Puchong LRT Extension Puzzle

Yesterday’s briefing by Syarikat Prasarana Nasional Bhd on the Light Rail Transit service to Subang Jaya and Puchong left many puzzled as to what the exercise hoped to achieve.

For one, what the extension does is to cater for a huge population base, said Michael Tamilarason— the Puchong councillor at the Subang Jaya Municpal Council (MPSJ).

However, he said the LRT line extension does not go beyond Kampung Baru or between Batu 13 and Batu 18 in Puchong.

“These places have in total more than 10,000 in population, arising from the huge housing estates especiallyin Bandar Bukit Puchong.

“In truth, these are the areas where the service is sorely needed. Yet, after listening to SPNB, it appears these places have yet to be included in its LRT plans. The company also did not offer any explanation when queried,” said Tamilarason.

During the briefing, SPNB’s plans showed the LRT line extension to Puchong will have stops at IOI Mall, Tesco, Bandar Puteri, Puchong Perdana and Putra Heights.

Another public hearing for the Puchong community is expected to be held later this month to solicit feedback and suggestions.

“At this next hearing session, the people should demand for more LRT stops. Anyway, the authorities had ordered the original route to be reviewed, where additional LRT stops are expected to be included,” said a council staff, who declined to be identified.

It is learnt that there is a possibility for more LRT stops to be included in the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015). If that is true,then the public can expect a further delay in the completion of the project.

When first mooted in 2006, the new LRT extension project was supposed to be part of a special RM10 billion government allocation for an efficient and cost-effective public transport system in the Klang Valley.

The extensions to the existing Kelana Jaya-Gombak and Sri Petaling-Ampang lines were to be constructed at a cost of RM5 billion and supposed to be ready by 2010.

This was later delayed to 2011 and the latest feedback is that the planned additional lines and stations for the LRT network is now projected to be ready only in 2013— three years later than originally planned.

The new lines will cover some 32km and cut across Kuala Lumpur.The Kelana Jaya line (formerly Putra LRT) will be extended to Subang Jaya and USJ, while the Sri Petaling line (formerly Star LRT) will cover Puchong.

Source: The Star

Police Make Their Presence Felt

The Bandar Bukit Puchong police has taken proactive measures to combat crime in Bandar Puteri.

Since Aug 5, two makeshift police booths have been erected at the junction of Jalan Puteri 1/1 and Jalan Puteri1/6 (next to Giant Hypermarket), and Jalan Puteri 5/2.

Both are in busy commercial areas where crime is rampant.

According to Chief Inspector Basri Sagoni of the Bukit Puchong police station, the nationwide effort was in response to the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, one of which specified the reduction of street crime (including snatch thefts and unarmed robbery) by 20% by the end of 2010.

Apart from establishing a police presence in the crime hotspots, the booths also allow the public to approach the police easily for help.

“The police officers are stationed there 24 hours, in three shifts – 8am to 4pm, 4pm to midnight and midnight to 8am,” Basri said.

He added that there were more officers patrolling the streets.

However, the booths will be removed after a certain period of time.

Selangor MCA Youth Chief Dr Kow Cheong Wei welcomed the move as it instilled confidence in the public who visited the areas.

“The traffic in Bandar Puteri 1 is quite messy, providing opportunities to snatch thieves to prey on defenceless victims.
“The police presence will definitely deter them from commiting crime,” he said.

Kow added that he had even received enquiries from business communities in Puchong Jaya and Puchong Perdana to help them apply for similar booths in their areas to curb crime.

Source: The Star

Sign Of Quick Rebound In Property Sector

The slew of property launches and speedy take-up rates lately are signs that the local (property) sector is on a quick rebound from the global economic downturn.

In its latest report, HwangDBS Vickers Research said the local high-end property sector had been on an uptrend, with developers raking in quick profits from project launches.

Among them were DNP Bhd’s Verticas condominiums in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, which saw 60% of the 50 units soft launched being taken up.

En bloc buyers also snapped up 93% of non-bumiputra units launched (last month) at IJM Land Bhd’s Light Linear project in Penang.

“We see demand for high-end units returning, which could re-rate the sector,” said HwangDBS.

It also highlighted Eastern & Oriental Bhd’s St Mary serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur (launched in June, 80% take-up in five days) and SP Setia Bhd’s Sky Residences condominiums in KL (previewed in September 2008, with an average 70% take-up so far).

“Developers are more confident now to resume launches, which should lead to faster earnings recovery. Selling prices may soon be raised and incentives gradually pulled back, resulting in margin expansion for developers,” HwangDBS said.

An analyst from a local bank-backed brokerage said the take-up rates were not surprising, given the developers’ good reputation.

“These developers aren’t your fly-by-night type of developers. They have very good reputation and solid track record. The average investor or house-buyer is more likely to park his money with a well-known developer, knowing that his money would be safe,” he said.

Another analyst said the property sector was making a comeback in the region. In the last few months, Hong Kong, Singapore and China had seen strong surges in property demand, she said.

“There’s so much liquidity with nowhere to go. This is one of the safest ways to fight inflation. Putting your money in the bank basically means being eaten up alive by inflation.

“Malaysian property is generally still very affordable. If you don’t buy one now, it will be even more difficult to afford it next time. The 2% interest you get from banks is nothing,” she noted.

HwangDBS also highlighted the Malaysia Property Inc, a joint public-private sector initiative aimed to attract foreign investments worth RM20bil in the domestic real estate sector over the next 10 years.

“The recent liberalisation measures (abolishment of local equity ownership requirement for mergers and acquisitions and Foreign Investment Committee approvals) should help boost both foreign and local demand for Malaysian properties.

“Previous policy changes (waiver of real property gains tax and monthly EPF withdrawals) introduced just before the financial crisis have yet to be fully felt and could be strong catalysts during a recovery,” it said

Source: The Star

Mini Retro Fridge

The retro-chic Smeg fridge, the Fab28, has been a kitchen style icon among design-conscious homeowners. Truth is, it's a tad bulky when a homeowner wants to put the refrigerator in the living room or bedroom.

Hence, Smeg has come up with a mini version of the popular retro-style fridge — the new Smeg FAB10.

The new 60cm wide frame is a contemporary creation that retains the retro good looks of the original model.

It shares all the design features of larger models including soft, curved lines and the SMEG chrome lettering emblazoned on it.

Smeg FAB10 has all the features expected of a high-end manufacturer — auto-defrost, thermostat control and convenient lighting.

Just one metre tall, this new fridge is ideal for single people, small kitchens, offices, or simply for storing drinks in a compact space.

The 120-litre capacity interior is split between a 107-litre capacity fresh food compartment and a 13-litre capacity, ''four-star'' frozen food compartment with ice cube trays.

The illuminated interior houses two adjustable shelves, a fruit and vegetable drawer, an egg shelf and additional storage compartments.

With a decibel rating of 37dB(A), the FAB 10 is practically silent and is A-rated for energy efficiency. It is also highly economical to operate.

Both left- and right-hinged versions are available. The Fab10 comes in cream FAB10P, orange FAB10O, black FAB10NE and red FAB10R colour options.

Smeg appliances are available from leading department stores, kitchen studios and retailers of electrical appliances.

Source: The Star

Tempo Sees More Bookings

Tempo Properties Sdn Bhd expects another 30% of the second phase of its The Atmosphere commercial development in Seri Kembangan to be taken up by this weekend.

The 20-acre phase comprises five components and encompasses shop offices, designer small office/home office (SOHO) suites, boulevard shops and retail outlets.

Chief executive officer Khoo Boo Hian said type A, comprising 30 units of three- and four-storey shops, was already sold out following a series of previews. It will be launching 106 more units under types B, C and D tomorrow.

“We are optimistic that our pricing strategy, the project design and the incentives we are providing will appeal to buyers,” he told StarBiz in a telephone interview yesterday.

The second phase was targeted at investors and business people, he said, adding that the units were priced from RM860,000.

“We will be covering the (loan) interest during construction. We will also be providing a 6% rental guarantee for the third and fourth floors for a year for type-D units. This is so that the owners can take their time to look for tenants.”

Types B to D comprise four- and five-storey units.

Khoo also said The Atmosphere was being developed in a “fast growing area”.

“The area is fairly developed. There is already a Jusco (supermarket cum department store) there, with Giant and Tesco (hypermarkets) also coming up. The Atmosphere is being developed in what we like to call the heart of the golden triangle of southern Klang Valley.

“We see great potential for growth,” he said.

The commercial development is accessible via major highways such as Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong Expressway, South Klang Valley Expressway, Maju Expressway and the North-South Highway.

The Atmosphere, with a gross development value (GDV) of about RM900mil and comprising three phases, is located on over 40 acres that are being jointly developed by Tempo Properties and main market-listed Eksons Corp Bhd.

Khoo said the first phase was sold for RM23mil for the development of the Giant hypermarket.

Phase 2 has a GDV of RM300mil. The third phase, with a GDV of up to RM600mil, is expected to be launched within two years, said Khoo.

“Development of The Atmosphere is expected to be completed by early 2014,” he said.

Source: The Star

Old Klang Road-Kesas Link In Place Next Year

The link to Old Klang Road from the Kinrara-Puchong Inter-change on the Kesas highway is slated to be completed in October 2010.

At least 20,000 motorists using the route daily will benefit once the link is built through five housing areas between the New Pantai Expressway and Kesas, said Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor.

Shaziman, in making the announcement, said the 120m bridge and 380m road will cost the Federal Government RM13.6mil under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

“It will bring convenience to the residents here, giving them access to Kesas and it will indirectly help ease their travel to Puchong and ease congestion at the Sunway toll plaza on the LDP,” he said after inspecting the half completed bridge there yesterday.

He said the maintenance of the road would be handed over to the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) once it was completed next year.

Shaziman added that the contractor, Syarikat Ismail Ibrahim Sdn Bhd, had been told to include buffer zones for the construction of the three-lane road to reduce noise and ensure safety for the residents in the affected areas.

Shaziman also said that the Public Works Department (PWD) had been told to recheck reports from the Malaysian Highway Board (LLM) on cracks at the Puchong Jaya Intersection-Damansara Puchong Expressway bridge.

However, he assured that the cracks were only on the surface and did not compromise the bridge’s structure.

“Nevertheless, I have instructed PWD to obtain reports from LLM and check again to ensure that the structure and flyover is really safe,” he said.

He also said that the interim rebate for motorists who use their Touch ‘N Go cards to pay for toll more than 80 times a month will be applicable on all highways.

“There are some who are unclear and think that it only applies to specific highways.

“But they can criss-cross on any highway and get the rebate as long as they pass more than 80 times per month,” he said.

He added that the Economic Planning Unit was still studying the system with the toll concessionaires and would present the findings to the Cabinet once it was completed.

Source: The Star

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HSL To Launch 4 Projects Despite Slowdown

Hap Seng Land Sdn Bhd (HSL), the property arm of Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, expects to launch three or four projects over the next six months despite the economic uncertainty.

HSL chief executive for property division Datuk Paul Ng Kee Seng said the company would launch two or three projects in Sabah and one in the Klang Valley.

HSL’s current projects in Sabah include the Kingfisher Palm Homes, a high-end township in Kota Kinabalu; Bandar Sri Perdana, a 62.5ha mixed development in Lahad Datu; Bandar Sri Indah, a 342ha township in Tawau; and Astana Heights, a township in Sandakan.

Meanwhile, Ng said the first phase of D’Alpinia, HSL’s township development in Puchong, was in advanced stage of completion.

“This phase features 154 terrace and semi-detached homes costing RM300,000 to RM400,000 each,” he said.

Ng said this after a briefing to promote Hap Seng’s first environment awareness campaign for tenants of its flagship development, Menara Hap Seng, and the surrounding community.

The group purchased Menara Hap Seng in Kuala Lumpur from MUI Properties Bhd in 2004 for RM167mil and converted it into an integrated office-cum-retail building.

The property was refurbished with environmentally sustainable features, including energy-saving elements, for RM60mil in late 2007.

“The cost of including environmentally sustainable features is minimal when it is incorporated in the planning stage of the development instead of adding it on later,” Ng said.

The two-month campaign starting Aug 1 would include activities such as treasure hunts, exhibition and environment education talks.

“Menara Hap Seng can play a positive role in encouraging urban Malaysians to embrace a ‘green’ lifestyle from proactively conserving water, electricity and paper to opting to walk instead of drive,” Ng said.

He hopes the campaign will also attract visitors to the office complex’s podium that has about 30 retail as well as food and beverage outlets.

Source: The Star

Lake Edge Won 'Best Residential Development'

YTL Land & Development Berhad has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the upcoming CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards 2009. A total of seven awards were won for three of their projects – Centrio at Pantai Hillpark, Lake Edge at Puchong and The Maple at Sentul West. The awards ceremony will be held on 16 July 2009 in Singapore.

Four of the seven awards were attributed to Centrio, which is YTL Land’s Small Office, Home Office (SOHO) suites, boutique offices and trendy retail stores offering in Pantai Hillpark. The four awards won are ‘Best Mixed Development’ and ‘The Architecture Award’ under the Commercial category while Centrio’s SOHO suites were awarded for ‘Best Architecture’ and ‘Best Property Marketing’ in the Residential category.

Dato’ Yeoh Seok Kian, Executive Director of YTL Land & Development Berhad said of the wins, “As a relatively young developer, being awarded at a regional level reaffirms our status as a builder of communities, and underscores the sense of innovation that drives the team at YTL.”

He added, “It is indeed an honour to be recognised for what we do. But more importantly, it’s an acknowledgment of the passion and commitment of the YTL Land team that has allowed us to attain our goals of building quality homes with enriching and unique living concepts.”

Meanwhile, YTL Land’s developments in Lake Edge, Puchong won ‘Best Residential Development (over 5 residences)’ while The Maple at Sentul West picked up two awards for ‘Best Residential High-Rise Development (over 12 storey)’ and ‘Best Residential High-Rise Architecture (over 12 storey)’.

It is not an all Malaysian affair for the YTL group as YTL Corporation in Singapore has also scored two wins for Sandy Island luxury villas winning ‘Best Development’ and ‘Best Development Marketing’.

The Asia Pacific Property Awards 2009 in association with CNBC Arabiya is part of the International Property Awards, the world’s most prestigious competition dedicated to honouring the best real estate developments across the globe.

Source: iProperty

The Latest Draw At IOI Mall

The new wing at the IOI Mall in Puchong has certainly boosted the mall’s capacity to accommodate both shoppers and retailers over one million sq ft.

Fourteen years after it’s official opening, the expansion is a welcome one as it gives the mall the facelift it needs to cater to its increasingly affluent customers.

“Every year the number of residents living in Puchong increases and there is a demand for more carpark lots, entertainment, variety of eateries and even fashion retailers,” IOI Mall complex assistant general manager Ronnie Francis said.

He added that customers these days had more spending power and the mall saw mostly families or teenagers visiting it, especially during the weekends.

There is an additional 1,300 parking lots in the new wing and the new shops have been carefully selected to complement those from the old section of the mall.

Designed with a slight Mediterranean flavour particularly in the columns styled like palm trees, the new wing’s occupancy rate is now 85%.

Shoppers can now find international brands like Elle, eateries like TGI Fridays as well as jewellery and optical shops on the ground floor.

The other three floors follow a concept of having mini-anchor tenants for each themed floor like Padini Concept Store and Brands Outlet for the first floor occupied by fashion retailers, Ace Hardware and Daiso.

The second floor has something for everyone in the family and Golden Screen Cinemas and the largest Red Box Karaoke outlet on the third floor that features entertainment outlets.

The mall also has a glass bubble lift that overlooks the stage area and offers a full view of the new wing.

Ronnie said with the new enhanced image as well as its new tenants, 101 Mall was poised to be the retail and entertainment hub in Puchong.

Source: The Star

School's Grand e-Classroom Vision

SJK (C) Ladang Harcroft in Puchong has a grand vision.

The vision involves its pupils using multimedia facilities to learn effectively and parents monitoring their children’s learning progress through the Internet.

The school’s board of directors chairman, Dr Kow Cheong Wei, said the e-classroom concept was adopted from schools in Jurong and Boon Lay in Singapore.

Each e-classroom — 28 in total at SJK (C) Ladang Harcroft — would be equipped with computers, projector, screen, digital visualiser and multimedia software as teaching materials.

“The school will have its own server to support its website which will be used as a platform for internal communication among the parents and teachers.

“The parents and guardians could refresh their memory on the subjects taught in the classrooms and hopefully the whole community would be pushed to learn together,” Kow said.

He added that the implementation of the e-classroom would not burden the teachers as the pupils can help in uploading the information into the website.

“The students would also benefit in terms of learning to operate the system and developing leadership skills,” Kow said.

While a few primary and secondary schools in the country have started their e-classroom projects, Kow hoped that SJK (C) Ladang Harcroft could be the first primary school in Selangor to implement the programme.

School headmaster Tan Hock Guan said the system would enhance the learning process, especially in Science subjects where students could view the detailed images through the multimedia equipment.

To make this dream come true, the school needs contributions from the public to reach the estimated RM600,000 target with part of the money being used to upgrade various school facilities.

Two fundraisers have been scheduled - a Bak Kut Teh fundraising event and a dinner-cum-cultural performance show.

The Bak Kut Teh fundraiser will take place at the Kung Fu Station in Bandar Puteri Puchong, from 9.30am to 2.30pm on July 25 and 26.

Coupons worth RM50 (with three RM10 coupons and four RM5 coupons, can be bought separately) are available for sale during the event.

The dinner, to be held at SJK (C) Sungai Way on Aug 15, will feature the China Tianjin Huaxia Artistic Primary School Artistic Performance Group.

Entry to the dinner can be obtained with a minimum donation of RM100.

The e-classrooms will be named after donors who contribute RM10,000 and above, or a group of donors who contribute RM5,000 to RM9,999.

For details, call 03-8076 7014, 012-2679 869 or 016-3229 246.

Source: The Star

The Tasty Dozen

What's in a chicken chop? When Alan Chan invited Sunday Metro to check out “not one but 12 types of chicken chop”, our immediate reaction was: “Huh? How can there be that many?”
www.shiok-kopitiam.com.

Our interest piqued, we decided to take up his offer.

Chan, who runs the Shiok Kopitiam in Puchong with seven other Rotarians, chose to reveal the fare to us at their latest venture at the YMCA in Brickfields.

In the small talk that preceeded the food tasting, Chan admitted that he “simply loves food”.

“I do love cooking as well, something I picked up from my mother,” he said with a sheepish smile.

Before any labels are thrown at him, let’s get the story straight.

When he and his siblings were younger, he related, their mother used to threaten not to cook for them if they refused to clean up the house after messing it up.

Short of going hungry in case the threat was carried out, Chan thought it pertinent to learn a few meaningful recipes and watched Mom from afar as she cooked.

“The threat was carried out several times but by then, I, the big brother, was already a professional in the kitchen and none of us ever went hungry,” he said.

While learning to cook to feed his rather rambunctious siblings, Chan said, he also developed a knack for adding a twist to his recipes, creating even better flavours. He continued this right into his academic life and later when he married and became a father.

Today, this civil engineer, who still practises his professional career, is instrumental in concocting many types of sauces to go with chicken chops. And that’s basically how the 12 types of chicken chop came to be.

The chicken would either be deep-fried or grilled and each would be served with one of six sauces – Oriental, black pepper, lemon plum, white cream, Thai chilli, and mushroom. On the menu, the 12 are listed as The Shiok, Hainan, Caribbean, Mexican, Mediterranean, Aussie, American, Swedish, Balinese, Pattaya, French and Swiss.

“Initially, we served two types of chicken chop. They are sold at only RM9.90 per serving with either steamed vegetables, half of a grilled tomato and fries for the grilled version or fries with coleslaw for the fried version,” Chan said.

Noting that the dishes were popular, and in response to customer’s requests for a wider selection of sauces, they decided to expand the menu. For this, Chan credits his chef, Amar Mohamed, 28, who worked tirelessly to get the different flavours right.

The Caribbean, Balinese, Aussie and Swedish are the more popular ones, Chan said.

For a more substantial meal, you can add mashed potato or buttered rice for RM1.50.

They don’t serve just chicken chops, however. There is a good selection of other dishes as well, including fried seafood pasta, and a delectable white coffee, which is really good. It has a creamy feel, thick and not too strong, that also gives you a wake-up call. The white coffee is sourced from a special roaster in Ipoh, Chan’s hometown, and made to specification.

“The coffee is percolated,” Chan said.

The seafood pasta, which is also popular, is a generous portion of pasta with mussels, prawns and squid.

According to Chan, he and his partners take great care to check every ingredient that goes into their dishes.

“The one thing that must be stressed is that this kopitiam is not just a business venture but a thing of passion,” he said.

Relating the background of the business, he said Shiok Kopitiam came about because the Puchong Rotary Club, of which he is a member, was looking for spots to have meetings.

“We wanted a place where we could be casual and hold our meetings and yet be able to enjoy good coffee and some nice snacks or even a meal,” he said.

Then four of them got together and decided to open up an eatery, Shiok Kopitiam. That was early last year and their latest at the YMCA began operations on May 8 this year.

If you are in the vicinity, do try this kopitiam, which incidentally has free wi-fi and a corner for board games. It is at No.95, Jalan Padang Belia (off Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4), Brickfields, Tel: 03-22732993 or No.9, Jalan BK 3/2, Bandar Kinrara, Puchong. Tel: 03-8075 1017. You can also check them out on their website,

Source: The Star