RapidKuantan will continue to offer free rides for next 4 months

PETALING JAYA: Kuantan's newest public transport company, RapidKuantan will continue to be a free-to-ride bus service for the next four months.

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said that the service, which was launched free-of-charge on Dec 1 last year, has seen growing public support.

"Due to public demand and encouraging support, this free service will be extended from Jan 1 to April 30, 2013," SPAD said in a statement on Friday.

It added that as many as 274,000 passengers rode on RapidKuantan's 32 buses in the last month, plying three routes in the Pahang capital.

The routes are from the Terminal Makmur complex to Gambang, Perumahan Indera Mahkota 1 to Telok Cempedak and the Kuantan Courts Complex to Sultan Ahmad Shah Polytechnic (Polisas).

From May 1 onwards, RapidKuantan fares will be charged according to how far a passenger's rides.

Rides that were less than 20km in length would be charged RM2, while rides that went beyond this would be charged RM4.

According to SPAD, this would mean that rides on the Indera Mahkota 1-Teluk Cempedak and Kuantan Courts-Polisas routes would only cost RM2, as they were both less than 20km long.

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Students can collect RM100 cash aid from Jan 15

NILAI: Students can collect their RM100 cash aid from their respective schools starting from Jan 15.

Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zarkashi said those studying in private, vernacular, missionary and Islamic religious schools would also benefit from the one-off aid.

Some five million students from Year One to Form Five are entitled to the aid which is estimated to cost the Government RM500mil.

Puad said schools had been instructed to give out the cash aid without making any deductions.

“We have told the schools to give out the money in full to the parents and not to make any deductions whether for school or Parent-Teachers Asso­ciation fees,” he told reporters during a visit to the Tunku Kurshiah College in Bandar Enstek near here.

However, Puad said students from the interior areas might get the cash at a later date as the funds would have to be personally sent by officers from the district education office.

“We have no other choice. We can’t send the money directly to these schools as they do not have a bank account,” he said.

On a separate matter, Puad said the ministry used a standard marking scheme for all public examinations for schools in the country.

He said there was no truth in talk that certain schools had a lenient marking system while others were subjected to higher standards.

“The Examination Syndicate is very transparent on this. This should not be disputed,” he said.

He was asked to comment on the performances of certain schools which had done well in the 2011 PMR examination but fared poorly last year and vice versa.

Puad, who had also visited SK Batang Benar and SK Sendayan near here earlier in the morning, said the Government would build 15 primary and secondary schools this year.

“We will also supply six cabins which would be turned into temporary classrooms for students at SK Batang Benar which had seen a rapid increase in student population.

“For the longer term, we will propose the construction of a new school in Pajam so that some of the students can be sent there,” he said

Youth 21-31 with under RM3000 income could bought RM200 discounted any models of smartphone

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian youths eyeing new smartphones under the Youth Communications Package scheme had more reason to cheer yesterday as the Government announced the abolition of an earlier ceiling price of RM500 per smartphone.

Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim made the announcement after chairing the ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting yester- day.

“The Cabinet has agreed that youths aged between 21 and 31 years old who earn less than RM3,000 a month are now eligible to enjoy the RM200 rebate on any smartphone, regardless of price, starting this month,” he said in a tweet yesterday.

The package had earlier applied only to smartphones costing up to RM500 and from a designated pool of models.

The package, which is handled by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), is offered on a first-come-first-served basis to the first 1.5 million eligible youths.

The plan was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when tabling Budget 2013 last September, and is meant to give youths better access to the information superhigh- way.

Seven telco companies involved in the rebate scheme are Celcom, Clixster, DiGi, Maxis, Tune Talk, U Mobile and YTL Communications.

In another statement, the MCMC explained that it was compulsory for all parties involved in the implementation of the package to ensure the products were sold at an acceptable price.

It had earlier announced that about 5,500 eligible youths had already applied for the rebate through its website www.skmm.gov.my after pre-registration opened two days ago.

Upon registration, eligible youths will be issued a registration slip, which they must then print out and take to their nearest telco service provider outlet for approval before they can purchase the smartphone of their choice.

Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin welcomed the move, thanking the prime minister.

“Cabinet has decided that there will be no price limit for smartphones for the rebate program. Thanks for listening, @NajibRazak,” he tweeted yesterday.

More than 1,000 to take part in Ride for Sight event in Penang

GEORGE TOWN: About 20 visually impaired people from St Nicholas Home For the Blind will join about 1,000 other cyclists in the Ride for Sight Charity bike-a-thon event on April 14.

They will ride on two-person tandem bikes assisted by sighted riders in the annual event, which begins at 7am, at the Straits Quay here.

There is a “twist” to the route this time – participants will have the opportunity to cycle through the Unesco-recognised heritage enclave.

The 20km ride starts from Straits Quay to the heritage enclave and back to Straits Quay.

St Nicholas Home executive director Daniel Soon said the event was aimed at giving the blind a chance to take part in such an exercise.

“It also encourages them to practise their right to choose their own lifestyle. With a bit of help from us, the blind can do many things,” he said.

“We also encourage blind and visually impaired individuals from all over the country to take part in the event. If they have their own tandem bicycle and a pilot (sighted) rider, they can join in for free.”

He added that the organiser hoped to raise RM100,000 for the home through donation cards and corporate sponsorship for the project.

“The registration for the event can be done online at www.snh.org.my,” he said.

The registration fee is RM30. The Ride for Sight T-shirt can be collected on April 13.

For more details, visit www.snh.org.my or call 04-229 0800.

The closing date for registration is March 10.

Hotels do good with the daily bread

PETALING JAYA: Hotels and bakeries have again joined hands to provide the underprivileged with freshly baked, high-quality bread and pastries throughout the year.

Fifteen hotels and bakeries will contribute their baked goods to over 55 welfare centres in the Klang Valley under the ongoing Roti 1Malaysia Charity Programme, started in August 2011.

The hotels and bakeries include Grand Dorsett Subang, Berjaya Times Square, Renaissance Kuala Lumpur, Cyberview Resorts and Spa, Dorsett Regency, Grand Millennium Hotel, G Tower, Parkroyal, Putrajaya Marriott, Resorts World Genting, Sunway Hotels and Resorts, Sime Darby Convention Centre, Swiss-Garden International, The Ritz-Carlton and Bread Story Group.

Grand Dorsett Subang director of operations Vincent Pillai said the hotel would be contributing a minimum of 60 pieces of pastries such as croissants, Danish puffs and soft rolls each day of the year.

“We have been on board since the launch of the programme.

“All our breads and pastries are of the highest quality, baked daily by our in-house baker,” he said.

Pillai said the contribution would cost the hotel up to RM4,000 daily.

Swiss-Garden International corporate communications manager Linda Evelyn Wong said the hotel was dedicated to giving 720 dinner rolls once a week, over the course of three months from January to March.

The programme will be officially launched on Jan 7 at the Grand Dorsett Subang.

Para-athletes hope to give back to community

KUALA LUMPUR: Para-athletes with the Community Based Rehabilitation Centres (PDK) share a new year resolution of winning more international medals, but some want to give back to the disabled community as teachers, too.

 Lawn bowler Mohd Yusri Hafiz, 22, said he wanted to repeat the success of his team, which grabbed the gold medal against the Korean delegate in an international paralympic meet in May last year.

“While I want to do better in sports, this year I also want to be a better teacher,” said Mohd Yusri, who teaches life skills to teenagers with disabilities at the PDK. He said that while sports was something he could excel at in his youth, he felt that it would be better to focus on his career in teaching in the long run.

New Year cheer: PDK vice-chairman Mohd Yusof Tawil (left) sharing food
and stories with (from left) Azrul Azri Roslan, Mohd Yusri and Shamil Amzar
at the New Year Open House at the PWTC.

“Lawn bowling takes a lot of patience and it teaches a person a lot about discipline as well as communicating with teammates,” he said. Mohd Yusri, who was born with a defect to his left leg, said he lived by the motto “do it yourself and do your best” and didn't see his disability as something that could stop him from pursuing what he wanted in life.

 IT teacher Shamil Amzar Hessam, 25, who had been teaching at the PDK since 2010, said seeing the accomplishments of other para-athletes had inspired him to take a shot at archery. New Year cheer: PDK vice-chairman Mohd Yusof Tawil (left) sharing food and stories with (from left) Azrul Azri Roslan, Mohd Yusri and Shamil Amzar at the New Year Open House at the PWTC.

Shamil Amzar said he joined the PDK in secondary school for rehabilitation classes, but came back as a teacher to “return the favour” after graduating with a computer science degree.

 The para-athletes were among the thousands who came to the New Year Open House celebration at the PWTC yesterday. The open house was jointly organised by the People's Progressive Party (PPP) and the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry.

 Those attending included Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim and his deputy Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz, PPP president Datuk Seri M. Kayveas and MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel. Muhyiddin and the other leaders also gave cash aid to the disadvantaged, old folks and less fortunate at the event.