Second Row Start For Kornfeil In Italy; Khairuddin Sets Best Qualifying Position Of The Year

Mugello, Italy – Saturday 30th May

Circuit: Autodromo del Mugello
Circuit Length: 5.2 km

Bike #63 – Zulfahmi Khairuddin
Qualifying: P25; 1’58.455 (DRY) – 15 laps

Bike #84 – Jakub Kornfeil
Qualifying: P6; 1’57.366 (DRY) – 17 laps

Day two at Mugello saw a positive Moto3 qualifying practice for the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team, with Jakub Kornfeil again qualifying on the second row and Zulfahmi Khairuddin achieving his best grid position of the season.

Feeling confident with his improved set-up, Jakub Kornfeil pushed hard from the start launching himself immediately into the top ten. Lapping on his own around the Italian circuit, the Czech rider put in an impressive performance to qualify consecutively on the second row, with a time just 0.751s off pole position.

Determined to pick up the pace, Zulfahmi Khairuddin worked hard to improve his riding style throughout the forty minute qualifying session. Setting his fastest time of the weekend the Malaysian rider narrowly missed out on a top twenty position and will start tomorrows’ Gran Premio d’Italia TIM from 25th.

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager

“It’s not been an easy qualifying for both riders but they have done a good job. After a tough start in yesterday’s practice sessions we felt a lot more comfortable in FP3 today, especially with Jakub who was a lot more confident with the bike. We tried a couple of things and in the morning we only rode with the used tyres, which was good, so we saved two good sets for the afternoon. Jakub started qualifying on the new tyres and immediately he was fast and never really dropped out of the top ten, so this worked well. His fastest lap was on his own and he actually had to pass two riders who were holding him up a bit, so if you see the gap from third, this could have been a front row start; anyway we are very happy. He has a very good pace for tomorrow, so I believe he can do very well here at Mugello.
For Fahmi he had a poor start to qualifying but he collected himself well, stayed focussed and got some good laps in. Despite his position, his lap time is not bad at all. It won’t be easy starting from 25th but its’ not as hard as before, so he has improved this and that is good. I think Fahmi feels more comfortable with the bike now, so this is very important. For tomorrow he must concentrate on getting a good start, stay in a group and do like he did at Le Mans, which I believe is very possible.
Thanks to the whole team and I look forward for tomorrow.”

#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin

“I felt a lot more comfortable with the bike today. We made some really good changes and this was very positive. In qualifying we didn’t touch anything with the set-up; I just concentrated on my riding. I lost a lot of time in corner eight and still at the end I lost more than half a second compared to Jakub there, so for tomorrow we must study why this is happening. If we can find a little bit extra with the bike and I can continue to improve my riding, I’m sure we can be competitive in the race. I know I need to get a strong start to go with a good group, so this is what I will be focussing on. 25th is not where I want to be on the grid but my pace is better and I believe I can push hard to get into the points.”

#84 Jakub Kornfeil

“I am very happy to have qualified on the second row again. To be honest I didn’t expect to be so high without a slipstream, so I am quite surprised with what I achieved. Initially we made a strategy before the session to go behind some riders and get a tow but unfortunately this didn’t happen, so this is a little disappointing because I know had I been able to get the slipstream I could have been on the front row, as the gap to second is very small. Nevertheless we have achieved a good result here today and it’s great to be able to show that I can do these times on my own, especially at a circuit where for the Moto3 class, slipstreaming is so important. My bike was 100% in qualifying and I was able to push a lot, so this is very good. In Le Mans we qualified fourth so it’s great to continue this positive momentum, especially after such a difficult start to the season. We have improved a lot and I’m very pleased to be starting tomorrow’s race from 6th position. I’m very happy with my bike and I want to thank my team for setting it up very well. I’m feeling confident and ready to collect some more points.”

-SIC Racing Team facebook.

PelanconganKini supported DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team.
Note: New DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team Polo T-shirt & Round Neck T-shirt is now available at http://www.m7shop.com/home.aspx

Queen Launches Royal Floria Putrajaya 2015

photo: Perbadanan Putrajaya

PUTRAJAYA, May 30 (Bernama) -- Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah launched the Royal Floria Putrjaya 2015 at Pesisiran Tasik, Precinct 4 here Saturday.

Her Majesty spent about an hour visiting various venues at the floral festival including Taman Diraja (Royal Park), Taman Kucing (Cat Park), Floral Pavilion and the latest attraction, the European Spring and Winter Gardens.

A female cat named Cocoon of the Maine Coon species brought specially from Estonia was also introduced to Her Majesty and will keep company 'Louis Vuitton' (LV), from the same species that was presented to Yang Dipertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah during last year's Floria.

Also present were Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.

Themed "Tapestry of Hues" with the Lily as the signature flower, the festival which ends on June 7 showcases 100 types of lilies and 400,000 trees of various species.

Tengku Adnan in his speech said the festival this year was accorded Joyce White, World Flower Council International Award of Excellence from the World Flower Council International which also comes with a cash prize of US$500 for a selected particpant at the Floral Pavilion.

"This festival is eagerly awaited by sellers, buyers and flower enthusiasts and holds huge potential for the local flower industry as importers and exporters from both locally and overseas are looking at opportunities to expand their markerts," he said.

He added that the festival this year also set a record with more than 50 landscape artistes and flower arrangers from 28 countries, among them South Africa, Australia, Denmark, Ecuador, Hong Kong, South Korea, Holland, France, Spain, United Kingdom and Oman taking part.

The Floria is open to the public from 7 am to 10.30 pm Monday to Thursday and 9 am to midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
-bernama.

BA takes off on Kuala Lumpur-London route

British Airways' (BA) daily direct Kuala Lumpur-London service that began yesterday has been well received both by passengers and the travel trade. 

Flights today and yesterday were almost full, with only two spare seats available, Jamie Cassidy, BA’s area general manager, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

Malaysian travel consultants have welcomed the new flights, which offer more capacity and better flight timings on a route once monopolised by national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

Jill Sin, senior manager MICE, Panorama Tours Malaysia, said: “For MICE groups travelling to the UK, the new services, coupled with MAS’ twice-daily flights on this route using the Airbus A380, will allow group sizes of up to 350 to travel on the same day. Before, such groups had to be split and moved in batches.

“Although the ringgit has depreciated against major currencies such as the pound and the euro, multi-level marketing companies and insurance companies are still incentivising their top-tier achievers with reward trips to the UK and US. This has not slowed down.”

Inbound travel consultant, Arokia Das, senior manager at Luxury Tours Malaysia, also said: “The new service is good for our travel consultant partners in the UK as it makes it easier for them to communicate with the airline and negotiate for better rates.

“We have a group of 50 leisure tourists from the UK coming to Malaysia on BA in the third week of December.”

When asked if BA intends to increase the frequency on this route in future, Robert Williams, British Airways regional commercial manager, South-east Asia, sidestepped the question: “We’re happy with our offering, double overnight services that allows our passengers from Kuala Lumpur to get a good night’s rest and arrive in London fresh in the morning. We offer passengers a choice of four cabins.”

On the other hand, BA is upgrading its thrice-weekly, A380 London-Singapore service to daily from December 1, said Cassidy.

-TTG Asia.

DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team Remain In High Spirits Despite Tough Start At Mugello

Mugello, Italy – Friday 29th May

Circuit: Autodromo del Mugello
Circuit Length: 5.2 km

Bike #63 – Zulfahmi Khairuddin
FP1: P31; 2’01.236 (DRY) – 15 laps
FP2: P30; 2’00.414 (DRY) –15 laps

Bike #84 – Jakub Kornfeil
FP1: P14; 1’59.527 (DRY) – 17 laps
FP2: P21; 1’59.309 (DRY) – 12 laps

The DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team experienced a tough start to the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM with Jakub Kornfeil concluding the day in 22nd and Zulfahmi Khairuddin in 32nd, following their combined practice times.

In order to resolve some initial technical issues the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team continued to use both free practice sessions to test a variety of elements on the 2015 KTM Machine’s. Putting aside lap times in order to focus their attentions on finding the optimal settings for tomorrow’s Qualifying Practice, the team concluded day one at Mugello happy with the data gained and confident that they can show their progress with improved performance tomorrow.

#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin
“This morning I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. We did something similar to Le Mans but it wasn’t the right way to go, so we had to continue to test various settings throughout the session. In FP2 I felt happier with my bike but I was not able to find one more second and despite being quite strong in the first two sectors I kept losing a lot of time in sector three. For sure there are still some things we can improve with our set-up but I feel a lot happier with the bike, so the majority is up to me. I must focus myself and concentrate on my riding and if I do this, I believe I can find another second in FP3 tomorrow. The main focus now is my riding and so I will work hard on this to improve and hopefully we can have a good qualifying day.”

#84 Jakub Kornfeil 
“We made some big plans for the practice sessions yesterday but we had to change our strategy because in FP1 we had many difficulties with the set-up. From the start of the session I tried to push but I wasn’t able to. I had to be careful so I used my initial time on track to familiarise myself with the layout again and understand the gearbox. It was a tough first practice. We were hoping that we could resolve the issues before the second session but unfortunately in FP2 we experienced some more problems and now we have to fix this for tomorrow. I still feel positive because from today we have gained so much more knowledge. We tested many things and we understand the bike a lot more. Now we just need to make the final decision on which way to go, but once we have done this I’m confident that we can go faster. Overall, even with our position today I am still happy because this is what practice is for; it is so important to understand the bike well and we have achieved this today. Everyone is working hard, so we will continue to stay focused and I know the results will come.”

-SIC Racing Team facebook.
PelanconganKini supported DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team.
Note: New DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team Polo T-shirt & Round Neck T-shirt is now available at http://www.m7shop.com/home.aspx

SIC Forms Strategic Partnership with SBR on Track

In another initiative to promote grassroots motorsports development, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) has formed a strategic partnership with Sports Bike Riders (SBR) in organizing track days for motorcyclists at the circuit.
 
SBR, which was appointed through an invited tender, will be the operator for the track days for bikers and would work closely with SIC in making safety as the utmost important element during the programme.
 
“With SBR, we have drawn up a very systematic programme which we believe have massive impact on grassroots motorsports development especially for those who want to race competitively. We strongly urged those aspiring to take up bike racing to work with this group.
 
“It’s an innovative approach decided by us to further enhance the operations of the circuit. We are keeping the actual manpower of SIC slim and lean; working closely with partners. In turn, we focus on overall planning and management of the circuit and the main events. We will have partners to work on viable programmes and we are always open for any form of collaborations with a win-win formula. 

“For the track days, for example, SBR has strong connections with established racing teams and riders. They can support us in helping aspiring riders to pursue their dreams. I am made to understand that they can also assist in getting coaches and organize coaching clinics at the track days. SBR also rent out bikes for participants coming from oversea,” Razlan added.   
 
The new MSC completed Round 1 of its five-leg championship recently; but still four more rounds for aspiring racers to participate. One of the rounds would feature as support races for the eni World Superbike Championship Malaysia Round, which is scheduled from July 31 to August 2.
 
Under the collaboration with SBR, those with bikes above 250cc that are interested to participate in the track days would need to do advance booking on-line at www.sbrtrackday.com.
 
“It saves us a lot of our time and the participants’ time. Just log on to the website and complete all the necessary details and just come to SIC on your bike with your racing suits,” says SBR spokesman Joseph Lee.
 
Unlike previously, each hour of the track day programme is being segmented according the riding standards and experience of the riders and their machines.

“We are breaking the groups to ensure everyone can truly enjoy their session to the fullest and in the interest of safety. It would be risky to have riders with different levels of riding capabilities in a same session. The fast riders would need to look out for back markers and the slower ones would be stalling the quicker riders. That would pose plenty of safety issues.

“Through this, participants can truly enjoy their time on the track. Everybody will leave the track happy. More importantly, the safety of the riders are being further emphasized,” Joseph added.

Participants are charged at RM430 (S160) per rider which comes track fee and drinks & snacks throughout the whole session. 
-Sepang Circuit.

Tourism Malaysia Promotes Homegrown Events To Foreign Tour Agents & Media

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 May 2015 – A total of 75 foreign travel agents and media have arrived in the country under Tourism Malaysia’s Mega Fam programme to attend the launching of the Magic of the Night 2015 and the Royal Floria Putrajaya 2015.

The Mega Fam participants, who come from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Laos, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, and Vietnam are also here to experience first-hand Malaysia’s many beautiful attractions and help promote Malaysia as a top-of-mind holiday destination.

On 29 May, they will attend a Destination Seminar organised by Tourism Malaysia at Majestic Hotel and listen to presentations on Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFest) 2015 and the Majestic Hotel.

The participants will also have the opportunity to visit Kuala Lumpur’s iconic heritage building, the Panggung Bandaraya, to watch the MUD KL Theatre Musical – a high-energy theatre production that brings to life Kuala Lumpur’s colourful history. Following that, they will witness a brand-new tourist food festival, the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Big Kitchen Festival 2015 at the nearby Merdeka Square.

The evening continues with participants proceeding to Marina Putrajaya to witness the launching of the Magic of the Night 2015. The event, which is among the major highlights of MyFest 2015, would be launched by the Minister of Tourism and Culture Dato’ Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz.
 
The next day, the Mega Fam participants will attend the launching of the Royal Floria Putrajaya 2015 at Precinct 4, Putrajaya, followed by a visit to the Selangor Islamic Festival 2015 at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor. 

On 1 June, the Mega Fam participants will proceed with their post tours to various destinations around Malaysia.

-Tourism Malaysia.

Make Malaysia The Talk Of Tourists - Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- Tourism industry players are urged to play a more dynamic role to provide tourists with the best experience so that Malaysia will always be on their lips.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said an extensive and effective marketing strategy is needed, right from the entry point into the country to the hotels, to create an attractive and unforgettable experience for tourists.

"To boost the country's tourism industry to a higher level, Malaysia has to have a product which is different, be it in physical term, the ecosystem, courtesy and the best service for tourists.

"Never look at tourists as a chance for making excessive profits, including to cheat by marking up prices, like taxi drivers who do not use the meter," he added. He said the choice of providing an attractive or bad experience for tourists is in the hands of players in the industry.

The prime minister was speaking at a dinner hosted by the National Tourism Council of Malaysia (NTCM) here tonight. Also present was NTCM president Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin.

In a related development, Najib said the growth of the tourism industry gave Malaysia the confidence to achieve the target of 36 million tourist arrivals in 2020 with revenue of RM168 billion, as stated in the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA). "For this year alone, we are targetting 29.4 million tourist arrivals with spending at RM89 billion.

"We believe, with the Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 campaign, as a continuation of the Visit Malaysia Year, the target can be achieved on the condition that all parties involved play their respective roles," he added.

Najib said Malaysia is not only rich in natural environment as a tourist attraction, but also various world-class infrastructure which continue to draw attention and made it the choice destination for tourists.

"In fact, in terms of shopping satisfaction, Malaysia is the choice because of the price and quality factors," he said.

He also announced the rebranding of NTCM to Malaysian Tourism Council (MyTC), which he believed would give it a new breath of life and motivation for all parties involved to continue to ensure the success of the country's tourism industry.
-bernama.

Magic Of The Night 2015 ( 28 ~ 31 May 2015 )

PUTRAJAYA, 28 May 2015 – A total of 17 decorated boats are gracing the Putrajaya Lake for four nights, beginning today, in conjunction with the Magic of the Night 2015. The event, which is already in its fifth year, showcases boats from various states in Malaysia, including an entry from the Suzhou region of the People’s Republic of China and also the Putrajaya Lake Cruise.

With the theme Endless Celebrations, the boats cruise along the 3km Putrajaya Lake, featuring a dazzling combination of lights, colours, and beautiful architecture that symbolises the icons, tourism products, and cultures of the respective states. This is in line with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s objective to encourage foreign tourists and locals to appreciate the multitude of cultures, architecture, heritage and traditions in the country.

All the boats will compete in four categories, which are ‘Overall Best Flotilla’, ‘Most Creative Flotilla’, ‘Best Lighted Flotilla’, and ‘Most Popular Flotilla’. The winner for the ‘Most Popular Flotilla’ will be determined through popular vote. The public can cast their votes through the official Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) Facebook page www.facebook.com/mymotac, the Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia Facebook page www.facebook.com/CutiCuti1Malaysia, or onsite at the event at the Putrajaya Marina.

A unique attraction at this year’s MOTN is the 1Malaysia drum performance – the ‘Seratus Irama Pergendangan MyFest 2015’ – which involves a Kompang, Jido and Bhangra drum group, symbolising the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities.

Tourism Malaysia has also invited a total of 75 international media and tour agents under its Mega Fam programme to witness this iconic tourism event and help promote the country as a top-of-mind tourist destination.

MOTAC, with the cooperation of Gaya Travel magazine, is also organising a Magic of the Night 2015 Photography and Selfie competition, which offers a total prize money of RM13,800.00 The public may submit their best photos at the MOTN 2015 Photography Competition Submission booth at the Putrajaya Marina on 29 May from 8.30pm to 11pm. Submission for the Selfie Competition only needs to be uploaded with the hashtag #MOTNSelfie2015. For more information, please visit MOTAC’s official website at www.motac.gov.my.

Besides that, visitors to MOTN 2015 also get to sample famous food from various states in the country, such as Pulut Mangga from Perlis, Sate Tulang from Negeri Sembilan, Sate Kajang from Selangor, Nasi Dagang from Terengganu, Char Kuey Teow from Pulau Pinang, Otak-otak Kempas from Johor, Bihun Sup Utrara and Mee Udang from Kedah, Nasi Kerabu and Laksam from Kelantan, Asam Pedas from Melaka, Patin Tempoyak from Pahang, Rendang Tok from Perak, Laksa Sarawak and Mee Kolok from Sarawak, Kepak Ayam from Sabah and Labuan, and last but not least, Burger Bakar from Kuala Lumpur.

The event will be officiated by the Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Tan Sri Abdul Aziz on 29 May 2015, while the  Closing and the Prize-Giving Ceremony will be carried out by the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on 31 May 2015.

The Nadiputra bus company has allocated two buses to transport passengers from the Putrajaya Central station to the event site for free from 28 May to 31 May 2015, starting from 4.30pm (every 30 minutes).

The Magic of the Night 2015 will be televised live on RTM1 on 29 May 2015, from 9.00pm to 10.30pm, as well as online, at TrulyAsia.tv.

The event will be from 5.00pm to 11.00pm every day. Entrance is free.

-Tourism Malaysia.

Genting Premium Outlets® Set to Rise in Iconic Genting Highlands

From left: Yong Chee Kong - President & COO, Genting Plantations Berhad; Datuk Abdul Ghani Abdullah - Director, Genting Plantations Berhad; Hui Lim - ED & CIO, Genting Group; Datuk Seri Jebasingam Isaace John - CEO, East Coast Economic Region Development Council; Jean Marie Pin Harry - GM, Genting Simon Sdn Bhd; Dr Sarinder Kumari - Director of NKEA Tourism, PEMANDU; Ching Yew Chye - Director, Genting Plantations Berhad.

Malaysia and South East Asia’s first hilltop Premium Outlet Centre is closer to becoming a reality, as construction work is about to begin on Genting Premium Outlets. As the 85^th Premium Outlet Center in the Premium Outlets portfolio, development for the 600,000 square feet Genting Premium Outlets is expected to cost a total of RM200 million and is targeted for completion in the last quarter of 2016.

Situated at Genting Highlands Resort within the East Coast Economic Region, Genting Premium Outlets will offer a gross leasable area of approximately 300,000 square feet that will house 150 designer and brand name stores and 4,000 parking bays for cars and buses. Operated by Genting Simon Sdn Bhd, Genting Premium Outlets is a key component of the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan, a 10-year development, expansion, enhancement, refurbishment and infrastructure master plan; an illustration of private sector participation under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Genting Simon Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Simon Genting Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Genting Plantations Bhd and Premium Outlets, the outlet division of Simon Property Group.

“We are proud to have Genting Premium Outlets as a hallmark development within the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP). Its strategic location within Genting Highlands will allow Genting Premium Outlets to leverage and also further enhance Genting Highlands’ attraction as a major tourist and holiday destination that draws about 20 million visitations annually,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman and Chief Executive of Genting Group. “As we realise the ambition of this development, we hope to further cement Malaysia’s position as South East Asia’s shopping haven and a preferred investment destination for retail and real estate that has the potential of generating high growth,” he added.

Stephen Yalof, Chief Executive Officer of Simon Premium Outlets added, “Following the success in Johor, we are very pleased to announce the opening of our second centre, Genting Premium Outlets, in Malaysia. The collection of brands and overall shopping environment will offer visitors to Genting Highlands an upscale shopping experience at impressive savings, synonymous with the Premium Outlets reputation.”

When officially open, Genting Premium Outlets promises to deliver a unique and distinctive shopping experience. The upscale mix of international designers and exceptional brand name stores at Genting Premium Outlets will offer retail aficionados impressive quality savings of 25% to 65% every day, making every visit “always worth the trip”.

Genting Premium Outlets is situated within Genting Highlands and is well connected to the capital city, Kuala Lumpur by car, bus, taxi and cable car (from Genting mid-hill to the peak). Highly accessible, it is approximately 45 minutes drive from Kuala Lumpur and within 1.5 to 2 hours drive from Ipoh, Kuantan and Seremban via the North-South Expressway and Karak Expressway.

The announcement today also coincides with the unveiling of the Premium Outlets new brand identity that will effectively synergise Simon Premium Outlets sophisticated and aspirational premium shopping experiences all around the world.

For more information, visit the www.premiumoutlets.com.my.

-Genting Simon Sdn Bhd

Selangor Islamic Fest 2015 ( 30 ~ 31 May 2015 )

The Golden Age of Islam has contributed many modern developments in the subjects of science, medicine, astrology, algebra and more.

The festival aims to be the purveyor of the values of Islam through the perspective of a moderate society where arts and culture takes centre stage in delivering the messages of Islam to the world.

In line with Visit Selangor Year 2015 (TMS2015), Selangor Islamic Fest 2015 is the ideal platform to share the rich history of Islam; not just to Muslims but to the masses; sharing a wealth of information that is interesting and best represent the Islam’s diverse range of Islamic oriented innovation and progress.

The Selangor Islamic Fest 2015 will also showcase some of the finest works of Islam through an exhibition of historical Islamic artefacts, Islamic fashion & food fair, archery competition, music and the arts.

Date: 30 ~ 31 May 2015

Time: 10 am ~ 10 pm

Venue: Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam

Programme

30 May 2015 (Saturday)

1.30pm~2.00pm - Program Bedah Buku - Slot Karya Bestari Karangkraf

3.30pm~4.30pm - CAT TALK by Sham Kamikaze

5.15pm~6.45pm - Bicara Anak Muda - Majalah I, Karangkraf

8.30pm~9.00pm - Perasmian Selangor Islamic Fest 2015

9.00pm~10.30pm - Malam Selangor Berselawat 2015

31 May 2015 (Sunday)

12.30pm~1.30pm - Rumah Ngaji Selangor - Karangkraf

2.30pm~3.30pm - Pelancaran 'Cover' Buku Islamik dari Kartunis Malaysia

3.30pm~4.30pm - Program Bercinta Selepas Nikah - Karangkraf

5.00pm~7.00pm - Bicara Santai - 'Apakah Pandangan Islam Tentang ....."

8.00pm~10.00pm - Malam Gema Selangor Islamic Fest 2015

-Tourism Selangor.

Malaysia Receives 6.5 Million Tourists In The 1st Quarter 2015

PUTRAJAYA, 26 May 2015 –  Malaysia recorded a total of 6,482,696 tourist arrivals from January to March 2015, indicating a decrease of 8.6% compared to the same period during Visit Malaysia Year 2014. Nevertheless, it represented a slight increase of 0.5% if compared to the same period of 2013, which was a regular year (no special campaign).

 

The top 10 tourist generating markets to Malaysia for the first quarter of 2015 were Singapore (3,241,651), Indonesia (671,211), China (379,265), Thailand (311,064), Brunei (305,899), India (177,196), the Philippines (138,803), Japan (125,339), Australia (121,037), and the United Kingdom (110,528).

 

During the same period, the ASEAN region continued to be the largest contributor of tourist arrivals with 73.5% share (4,766,520) of Malaysia’s total arrivals. Among ASEAN countries, arrivals from Brunei and Cambodia registered an increase of 3.3% and 0.8% respectively, compared to same period a year ago.

 

Additional flights offered by Malaysia Airlines from Bandar Seri Begawan to several main cities in Malaysia through Kuala Lumpur contributed to the growth demand from Brunei. 

 

Tourist arrivals from Indonesia registered a decline of 0.8%, followed by the Philippines (-4.2%), Myanmar (-4.3%), Thailand (-6.6%), Singapore (-8.6%), Vietnam (-16.3%) and Laos (-49.7%).

 

The poor performance can be attributed to several reasons. The air tragedies of 2014 affecting travel decisions for holiday was only realised during the winter travel season. In addition, arrivals from Malaysia’s immediate neighbours, i.e. Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, and Indonesia, by road were severely affected by the floods that affected some parts of Malaysia.

 

Besides that, the sudden interest of many countries in the region to draw each other’s tourists resulted in greater choices for Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, and Singaporean tourists. Japan too had joined the league to draw tourists from these markets by liberalising its visa regime and carrying out greater promotional efforts. The popularity of Japan and Korea for ASEAN tourists has grown substantially.    

  

The medium-haul markets contributed 18.9% or 1,223,480 tourists to Malaysia’s total arrivals from January to March 2015. Countries that registered positive growth were South Korea (+11.2%) and India (+2.5%).

 

This growth can be attributed to some positive developments in accessibility from the markets. A total of 54 special flights were launched by Eastar Jet Airlines and Asiana Airlines to connect Incheon/Kota Kinabalu and Busan/Kota Kinabalu from December 2014 to March 2015. Besides that, for the Indian market, AirAsia introduced a daily flight from Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur with promotional fares from as low as RS4,999 (RM290), beginning 8 December 2014.

 

Several countries recorded a drop in tourist arrivals, namely Taiwan (-1.6%), Iran (-10%), Saudi Arabia (-12.5%), New Zealand (-16.2%), Japan (-16.4%), United Arab Emirates (-22.6%), Australia
(-22.7%), China (-27.1%) and Kuwait (-45%).

 

Economic uncertainty in Australia discouraged their people from travelling overseas, while less Japanese travelled overseas due to the depreciation in the value of Yen.

 

A total of 491,099 tourists or 7.6% of Malaysia’s total arrivals were contributed by the long-haul markets during the first quarter of 2015. The only market that registered positive growth was Spain (7.3%). This was due to some new promotion initiatives and the improved accessibility between Spain and Malaysia by Turkish Airlines contributed to greater interest which triggered this growth.

   

The air tragedies in 2014 affected the decision of travellers from winter travel season markets. Countries that registered a decline in arrivals were the Netherlands (-13%), Russia (-16.9%), Sweden (-19.6%), Italy (-3.2%), Germany (-6.8%), France (-11%), the United Kingdom (-12.1%), the United States (-13%), South Africa (-13.7%), Canada (-16.6%), and Kazakhstan (-18%).

 

Note: Data on tourist arrivals is supplied by the Immigration Department of Malaysia.

-Tourism Malaysia.

KTMB, The Haven Luxury Resort Sign Mou To Promote Perak's Eco-tourism

TOURIST HAVEN...Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Vice President Hilmi Mohamad (second, right) and The Haven Luxury Resort CEO Peter Chan (second, left) at the MoU signing ceremony in Ipoh today. Also present Tourism Malaysia Director General Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab (left) and Perak Tourism, Health and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi. --fotoBERNAMA

IPOH, May 26 (Bernama) -- Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and The Haven Luxury Resort in Perak have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in an effort to help promote the eco-tourism industry in Perak.

KTMB senior vice-president (technical service), Hilmi Mohamad said with the collaboration, KTMB would get to also promote its rail-tourism activities which encouraged tourists, especially from Singapore and Indonesia to use the train service to visit places of interests in peninsula Malaysia.

The Haven Luxury Resort, which is surrounded by the lush eco-system in Bukit Batu Kapur, Ipoh, is expected to attract more tourists to Perak, he told reporters after the MoU signing here today.

Hilmi signed the MoU on behalf of KTMB, while The Haven Luxury Resort was represented by its chief executive officer, Peter Chan. Present to witness the MoU signing were Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohamad Taiyab and Perak Tourism, Health and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi.

Hilmi said with the signing of the MoU, several packages would be offered to KTMB passengers travelling on the KTM Intercity and ETS between June 15 and Aug 15 this year. One of them is an offer of a two days and one night stay for 120 KTM passengers with tickets ending with the numbers '333' and '888', he added.

There will also be a special package for couples who want to celebrate their honeymoon or wedding anniversary on KTMB's exclusive coach. "The package comprises a trip on the special coach from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore to Ipoh and a stay at The Haven Luxury Resort," he added.
-bernama.

Malaysia Moves up 5 Notches in ICCA’s 2014 World Ranking and Ranks 7th Place in Asia Pacific

Kuala Lumpur, May 2015 - Malaysia has jumped five places from 2013 in world convention country rankings and two places in Asia Pacific ranking based on the number of international association meetings held in 2014 as per the recently released ICCA report.

World Ranking                                        Asia–Pacific Ranking

  2013 / 2014                                           2013 / 2014

                     ___________________________________________________________________________

MALAYSIA           35      30                                                       9           7

Major cities in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR      33      28                                                      10         8

KUCHING               136   101                                                     28        20

KOTA KINABALU     371   354                                                     80        79

________________________________________________________________________________________

International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Rankings Country World Ranking Asia Pacific Ranking

“Malaysia’s promising increase in number of meetings is a result of the growing strength, collaboration and commitment between the government ministries, MyCEB and our industry partners to bid for, secure and deliver successful international meetings for the country. We are also very proud to announce that other than Kuala Lumpur, other Malaysian cities like Kuching and Kota Kinabalu have also improved their ranking in 2014 reflecting a growth in Malaysia’s association meetings business amidst a competitive and challenging market”, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Zulkefli Haji Sharif, said today.

Malaysia played host to a number of distinguished business events in 2014 and, some of them being “a first” for Malaysia and Asia. The roll call of prestigious conferences held such as the 2014 Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014 (OTC), XXV FIG Congress 2014 and Toastmasters 2014 International Convention, 61st UICH Les Clefs d’Or International Concierge Congress just to name a few. These international business events are an endorsement of Malaysia as a top-of-mind destination for meetings and events.

More Growth and Bid Wins in 2014

From January to December 2014, MyCEB together with industry partners have secured 152 conventions and corporate incentive bid wins, which will bring in 100,754 delegates to Malaysia between 2014 and 2020, an increase of 25% in delegate numbers compared to same period in 2013. The bid wins will create an estimated economic impact of RM970 million (USD262 million or Euro242 million).

“Such achievements would not be possible without the support of the local Malaysian industry players, such as the “Kesatria (MyCEB’s ambassador programme), PCOs and all industry leaders alike who have worked so hard in winning and staging the international or regional meetings in Malaysia. As we all know, it is not easy to stand up to bid for an international meeting, let alone to organise them and making sure it went well and the bottom line is met. Their efforts must be recognised and this would be the most suitable occasion,” added Zulkefli.

MyCEB will be leading a delegation of 11 Malaysian industry partners comprising convention venues, hotels and destination management companies to participate in the IMEX Frankfurt on 19 to 21 May 2015 under the Malaysian Pavilion at booth number B200.

-MyCEB.

DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team Raring To Go At Mugello

Mugello, Italy –Monday 25th May

Circuit: Autodromo del Mugello
Circuit Length: 5.2 km

Following their best result of the season so far at the French Grand Prix, the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team are ready to continue their positive momentum in Italy, as they head to the Autodromo del Mugello for round six of the Moto3 Championship.

Situated in the picturesque countryside of Tuscany, the Gran Premio d'Italia is one of the most popular events of the season. At 5.2km long it is also one of the longest tracks on the calendar, consisting of six left and nine-right hand corners, with a straight measuring at 1.141km in length.

Having raised his position in the championship to fourteenth following a solid sixth place finish at Le Mans, Jakub Kornfeil is all set to come out fighting from the start. The Czech rider will be aiming to build on his progress with another strong result.
Scoring his first points of the season, a reenergised Zulfahmi Khairuddin is feeling confident he can achieve more and is determined to improve his performance and make further progress in Italy.

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager

“Mugello is one of the most beautiful circuits in the world. It’s a great track with a lot of variety including changes in elevation and direction of the chicanes, which make it very challenging. At the same time, many riders enjoy it. It’s about getting a flow from the first corner to the last. It also has a very long fast straight, which for the Moto3 class it is very important to stay in the slip steam here and especially in the race.
We are heading into this next Grand Prix after a pretty good result at Le Mans; both riders are now in the points. With Jakub for the past few races he has been circulating around the top six, which is very good, so I hope that he can continue this form in Mugello. I am also very happy that Fahmi has taken a big step forward now and he did exactly what he said he was going to do in France. Mugello is one of Fahmi’s favourite tracks, so it will be interesting to see what he can do this weekend. As always we must be strong from the first practice and make a good strategy for the race. Let’s see also how the conditions will be in terms of temperature, as we are used to the high temperatures from our testing in Malaysia at the start of the year. I feel we are more prepared than ever and we are continuing to learn as a team all the time.

#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin

“Mugello is one of the best Grand Prix’s on the MotoGP calendar and I like it a lot. I’m always fast there so it’s one of my favourites. Even last year I finished eleventh in the race so I know we can do well. There are a lot of fast corners and also chicanes, which is what we improved on from the last GP. The set-up we had for the race in Le Mans was the best we’ve had this year, so I hope that we will keep it quite similar for Mugello. The KTM is getting stronger and stronger so there is no reason why we cannot be fast. We just need to continue to work hard every session to improve. My aim for Mugello is to collect more points. In our last race we finished fourteenth and this has been very good for building confidence back, both for myself and for the team, so I want to continue this progress. I believe that I can fight for the points every race and with the bike that we have now, we can be consistently competitive.”

#84 Jakub Kornfeil

“To ride at Mugello is something very special. If you compare it to the other championship circuits it is really quite different. It’s in such an amazing place, surrounded by hills and the atmosphere there is always great. The track is fast and enjoyable to ride and I think for the KTM it should be quite good because you don’t have to stop the bike so much. You always have to keep your high speed through the corners, which is good fun! We will have to change our set-up from Le Mans but I think there is a big chance of success for the KTM at Mugello. The most important element to focus on will be the gearbox. I believe also KTM will bring some new parts for us again, so this will be good. Going into this next GP I am feeling very positive; although the bike was not perfect at Le Mans I was still able to stay with the leading group throughout the race and for this reason I am very happy. The Mugello track I like a lot more, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve. I will push from the first practice and I’m going to do the best that I can, so if we can finish in the top six again, this will be great.”

-SIC Racing Team facebook.

PelanconganKini supported DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team.

Note: New DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team Polo T-shirt & Round Neck T-shirt is now available at http://www.m7shop.com/home.aspx