Council president Zulkiflee Abbas said the aid would be in the forms of raw materials while construction would be based on the gotong-royong concept with several parties.

Speaking to reporters he said the council would also provide the workers who would carry out the repair works together with the villagers and non-governmental organisations.

“We will work with the district office and village heads in identifying those poor families who are living in old or damaged homes. In special cases we will even help build new homes for the poor people here”, he said after a gotong-royong programme to repair three houses in the Maharani constituency yesterday.

The programme, which was launched by special officer to Mentri Besar for Maharani Datuk Mohd Ismail Mohd Shah, started with repairing the house of Hassan Abdul in Kampung Parit Besar.

Zukiflee said three houses were selected in the constituency and would be followed by other houses in other constituencies within the councils jurisdiction.

He said two of the houses were located in the village and the third in Kampung Buah Keras, adding that, the programme also covered families in smaller towns.

Meanwhile, Mohd Ismail said the programme showed the Government was concerned over the plight of the poor people in the country.

He said besides monthly financial aid from the Welfare Department, the poor also received aid from other departments, including from the municipality.

He said each of the three houses received about RM5,000 worth of raw materials and constructions also included the building of proper toilet system.

Mohd Ismail, who operates the Muarlite Industries electrical appliances company, said the company would install electricity to those homes without power supply.

“We are grateful to the Muar municipal council for wanting to help poor families in Maharani in repairing their old or damaged homes.

We also thank the Health Department, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and non-governmental organisations here for participating in todays programme”, he added.

Source : Star Property

Azhar (BN-Penaga) said they were just creating an issue because they were trying to woo votes from the Indian community as it was reported in the media that the Indian community was now supporting Barisan Nasional.

“Dr Hilmi has already expressed his regret over the incident but you are still pressing him and putting words into his mouth. Give him a chance to solve the issue,” he added.

Jagdeep Singh (DAP-Datuk Keramat) had earlier ruffled feathers when he insisted that Dr Hilmi, who is Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) chairman, apologise over the demolition of the 50-year-old Muniswarar Hindu shrine in Prai.

Interjecting R.S.N. Rayer (DAP-Seri Delima) during the debate on the motion of thanks to the Penang Yang di-Pertua Negri’s address at the state assembly, Jagdeep loudly called on Dr Hilmi (BN-Teluk Bahang) to apologise over the incident where the shrine was demolished on April 20 without consulting the Hindu port workers.

Dr Hilmi has since visited the site and promised to rebuild the shrine once a safe and suitable site was located.

Dr Hilmi then expressed “deep regret” at the incident where a PPSB officer made the decision to conduct the demolition without first informing him.

Source : Star Property

If the various sections of the MRT were to start construction concurrently, cement supply would be squeezed. – EPA

Players in the industry said that with the uncertainties surrounding the dynamics of the market now, nobody could rightly gauge how the construction of these mega projects would put pressure on the supply and demand of raw building materials.

“Projects like the My Rapid Transit (MRT) would be a key determinant as it is one of the single largest infrastructure projects the Government has embarked on. The Government seems to be pushing through for its construction, and that definitely will put pressure on the prices and supply of cement,” said an industry player.

Cement is the main component for concrete and generally makes up between 50% and 60% of the cost for concrete products.

He said if the various sections of the MRT were to start construction concurrently, cement supply would be squeezed and other contractors would be clamouring for what was left.

To date, 27 work packages of the MRT have been awarded to listed and unlisted contractors, while tenders and awards for the remaining 63 packages are expected to be mostly completed by the fourth quarter of the year.

“We are not seeing any impact yet, but there are already worries that demand may outstrip supply. However, cement supply are still supportive of the current market,” he said.

He said industry players would cause a ripple effect when they started to stockpile these raw building materials.

Meanwhile, the Cement & Concrete Association of Malaysia (C&CA) told StarBiz that cement demand was expected to further pick up from the third quarter onwards due to implementation of major projects under the 10th Malaysia Plan, Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and ongoing property development.

“The cement industry will be able to meet additional demand for projects under the 10MP and ETP not only due to excess grinding capacity but also due to increase in supply from a new integrated plant coming on stream in 2013 and expansion programmes being undertaken by some C&CA members in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. There is a good potential outlook for cement industry,” said C&CA executive director Grace Okuda.

She added that the cement industry had expanded by 7.1% in 2011 compared with 2010 and was anticipated to increase by 5% to 6 % in 2012.

Another industry player echoed the view and said there was still a big surplus of cement, and it was not a concern for players involved in constructing infrastructure.

“The main concern is securing the highly specialised machinery needed to construct the projects like bored piling machine. Infrastructure works like the Light Railway Transit (LRT) extension, and the MRT will keep the construction sector afloat. The slowdown seen in the residential and commercial property sector complements the active infrastructure sector,” he said.

The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said there were many factors affecting the dynamics of the supply and demand market, and it was a sophisticated market to secure the best fees from contractors to develop projects.

“Of course, we are concerned about the prices of raw building materials as we deal with contractors that are exposed directly to the fluctuations in market prices, and whoever manages these huge infrastructure projects needs to take note of the whole construction sector ecosystem,” he said.

ECM Libra equity research analyst Benjamin Lee sees Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd as a prime beneficiary of the demand spillover from the expected increase in domestic construction output into the cement subsector.

“For the financial year ended December 2012 (FY2012), we expect Lafarge to register an earnings per share growth of 18.5% versus 7.6% registered in FY2011 on the back of Lafarge’s ability to tip its current 70:30 domestic and export cement sales mix towards the domestic side, which carries higher net profit margins, to meet increasing cement demand,” he said.

He said contractors might start to stockpile raw materials, however there was still a slight downward pressure on cement prices as Hume Cement Sdn Bhd, a unit of Hong Leong Industries, would be adding one million tonnes of cement capacity soon.

“While prices of other raw materials like steel would be stable as it is subject to global prices – with China the largest producer and consumer of steel dictating the commodity’s market price. Sand and bitumen might see some rise in prices with several highway projects coming up, and some smaller construction players might be negatively impacted by the inflationary pressure on the aforementioned building material costs,” he said.

Source; Star Property

The 1Azam programme was introduced under the Government Transformation Programme’s (GTP) Low-Income Households National Key Results Area (NKRA), which is led by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and its agencies to increase the income generation capabilities of the poor through financial assistance and provision of facilities for starting a business, skills training and motivational courses.

Based on the GTP’s 2011 Annual Report, 1,100 women entrepreneurs from low-income households were trained in addition to the 2,000 that were produced in 2010.

These women were given training and other opportunities to enable them to venture into entrepreneurship in areas such as agriculture, services, fishery, manufacturing and farming.

With the collaboration of Allianz Insurance, there were over 500,000 people from poor households who received the 1Azam insurance coverage upon registering with the e-Kasih system.

Moving forward, the NKRA’s new KPI will focus on monitoring the outcomes of the various initiatives introduced over the past two years and ensure that the e-Kasih database is updated.

This year, information of participants registered under the e-Kasih database will be migrated to the Greater Kasih database which would cater to all related agencies in providing assistance to the registered recipients based on their respective needs.

Source; Star Property

Muar municipal councillor Goh Kim Huat said most of the roads and lanes were in bad condition and needed to be resurfaced or widened.

“Residents have complained to us about the bad condition of roads in their area and something must be done to improve the roads for the comfort of motorists and residents,” he said.

Goh said roads which required upgrading works were Jalan Hashim, Jalan Khalidi, Jalan Parit Setonngkat, Jalan Majidi, Jalan Haji Abu, Jalan Keliling Stadium and Jalan Haji Omar. The lanes identified for upgrade were Lorong Abadi, Lorong Belia, Lorong Tahar Shariff, Lorong Sepakat off Jalan Khalidi and Jalan Junid, Lorong Perkasa and those at Taman Sri Unas Baru.

Goh said apart from roads, the drainage system along Lorong Wan Chik would also be upgraded at the cost of RM40,000.

Source; Star Property

State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Md Jais Sarday said UTM had the infrastructure as well as the knowledge on equestrian sport to create awareness among the public.

He added that UTM had an equestrian centre within the main campus here, which could help garner interest of the sport in the state.

“Besides the equestrian centre, UTM have also been actively involved in promoting and organising equestrian competitions over the last five years, attracting many international participants to the state.

“The state government hopes its collaboration with UTM makes equestrian a popular sport in Johor but would also unearth hidden talents,” he said.

Md Jais said Johor had no equestrian athletes and hoped the scenario would change.

He said this after officiating the UTM International Equine Seminar held in conjunction with the UTM International Johor Horse Show 2012 which ended Saturday.

In another matter, Md Jais said the state government was looking for a plot of land within Iskandar Malaysia to build the country’s first ever polo stadium.

He said the state government was currently discussing the matter with the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) to construct the stadium.

“We are still in discussion. However, a plot of land in Nusajaya has been identified for the stadium,” he said.

Meanwhile, a group of special children from SK Kompleks Bandar Uda took the opportunity the see the horses first hand at the show.

Source; Star Property

Works Minister Datuk Seri Shaziman Abu Mansor said a total

of 55 additional classrooms at 25 schools in Sabah, 29 units of teachers quarters and a school canteen will be built at a cost of RM9.3mil in the state by June this year.

He also said there would be additional classrooms built at nine Sarawak schools and was now in the process of calling for tenders.

In Sabah alone, the project has been divided into two zones with the first zone involving 12 schools with an allocation of RM3.7mil

while under the second zone, RM5.3mil has been allocated for 13 schools.

Shaziman said this at SK Tagudon Lama here, which is among three projects under the IBS method that was already being implemented in the state.

He said all projects would be carried out on the fast track IBS method that allows for completion of building within a short period of two to three weeks at a cheaper cost and also with protection from termite problems.

“The IBS system is the best option as it could be used to replace

dilapidated school classrooms that might be dangerous for students,” he added.

Shaziman also noted that there was less reliance on foreign workers as the materials for classrooms were already prefabricated at factories before being fitted at schools particularly in the interior areas of the state.

Source; Star Property

TDM chairman Datuk Roslan Awang Chik said the hospital, which would be built on a 2.2ha land would be equipped with

the latest technology along with 130 beds and five operating rooms.

“We expect the hospital to be fully built by June 2014.

“The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) will also be equipped with high-tech medical equipments with 12 beds while the hospital would also house 281 car park lots,” he told pressmen after the company’s EGM here yesterday.

Roslan said the existing hospital, which has 33 beds, one ICU with two beds and two operating rooms were no long conducive.

“Our investment for the new hospital shows the company’s commitment for the nation’s healthcare sector. We are already operating two other hospitals ­— the Kelana Jaya Medical Centre and Kuantan Medical Centre.

“We also took over the operations Taman Desa Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur middle of last year and we are confident the investment will bring a good turnover for the company,” he said.

While the company’s agriculture venture brings the bulk of its profits, Roslan said the healthcare sector had contributed 5% from the total profit each year with RM10.6mil last year, RM10.6mil in 2010 and RM8.3mil (2009).

“The number of patients, who have benefited from the services of our hospital also shows a significant increase each year.

“Last year, we have a total of 144,930 patients. It is an increase compared to 115,870 in 2009,” he said.

Source; Star Property

The project, won by Crest Builder Holdings Bhd and its 49% joint-venture (JV) partner Detik Utuh Sdn Bhd two weeks

Yong says the tower will be built by Crest Builder-Detik Utuh joint venture with Prasarana providing the land.

ago, is for the construction of a single-block mixed development fronting Jalan Ampang with a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.04bil.

It will be a herculean task for low-profile Crest Builder but executive director Eric Yong is excited about the prospect.

“The LRT below is really the key selling point. If this was just bare land, we probably couldn’t have got this value and concept.

“The main thing here is that you already have 8,000 to 10,000 people passing through the station everyday,” he told StarBiz in an interview.

The yet-to-be-named project, which will be built on 2.72 acres, marks the Petaling Jaya-based developer’s maiden foray into high-end properties since announcing the move last year.

The plan, for now, is to build a 40-storey tower cut into four segments – a mall at the bottom, small office flexible office (sofo) units, upscale serviced residences, and on the highest floors, a five-star hotel.

To monetise the view at the top, the building could feature a Skylounge with a pool facing KL City Centre as well as a Skygym or Skydeck, Yong said.

He pointed out that they were still deliberating whether to add a layer of office suites, in which case the hotel would be done away with.

The tower would have 50 floors to accommodate eight to nine levels of duplex sofo units.

Its planned total gross floor area measures 1.1 million sq ft while net floor area is close to 830,000 sq ft.

Following the agreement with Prasarana, the LRT owner and operator will receive 21.2% of the project’s GDV as payment for land rights, which translates into RM220mil, or about RM1,857 per sq ft.

When contacted, its media affairs manager Azhar Ghazali said the funds would be used to part-finance its operations.

Prasarana will only provide the land; the rest of the development cost is to be borne by Crest Builder-Detik Utuh.

“Some may say (the land cost) is expensive but we’re not looking at the market right now. It will be completed in 2017. By then, I think the market would have tumbled a little, corrected a little and maybe even shot up two-fold.

“It is expected that in the next six to nine months, the property sector will be under pressure from the tighter lending regulations but the market will evolve. Malaysian properties are still cheap compared with Singapore or Hong Kong,” Yong said.

Physical works for the project is expected to begin in early 2013 and the launch could be sometime after the middle of that year.

“Plus, we think completing it early may not be beneficial. We could fall into the lower part of the property cycle. Right now, the yield seems to be stabilising downwards.

“We do not know how long this will last, but my guess is (the cycle) will take six to nine months to pick up again,” he added.

Yong believes new record prices for property could emerge in 2017-2018. “The market takes three or so years to recover before it booms. We should see new benchmark prices then,” he enthused.

Asked what Prasarana intended to get from the project, he said the state agency had wanted to maximise the potential of its assets.

“They have land in various locations but in this case (Dang Wangi), it was airspace. And because of the LRT, they also want to increase the number of pedestrians.

“If I add this development, assuming that an extra 4,000 to 5,000 people live here and half of them take LRT, we would have added 2,500 people to the system,” he said.

According to Yong, the tower’s target customers would include the young and affluent in the banking, finance and marketing sectors.

“Those who can afford premium condominiums but can’t buy bungalows yet, and they want to be in the heart of the city with all its lifestyle attractions,” he explained.

With the project being right next to the Klang River, Crest Builder is also readying a proposal for the project delivery partners of the River of Life (ROL).

ROL, a project under the Economic Transformation Programme, involves the beautification and development of a 10.7km stretch of the river within the city centre. Its project delivery partners are Ekovest Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd.

“We have not officially approached them yet but we’re looking at how ROL can enhance our development in this immediate stretch,” Yong said.

Source; Star Property

In a meeting that lasted over two hours, Adnan listened to complaints pertaining to land, housing and stalls from 10 families.

The smallholders were seeking temporary occupation licences, low-cost houses and a proper site for their stalls on the land which they had settled on for three generations.

“I sympathise with their plight and will try my best to help them but I cannot promise anything as I will be lying if I failed to resolve their problems,” Adnan said.

He said the process was cruel as they could not get the licence due to the freeze imposed in 2002.

“If we do not stop giving out the licences, there will be no more land and forest left in Cameron Highlands. Everywhere I look, there are only farms.

But we can consider the requests from these settlers because they have been staying there for so long. I am really saddened by their predicament,” he said.

Adnan said the problems facing these settlers would be brought up and discussed at the next exco meeting on April 18.

He added that he would visit Cameron Highlands at the end of the month to gauge the problems himself.

Cameron Highlands PSM secretary Suresh Kumar, who represented the residents, said the meeting was a big step forward in getting their problems resolved.

“We have tried to get the government to hear us for two years and finally the Mentri Besar has agreed to see us personally. We are willing to assist him when he visits us at the end of April,” he said.

They had initially planned to camp out in Putrajaya until they could get a response from the Prime Minister.

Source; Star Property