NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With all the worry over fuel prices, you’d think drivers would do whatever they can not to waste gas. But look around and you’ll see lots of them tooling around as if they owned their own tanker fleet. One of them might be you.
Here are six ways drivers typically waste gas on every
1. Racing away from green lights
When the light turns green, you don’t have to take off as quickly as possible. That pedal under your right foot is called the “gas pedal” for a good reason. The more you press down on it, the more gas you’re pumping into the engine.
Press lightly on the gas pedal, and you’ll still accelerate, and you’ll still get where you’re going. You might be surprised at how little pressure it takes to get your car up to speed in a reasonable time.
2. Racing up to red lights
When you’re driving down the street, and you see a light red light or stop sign up ahead, you should lay off the gas sooner rather than later.
There’s no point in keeping your foot on the gas until just before you reach the intersection. Let off the pedal sooner and give your engine a rest as you coast to the stop while braking gently. As an added benefit, your brake pads will last longer, too.
By themselves, these first two tips can improve your fuel economy around town by as much as 35 percent, according to tests conducted by automotive information Web site Edmunds.com.
3. Confusing the highway with a speedway
Even if it doesn’t involve hard acceleration, speeding wastes gas. The faster you go, the more air your vehicle has to push out of the way. It’s like moving your hand through water. The faster you try to move your hand, the harder the water pushes back.
In tests by Consumer Reports, driving at 75 miles per hour instead of 65 miles per hour reduced fuel economy by between 3 and 5 miles per gallon, depending on the vehicle.
4. Bumper-buzzing
Tailgating is a bad move for many reasons. First of all, it’s unsafe. You reduce your ability to react if the car in front of you slows or stops. It also means you have to pay ultra-close attention to that car which reduces your ability to scan for other hazards ahead of you and to the sides.
And tailgating wastes gas. Every time the driver ahead taps his brakes, you have to slow down even more than he did. (That’s because you can’t react immediately so you have to slow even more because you’re slowing down later.) Then you accelerate again to get back up to speed and resume your bumper-buzzing routine.
Hang back and you’ll be safer – plus you’ll be able to drive more smoothly and use less fuel. A good rule of thumb is to allow two seconds of space between your car and the one ahead. You can figure that out by counting off two seconds after the car in front of you passes an obvious landmark like an overpass.
5. Driving standing still
You’ve probably heard that it takes more gas to restart a car than to let it run. Maybe that used to be true, but it isn’t anymore. With modern fuel-injection engines, it takes very little extra gas to restart a car once it’s warmed up.
Idling, meanwhile, burns about a half-mile worth of gas every minute, according to the California Energy Commission. That’s why hybrid cars shut down their gasoline engines whenever they stop, even for a moment.
Now you don’t want to shut your engine down for every little stop in your regular, non-hybrid car – it’s not designed for that – but if you’re waiting for someone to run in and out of a convenience store, turn off the engine.
And don’t go through the drive-through at fast food restaurants. You’re already paying enough for the oil in those chicken nuggets.
Bonus tip: Don’t idle your engine to let it warm up before driving. It does your engine no good and it wastes gas. Instead, start driving right away, but drive gently until the engine is warm.
6. Short hops
For really short trips, take advantage of the opportunity to get some exercise. Try walking to the store instead of driving. You can save gas and burn a few calories instead.
If you can’t hoof it, save up your errands. A lot of short hops that let the engine cool down at home between trips can use twice as much gas as starting the car once and making a big sweep to all your stops, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Go to your farthest destination first so your engine has a chance to reach its optimal operating temperature. Then make your other stops on the way back. With the engine warmed up, the car will restart easily and run efficiently all the way home.
The best way to save your petrol fuel is do not use car, use trolley. Found this picture in TheStar Thumbnail. Haha, quite interesting way of transport.
I want my iPhone 3G! Fast fast come to Malaysia. If not I will fly to Hong Kong or Singapore to steal it. Haha =p
Sorry, we don’t have pictures but Apple took us into a dramatically lit back-room to check out the new iPhone 3G. Here’s what you need to know:
* We did a quick data test — at our location we went from 104Kbps on the EDGE iPhone to 215Kbps on the 3G model. 2x ain’t bad, yo.
* The enable/disable 3G setting is real, and buried a few menus deep. There is no automatic switching, Apple just assumes you’ll leave 3G on, and that the iPhone has the juice to support that usage.
* It’s tri-band 3G, as we reported the other day. This same phone will ship worldwide.
* WiFi is still 802.11b/g, no support for n yet.
* Yes, that GPS is A-GPS, just as we mentioned.
* Geotagging photos is a thumbs-up. We were deep indoors though, so native GPS wasn’t working and we couldn’t get a clear idea of satellite acquisition time.
* The screen looks exactly the same — maybe a tiny bit brighter, but the unit was new, so it’d be negligible.
* The camera is identical to the first — 2 megapixels. No front-facing camera (of course).
* It’s certainly thicker feeling, but they rocked it Treo-style and really tapered those edges, so it just doesn’t feel that different. But because of that curved back, it’ll dance around on your table a little more than your completely-flat original iPhone.
* The plastic back didn’t feel too cheap. In fact, it felt pretty solid. It’s very glossy, so it’ll pick up fingerprints just as well as the glass up front (yay).
* It comes with a ridiculously, absurdly small power adapter. It basically looks like a tiny square with a USB port on one side, and power prongs on the other. It will power any other iDevice (iPod touch, 1st gen iPhone, etc.), and sell separately for those that want a smaller adapter.
* The dock (now sold separately) and adapter (if you want an extra) will both go for something like $29, although that price is not yet confirmed.
* No mention was made of copy/paste, MMS, etc.
* It doesn’t look like this thing is going to fit in your old dock. The new dock does look smaller and more sculpted to the new iPhone’s curves.
* The headphone jack is flush, as mentioned. It’s still 3.5mm, so if you don’t like the out of box phones (which won’t stay in our ears), bring your own, no problem — and no adapter needed!
* Yes, original iPhones are totally gone, you won’t be seeing those made anymore. Long live the aluminum back!
It looks like they took an amazing device and made it significantly better. If the battery life is as good as they claim, we think this will steamroll the competition in the enterprise space. And even if it doesn’t, at $199 it’s going to be extremely hard for people to resist.
No more petrol price increase in this year? I heard in August they will increase to RM4?? Is this for sure not increasing? or a lie?
Just like they say will not increase but after one day, announce totally different thing? Will you believe or can u believe no more petrol price increase?? Personally I don’t. Just prepared yourself for the increase I would say. Or maybe they keep their word and it will increase on the 1st day of 2009.
Who can garuntee this would not ever happen again?
PM: No more petrol price increases this year
BY MAZWIN NIK ANIS & SIM LEOI LEOI
PUTRAJAYA: There will be no further increase to the price of fuel in the country this year despite the possibility of the global price of oil reaching US$200 (RM660) per barrel, the Prime Minister said.
This latest decision by the Cabinet came on top of various measures announced on Monday to help the Government cut costs and channel more subsidies to low income earners.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said to stem any more increase, the Government would have to think of alternative ways to finance its spending.
“If that is the decision of the Cabinet, this will remain so despite further jumps to the global price of oil.
“Since the Government announced the new price last week, fuel prices have gone up to US$139 (RM459) per barrel and is still hovering at US$130 (RM429).
“In fact, the price of oil is expected to remain at high levels in the months to come. The high price of oil means that the market price of petrol at the pumps have now reached RM3.45 per litre,” he said, adding that the price should be reviewed to RM3.15 per litre instead of RM2.70 beginning next month.
“However, the Government realises that the rakyat (citizens) are still trying to adapt themselves to higher petrol prices. The Cabinet has thus decided there will be no more increase this year,” he told reporters at his office here on Wednesday.
If the global price of petrol should ever drop, Abdullah said the Government would make the necessary adjustments with the 30 sen discount still being given.
In the June 4 announcement of the new petrol price, Abdullah had said that prices at the petrol pump would be adjusted monthly to reflect global market price.
The Premier also said that in the National Inflation Council meeting on Monday, it had been decided that the over one million civil servants would now be paid their monthly salaries in two instalments, staring in August.
“The first instalment will be paid in the middle of the month while the second will be at the end of the month.
“Any income tax, Employees’ Provident Fund or others will be deducted from the second instalment,” he said.
PUTRAJAYA: Against a backdrop of anger and frustration as the people come to grips with the new high prices for fuel, the cabinet yesterday decided that there will no further price hikes this year to allow the people time to adjust to to the situation.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government is aware of the consequences should the price rocket upwards in the world market, but it will maintain its decision and find other means to bear the additional expenses.
On June 4, the government had decided that subsidy for petrol be fixed at 30 sen per litre, and that there would be a monthly review based on world prices.
Because of this formula, petrol price went up 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, while diesel went up by RM1 to RM2.58.
“However, the price on the world market increased drastically to more than USD130 per barrel on June 8 and is expected to be higher in the coming months,” Abdullah said.
“This resulted in petrol price in the local market increasing to RM3.45 per litre. If the government were to implement the 30 sen subsidy, the price of petrol would have to be raised from RM2.70 to RM3.15 per litre next month.”
Although the 30-sen buffer will not be used for the rest of the year should crude prices rise further, he said it will be used if world prices drop. This would cause the present pump prices to drop.
Abdullah assured that the government is “thinking of all kinds of additional measures because we know the price increase is high and everyone, including the government, is facing difficulties, not only the people”.
Asked whether the government’s revenue will be affected by the decision, he said: “Since the price of petrol has increased, we could hope to get additional revenue from Petronas.”
At the press conference, Abdullah also announced another move to help civil servants better manage their household expenses and cash flow — their salary will be paid in two instalments effective August.
“The first half will be paid in the middle of the month and the rest at the end of the month. Deductions such as for income tax, Employees Provident Fund and others will be done at the end of the month,” he said.
Asked whether he would recommend the private sector do the same, he said: “I see this as a good move to help our workers manage their household cash flow better.”
Now I understand why my house and office no water! After they announced that they will be giving free water, my house and office also no water. Is this a trick or what? Still hope it’s not. Enjoy free water Selangor ppl! =)
Free water in Selangor from June
Llew-Ann Phang
SHAH ALAM (June 11, 2008): Some one million households in Selangor will still get their 20 cubic metres of free water effective June 1, Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today.
Speaking to reporters after a discussion with Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) CEO Datuk Ruslan Hassan and Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) president Datuk Abdul Karim Munisar, Khalid appeared pleased when he announced that all issues between the three parties had been resolved.
Ruslan and Abdul Karim were also present in the press conference in which Khalid explained that confusion over the issue arose because all the parties “wanted to make sure about what was going to be done”.
He said the consensus was arrived not after looking at an alternative method but after “clarification”.
“The system is the first of its kind in Malaysia after privatisation, so you will have to bear with us on issues related to it.
“The final analysis is that the issue has been resolved and we are giving free water to our consumers, as we promised,” Khalid added.
The free water policy will apply to 1.1 million domestic individual accounts in Selangor under Syabas’ jurisdiction, which also covers 1.5 million accounts in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Domestic users will receive new bills with a rebate for 20 cubic metres beginning June 16, while those who receive their bills before the date, will receive a payment rebate for June 1 to 15 in July’s bill.
Khalid said the payment costs will be borne by Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB), which is wholly owned by the state government.
“We are still discussing this issue because there are three phases to the free water policy. The first is implementation of the billing of free water, second, the restructuring of the water industry in the state, and the third is that while the free water will continue, the allocation of funds and pricing will change after we take into account the economies of scale,” he said.
When asked about the costs, Khalid said costs to be paid to Syabas will be audited.
“We are expecting at least one million customers and multiplied by RM11 per customer, will come up to RM11 million, but we cannot get the exact figure.
“The most important thing is that the people of Selangor will receive free water,” he said, affirming that the deal has been signed in black and white and “even red”.
When approached by reporters later, Ruslan said Syabas had compromised by allowing KDEB to make their payments within 30 days of issuance of the bill, from its original request of 14 days.
“Taking into account the trend, monthly costs are expected to run up to an estimated RM10.8 million,” he said.
Asked if he was pleased with the outcome of the discussion, Ruslan answered in the affirmative while noting that Khalid was fair and objective.
FREE WATER POLICY RUSHED THROUGH
In PETALING JAYA, DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago said Selangor government’s first 20-cubic-metres (20,000 litres) free water policy was not properly well-thought before it was announced.
Santiago, who is also Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP) coordinator, said: “I will maintain that households earning a monthly income of RM1,500 and below should still get free water. No question about it. I think those in the rich category would consider it an insult for not being charged.
“But the monies may have been better used for other facilities like helping buildings set up rain-harvesting systems which encourages conservation of processed water,” he told theSun when contacted.
Santiago, who is also Klang MP, argued that while household savings would run up to RM11.40 a month, the implementation would cost the state up to millions.
“The state must indicate the amount they would have to fork out every month and see if the money will be better used in other ways which will conserve water.
“This should have been thought of before the announcement was made but because it has been made, they are caught,” he said.
“Better planning would have also seen the state administration consulting the water concessionaire, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas), in the implementation of the system.
“There would have been better understanding of the system and calculations. For example, both parties could see what happens after the first 20-cubic metres, if it would mean Syabas calculate the units after that as 21 cubic metres and above, or start again from the 1st cubic metre?
“Moreover, if the policy was thoroughly looked into, then the state may have considered using the funds to help construct rainwater equipment for its people, resulting in cheaper costs,” he said.
“By installing rainwater harvesting equipment, in even a five-storey walk-up building, it would teach the people to learn how to conserve water,” he said, adding that the Malaysian government should consider water auditing as another option of conservation, in line of the “tighten your belt” culture.
“I think the Selangor government can do this first by introducing a regulation for water auditing because it would encourage and ensure conservation, regardless of their incomes.
“Studies have shown that through water audits, households reduce their bills by up to 30% and 40%,” Satiago said, adding that this was already proven successful in India.
Introducing iPhone 3G. With fast 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping, support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange, and the new App Store, iPhone 3G puts even more features at your fingertips. And like the original iPhone, it combines three products in one — a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device with rich HTML email and a desktop-class web browser. iPhone 3G. It redefines what a mobile phone can do — again.
It’s been a long, leak-filled wait, but Apple finally took the wraps off its 3G iPhone. Thinner edges, full plastic back, flush headphone jack, and the iPhone 2.0 firmware — Apple’s taking a lot of the criticisms to heart from the first time around. Obviously 3G is at the forefront, but they’re also making sure it’s available all over internationally, works with enterprises, runs 3rd party apps… and does it all for cheaper.
Apple claims its 3G speeds trounce the competition, with pageloads 36% faster than the N95 and Treo 750 — and of course it completely trounces the old EDGE data. Battery life isn’t getting put out to pasture though, with 300 hours of standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. GPS is also a go.
Apple is using A-GPS, which supplements regular satellite GPS data with info from cellular towers. WiFi data is also worked into the mix, which should give users a pretty solid lock on where the heck they are on this planet. Unfortunately, there’s no front-facing cam, which syncs with what we were hearing, but is still a little disappointing. Apple hopes to launch in 70 countries this year.
8GB is available for $199, 16GB for $299 — and the 16GB comes in white. Both pricepoints require a contract. Apple will be hitting the 22 biggest markets, including the US, on July 11th. More info after the break.
Update: Just bought an iPhone? Listen up: “Customers who purchased a 2.5G iPhone on or after May 27 and want to swap it out for a new iPhone will be able to do so without incurring an additional handset charge for the new device. They will of course need to turn in their 2.5G iPhone.” And for the rest of you, AT&T says there’s no way to buy it without agreeing to a contract. So sorry. More details here.
Update 2: We’ve got our hands-on impressions right here.
Other tidbits:
* It’s a teensy bit thicker. 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches (115.5 by 62.1 by 12.3 mm), and weighs 4.7 ounces (133 grams).
* There’s no dock included, just a USB power adapter and dock connector.
* No mention has been made of MMS, video recording or built-in iChat. What gives, Apple?
* On the chatting front, developers will be able to ping a centralized push server with their apps, to keep down battery usage and app overload on phones.
* On AT&T unlimited iPhone 3G data plans for consumers will be available for $30 a month, on top of voice plans starting at $39.99 a month. Unlimited 3G data for business users will be $45 a month, on top of voice. There’s a minimum two-year agreement, but we’re not positive what that’ll look like for those currently enslaved to an AT&T contract — you could be looking at a solid four years of time if you just took the plunge.
* Apple’s new MobileMe service will be coming with the iPhone 2.0 software, bringing push email and contacts for all.
* Apple’s official page is here, and you can watch the new ad here.
* Available on July 11th in: Australia, Austria, Belgium (French), Belgium (Dutch), Canada (English), Canada (French), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (French), Switzerland (German), UK, USA
* The rest of these are slated to get the phone this year: Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, C. African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macau, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay.
Sad to say Apple decided to leave out Malaysia, but the question is why? Why they even include African, Philippines, South Africa but not Malaysia? Isn’t Malaysia Boleh?
The fuel price will see an increase of 78 sen by August – a massive jump from RM1.92 per litre currently to RM2.70, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to announce today.
this is crazy… why? tell me why? just cut on the Singaporean and Thai subsidy will be good enough but not cut on our Malaysian subsidy!
I even got sms from my friend tell me that the price is gonna effective today midnight 5th June? Can you believe that? Past few days some ppl also sms and spread the rumor that petrol price will be increased effective on 1st of June but it’s all rumor and who’s benefiting from it? I would say is the Petrol Station and Telco. Think about it and do not forward until it’s confirmed.
—————————-
Updates! IT’S CONFIRM THAT PETROL PRICE WILL INCREASE TO RM2.70 EFFECTIVE 5/6/2008 5TH JUNE!
It’s confirm and do inform your friends, relatives, family, enemies…
It’s freaking 40% increased this time. How many percent is your last increment? It’s crazy…
What’s our government doing? Aren’t they said August? Suddenly now become tomorrow? Liar? We pay tax and all… now they treat us in this way? What’s happening man? I think I will not go pump petrol instead go get myself a bike and cycle to work and anywhere without worrying of when the government decide to increase the petrol price again!
Everybody, let’s cycle.
——–
Live update from Petrol Station.
It’s jam packed. If you want to go to pump petrol now, make sure you bring along cash$$ do not depend on your credit card. I guess it’s line down for Visa or Master. I was lucky that I have Amex and I can still use my Credit Card if not I do not have enough cash for me to go full tank! Take note, bring enough cash. The credit line will be jam and line down…
Updates again Tactic to pump petrol in last 4 hours from 8.00pm
1) Find a place where there’s few petrol station in the area to avoid jam pack and reduce waiting time.
2) Bring enough cash$$, do not depend on Credit Card as the line is jam and I heard I was down for Visa and Master Card but luckily I have Amex Card.
3) After pump petrol, go back using those road without petrol station.
Fuel hike: 78 sen more to RM2.70 per litre
Jun 4, 08 4:55pm
The government has just announced that petrol price to go up by 78 sen at midnight – a 40.6 percent jump from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70.
- Effective midnight
- RM625 rebate for vehicles
Harga petrol naik sebanyak 78 sen – satu pertambahan besar dari RM1.92 sekarang kepada RM2.70.
Manakala harga minyak diesel pula naik kepada RM2.50 – naik 92 sen berbanding harga sekarang sebanyak RM1.58 seliter.
Kenaikan sebanyak 41 peratus bagi petrol dan 58.2 peratus bagi diesel akan berkuatkuasa mulai tengah malam ini.
Kenaikan harga itu adalah sebahagian daripada langkah kerajaan untuk mengawal subsidi bagi menampung kenaikan petrol, diesel dan gas, yang dijangka berjumlah RM56 bilion tahun ini.
Kerajaan juga mengumumkan pemberian rebet kepada pengguna kenderaan.
Mengikut skim tersebut tersebut, kenderaan di bawah 2000cc akan menerima RM625 setahun – rebat bagi 800 liter di bawah harga baru.
Pemilik motosikal pula akan diberi rebet RM120. Bayaran akan dibuat melalui wang pos.
Difahamkan rebet teresbut akan dibayar apabila pemilik kenderaan memperbaharui cukai jalan kenderaan mereka.
Kerajaan dijangka menjimatkan RM4 bilion di bawah penstrukturan semula skim subsidi tersebut.
Jika harga petrol dijual mengikut harga penuh pasaran, ia boleh mencecah setinggi hampir RM4 seliter – naik 100 peratus.
Bagaimanapun, kerajaan dijangka menuju ke arah memansuhkan terus pemberian subsidi pada masa depan.
BREAKING NEWS: Petrol will be RM2.70 a litre at midnight tonight
By : Newsdesk
PUTRAJAYA, Wed:
The new price of petrol is RM2.70 per litre beginning midnight tonight, it was announced a moment ago by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad. Diesel will go up by RM1 per litre while the price for ULG 92 per litre went up by 74 sen. The 78 sen hike or 40 per cent increase for the ULG 97 petrol is still below the antiticpated RM4 per litre price projected earlier and among the cheapest in Asia.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday announced the new price for petrol is RM2.70 a litre, effective midnight tonight.
He announced that the price of petrol would be increased by 78sen and diesel by RM1.
The 40% increase in petrol price is part of the new fuel subsidy plan the Prime Minister announced at 5pm Wednesday.
The price of diesel goes up to RM2.58 from RM1.58.
KUALA LUMPUR: A new fuel subsidy scheme to be announced tomorrow will take immediate effect to prevent further speculation.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the anti-inflation committee would decide today on the various proposals put forward by the Cabinet.
He was speaking to reporters after chairing the national small-and-medium enterprise development council at Bank Negara here yesterday.
Abdullah was asked to confirm an announcement made by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad that a new fuel subsidy scheme would most probably be implemented in August.
Abdullah said: “He said ‘might be’. As far as the subsidy management scheme is concerned, the final decision will be made on Wednesday.
“It was to be decided last Friday but it so happened that many of the ministers (involved) were attending conferences overseas. We wanted all to be present to make the decision.”
Asked whether the announcement would take effect immediately, he said: “We want it to be effective immediately. If not, there will be a lot of speculation.”
He, however, did not disclose what the new subsidy scheme would involve.
Earlier at Parliament, Shahrir said any change in the subsidy scheme might result in a rise in petrol and diesel prices.
He said the scheme might be changed in August as stated earlier by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
“It will happen. Petrol price will increase,” he said at the lobby of Dewan Negara yesterday.
However, he said Malaysians would still enjoy subsidies, but it would be given based on need.
On another matter, Abdullah said the Government would set up a special committee to recommend measures to reduce the impact of rising costs and oil prices on small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs).
He said measures to be considered included tax incentives to encourage SMEs to upgrade their machinery and equipment as well as adopt new technology.
Abdullah said the measures were vital to ensure that SMEs were not forced to shut down due to rising oil prices.
He said that more than 286,000 SMEs received assistance through the implementation of 189 key development programmes involving RM4.9bil.
Asked whether the RM1bil special allocation for rural development in Sabah was due to pressure by Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders, he said: “It’s for infrastructure development in rural areas in Sabah. It’s from the Federal Government. It’s part of the consideration we are making at the moment.”
If you are the one who all the while taking advantage of Malaysia’s Fuel price and you come from Singapore to fill full tank, now you would not be able to do it again. It’s a wise move and we (Malaysian) wouldn’t want other non Malaysia citizen take advantage of the fuel subsidy loop hole. This way we could prevent money out flow and hopefully it could sustain long and the petrol / fuel price will not increase in any time soon!
JOHOR BARU: The new ruling to ban the sale of petrol to foreign-registered vehicles within a 50km radius of the border will not hurt the state’s tourism industry.
“I believe the state has other attractions for foreigners and this new ruling will not hamper them from coming in,” said Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
“Our neighbouring country had imposed the ruling that cars going in and out must have a full tank. It did not disrupt their entry into Johor,” he told pressmen after launching the Aero mall at the Senai International Airport here yesterday.
Abdul Ghani said the state government supported the new ruling as it was time to reduce the cost of subsidy and ensure only Malaysians who deserve the subsidy get it.
Regular patrons: Singapore-registered vehicles make up the bulk of customers at this petrol station in Johor Baru.
However, Singaporeans who frequent this city were stunned. Many said it would result in them visiting the country less frequently.
Investment banker Shahul Mohamed, 34, said the decision would have far-reaching implications for both Johoreans and Singaporeans alike.
“I was going to buy my second home here but now I will have to reconsider the decision as the scenario has completely changed,” he said when met at a petrol station here yesterday.
Shahul pointed out that on average, he noticed some 30,000 to 50,000 foreign-registered vehicles on a daily basis here.
“I think the plan to remove petrol subsidies for foreigners is a great idea but this will cause losses for everyone,” he said.
Engineer Gabriel Tan, 28, said the move would badly affect petrol stations which depended on Singaporean clientele.
“What is the use of coming into Malaysia now for us? I will definitely not come in as often,” he said.
A petrol station owner, who only wanted to be identified as Chong, said he expected to lose up to 85% of his current business volume.
“This is very bad news for us. If we cannot survive, we will be forced to close the station,” he said.
Cashiers and pump attendants at several petrol stations also said that they had been fielding queries all day from Singaporeans who wanted to know if the ruling was true.
Malaysian Darryl Chong, 32, an engineer who works in Singapore and drives a Singapore-registered vehicle, said the move would be unfair to people like him who drive into the island on a daily basis for work.
“The ruling has not clarified our position so far,” he said, suggesting that in such cases, Malaysians should be allowed to buy petrol by showing their MyKad as proof of their nationality.
Meanwhile, state Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Hoo Seong Chang said it was too early to tell if the move would lead to a large-scale reduction in Singaporean visitors.
“We will support the Government’s policy and look for ways to balance the impact this decision may have,” he said.
SocialSpark is the worlds first social media marketing network. It provides more ways for bloggers to make cash from their blogging, a vast array of deep analytics tools for bloggers and advertisers alike and a number of key firsts that I’m very proud of.With SocialSpark demographics offering Bloggers at last have a great set of analytics tools that will show them not only views and unique traffic on a blog, but also the demographic make up of that traffic (male/female, age range etc).
The social aspects of the site are great for drawing attention to blogs you may not have come across before, but also serve as a powerful tool for advertisers to hand pick groups of bloggers they want to advertise with.
So what are you waiting for? Head to SocialSpark and signup yourself an account.
I have created my profile at Social Spark. It’s cool. Check it out. You could prop me and left me a comment in my profile. Thanks. Click here to visit my profile.
Big Mac vs Mega Mac. Price of Big Mac for medium set is RM8.30 and Price of Mega Mac for medium set is RM13.50 different of RM5.20 bucks!
See how huge it is… McD Mega Mac
The Big Mac is a hamburger consisting of two 1.6 oz (45.4 g) beef patties, iceberg lettuce, American cheese, pickles, onion and special McDonald’s “Mac” sauce (a Thousand Island dressing variant) served on a three part sesame seed bun.
The Mega Mac – four 1.6 oz (45.4 g) beef patties and an extra slice of cheese. Available in Ireland, Japan and Malaysia. Discontinued in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, limited availability in the United States and Canada (where it is commonly marketed under the name Double Big Mac).
The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti, one of Ray Kroc’s earliest franchisees, who was operating several restaurants in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. [10] Customer response to the Big Mac was so good that it rolled-out nationally in 1968. According to its advertising jingle, it consists of “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun“, though the most distinctive feature is a middle layer of bread (“club”) used to stabilize contents and prevent spillage.
The Big Mac is known worldwide and is often used as a symbol of American capitalism. The Economist has used it as a reference point to determine the cost of living in different countries — the Big Mac Index — since it is so widely available and is comparable across markets. This index is sometimes referred to as Burgernomics [11]
Two all beef patties slogan
The Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. concept for the jingle was created by Charles Rosenberg, Creative Supervisor of the Dan Nichols team at Needham, Harper and Steers, Chicago. Originally, the ingredients appeared as a one-wo
rd heading for a McDonald’s ad developed for college newspapers. The words were then set to music created by Mark Vieha, who performed the original jingle. Charlie’s advertising concept was to purposely turn the ingredients into a tongue twister. The jingle first appeared in a TV commercial titled “In a Word” developed by Dan and the advertising agency team. The first run of commercials ran only a year and a half, going off the air in 1976, but its popularity remained beyond its TV life.
Many franchisees in the United States ran promotions during the original campaign that awarded a free burger to customers who could recite the slogan within a specified time (usually two or three seconds). One example of its success, was that the McDonald’s operators in New York City actually ran out of Big Mac buns. McDonald’s Australia emulated this promotion in the mid-1980s, and some Brazilian McDonald’s around the same time (only offering a free glass of Coca-Cola instead), in the Portuguese version, which goes as “Dois hamburgueres, alface, queijo, molho especial, cebola e pickles num pão com gergelim”.
In 2003, McDonald’s revived the phrase. In an English-language ad from McDonald’s international “i’m lovin’ it” campaign, a rapper rapidly spouts off the trademark in the background music. Also in 2003, American Greetings and Carlton Cards released a Christmas ornament of a Big Mac, on which the slogan was both printed and played aloud by pulling on a string. Roy Bergold, National Advertising Manager at McDonald’s, has a big hand in championing the original campaign and helping to bring it back.
In 2008, once again, the phrase was revived by McDonald’s Malaysia. The revival includes the original prize of a free Big Mac if the customer is able to recite the phrase in under four seconds. This was released in May, along with the promotional Mega Mac, which has four beef patties rather than the original two.[12]
there’s lot more big mac chant on youtube, watch it here
I wanted to go and do the big mac chant and claim my free Mega Mac but then too bad, I was busy and the last day was 28 May… wasted one Mega Mac =(
ahah Mega Mac vs Carl’s Jr. Actually Carl’s Jr burger is much bigger and huge than Mega Mac… but why Mega Mac? Coz I’m lovin’ it =) and of coz the price is much more cheaper too =p
Carl’s JR huge burger.
eventhought it’s huge, but I can handle it too. =p
All in all, I love burger =p
be it Mega Mac, Carl’s JR, or even the Ramli and Otai Burger (Chicken or Daging Sepcial) by the road side.
Here I'll share my knowledge, discovery and experience related to latest news, gadgets and happening stuffs. Most articles on this site are related to IT, short reviews, tips and latest offers and many more. More
