GiatMara bantu Program Bantuan Rumah (PBR)

BALIK PULAU 25 Jun - Sebanyak sembilan buah rumah milik rakyat termiskin di kawasan Parlimen Balik Pulau berjaya dibaiki dan dinaik taraf oleh GiatMara di bawah Program Bantuan Rumah (PBR).

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Pulau Betong, Muhammad Farid Saad berkata, kerja-kerja tersebut melibatkan kos kira-kira RM90,000 yang diperuntukkan oleh Kementerian Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah.

Menurutnya, menerusi program berkenaan, kehidupan golongan terbabit yang dulunya begitu daif kini berubah menjadi lebih baik.

"Alhamdulillah, dengan bantuan Kerajaan Pusat, GiatMara berjaya membaiki sebanyak sembilan rumah dengan anggaran kos RM10,000 bagi setiap buah.

"Bantuan sebegini sekurang-kurangnya dapat mengubah kehidupan daif golongan ini," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas meninjau dua buah rumah di Kampung Titi Teras dan Kampung Pulau Betong yang terlibat dalam program berkenaan di sini semalam.

Turut hadir Pengurus GiatMara Balik Pulau, Ismandi Ahmad Muhammad Israf Ahmad.

Muhammad Farid memberitahu, masih terdapat rumah-rumah golongan tidak bernasib baik di kawasan tersebut yang boleh dibantu menerusi PBR.

Bagaimanapun, jelas beliau, ia tertakluk kepada peruntukan yang bakal diputuskan oleh Kerajaan Pusat pada bulan Oktober nanti.

Selain itu, tambah beliau, program tersebut juga memberi peluang kepada usahawan-usahawan bumiputera yang pernah menerima latihan di GiatMara memperoleh kerja.

"Program ini juga membolehkan pelatih-pelatih GiatMara melakukan sesi praktikal berdasarkan kemahiran masing-masing," ujarnya.

DARI Utusan Malaysia - GiatMara baiki sembilan rumah daif

Campaign for Durian Trail tourism package...

BALIK PULAU, June 25 (Bernama) -- Durian will soon feature prominently in the country's tourism promotion campaign through the introduction of the "durian trail" package, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said.

She said the ministry found that durian season was actually a good tourist attraction given the variety and quality of the country's durian, dubbed the King of Fruits.

"We have suggested that the Agriculture Department discuss with durian orchard owners and to contact the Tourism Ministry when the durian season arrives so that we can devise a package for tourists," she told reporters after opening a durian-eating competition here Friday.

Ng said Malaysia exported durian to other countries like Singapore and the people there had to pay a hefty price for the fruit.

"We can now offer a holiday package for tourists where they can come to Malaysia during the fruiting season," she said.

-- BERNAMA: Government To Promote Durian Trial Tourism Package

Even monkeys at Taman Bungah (Penang Botanical Garden) enjoy durians :D

Heat up rainy days with durians!

A jackfruit tree

Penang’s iconic nutmeg

It’s the season for the King of Fruits and C.K. LAM is fortunate enough to sample some of its finest species in a private orchard

DURIANS from Penang are very popular and the best time to enjoy them is from June to August.

However, this year, the season has arrived later due to changes in the weather.
Many people visit durian farms in Teluk Bahang, Pantai Aceh and Balik Pulau, with the latter the most popular.

Most farms are closed to the public and the few that entertain visitors are eco-tourism orientated.

We were fortunate to be allowed into the Pondok Upeh durian farm, one of the several private orchards in Balik Pulau operated by the Loh family.

Loh led us up a narrow path hemmed by fruit trees and wild vegetation.
We saw many trees laden with durian.

Apart from over 200 durian trees, Loh also grows mangosteen, rambutan, dragonfruit, jackfruit, langsat and Penang’s iconic nutmeg.

The trail included some steep climbs, so we appreciated a short stop at Loh’s house before continuing on to the orchard located on higher ground.

Along the way, he told us about the various types of durians.

He said older trees planted 25 years ago produced higher quality fruit with a stronger aroma and flavour.

The flesh is thicker and creamier than fruit from younger trees.
When durians fall to the ground, the impact often cracks the fruit open.

To prevent this, nets are set up and the fruits tied to branches with string.
After the tour, we returned to Loh’s house to try several varieties that he had reserved for us.

These fruits dropped from the trees the night before and were collected as early as 5am.

The variety we sampled include the Hor Loh, Ang Heh and Chaer Phoy.

Each had its own flavour, ranging from sweet to bittersweet.

All were fleshy and finger-licking good!
The Hor Loh (Water Gourd) is very soft and creamy in texture.

This is a sweet durian.

The aromatic, orange-red flesh of the Ang Heh (Red Prawn) with its bittersweet taste is a favourite among durian lovers.

But it’s expensive.

The Chaer Phoy (Green Skin)’s pale yellow soft creamy flesh might not look appealing, but it’s very tasty, though a tad dry and only slightly sweet.

Loh’s mother makes durian kuih.

The 70-year-old woman spends hours to constantly stir the mixture to prevent it from getting burnt.

Made without preservatives, the kuih costs RM7 per roll.
From Loh’s house we can see the spectacular seaview and the township of Teluk Bahang.

The air here is much cooler, fresher and rejuvenating.

Call Loh before visiting as he might not have any durians for the day.
Most of the fruit are already allocated for sale to traders in the city and for visitors who have made special orders.

For those not familiar with the location, Loh will arrange for a guide to lead you to the farm.

Read more at NST: Food: It’s raining durian!

Brighter hills of Batu Hitam, Pulau Betong and Bukit Cengkih in time for World Cup

GEORGE TOWN: After 20 years of relying on a generator for power supply, the Chin family can finally watch the World Cup without interruption.

They are among 46 families in Bukit Batu Hitam, Bukit Pulau Betong and Bukit Cengkih in Balik Pulau who received power supply a week ago – thanks to Tenaga Nasional Bhd and the Government.

Chin Kooi Sim, an avid football fan, said he used to watch the matches on TV1 but the generator would sometimes break down.


Clear picture: (Sitting, from left) Chin, Muhamad Farid, Chin’s wife Tang Ah Mooy, Chai Mow Hong and her husband Seak Min (standing) watching the World Cup at home in Balik Pulau.

“Imagine when your favourite team is about to score a goal and suddenly there is a blackout,” the 70-year-old said.

His son, Seak Min, 47, was glad that his father could finally enjoy the matches without interruption.

“We used to watch television at our friends or relatives’ houses,” he said.

The family had a thanksgiving dinner on Saturday at their Bukit Batu Hitam home and some guests made it extra special by bringing along durians for all.

Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhamad Farid Saad, who attended the dinner, said he was glad the power supply came two months earlier than the August target.

“The project, which cost RM1,809,433, has turned the hilly area into a brighter place at night,” he said.

FROM THE STAR - Happy viewing till final whistle

Balik Pulau still lags below national average...

...in terms of Internet speed, that is!

The latest comparative internet speed analysis from speedtest.net now includes cities/towns comparison expanded from previously down to just regions/states. With the latest findings, we now know how Balik Pulau is still left behind in terms of average broadband speed with just 1.27Mbps download speed average for Maxis (mobile broadband) and 1.19Mbps for Telekom Malaysia (TM dialup & Streamyx fixed line and Celcom mobile broadband), compared to Penang's average of 3.22Mbps and national average of 1.98Mbps.

This compares to other nearby bigger towns like Bayan Lepas or even Batu Feringghi (with over 12Mbps average top speed) and the only city in the state, George Town with nearly 30Mbps average speed provided by Optical Communication (also known as PenangFon).

To this day, the other major broadband providers in the state, DiGi and P1 are still shying away from Balik Pulau market, likely due to low number of potential customers, as although Balik Pulau is the size of half of Penang Island, it currently has much less than a tenth of the island's population.


By the way, the fastest network in Penang is neither by Malaysia's largest telecommunication company nor by its largest mobile service provider, but within the biggest university in Pulau Pinang - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM, or formerly established as Universiti Pulau Pinang) being recently elevated as the sole "Apex university" in Malaysia, providing average broadband speed exceeding 50Mbps, ahead of the second contender, Optical Communication at slightly above 40Mbps. The two ISPs continue to keep Penang on #1 rank in the nation for many years now, even far ahead than Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur or administrative capital Putrajaya. The closest contender to Penang today is Melaka, the state which shares recently awarded Unesco World Heritage Site for the States of Straits of Malacca.


However, the two giants USM & Optical can't help the nation much as our national average of 1.98Mbps ranks number 105 in the world, far below other Asian countries of South Korea (#1), Japan (#6), Russia (#25), Singapore (#30) and Taiwan (#34). World's biggest country in terms of number of internet users, China is ranked #76 for its average download speed.

Download Speed

1			South Korea	33.67 Mb/s
2			Aland Islands	24.46 Mb/s
3			Latvia	24.32 Mb/s
4			Republic of Moldova	21.26 Mb/s
5			Lithuania	21.13 Mb/s
6			Japan	20.55 Mb/s
7			Sweden	20.11 Mb/s
8			Romania	18.76 Mb/s
9			Netherlands	18.44 Mb/s
10			Bulgaria	17.84 Mb/s
11			Andorra	15.52 Mb/s
12			Liechtenstein	14.93 Mb/s
13			Portugal	14.75 Mb/s
14			Switzerland	14.36 Mb/s
15			Germany	13.75 Mb/s
16			Denmark	13.62 Mb/s
17			Iceland	13.54 Mb/s
18			Finland	13.26 Mb/s
19			France	11.81 Mb/s
20			Belgium	11.69 Mb/s
21			Czech Republic	11.41 Mb/s
22			Hungary	11.21 Mb/s
23			Slovakia	10.97 Mb/s
24			Austria	10.93 Mb/s
25			Norway	10.83 Mb/s
26			Ukraine	10.79 Mb/s
27			Russia	10.58 Mb/s
28			Estonia	10.27 Mb/s
29			United States	10.03 Mb/s
30			Singapore	9.24 Mb/s
31			Luxembourg	8.40 Mb/s
32			Slovenia	8.35 Mb/s
33			Canada	8.27 Mb/s
34			Taiwan	7.90 Mb/s
35			United Kingdom	7.84 Mb/s
36			Greece	7.59 Mb/s
37			Mongolia	7.16 Mb/s
38			Ghana	7.11 Mb/s
39			Poland	7.10 Mb/s
40			Australia	6.73 Mb/s
41			Isle of Man	6.73 Mb/s
42			Kyrgyzstan	6.65 Mb/s
43			New Zealand	6.23 Mb/s
44			Ireland	6.01 Mb/s
45			Spain	5.85 Mb/s
46			Monaco	5.81 Mb/s
47			Georgia	5.78 Mb/s
48			Faroe Islands	5.77 Mb/s
49			San Marino	5.66 Mb/s
50			Macedonia	5.61 Mb/s
51			Croatia	5.45 Mb/s
52			Chile	5.25 Mb/s
53			Maldives	5.20 Mb/s
54			Malta	5.06 Mb/s
55			Turkey	4.91 Mb/s
56			Jamaica	4.86 Mb/s
57			Macau	4.54 Mb/s
58			Kazakstan	4.48 Mb/s
59			Italy	4.47 Mb/s
60			Trinidad and Tobago	4.46 Mb/s
61			Israel	4.31 Mb/s
62			Thailand	4.20 Mb/s
63			Belarus	4.09 Mb/s
64			Guernsey	3.81 Mb/s
65			Saudi Arabia	3.68 Mb/s
66			Montenegro	3.58 Mb/s
67			United Arab Emirates	3.57 Mb/s
68			Brazil	3.53 Mb/s
69			Jersey	3.41 Mb/s
70			Cyprus	3.36 Mb/s
71			Aruba	3.32 Mb/s
72			Greenland	3.24 Mb/s
73			Guam	3.09 Mb/s
74			Qatar	3.02 Mb/s
75			Grenada	2.99 Mb/s
76			China	2.94 Mb/s
77			Bermuda	2.89 Mb/s
78			Serbia	2.84 Mb/s
79			St. Vincent and Grenadines	2.83 Mb/s
80			Kenya	2.80 Mb/s
81			Kuwait	2.79 Mb/s
82			Azerbaijan	2.79 Mb/s
83			Uganda	2.77 Mb/s
84			Nicaragua	2.72 Mb/s
85			Gibraltar	2.70 Mb/s
86			Bosnia and Herzegovina	2.68 Mb/s
87			Bahamas	2.42 Mb/s
88			New Caledonia	2.40 Mb/s
89			Costa Rica	2.37 Mb/s
90			Rwanda	2.35 Mb/s
91			South Africa	2.33 Mb/s
92			Mexico	2.27 Mb/s
93			Anguilla	2.22 Mb/s
94			Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	2.18 Mb/s
95			Cayman Islands	2.15 Mb/s
96			Martinique	2.14 Mb/s
97			Guadeloupe	2.13 Mb/s
98			Cape Verde	2.12 Mb/s
99			Bahrain	2.12 Mb/s
100			Puerto Rico	2.10 Mb/s
101			Morocco	2.07 Mb/s
102			Argentina	2.03 Mb/s
103			Paraguay	2.01 Mb/s
104			Albania	2.01 Mb/s
105			Malaysia	1.98 Mb/s

* Asian countries in bold.

Now, will Malaysia's bold project, the RM11.3-billion High Speed Broadband (HSBB) initiative undertaken by our biggest government-linked telco, TM Berhad, set to complete by 2015 help us bump up the world rank?

Let's pray it will... and author hopes that the laying of new cables along the 8km Jalan Tun Sardon hilly road stretch is in fact to bring up to 20Mbps or faster connection to Balik Pulau, soon, say by year end or early next year??