Bill to raise retirement age in private sector

The Bill to raise the retirement age of employees in the private sector is in the final stages of drafting, according to The Malaysian Insider.

At the moment, there is no mandatory retirement age set for the private sector, unlike the public sector. Under the proposed law, the retirement age for private sector employees will be raised from 55 to 60 years and they may be given a four-year extension if their services are further required.

Source: Bill to raise private sector retirement age in final drafting stage

MAS flights in and out of Heathrow to be retimed due to poor weather

The Star reported that Heathrow Airport cancelled 30% of its flights Sunday to cope with heavy snowfall overnight and possible freezing fog at Europe's busiest passenger air hub.

The airport has worked out a revised flight schedule for Sunday with all airlines to minimise disruption caused to passengers by the poor weather as a result of heavy overnight snowfall.

Two MAS flights affected include its MH4 flight on Sunday, which was scheduled to depart KLIA for London at 10.45am. It has been re-timed to depart at 5.35am Monday (Feb 6) and arrive in London at 11.05am the same day.

“The return flight MH1 of Sunday, scheduled to depart London Heathrow for KLIA at 10pm, has also been re-timed to depart at 1.50pm Monday, and arrive at KLIA at 10.10am Tuesday.

“Customers are advised to log on to www.malaysiaairlines.com and view the UK travel alerts' updates or call Malaysia Airlines' 24 hours toll-free number 1300 88 3000 (within Malaysia) or +603 7843 3000 (from outside Malaysia) for the latest information on this situation,” the statement added.

Happy Chinese New Year!

To All Chinese Friends and Readers,

Best wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year..

and may all your dreams and wishes come true in the new year of the Dragon which begins on January 23, i.e., tomorrow.

Auspicious days to start work in the Year of the Dragon 2012

In less than a week, the Chinese community around the world will be celebrating the Spring Festival or more commonly-known here in Malaysia as the Chinese New Year.

The Chinese New Year festival begins on January 23 and lasts for fifteen days, the last day of which ends in yet another celebration. This celebration within a celebration is Chap Goh Meh, literally meaning the Fifteenth Night in the Hokkien/Teochew dialect.

This fifteenth day celebration is also referred to as the Lantern Festival which is also sometimes known as the Chinese Valentine's Day. In the old days, unmarried girls used to toss mandarin oranges into a body of water, a lake or a river, with the hope of getting a good husband. Here in Malaysia, this tradition is still being practised at a lake in Petaling Jaya, though as part of an organized fun activity to round off the Chinese New Year.

Everyone desires for good fortune flowing from start to end of every new year. Some people are proactively adhering to starting their first day of work at a designated auspicious day after the Chinese New Year celebration. Like in past years, this Year of the Dragon has days that are good and bad to start work for every animal sign. Tradition dictates that one can increase one's chances of a better year ahead by picking a good day to start work. You can find out here the auspicious days to start work. If you need help with finding out the animal sign you were born in, Wikipedia can help.


Image:Chinese lanterns in the night sky of Lijiang, Yunnan - Wikipedia

Kuantan is flooded

KUANTAN: The total number of flood victims at relief centres in Kuantan and Pekan increased to 805 people from 409 Friday morning.

According to a Pahang Police Headquarters Flood Operations Room spokesman, as at 5pm today, the number of victims evacuated in Kuantan district to four relief centres increased to 545 from 153 families.

The Kuantan-Sungai Lembing trunk road is still under one meter of water at KM30 and is closed to all traffic. More.. Floods hit Kuantan, Pekan; 805 evacuated

A Gold Find in Johore.. or not

The past few days have seen a flurry of activity for villagers in Kampung Melayu, a village in Johore, the southernmost state in Peninsula Malaysia.

Unfortunately, what you see on these stones is not gold. Read about it here.. All that glitters is not gold.


Image source: The Star

Massive floods hit Kuching, Sarawak

In Kuching, Sarawak, continuous downpour over the last 12 hours coupled with the king tide phenomena has led to heavy flooding in various parts of the city, bringing the morning rush hour traffic to a standstill.

In Kuching, Sarawak, the morning rush hour traffic was brought to a standstill in various parts of the city caused by massive flooding after continuous downpour over the last 12 hours. More..Kuching hit by massive floods

This picture shows a car being caught in flood waters near the former government quarters area in Batu Lintang. Photo by Andrew Voon.

However, over in Kuala Lumpur, the weather is hot with temperatures hovering around 90deg F, blue skies and a gentle breeze, all signalling the approach of the Chinese New Year or the Spring festival which falls on Jan 23 which also begins the new lunar year of the Dragon.

The new MyKad

The image difference between the old (left) and new MyKad

The National Registration Department (NRD) will be issuing the new MyKad with the latest security features in stages from Jan 3.

NRD director-general Datuk Jariah Mohd Said said the process would start at the NRD offices in Putrajaya and Shah Alam on Tuesday and extended to other branch offices throughout country after Feb 15.

"The new MyKad is more durable as it is made of tougher polycarbonate material as well as a new and longer lasting chip.

'Apart from that, the MyKad has a "ghost image" which uses a new laser technology on the surface to prevent forgery," she told reporters.

Members of the public are encouraged to change to the new MyKad but it is not compulsory.

NRD branches in other states such as Kluang and Ipoh would be issuing the new MyKad on Jan 10, Johor Baru (Jan 14), Kuantan (Jan 15), Melaka (Jan 17), Kuching and Kota Baru (Jan 20), Kuala Terengganu and Penang (Jan 29).

Apart from that, she said the NRD office in Alor Setar would also issue the new MyKad on Feb 2, Miri (Feb 6), Kota Kinabalu and other branches on Feb 7 and branches in the Federal Territory on Feb 15. More..


Source: The Star.. New Mykad with anti-forgery "ghost image"