Latin American Annual Fiesta in Malaysia

By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

The annual Latin American Fiesta (LAF) is co-organised by 10 Latin America embassies - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela - in Malaysia.

 

One of its objectives is to raise funds for charity. This year’s LAF will be collecting funds for Hospis Malaysia and OrphanCare.

 

Supporting LAF are Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Plaza Low Yat, Federal Hotels International (FHI) Group of Hotels in Kuala Lumpur, the Federal and Capitol Hotel with help from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Coca-Cola.

 

 

DBKL Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib
(third from left) and Venezuela's Ambassador
to Malaysia Manuel Antinio Guzman Hernandez
(forth from left)with the colourfully dressed
Calypso dancers 

DBKL mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said “DBKL is glad to participate in this year’s festival with City Hall sponsoring the stage, sound system, lights and tents for the event, as well as coordinate the closure of the Plaza Low Yat Boulevard.
The Mayor added by providing support to the festival would also help to ensure the strength of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and the Latin American countries.

It is a great way to show that Malaysians celebrate cultures from all around the world. It will also help to boost tourism which both locals and foreign tourists can look forward to attend this event every year.”



 

The Mayor also noted that not many all Malaysian have the opportunity to go to any of the Latin American countries as travelling there can be expensive.

 

 

With the festival held here, this is a great opportunity for locals to experience the colourful Latin America has to offer without having been there. The Mayor concluded “Events such as this help to boost the city as a cultural metropolis and should be encouraged and we expect the turnout will be more than 5,000 people.”

 

The lunch crowd - be there early to take your lunch at the fiesta to try out
the food from 10 countries

 

 

A true international crowd gathered at the Latin American Fiesta held at BB Park, Bukit Bintang

From Cuba, don't the Cuban cigars

From Uruguay, try the "Pascualinas", pies filled with spinach,
egg, red pepper and the right spices

Have you been to those designers coffee outlets where you pay
about RM10 for a cup of coffee? Most of these outlets used
coffee beans come from this country, COLOMBIA!

If like the taste of good beef, head for this Argentina booth to get the
canned "Corn Beef" and here you can try to get your hands on
the "Beef Empanadas" a typical dish filled with well seasoned
grounded beef with carefully selected spices

Another place to stop is Ecuadoe booth for coffee lovers and
handicraft collectors. Don't forget to try the Eqcuadorian Ceviche,
made with tomatoes with shrimps and served in a bowl with
toasted corn and plain chips  

Venezuelan ambassador to Malaysia Manuel Antonio Guzman Hernandez said the festival was a good place to showcase Latin American culture. Guzman said “The event was a great opportunity for the Latin American and expatriate communities to share their cultures with Malaysians.

 

The whole affair will be the best culturally infused carnival street party in Bukit Bintang."

 

Visitors will be able to learn the food, art, culture and music of different Latin American countries and get to understand with a deeper appreciation for them,” he said, adding that the event would not be possible without the dedication and support of all the embassies.

 

Each participating country has its own unique individuality to showcase."

 

With just days away from football World Cup which will be held in Brazil this year, the Brazilian embassy with be highlighting in the festival of this coming prestigious event.

 

"The Latin American Fiesta promises a fun-filled day to those planning to attend," said Guzman.

 

Plaza Low Yat general manager (property management and operations) Michael Lee said “This year, there will be more space for booths and Plaza Low Yat Boulevard will be partially closed to enable people to walk around.

 

There will be a road closure at Plaza Low Yat from 11am to 6pm on the day of the festival.”

 

Here is it not about football but this it is about the "World Cup" this year.
For food, try the recommended Coxinhas (Brazilian chicken Croquettes)
and Bobo de Camarao
(shrimps and manioc stew with steamed garlic rice)

From 11am to 6pm, at the fiesta, each Latin American embassy will have a booth where there will be typical Latin American food and beverages, original handicrafts and touristic information. Visitors will be entertained with Brazilian capoeira dance, Peruvian music, Argentinian tango, Ecuadorian songs by Ecuadorian pasillo singers, Mexican jazz presentation, Venezuelan calypso dance, Colombian dance Cuban music, and also Malaysian performances.

There will also be lucky draws, where visitors will have the opportunity to win a Panasonic camera, Lenovo tablet, Adidas watches, and the grand prize of a return trip to any destination in Latin America country. There will also be a whole host of football-related activities in celebrating the upcoming World Cup.





Malaysia’s klia2 welcomes AirAsia’s first flight to land at a week old airport

By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk




Flight AK 539 was given the traditional water cannon
shower on arrival



Flight AK 539 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Kuala Lumpur was the first AirAsia’s to land at a week old klia2 marking its official acceptance to move from LCCT Sepang to klia2.


Flight AK 539 arrived at 3.40pm and was received by AirAsia Berhad Executive Chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Berhad CEO Aireen Omar, MAHB Managing Director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid and MAHB Senior General Manager Operation Services Dato’ Azmi Murad, who were at the terminal to welcomed the passengers.



From left to right: MAHB Senior General Manager Operation Services Dato’ Azmi Murad, AirAsia Berhad Executive Chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, MAHB Managing Director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid and AirAsia Berhad CEO Aireen Omar 

 

 

The first domestic AirAsia flight to touch down at klia2 was AK6311, from Langkawi, at 4.30pm.

 

With effect from 9 May 2014, 3,550 AirAsia operations staff and 70 aircraft (AirAsia Berhad with 54 Airbus A320 and AirAsia X Berhad with 16 Airbus A330) will be based in klia2.

 

A total of 27 flights are scheduled to arrive at klia2 today and another 15 flights in the early hours of 9 May, with the total of 42 flights (21 international and 21 domestic).

 

The airline's first flight to take off from klia2 was flight D70236 to Perth, Australia, after midnight.

 

AirAsia group has been operating out of the LCCT for the past eight years, since 2006. The last AirAsia flights out LCCT were Kolkata-bound AK-63 which left at 10.30pm, and AK 6446 which left for Kota Baru at 9.50pm. The last AirAsia X departure was D7 170, which left for Jeddah at 2.35am.

 

 

Malaysia’s klia2 opens with Malindo Air taking the honour as the first flight to officially land

By Anthony Tan – Virgin Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk




klia2 looks nice with the night lightings and could be improved further

 

 

At last the controversial klia2 is commercially opened for use slightly passed midnight on May 2. The RM4 billion klia2 is not a low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) per se but Malaysia’s first hybrid airport about 2km from the old KLIA.

 

This purpose-built airport will be able to cater for 45 million passengers annually is the world largest purpose-built low cost terminal for low cost carriers and is added to cater for low cost premier or low cost plus or whatever new word we can coined up with.

 

There are some low-cost carriers (LCC) providing Business Class like Malindo Air and these airlines need to provide extra facilities and comfort for those who willing to pay for the extras. Therefore, klia2 has to allocate extra facilities and space for Business Class services.

Malindo Air flight OD 1027 from Kota Kinabalu took the honour to be the first flight to officially land at the new klia2 airport at about 12.05am with 110 passengers on board a Boeing 737-900ER with a welcoming reception organised by Malaysia Airports.

 

 

Present at klia2 to witness the inaugural flight landing were Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) chairman Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah, MAHB Managing Director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad and Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Director General Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy and many other invited guests and a large delegation from members of the media.



Picture taken in front of Malindo Air check-in counter. From left to right: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) chairman Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah, MAHB Managing Director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy and Dato' Azmi Murad is the Senior General Manager of Operation Services in Malaysia Airports (in white shirt on the extreme right) 
 

 

Cebu Pacific Airways first batch of passengers departing for Manila
from klia2 

Another flight by Cebu Pacific Airways was supposed to arrive after Flight OD 1027 but was delayed. Cebu Pacific was also to be the first flight to depart from the new airport for Manila with 147 passengers. The 147 Manila bound passengers will be recorded as the first batch to check-in at the new airport but unfortunately their flight is very much delayed.

The low cost carriers which be operating from klia2 are Malindo Air, Lion Air, Tiger Air, Cebu Pacific Airways and AirAsia. AirAsia group of airlines will start operating from klia2 with effect from May 9.


According to Malaysia Airports, there will be 5,000 – 7,000 passenger traffic movements daily during the first week and when AirAsia starts its operations, it is expected to have 50,000 passenger traffic movements daily in total by all the airlines.

 

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) had some writing on the wall at the new airport which may be seen a silent protest to the critics while some may see it as an information board.

 

klia2 has undergone some major design changes in order to address the requirements of all airport users and stakeholders, and to ensure a satisfactory level of comfort and safety for the passengers. MAHB also take into consideration to provide total international passengers segregation for the arrival and departure on different floors. This will reinforce the security and safety and further to address the human trafficking issues.  

 

With all the changes to cater for the anticipated requirement in next few years ahead and the lesson learned by MAHB from the short coming for the present LCCT, the land area was expanded from 4.85 million m² to 11.19 million m².

With MAHB research and feed back to address the new requirement the first anticipated a two-storey terminal was transformed into a nine-storey building. These changes have increases in terminal floor space from 150 000 m² to 257 000 m² which is four (4) times the size of the old LCCT.

With the endless complaint of the chaotic traffic congestion from the public using the present LCCT, MAHB has extended the access road leading to klia2 from 8 km to 15 km with an elevated road to the terminal building from 1.5km to 5.4km to minimised traffic congestion.

A multi-storey carpark with 6,000 parking bays was another lesson learned from the from the old LCCT which was infested with endless complaints like safety issues, long distant to walk to the terminal and worst when it is raining to name a few. The new carpark facility is convenient but it comes with a high priced, first hour charge is RM4 and parking for one day is RM46. If your car is clamp for parking as where you liked, be warned, to remove the clamp will make you RM100 poorer.

 

 

Klia2 is a BIG international standard airport and HERE is a friendly advice to traveller taking a flight at klia2 is “TO BE THERE EARLY”. It is a longer walk from the main door to your check-in counter as you have to walk passed rows of shoplots like in the shopping mall as compared to KLIA.

 

 

 

After checking in, it is another longer walk to your boarding gate, even with the walkalators. Don’t forget, if you are going on international flight, you have to clear the immigration and the security checks (for men, you have to remove your belt and remember hold on to your pants if it is loose one).

 

 

Here are some quick facts of the klia2:

It is equipped with a new klia2 control tower.

The runway is 3960m in length.

There 68 boarding gates with aerobridges.

The original early design for baggage handling system was a semi-automated but it is upgraded to a fully-automated to full fill the need of an up-to-date airport.

There are 220 shoplots with a wide cross-section to cater for the air travellers.

The ERL Express train has extended its services from Sentral/KLIA/klia2.

 

The pictures below show klia2 been designed with lots of space to accommodate the forecasted 45 million passengers annually and hope MAHB will keep it as designed and not to turn it into a Petaling Street or Pasar Malam with more kiosks and mini shoplets concept in the near future as it is been done to KLIA. There more than enough of shops for the shoppers and F and B outlets to served the airport users.  

 

 

 

Malaysia To Host World Tourism Conference 2013 In Melaka

By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications

email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

 



The Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia together with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will be organising the third series of the World Tourism Conference (WTC) to be held in Melaka from 21 to 23 October 2013. 

 

The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (centre) briefing the media at the press conference accompanied by his senior officers

 

 

WTC 2010 held in Kota Kinabalu

WTC was first hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 with the theme, “Tourism Success Stories and Shooting Stars” while in 2010, the conference’s theme was “Tourism Success Stories and Rising Stars” in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

This year’s theme is “Global Tourism: Game Changers and Pace Setters” with the conference supported by the State Government of Melaka.
 

Two of Melaka's many tourist attractions. In the

background is the Porta de Santiago and the 

colourful decorated trishaw 

As one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia, it is a perfect venue to host the WTC 2013.

Melaka is colourful, historic city, which has been developed over 500 years as a trading centre. There has been with so much cultural exchanges between the East and the West passing through the Straits of Malacca.

The influences of Asia and Europe, especially from the Indians, Portuguese, Dutch and British have endowed Melaka with a multicultural heritage that has left a unique mark in its architectural landscape, cultural heritage and lifestyle.

“Melaka was chosen as the venue for the WTC 2013 since it is has been accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status and amplifies Malaysia’s rich and diverse culture and heritage to foreign visitors, delegates and participants,” said the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
 

“Key professionals from all over the world in the tourism industry will gather at this conference to deliberate and address challenges beyond mass tourism, opportunities in innovative tourism marketing and strategies for tourism product development and innovation.”
 

He added that the conference will benefit not only tourism industry players but also policy makers and other stakeholders through the sharing of experiences and knowledge in tourism planning, development and marketing.

Melaka's own red square which is a popular site for photography by tourists. If you do not take a picture here , you have not been to Melaka.

The UNWTO expects the Asia-Pacific region to grow by 330 million arrivals in two decades from 204 million in 2010 to 535 million tourist arrivals in 2030.
 

With global tourist arrivals projected at 1.56 billion in 2030, every nation is set to benefit from this phenomenal growth.

UNWTO Secretary-General Dr Taleb Rifai said in a message,“The WTC 2013 will bring together a wide range of reputed world tourism leaders, high-level policy makers and experts from both the public and private sectors to exchange experiences, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for future tourism development.”

He said that tourism is one of the world’s biggest generators of employment and export earnings as well as a key driver for economic growth and sustainable development.
 

WTC 2013 should not be missed by the tourism industry players in Malaysia such as hoteliers, tourism officers, airlines and airports representatives, tour operators, tourism product operators as well as tourism and hospitality students as they will get the opportunity to connect, share with and learn from one another at the conference.
 

The main objectives of World Tourism Conference 2013 are to discuss and address current and relevant issues related to the tourism industry. The key areas for discussion will be:

·        Beyond Mass Tourism: how destinations can prosper with higher yield markets by capitalising on niche products which are priced correctly and targeted to the right markets.

·        Innovative Marketing: the importance of creating innovative products and a strong brand identity to develop dynamism and continuous progress in the industry.

·        Directions for Tourism Product Development: exploring the potential of tourism products such as homestay and its variants, domestic tourism, as well as youth and Gen-Y travellers, and synergies between conservation and commercial viability.

They include the Head of Travel Google from United States, Rob Torres; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Korea Tourism Organisation (South Korea), Lee Charm; Chairman of VisitBritain (United Kingdom) Right Honorable Christopher Rodrigues CBE; Vice-Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (China), Du Jiang; CEO of Air Asia X Sdn Bhd (Malaysia); Azran Osman Rani and Managing Director of Tourism Australia, Andrew McEvoy.

The minister also announced that a day prior to WCT 2013’s opening, Malaysia is also the host for the Asian Association of Convention and Visitor’s Bureau flagship event, the seventh Asia for Asia Summit.

The summit, also to be held in Melaka, will discuss strategies, innovative ideas and best practises on developing the business events industry in this region.

Registration for the WTC 2013 is now open. Visit http://www.wtc2013malaysia.com for more details.

Malaysia to host FISE World Series in 2014

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk
Virgin Communications

Malaysia has the honour to be one of the sixth countries in the world and the first in Asia to host the Festival International Sport Extreme (FISE) World Series from 2014 - 2016 in Melaka.
 

It won the bid to host the event with the combined efforts of Malaysia Roller Sports Association (MARS) and Malaysia Major Events, a division of Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

 

FISE World Series is the world’s biggest action and extreme sports festival which showcases sports disciplines such as skateboarding, BMX, mountain biking, wake-boarding and inline skating.

 

 Standing left to right: Nicole Bricq, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz,

                       Seated left to right: Herve Andre Benoit, Idroose Tambarin

The recent memorandum of understanding to bring FISE to Malaysia was signed by MARS president Idroose Tambarin and Hurricane Action Sport Company general manager Herve Andre Benoit.

 

It was witnessed by the Minister of Tourism and Culture Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and France’s Minister of Foreign Trade Nicole Bricq.
 

Mohamed Nazri said, “The synergy between sports tourism and our UNESCO heritage destination Melaka will highlight the best aspect of what Malaysia has to offer in terms of extreme sports and tourism experience.”

With Malaysia beating 18 other countries, he added, “This is truly going to be a memorable and historic occasion for us all.”

 

Melaka will host the inaugural FISE World Series 2014 from 4-7 September is targeted to bring in 10,000 attendees comprising 3,000 international participants and tourists from all over the world and generating an economic impact of RM28 million to Malaysia’s economy.

MyCEB chief executive officer Zulkefli Sharif remarked, “With years of hosting major events, Malaysia is certainly capable of bringing to life the grit, action and outdoor spectacles needed for a global action sports festival like FISE.

Mountain Biking

“The race to win this bid was tough but Malaysia’s winning mix of venues, facilities, hospitality and the value for money confidently placed the country ahead of the pack. We cannot wait to thrill sports athletes, spectators and tourists from the world over with what Malaysia can offer, especially in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign.”

 

Malaysia last hosted an extreme sport event, Asian X Game, in 2006.

Idroose said, “As extreme sports enthusiasts, we are truly thrilled to be the pioneer in this region to organise the FISE World Series. The strong government support has resulted in the confidence of Hurricane, the rights owner to the FISE World Series to choose Malaysia as the host country for its 2014-2016 series. We have extreme sport talents in Malaysia and it will be a waste if we do not provide them a platform to harness their skills and show the world what we have can be of world class.”






Wakeboarding

Extreme sport is still in its infancy although the sport has been in Malaysia for about 10 years. It has been stagnant due to lack of competitions and promotion of international events in the country.

With the FISE taking place, he quipped, “We hope it will revive the interest in the extreme sports locally once again.”

 

4th OIC World Biz 2013

Reported By Anthony Tan | Virgin Communications
email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk

 



Dato'Dr Raja Mohamad - Chairman,
OIC World Biz, Business and
Investment Zone

The OIC World Biz 2013, organised by the OIC International Business Centre, is the fourth of its series, to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur from 25 – 28 September.

From its two main sections - exhibition and conference - it hopes to attract 400 local and international exhibitors as well as 600 local and international conference delegates from 35 countries with the theme, “Enriching Borderless Economy”.
 

One of the highlights of the OIC World Biz 2013 will be the OIC-Asia Trade and Economic Forum, which is set to attract leading business leaders from OIC member countries led by the head of the OIC Secretary General, His Excellency Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

 

The forum will take place on 25 September with two sessions and on 26 September with three sessions.
 

Introducing the sponsors for the 4th OIC World Biz

From top left: Zainal Alamin (OIC Today), Pn Wan Nor Khairi Wan Samad (Bank Islam), Mohamed Zafri Mohd Shariff (UEM Sunrise), Badaruddin Baba (MARA), George Wong (AmIslamic)

Seated left: Angie Khoo (MDEC), Baharuddin Aziz (IIUM) , Tan Sri Datuk Seri Elyas Omar (Chairman OICIBC), Dato Dr Raja Mohammed (Chairman OIC World BIZ), Tuan Haji Mohamed Fauzy (MOFAZ Group), Prof Yan Rosli (OUM)

The highlight of the opening day (25 September) of the OIC World Biz 2013 will be “The Jewels of Muslim World Awards”.

These awards are given in recognition of an individual or distinguished personality who has contributed and uplifted the Muslim world towards the development of an Islamic economy.

They are aimed at encouraging and inspiring more Muslim business leaders to not only innovate and develop more businesses among the Muslim World but also to strive to a higher level.

 

On 27 September, the Higher Education Conference will have three sessions to deliberate on “Gateway to the global education”.

 

On 28 September, the final day of the conference will see the tourism industry taking the main stage with three sessions on moving forward in world Islamic tourism.
 

The exhibition sector, which will commence from 25 – 28 September at Hall 3 and 4, will be open daily from 10 am – 7 pm.

 




The major participating industries are from Islamic Banking and Finance, Investment, Insurance and Takaful, Education, Construction, Information Technology, Furniture, Agriculture and Plantations, Oil & Gas, Halal Food & Beverage, Communications, Tourism and Lifestyle, Real Estates; Property Development, Medical and Healthcare, Logistics and Warehousing and other industries.