an example from the main market segments such as the food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics’ industries that are expected to reach 2.2 billion consumers collectively by 2030.

IHP has sold-out their shop office of 36 units; small business Terrace Factory (A1)

with the land size of 32’x80’ and built-up area of 3,433 sq ft and also Terrace Factory (A2) with the same land size and built-up area of 3,368 sq ft. Their Cluster Factory with land size of 101’x 85’ and builtup area of 5,897 sq ft is still available while the Link Detached Factory with Multi Usage Factory (retail + office + showroom +

MBJB Hunts Down Those with Tax Arrears first began from 16th July 2019 till 18th of July 2019 followed by a second series from 22nd July to 24 July 2019; led by the MBJB Assessment Department and supported by the Enforcement Department, Legal Division and 20 MBJB Auxiliar y Police.

The action taken by MBJB is in accordance with the regulations under Section 148 (1) Act 171 Local Government Act Various methods to pay your 1976 whereby if property tax a premises owner ohor Bahru City Council is in arrears of his rate (tax/ (MBJB) and the local assessment) due to the local a u t h o r i t i e s h ave authority, the local authority realised the repetitive may issue a warrant of issue with property tax arrears attachment and may seize by that keeps on increasing every virtue thereof any movable year despite their efforts in property belonging to the creating awareness through owner or occupier of the major mass media, social property.

The operation on 16th media sites, physical reminder notice and various campaigns July involved 5 holdings with held. Seeing it did little to no accumulated RM43,173.160 changes, the council took a worth of tax arrears. Up to 31st December 2018, 87,000 notch up on the solution.

A more stricter and holdings owed around RM120 effective action would be by million of MBJB property tax seizing the particular trade arrears. In 2019, the target holding/property with tax to collect the property tax arrears till date. The seizure arrears is RM30 million, of

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which RM25.2 million from 26,000 holdings have been recovered till June 2019, leaving 61,000 more holdings to pay its due taxes. In terms of percentage, 65% of the tax arrears came from the trade and industrial holdings, 27% from residential holdings, while others were from the low-cost housing, agricultural land, Malay Reserve housing and et cetera.

MBJB will carry out the same action from time to time, as a continued reminder to the public that it is important to pay your property taxes promptly at the designated time.

Several payment options include paying through MBJB counters and in kiosks provided at the MBJB Main Building, One Stop Centre (OSC) and JOTIC Building. Taxes could also be paid online through the JomPay portal and the Biller Code for MBJB tax is 4317.

On top of that, there are also Johor Online Payment portal, e-Khidmat portal and the easiest of them all would be your preferred online banking services available in all banks except HSBC and Citibank.For more enquiries on tax arrears, contact MBJB Property Tax Arrears Unit at 07-2239962. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

warehouse) spanning across land size of 140’ x 158’ and built-up area of 15,296 sq ft is available in limited units.

Interested parties may get in touch with Aqashah Shahren, at aqashah@umland. com.my or 07 262 1045 for any inquiries in regards of the units purchase at Iskandar Halal Park. - by Norfy Shafeq TI

UMLand’s Chairman, Tan Sri Tun Musa Hitam cutting the ribbon to mark the opening (from left to right) with UMLand Seri Austin CEO, KK Wong, Group Managing Director, Dennis Ng Yew Khim, CEO of Iskandar Halal Park, Ahmad Lokman, while officiating the Iskandar Halal Park Sales Gallery

Orchid @ Meridin East, a Breath of Fresh Air Developer Mah Sing Group launches Orchid doublestrorey linked homes at the Meridin East Township

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ah Sing Group had launched their new phase of double-storey linked homes at their southern township development, Meridin East in Iskandar Malaysia.

The Orchid is a freehold property that consists of four bedrooms and three bathrooms with a built-up area of 1,782 sqft.

The target completion date for the first phase of the Orchid is in June 2021.

A total of 164 units will be available upon completion which includes 100 units for Phase 1 and 64 units for Phase 2.

The interior of the Orchid is fully-extended with spacious living space.

The development will also feature a 16 km jogging track and a bicycle lane for sports and recreation. Besides that, a nine acre Mulberry lake and a Picnic Garden is nestled within the township itself.

The launch of the Orchid coincided with the balloting session for the Type C (RM150,000) affordable homes developed by Mah Sing Group as a requirement under the state government’s

Group photo with the first 10 successful ballots

housing policy.

A total of 132 affordable home units with a built up area of 1,000 sqft were successfully balloted to the public who eagerly attended the event in the hopes of owning a home.

The breakdown of the total 1,274 registrants included 1,118 Malays, 100 Chinese and 56 Indians. From the total units allocated, 68 units were for Malays, 27 units for Chinese and 11 units for Indians.

The balloting session was officiated by Haji Mohd Radzi bin Haji Mohd Amin as the undersecretary of the state housing department who was representing Sr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, Housing, Communication and

Multimedia Committee Chairman.

Mohd Radzi conveyed the states exco’s speech and mentioned that, “I would like to congratulate Mah Sing Group for completing this project. Meridin East is the largest township developed by Mah Sing with an area of 1,313 acres.

Mah Sing will be providing a number of affordable homes categorised as low-cost shop lots, affordable homes, and community homes.”

“I wish you all good luck in obtaining the certificate of qualification to own a home by expediting your financing so that the process of ownership can run smoothly,” he added. - by Harish Mustak TI

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AT OUM, YOU CAN!

You are welcome to come to our Learning Centre or Contact Us: Open University Malaysia, Johor Bahru Learning Centre, Jalan Ibrahim Sultan, 80300, Johor Bahru 07-221 2006 / 019-265 8049 oumjohor OUM Johor Register Online Now at www.oum.edu.my

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