Monday 31 January 2011

Water levels in Johor rivers up

Water levels in Johor rivers up, with three bursting their banks

Water levels in Johor rivers are rising dangerously, raising fears of a repeat of the 2006 floods that left the state inundated and with damages worth millions in its wake.

The Meteorological Department warned late Saturday afternoon of heavy rain over Muar, Ledang, Segamat, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Mersing, Kota Tinggi, Kulaijaya, here and in the Pontian areas.

According to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (DID) online river level data, three in Johor burst their banks yesterday. Sungai Muar, Sungai Benut and Sungai Mengkibol overflowed at 5.50pm.

However, if the downpour continued, the department warned that five more rivers – Sungai Bekok, Sungai Lenik, Sungai Senggarang, Sungai Johor and Sungai Plentong – would also overflow today.

DID deputy director-general Datuk KJ Abraham said the department was monitoring the river levels and was prepared for any eventuality.

“Every district has an office that will set up an evacuation centre to help the affected in the event of a flood,” he said.

In Kota Tinggi, four families from Kampung Sungai Berangan were evacuated at 6am yesterday as the water level at Sungai Berangan rose to a dangerous level.

In Pasir Gudang, more than 20 houses were knee-deep in water as the drainage system there could not cope with the increase in water near Taman Kota Puteri.

The Pasir Gudang highway was flooded and caused a massive jam while 100m of the Masai Lama-Kong Kong road, just before the Octville Golf Resort in Seri Alam, was impassable to vehicles.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Chingay parade

Chingay parade

THE yearly Chingay Parade will take place for three days at the Xing Gong building, Jalan Ulu Air Molek from Feb 22-24, with the night parade as the main highlight on Feb 23. For details, call 07-278 8999.

-Info courtesy of The Star-


CNY open house

CNY open house

JOHOR Baru Tionghua Association will hold its Chinese New Year Open House on Feb 3, at Wisma Tionghua, Taman Sri Tebrau from 10am until noon with Mentri Besar Johor Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman as the VIP guest. For details, call 07-278 8999.

-Info courtesy of The Star-

Floods disrupt east and south train services

Floods disrupt train services to the east and south

Heavy rain has disrupted KTM’s intercity services to the east coast and to the south on Monday.

Flooding of the tracks between Bahau, Negri Sembilan (km11.75). Tampin, Negri Sembilan (km510) and Kluang, Johor (km652.25) has led to the cancellation of a number of train services, KTM said in a statement on Monday.

KTM intercity train services affected are as follows:

Ekspres Rakyat No. 1 (Kuala Lumpur Central- Singapore) - Service cancelled

Ekspres Rakyat No. 2 (Singapore- Kuala Lumpur Central) - Service cancelled

Ekspres Sinaran Selatan No. 12 (Singapore- Kuala Lumpur Sentral) - Service cancelled

Ekspres Sinaran Selatan No. 13 (Kuala Lumpur Central-Singapore) - Service cancelled

Ekspres Sinaran No. 14 (Singapore-Kuala Lipis) - Service cancelled

Ekspres Sinaran No. 15 (Kuala Lipis – Singapore) - Service cancelled

Shuttle No. 61 (Gemas- Kluang) - service only available between Kluang – Singapore.

Shuttle No. 64 (Kluang - Gemas)- service only available between Singapore-Kluang.

Services for the central and northern sector are unaffected, for now.

Affected passengers could change their travel date or get a full ticket refund, the statement said.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Johor floods: Two dead & nearly 29,000 evacuated

Johor floods: Two dead and nearly 29,000 evacuated

Two people have died and 28,932 were evacuated to 200 centres statewide by 11am Monday as continuous rain in the past few days flooded many parts of Johor.

Segamat, Johor Baru and Kluang were the worst-hit areas and the bad weather was expected to continue on Tuesday, said Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman on Monday.

All of Segamat is cut off by floodwaters. It is an island.

Police said no one can get in or out of the town as the roads to Muar, Johor Baru and Kuala Lumpur are under water.

Roads in Labis town, which was flooded Sunday, are clearing but the outskirts are still submerged.

According to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (DID) online river level data, three in Johor burst their banks Sunday. Sungai Muar, Sungai Benut and Sungai Mengkibol overflowed.

With the downpour continuing, the department is closely watching five more rivers – Sungai Simpang Kiri at Sri Medan, Sungai Bekok, Sungai Johor at Rantau Panjang are at a dangerous level.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that rain-driven floods have disrupted Malaysian oil palm estates from transporting the vegetable oil to refineries and ports in key producing states of Sabah and Johor.

Planters said Monday that as much as 60,000 tonnes of crude palm oil heading to refineries in Sabah on Borneo island have been delayed as floods make it difficult for trucks to get through the estate roads, said two planters from the top producing state.

The transport delay to Malaysia's key palm oil export port of Pasir Gudang in Johor has slowed the transport and loading of cargoes, refiners said, according to Reuters.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Sunday 30 January 2011

Kites festival

Kites festival

The Pasir Gudang International Kites Festival is back from Feb 15 until 20, at Taman Bandar, Bukit Layang-Layang, Pasir Gudang with participation by over 30 countries Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Japan, USA and Vietnam. The event is jointly organised by the Johor Tourism Department, Pasir Gudang Municipal Council and Kite Flying Association. For details, call 07-2232 692.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Opera show

Opera show

The Huang Mei Opera troupe will perform at the Sutera Mall shopping complex in Taman Sutera Utama, Skudai tomorrow, at 7.30pm to usher the Lunar New Year. For details, call 07-5589 119.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Chinese comedy

Chinese comedy

Plaza Pelangi shopping complex will be organising Chinese Comedy Drama Show and Lion Dance performances at the atrium to welcome the Year of the Rabbit tomorrow at 3pm. For details, call 012-7431 101 (Eddy).

-News courtesy of The Star-

Saturday 29 January 2011

Heavy traffic expected at land checkpoints

Heavy traffic expected at land checkpoints during Lunar New Year

Heavy traffic is expected to flow through the land checkpoints at Woodlands and Tuas next week given the approaching Lunar New Year holidays, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

For vehicles departing from Singapore, the traffic build-up is expected to start from February 1 and continue throughout the festive period.

For vehicles arriving into Singapore, traffic is expected to be particularly heavy on February 5 and last till February 6.

ICA said travellers using the land checkpoints during these periods can expect delays.

To avoid the surge of people and vehicles seeking clearance at the land checkpoints, travellers are advised to adjust their travel plans and avoid the peak periods altogether

-News courtesy of Channel Newsasia-

Friday 28 January 2011

Fine food to tempt everyone’s palate

Fine food to tempt everyone’s palate

Hotels in the city are offering wide varieties of sumptuous lunch and dinner menus to welcome the Year of the Rabbit.

Kai Xuan Chinese Restaurant at Puteri Pacific Hotel that serves Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine will offer set menus priced between RM388++ and RM988++.

Dishes include Double Boiled Ginseng Chicken, Braised Sea Cucumber with Dried Oyster, Deep Fried Tiger Prawns with Butter Milk and Sweetened Glutinous Ball with Red Bean Paste.

The promotion is available until Feb 17, for reservations call 07-2199 999.

Thistle Johor Baru Hotel is offering four different eight-course menus which include Salmon Yee Sang, Four Treasure Shark’s Fin Soup, Braised Boneless Chicken with Chestnuts and Mushroom, Steamed Glutinous Rice with Salted Egg, Stir Fried Beef Tenderloin with Foie Gras Shavings and Rainbow Fruit Pearls with Mango Cream.

The Chinese New Year menus start from RM688++ to RM1,888++ per table for a table of 10.

Diners can opt for the Chinese New Year Eve lunch, dinner buffet and Chinese New Year dinner buffet at Glass, priced at RM68++ per person for lunch and RM98++ per person for dinner.

For reservations, call 07-2229 234.

The Zon Regency Hotel’s Lotus Garden Chinese Restaurant has lined up several food promotions to signify a prosperous year ahead.

The restaurant’s annual reunion and harvest sets are available for lunch and dinner from Feb 1 priced from RM338+ to RM1,288+, while the Chef’s Happiness and Health Yee Sang is priced at RM38+ per small portion and RM58+ per large serving. For reservations, call 07-2219 999.

Tanjung Puteri Golf Resort in Pasir Gudang has various Chinese New Year lunch and dinner sets with prices ranging from RM488++ to RM598++, per table for eight to 10 diners.

Dishes on the menu include He Yuan Special Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang, Fried Prawns with Mongolian Sauce, Stir Fried ‘Fa Cai’, Prawns with Fragrant Oats, Crispy Fried Nian Gao and Sweetened Red Bean Cream with Glutinous Sesame Balls.

For reservations, call 07-2711 888.

MSuite Hotel’s Ming Court Chinese Restaurant can choose from five different set menus priced from RM388++ to RM1,288++, and the sets are available from Feb 2. For reservations, call 07-2211 000.

Mutiara Johor Baru Hotel’s Meisan Szechuan Restaurant has prepared three set menus available until Feb 17. Diners can choose from six-course or eight-course menus with prices ranging from RM488++ to RM1,288++ per table, and enjoy a complimentary Salmon Yee Sang worth RM88++ with each order of the RM1,288 set.

For reservations, call 07-3300 300.

-News courtesy of The Star-

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Water disruption in Simpang Renggam

Water disruption in Simpang Renggam

Residents in Simpang Renggam are advised to store water as there will be a water disruption today from 7am to 7pm due to maintenance works at the Simpang Renggam water plant.

Areas affected are Jalan Benut, Sanglong to Tampok, Jalan Parit Ismail and surrounding areas, Sempadan Kluang, Pekan Benut, Pekan Tampok, Jalan Parit Petak, Pekan Parit Petak, schools and Kg. Parit Mastar.

Other areas include Jalan Parit Makasar and including surrounding village areas, from Parit Ismail to Parit Betak, Kg. Parit Markom, Kg. Parit Hj Salleh to Lubok Sipat, from Kg Batu Hampar to Kg Sgk Gagak, Kg Parit Yassin to Kg Parit Wak Jabir, from Jalan Parit Ismail to Tanjung Bukit Kundang surrounding areas and Kg Parit Sayang to Kg Sanglang Laut Benut.

For details, call 1800-88-7474, SMS to 019-772 7474 or e-mail customer.care@saj.com.my

-News courtesy of The Star-

Saturday 1 January 2011

Happy New Year 2011!

Wishing everyone a happy new year!