CHINA FLIGHTS INTO MELAKA

MALACCA, Malaysia - China Southern Airlines announced that it will launch a new chartered flight service from Guangzhou (CAN) to Malacca (MKZ) on 28 September 2016. The Malacca service will be operated by 737-700 or A319. 

As the biggest carrier between China mainland and Southeast Asia, China Southern currently operates up to 20 routes, 230 flights per week towards Southeast Asia, covered most of the major cities. In 2015, China Southern carried 4.27 million passenger among this area, Year-on-year growth of 31%.

China Southern’s COO Zhang Zifang said: “The new service will help meet demand for both business and leisure traveler between China and Malaysia. China Southern is committed to playing its due role in Sino-Malaysia exchanges and cooperation by taking advantage of its extensive domestic network, optimizing flight connections. We are confident in boosting our Guangzhou hub to become one of the best transit points for passengers from Malacca to the other destinations of the world.”

The full schedule for the Malacca service is as follows (all times local):

Flight no	From	To	Departure/Arrival	Days of operation
CZ8365	CAN	MKZ	0910/1315	Day 1
CZ8366	MKZ	CAN	1415/1825	Day 5

Note: Flight numbers and schedules are subject to approval and may change without prior notice.

- See more at: http://www.traveldailynews.com/post/china-southern-airlines-announced-new-chartered-flight-between-guangzhou-and-malacca#sthash.FNx1UmFM.dpuf

PULAU BESAR HAS BIG TOURISM PLANS

Sunday, 26 June 2016

Ray of hope for Pulau Besar

Beaming with pride: Monopole towers with lights across the Strait of Malacca.

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MALACCA: Twelve monopole towers with beaming lights across the Strait of Malacca are now the most visible symbols of the country’s technological advancement.

The ray of hope for the mystical island of Pulau Besar comes courtesy of Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TNB) RM32.5mil overhead transmission line.

The monopole project from Pantai Siring to Pulau Besar was completed six months ahead of schedule in February 2015.

The ambitious project is also a global catalyst for Malacca Govern­ment to spearhead its vision of establishing a one-of-a-kind, Islamic Civilisation Theme Park at the island that is popular for spiritual fulfilment and myths.

The project, jointly developed by TNB and State Development Corporation will provide 24-hour power supply to the island.

TNB state general manager Datuk Baderul Sham Saad said the monopole project was a pioneer endeavour for Malaysia.

He noted that overhead transmission lines could generate a maximum grid supply of up to 5 MW by 2020.

He said transmission was commissioned at 11kV to complement the present need and could be increased based on future needs.

Baderul said the transmission line could also be upgraded even up to 132kV without changing the towers.

With the electrification project, the Malacca Government is planning to revive tourism and religious related activities at Pulau Besar, an isle in the shape of a pregnant woman, which is rich with historical elements.

Work on the supply line that started in November 2013, will also transform Pulau Besar, with a land mass of 129.64ha into one of the state’s main tourism products.

Noting that the state-of-the-art project was in fact the TNB’s first in the country, Baderul said a dedicated team including engineers, supervisors and workers has been living offshore on barges anchored on the sea surface to oversee the works and troubleshooting.

“Work such as piling, installing the foundation and erecting the towers went well despite occasional thunderstorms and adverse weather.

“The team has been working hard to ensure power supply to meet the island’s needs,” he added.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said the state government was looking forward to the project’s completion as the island which was synonymous with divine wonders would be further developed to attract international tourists.

“We are targeting 10% of the global Muslim population of close to 1.8billion when we unveil our Islamic Civilisation Theme Park.

“The proposed park would showcase all the deeds of prophets through innovative designs and architectural motifs, providing the similar products available in other theme parks,” he said.

In addition, Idris said the project was capable of reviving the island to its glorious past where all the previous abandoned projects would be resurrected.

He said the geographic landscape of the island was deemed suitable to be transformed into a great tourism product for the state.

Idris said the lush greenery canopy of the island would also be an attraction for eco-tourism and nature lovers, apart from offering water sport recreation.

MELAKA INTERNATIONAL CRUISE TERMINAL READY BY 2017

Thursday, 23 June 2016 | MYT 11:28 PM

Malacca Int’l Cruise Terminal to be completed next year

A scale model of the Malacca International Cruise Terminal at the RM40bil Melaka Gateway project. - Bernama

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MALACCA: The construction of the Malacca International Cruise Terminal, part of the Melaka Gateway project, will kick off in three months and is expected for completion in 2017.

Malacca Transport, Project Rehabilitation and International Trade committee chairman, Datuk Lim Ban Hong, said the terminal would be able to accommodate four large cruise ships simultaneously.

“We are targeting 250 cruise ships to dock at the terminal per year by 2020 and bring in a strong economic impact to the state,” he told reporters in Malacca on Thursday.

He said this after a visit to the terminal construction site with KAJ Development Sdn Bhd chief executive officer, Datuk Michelle Ong and Luis Ajamil from project consultant, The Royal Carribean.

The RM40bil Melaka Gateway, near Pulau Melaka, is developed by KAJ Development and is the largest man-made island project in South-East Asia.

Among the planned facilities are a marina for yachts, luxury condominiums, bungalows with private marina, tourist eco-parks, theme parks and ports for cruise ships.

“Most tourists travel by land, but with the Melaka Gateway, we will be able to attract more tourists via the sea. This is part of the state’s Transport Development Master Plan,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, Ajamil said Melaka Gateway was the third entity that the Royal Caribbean had collaborated with for jetty construction and development project after Miami and New York in the United States.

“Normally, research on waves, ocean depth, soil conditions and waves flows takes four years but Malacca Gateway only took about two years from 2014,” he said. - Bernama

VISITORS TO MELAKA FOR PAST 4 MONTHS

June 17, 2016 18:10 PM Melaka Gets 4.7 Million Tourist Arrivals In First Four Months MELAKA, June 16 (Bernama) - Melaka tourist arrivals in the first four months of the year has increased to 4.7 million compared to 4.3 million for the corresponding period last year. Deputy State Exco for Tourism and River, Beach and Island Development Datuk Ghazale Muhamad said the 11.5 percent increase was encouraging since Melaka targeted 16.5 million tourists this year. "Domestic visitors are the largest contributor with 3.376 million (70.71%) compared to 1.398 million for foreign tourists," he told reporters here, today. Earlier, Ghazale attended a gathering with Melaka tourism industry players. Also present was Tourism Promotion Division general manager Norena Jaafar. He said the five largest contributor of foreign tourists were China (29.30 percent), Singapore (26.66), Indonesia (14.76), Taiwan (3.18) and Japan (2.84). Selangor was the main contributor to the increase of domestic tourists with 518,265 or 15.34 percent. In addition, to history, the tourists visited the natural attractions such as the Jasin and Gadek hot water pools. "The state government is also willing to promote more tourism destinations in rural areas and not only those in urban areas," he added. -- BERNAMA

HISTORICAL AUTHORS ON MALACCA OVER THE YEARS

Nutmeg Publishing

June 14 at 9:30am 

BALTHASAR BORT ( 1626 TO 1684 )· 

Balthasar Bort was born on 14th December 1626 at Amsterdam. He joined the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and in April 1641 he sailed on the ship Vogelstruys to the East.

It was recorded that in 1644, he was a junior merchant in Arakan, in the Philippines and in 1645 he was appointed at a clerk in the secretariat’s office in Batavia. In 1657, he was sent to Malacca and was appointed as secretary of the Council of Malacca and in 1659, he was the fiscaal (tax collector) there. However, in 1656, he was sent to Ligor in Thailand to become the Chief there. In 1657, he returned to Malacca and was made chief merchant and second person in Malacca. In 1659, left Malacca again and he was made the commissioner to Aceh. By 1661, he was in-charge of West Sumatra but he eventually returned to the castle of Batavia.

In 1662, Bort was appointed as head of the Dutch mission to China and he was given command of the VOC’s Noort fleet, comprising of twelve vessels. The goal was the conquest of Macao. While in China, Bort was able to meet the Jesuit, Fr. Philip Couplet (the first European to translate the works of the Chinese philosopher Confucius). He travelled 3 times to China.

As reward for Bort’s services in China, Batavia appointed him as Governor of Malacca. It was a position he held from 1665 to 1677. While in Malacca, he made repairs to the Fortress of Malacca and the surviving Fort gateway was named after him. As a result of his time in Malacca, he wrote a document that is to be known as the Report of Governor Balthasar Bort on Malacca, 1678. Clearly, this report was meant as a reference for the governor of Malacca to be appointed after him.

Bort returned to Batavia and in 1679, he was appointed as President of the Board of Justice and in 1681, Director-General of Trade. Bort died on 11th January 1684 at Batavia and he was buried with his wife at the Old Church there.

The Report of Governor Balthasar Bort on Malacca was discovered as a collection of Dutch manuscripts in the collection of the library of the India Office in London and formed part of a collection purchased by the East India Company from the widow of Colonel Colin Mackenzie in 1822. Colonel Colin Mackenzie obtained the manuscript in 1813 from the private collection of Madame Caulier of Chilinching (Tanjung Priok), near Batavia.

The Report of Governor Balthasar Bort on Malacca, 1678 was translated and published Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1927. It contains an amazing array of history, trade and sociology of Malacca during its early Dutch times.

HISTORICAL AUTHORS ON MALACCA OVER THE YEARS SERIES

MANUEL GODINHO de EREDIA ( 1563 - 1623 )

The Portuguese author, Manuel Godinho de Erédia (1563-1623), was born and lived in Portuguese Malacca. His father's side is of Aragonese descent, while his mother was a Macassarese princess, according to his own account. He was educated at Malacca and at the Jesuit seminary at Goa, and soon after leaving there in 1580, he decided to find the Isles of Gold which figured prominently in Malayan legend. His fascination was based essentially on the writings of Ptolemy, Polo, Ludovico di Varthema, and on reports of contemporary Malay voyages.

The main source for Erédia's life and views is his own Declaracam de Malaca e da India Meridional com Cathay (Description of Malacca, Meridional India and Cathay) – published in 1613 - existing in his own manuscript at Brussels and published there by L. Janssens in 1882. Erédia was a good surveyor and cartographer and an excellent observer, and his work retains its importance as one of the best early accounts of Portuguese Malacca, the Malay Peninsula and the surrounding Malay archipelago.

Eredia’s Description of Malacca, Meridional India, and Cathay, containing many maps and illustrations by his own hand, also provides fascinating information on the genealogy of the kings of Melaka up to 1511, the burial place of its founder Parameswara and on the traditional overland trails, particularly a short route that separates the Muar River and the nearest navigable tributary of the Pahang River that was once used by the local Malay population in traversing parts of the Peninsula.

His was the earliest known writings about Malacca by an own son of Malacca.

Posted here with permission from: Nutmeg Publishing

SELAMAT BULAN RAMADAN

We want to wish our Muslim friends around the world Selamat Berpuasa especially in the auspicious month of Ramadan.

Happy fasting and always have good thoughts. Enjoy your festivities and celebrate modestly before the coming of Adilfitri next month.

SELAMAT BERPUASA from all of us.