Day: June 29, 2024

SOOK, The construction of a new building and living quarters for SK Tiulon Youth Plan involving a cost of RM26.9 million is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, said Pensiangan Member of Parliament Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.

Arthur, who is Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said the project for the national school involved the construction of six classrooms, an administrative building, eight quarters for teachers, a science laboratory, and a Technology Design workshop.

He said the project located in Sook, a district in the interior of Sabah, about 145 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu, was an initiative of the Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop comfortable and safe education infrastructure throughout the country including Sabah and Sarawak.

“The project is a realisation of my ambitions and the MoE to build a full-fledged school in the Tiulon Youth Plan Village as a measure to accommodate the growing demand of the local community.

“This reflects the commitment of the
Unity Government in education based on the needs of the people to ensure that students have infrastructure and a comfortable educational environment to achieve optimal development,” he said after a ground-breaking ceremony for the project here today.

Meanwhile, Arthur said that so far in the Pensiangan Parliamentary seat, four rundown schools SK Inandung, SK Simbuan, SK Penagatan and SJK (C) Cheng Ming have been upgraded and handed over to the school managements.

He said the SMK Tulid upgrade project is in the planning phase and the SMK Nabawan upgrade is in the construction phase.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

TAWAU, The Sabah tourism sector is enjoying brisk ‘business’ in terms of revenue due to a rapid increase in the number of tourist arrivals over the first four months of the year.

Sabah tourism who welcomed one million tourists arrivals in the first four months, saw revenue generated from tourists’ spending reaching RM2.23 billion.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said based on statistics from the Sabah Tourism Board, the number comprised 396,584 international tourists and 607,371 domestic tourists.

‘The state government is committed to promoting various inclusive tourism initiatives and programmes in efforts to make Sabah the most attractive tourist destination in Malaysia for both domestic and international visitors and increase the number of tourism products.

‘The introduction of new attractions for tourists will assist in achieving the three million tourist arrivals to Sabah this year,” he said when speaking at the ground breaking ceremony for the Tawau International Cultural Centre (TICC)
at the construction site in Sabindo, here today.

He said, in Tawau, the state government was implementing proposed tourism projects through the State Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment like the dvelopment of the new resort in Tawau Hills Park which include chalet, walking path, hot water pools and Pangolin Research Centre.

Hajiji added that the government through the State Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment wil also upgrade the Tawau jetty to bring in tourists from Semporna.

‘Tawau serves as a gateway to the Tun Sakaran Marine Park which is popular in Semporna, registering 25,684 visitors from January to April.

‘Currently there are 115 weekly flights with a capacity of 20,200 seats servicing the Tawau to Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan sectors, while as of June 15, 32 special chartered flights arrived from Nanjing and Guangzhou, China to Tawau,’ he said.

Speaking of the ground breaking ceremony, Hajiji said the TICC would serve as a new landmark for Tawau to attr
act tourists and visitors.

‘Once the construction of the TICC is completed, it will serve as the hub for organising various cultural activities, including the Tawau International Cultural Festival (FKAT),” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA BHARU, The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) has urged mosque institutions nationwide to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) technology in line with the government’s ambition to digitalise service delivery.

Its deputy director-general (Policy) Datuk Sirajuddin Suhaimee highlighted that mosque institutions have evolved significantly, adapting to various roles in today’s dynamic landscape.

He said the rapid advancement of information technology necessitates mosques to provide diverse facilities and platforms to engage congregants more effectively.

“As such, I believe it’s time for mosque institutions to explore AI technology, such as virtual mosque tours, intelligent mosque systems, real-time donation platforms, membership databases and more,” he told reporters at the 2024 Nusantara Mosque Convention here today

Sirajuddin added that JAKIM aims to collaborate closely with mosques nationwide to implement these initiatives.

“We foresee the possibility of rolling out AI applications wit
hin the next year or two, as there are still opportunities for further refinement,” he said.

He also pointed out that mosques in the Malay Archipelago could serve as pioneers in developing AI applications, particularly with many young imams who are adept at integrating technology into their roles.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BUTTERWORTH, The Unity Government will strive to solve water woes in states, including states governed by the opposition despite differences in political beliefs, to ease the burden of the people.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he had held discussions with various parties, including Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob, in efforts to solve water woes, including states under the opposition.

‘In Nibong Tebal there are issues related to water, in Kedah there is water issue, in Kelantan there is water issue and Sabah too has water issues. We will try to solve water issues and in Kelantan, I asked the Menteri Besar and he informed me that pumps used to draw water are not long enough and what I did was to issue a directive to buy the pumps immediately.

‘This is not about political alliance, this is about the hardship of the people, we do it to assist the people…Mat Sabu (Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu) has also decided to carry out the cloud seeding process in K
elantan to induce rain. We are doing it to solve water issues,’ he said when opening the Penang MADANI National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (TEKUN) at the Seberang Perai Arena in Seberang Jaya here.

Also present were Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, Deputy Minister Datuk R. Ramanan and TEKUN Nasional chairman Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid.

Anwar said in Penang, especially Nibong Tebal, is facing water woes due to insufficient water from the river and therefore, the government decided to discuss with the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad to try and solve the problem.

The Prime Minister said positive results were achieved through the discussions because the government had conducted a study which showed that the Sungai Perak region has an abundance of water resources and more than enough to cater for the state’s need.

Therefore, excess water can be channelled to Kerian, Perak and onwards Sungai Acheh, Sungai
Bakap, Nibong Tebal and Batu Kawan areas.

“Finally we succeeded in approving the project (Projek Air Perak-Pulau Pinang) with an allocation of RM4 billion, for who is this? For the people of Perak and Penang,’ he said.

The Prime Minister added that the MADANI government had carried out various initiatives for the people, good governance and good administration. Therefore, the government under his leadership is different from what some are trying to portray.

Speaking of TEKUN Nasional, the Prime Minister who has a tight schedule in Penang today said the objective of the agency is to provide simple and quick financing facilities in order to kick-start and further expand their businesses.

He pledged that if TEKUN Nasional continued to show progress through good governance, allocation for the agency which is under the Ministry of Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development (KUSKOP) will be increased in the 2025 Budget.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The local transport industry has been urged to tighten its road safety measures in light of today’s bus crash at Genting Highlands, a prominent community leader said.

Alliance for a Safe Community founder-cum-chairman Tan Sri Dr Lee Lam Thye said such accidents would persist unless transport and tourism industry players were fully committed to put safety rules, regulations and guidelines into practice.

‘This tragedy once again highlighted the importance of road safety which has become a major safety issue in the country.

The question that needs to be asked is whether all parties and stakeholders will work together to prevent more tragedies and subsequently to achieve zero accidents,’ he said when contacted by Bernama, adding that the accident should serve as a wake-up call for the local transport industry.

Two Chinese nationals were killed, while 19 others onboard were injured in the 11 am incident, which went viral on social media earlier today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency