NST Online: StreetsJohor
NST Online: StreetsJohor |
| Posted: 19 Oct 2011 08:13 AM PDT 2011/10/19 500 pupils vie for honours at the district-level Living Skills Carnival FIVE hundred pupils from primary schools throughout Johor Baru put their creative skills to the test recently in competitions organised in conjunction with the district-level "Primary Schools Living Skills Carnival". The competitions were divided into categories such as sewing, electronics, woodwork and floral arrangements and held in various schools, including SK Temenggong Abdul Rahman 1, SK Taman Mutiara Rini, SK Taman Pelangi and SK Taman Impian Emas.
The prize-giving and closing ceremony, organised by the Johor Baru Primary School Living Skills Committee with the support of the Johor Baru City Council and Plaza Angsana, was held at the plaza in Johor Baru. Council secretary Ismail Abdul Rahman, who represented mayor Burhan Amin at the event, said it was essential for the next generation to develop creativity, along with having a good education.
He later joined Johor Baru assistant district education officer (school management) Mohd Hanafi Samad, who represented Johor Education director Mohd Nor A. Ghani, to distribute prizes to the winners in each category. Nur Asmida Ayuni Abdullah and Anis Suraya Zamiri, both 12, of SK Tasek Utara, won the top prize in the sewing category. They each took home a trophy and certificate.
"The girls were given three hours to sew a bag during the competition," said Noorsuzana. Nur Asmida and Anis's schoolmate, Mohd Adib Hannan Aziz, 10, did not win first prize in the electronics category, but his project, which came in 10th, generated interest among the crowd who attended the closing ceremony. Mohd Adib, with the help of his teacher, Noorsuzana, created a project called "Roll the dice", which was similar to a game of rolling the dice, except that Mohd Adib had used a rechargeable battery and an integrated circuit board with six Light-Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs to play the game. The winner of the electronics category was SK Bandar Uda 2, which was represented by Muhamud Syamil Zafri and Muhammad Eizaz Danish Hussen, both 11. The duo built the "kingshock game" with the help of their teacher, Norain Zainal Abidin. "The boys used basic components for their project such as a buzzer, wires and a transistor to design a game that creates a shock effect when a piece of metal touches the steel wire," said Norain. Some among the crowd thought the kingshock game an innovative and interesting project. Another participant, N. Kugan Reddy, 12, of SK Jenis (Tamil) Jalan Yahya Awal, took part in two categories -- woodwork and electronics. His projects came in 8th and fifth, respectively. Although he did not win the top prizes, Kugan said he was happy because he had tried his best. He also thanked his teacher, S. Naga Thevi, for helping him with both projects. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| RM93 million underutilised showpiece Posted: 19 Oct 2011 07:27 AM PDT 2011/10/19 ABOUT RM93 million has now been spent to transform Sultan Ismail International Airport in Senai, Johor Baru, into an aviation hub in the south. One wonders if the money was well spent, considering that the airport, ranked the fifth largest international airport in the country, handles fewer flights these days than Langkawi International Airport, which ranks sixth. The Sultan Ismail Airport handles an average of 15 to 18 departures a day, as compared with 20 at Langkawi.
The top three are Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Penang International Airport, which handle about 300, 80 and 70 departures respectively, each day. Sultan Ismail Airport ceased handling international flights after budget carrier Air Asia terminated its flights to Jakarta and Surabaya from the airport early last year.
Early, this month, the community airline suddenly stopped flying to East Malaysia, and is expected to cancel its two Indonesian routes by next month. Quite pathetic, considering the airline is new in Johor, and not even six months old.
Whatever commercial reason is given, the biggest casualty is the airport itself, which has just undergone major redevelopment to prepare itself for bigger passenger volume. Dwindling flights do not augur well for the airport, which is the only one in Iskandar Malaysia. The number of departures a day is considered too small for an airport of international status. After next month, there will be no more international flights from the airport, and the number of flights will be even fewer. With more tourism products coming up soon, the scenario is putting the Johor tourism sector in an awkward situation. Johor Tourism and Domestic Trade Committee chairman Hoo Seong Chang said the state government had written to MAS for an explanation. "Regretfully, I was informed that the number of flights at the airport has declined and this will certainly affect the tourism industry," said Hoo. During its glory days, Senai operated flights connecting Johor Baru via many international routes to places such as Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Palembang, Bangkok and Macau. However, poor passenger load has led to the removal of flights one after another over the years. It is easy to understand why the state government is concerned about the problem, as two key tourism products are scheduled for completion very soon. The Kulaijaya Premier Outlet is set to open its doors by next month, while Legoland in Nusajaya will be ready by next year. Johor Tourist Guides Association chairman Jimmy Leong said Firefly's decision was rather damaging and embarrassing to the Johor tourism industry. He said passengers were not given any flight options, just a refund. "I was told that many tour agencies have already packaged their new tourism products and sold them to their Indonesian counterparts. With the termination of flights at the end of the year, Indonesian tourists will completely lose their confidence in us. "They might not believe us again when we have new promotion or flight routes in future, as we have failed to honour our promise," he said. What could possibly be the solution to bring in international tourists when these products are ready? Relying too much on the nearest airport to Johor Baru, Changi Airport in Singapore, will not benefit Senai Airport at all. Chances are that international tourists will exhaust their spending in the republic by the time they reach Johor Baru. For those flying via KLIA, Johor Baru is quite a distance away, and a connecting flight to Senai will add unnecessary cost and hassles for tourists. The state government will have to change its strategies if it is serious about increasing passenger volume from 1.6 million last year to three million by 2014. Failing to do so will lead to the impressively designed Sultan Ismail Airport inviting more cobwebs sooner than expected. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from NST Online: StreetsJohor To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan