Sea Horse 30% to 50% off selected furniture, mattresses, beds & more till 14 Mar
SEA HORSE celebrates the No.1 selling mattress in Singapore 2016 with selected products going at disocunts of up to 50% off! Valid till 14 Mar 2017. Excluded with any other promotion or discount offered at the same time.
Muhyiddin Yassin finds it strange that the Johor ruler thinks he is arrogant only after he is no longer deputy prime minister.
Let people judge if I’m ‘arrogant’, says Muhyiddin after royal rebuke
Muhyiddin Yassin finds it strange that the Johor ruler thinks he is arrogant only after he is no longer deputy prime minister.
King Salman will witness signing of deal between Petronas and Saudi Aramco.
Malaysia rolls out red carpet as Saudi king kicks off Asia tour
King Salman brings his own escalator and two vehicles for the trip.
Malaysia’s buzzing cities, picturesque islands and mouth-watering delicacies have drawn all manner of Chinese tourists, who make up the third-largest group of visitors, after Singaporeans and Indonesians.
In 2006, slightly more than 530,000 Chinese tourists visited. That figure has more than tripled to 1.75 million last year – notwithstanding a small dip in 2014, after the disappearance of flight MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Chinese tourists were also the third-largest spenders, chalking up RM5.7 billion (S$1.8 billion) in receipts in 2015, or RM3,500 a head.
“Because most of the Chinese travel in tour groups, with fixed itineraries and guide recommendations, they mostly buy local products,” said Datuk Albert Tan Sam Soon, president of the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association.
A survey by the tourism ministry showed visitors largely spent on food items, clothes and handicraft.
For many, it’s still shop, shop, shop till you dropBig groups and big tipsNo English? No problemBeaches are topsA taste for local products
FAVOURITE FOOD ITEMS
• Nutmeg oil
• Local coffee
• Ingredients for Malaysian dishes like bak kut teh (pork rib soup)
FAVOURITE NON-FOOD ITEMS
• Pewter ware
• Ointments, especially for rheumatism
Malaysia eased visa applications for China last year, introducing electronic visas and a temporary visa waiver scheme for short-term visits. The number of visas issued nearly doubled in the scheme’s 10 months, compared with 2015 figures.
“Concerted efforts will continue, to draw tourists during the three major holiday seasons, namely Chinese New Year, summer vacation and year-end holidays,” said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last month. Initiatives include beefing up promotions and increasing the number of flights.
Chinese travellers mostly come from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing – “Tier 1” cities. Mr Tan said such visitors tend to have more travel experience. They head to Sabah or island destinations such as Langkawi and Redang Island, are younger and prefer free and easy tours.
Airlines are introducing new routes, linking Tier 2 cities such as Nanjing, Wuhan and Kunming to KL and Penang, as well as Tier 1 cities to smaller towns like Kota Kinabalu that are gateways to beach resorts.
This article was first published on Feb 26, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
Guns N’ Roses delivered a stellar 3-hour performance at the Changi Exhibition Centre last night (Feb 25) to a crowd of 50,000 but that can’t be said true for its organisers LAMC Productions.
Their Facebook page has been inundated with complaints from the public for the “nightmare” organisation, as some commentators put it.
Pearl Ang posted her comment: “The logistics was phenomenally a NIGHTMARE.”
LAMC has noticed the complaints and posted that they “pledge to refund the unspent RFID credits.” But their post has not sit well with many.
Those who bought tickets to the concert got RFID wristbands that allows for cash top-ups so that actual money need not be exchanged at the venue.
Unfortunately, concert-goers spent a lot of their time lining up – from topping up their credits, to separate food and drinks lines, toilet queues, merchandise queues, entry into and exit from the venue as well as lining up for the shuttle buses.
There seemed to be more waiting in line than actual enjoyment of the concert.
Melinda Wong said she “had to miss parts of the concert just for all this lining up.”
What made it worse was after all that waiting in line, drinks and food ran out, and there was no way to get refunds back for unused credit.
Anthony Horsnell wants an explanation:
Safety also seemed to be an issue for Hanis Zakaria:
Despite the many complaints, there were some who had a better experience than most.
Jessie Cheah is one of them:
For this concert-goer who bought a Pen A ticket and still has $50 unused credit in her RFID wristband, the bittersweet experience has tainted the amazing performance Guns N’ Roses did.
spanaech@sph.com.sg
Read also: Hard rock icons Guns N’ Roses shine in Singapore despite less-than-stellar sound
Even old polar bears need active ageing. At 26, the Singapore Zoo’s locally born-and-bred Inuka is already way past its prime.
The average lifespan for polar bears is between 15 and 18 in the wild and 25 in captivity. In human years, Inuka is now in its 70s.
This means Inuka belongs to a special senior animal care programme, reserved for animals near the end of their natural lifespan.
In Inuka’s case, this includes a mixture of daily quality of life checks, vet inspections, evening conditioning sessions and enrichment activities to keep it mentally and physically active.
Said senior carnivore keeper Mohan Ponichamy: “It is not unlike that of an elderly person. We have to constantly monitor their mobility, their diet and their habits.”
Inuka’s movements are slower than before, due to painful arthritis in its left wrist and left knee. “Nowadays, it also tends to nap more because of its advanced years,” said Mr Ponichamy, 39.
Inuka also suffers from dental problems. From time to time, it gets dry eyes and ear infections too.
These conditions, which keepers said are due to old age, mean that Inuka sometimes limps around in its “Frozen Tundra” enclosure.
Its late mother, Sheba, which died in 2012 at the age of 35, had also battled arthritis in its hind legs.
Said Dr Serena Oh, assistant director of veterinary services at Wildlife Reserves Singapore: “Its arthritis is of the most concern. If it is unable to move even with medication, we will have to consider its quality of life.”
Mr Ponichamy said this is why they have to be transparent about Inuka’s health. “Many people grew up remembering it and we don’t want people to get a shock when it is gone,” he said.
He and the four other keepers in his team know that they bear the responsibility of caring for Inuka in its twilight years.
Anything abnormal, such as hunger strikes or lack of responsiveness, is a sign that Inuka’s health is getting worse.
But there have been no such red flags raised so far for Inuka, one of the zoo’s most iconic creatures.
The senior keeper said that Inuka’s age did not affect its mischievous behaviour.
It has been observed “inventing” its own games with the enrichment devices, such as stacking tyres or arranging its food in parallel lines. These are good indicators that it is happy, he said.
“Inuka is the reason I look forward to coming to work so early every day,” he added. But the zoo will have to put it down if its health worsens.
When the fateful day comes, Mr Ponichamy said it will be a very “emotionally difficult period” for him and his team of keepers.
This is especially so for junior keeper Stefan Ng, 29, who said: “I grew up watching Inuka since I was a boy and it was my childhood dream to look after it.”
Every year, Inuka is sedated and taken to a nearby animal hospital for a more comprehensive check-up.
Its current health problems were first detected in one such check-up three years ago, and the next one is scheduled for May.
Said bank officer Gerard Seam, 29, who was at the zoo with a friend on Thursday: “The day that Inuka dies will be a sad one. But it still looks healthy as we saw it taking multiple laps around the pool.”
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has supported Inuka’s upkeep since its birth on Dec 26, 1990. SPH Foundation, the charity arm of SPH, took over in 2007.
ngjunsen@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Feb 26, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
If other MPs don’t agree, there is nothing much PAS can do, says a party leader.
‘PAS won’t pressure Muslim MPs on Act 355’
If other MPs don’t agree, there is nothing much PAS can do, says a party leader.
Sushi Express: Everything at $1++ per plate opening promo at Hillion Mall near Bukit Panjang MRT (1 – 3 Mar)
Sushi Express celebrates its newest Hillion Mall outlet with their popular $1++/plate promotion. For 3-days only, from 1st March to 3rd March, enjoy everything at $1++ per plate!
VOXPOP | After today’s KLIA2 police sweep we scour travellers for their concerns.
Are M’sians afraid of VX nerve agent?
VOXPOP | After today’s KLIA2 police sweep we scour travellers for their concerns.
Mountain biker Melvin Ee, 44, used to be limited to a 1.6km trail at Chestnut Nature Park, next to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
With the official opening of the northern section of the park yesterday, the mountain bike trail is now 8.2km.
Chestnut Nature Park has expanded from 17ha to 81ha – equivalent to more than 110 football fields – making it the largest nature park in Singapore.
Besides the longer mountain biking trail, the hiking trail is now 5.6km, up from 2.1km.
National Parks Board (NParks) classifies most sections of the biking trail as moderately difficult to extremely difficult.
“They’re less technical than the ones at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve,” said Dr Ee.
Chestnut is the only park with separate trails for bikers and hikers. It also has Singapore’s first pump track for stunt bikers.
Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Desmond Lee officiated the opening yesterday.
He said the park is one of five buffer parks to protect the Central Catchment Nature Reserve from urbanisation impact.
Two more parks, Windsor and Thomson, will be opened in future.
abigailng@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Feb 26, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
