The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Iskandar Johor Open among the richest on the Asian Tour
- Flying joy for 20 students
- Biscuit manufacturer hosts event to show gratitude to its employees
| Iskandar Johor Open among the richest on the Asian Tour Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:23 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: The fifth edition of the Iskandar Johor Open (IJO) in November will set the stakes even higher as the prize money increases to US$2mil (close to RM6mil) from US$1.25mil in 2010. The golfing championship which debuted in 2007 with a modest purse of US$300,000, is now among the richest on the Asian Tour. This year's winner will bring home US$317,000 (RM945,931) cash, compared to the US$198,125 won by Irishman Padraig Harrington who took the championship title in 2010. Harrington is among the top European Tour players to headline the stellar line-up of stars in the tournament which will be hosted for the second consecutive year by Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club. "Harrington will be coming back to defend his title and his presence is certainly exciting news for local golf fans,'' said Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, who is also chairman of the IJO organising committee. The year the IJO also hits a new milestone as it will, for the first time, be jointly sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours. Abdul Ghani said the co-sanctioning by the European and Asian Tours was among the reasons that drew the world's top players to the event. The other factors were the bigger purse and the moving of the championship date from its traditional October slot to November. The IJO will be held from Nov 17 to 20. Abdul Ghani said that besides steady growth in the total purse over the years, the championship had also seen an improved player roster. "Last year's event featured a truly international field consisting of players from 24 countries, from as far as Brazil, Mexico and Zimbabwe,'' he said. He added that the IJO would be a good avenue to promote Johor as a major holiday and recreational destination to a global audience, as the 2010 edition was broadcast to 40 countries reaching 400 million households. |
| Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:22 PM PDT Kota Kinabalu: Excitement and joy were clearly written on the faces of 20 students from a remote Sabah interior school who were given an opportunity to travel for the first time in an airplane. The SMK Nabawan students boarded the MASWings ATR72-500 aircraft for an early morning flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan recently as part of the company's Wings of Love initiative. The students and four accompanying teachers led by their teacher advisor for SMK Nabawan Library Club, Kelvin Kong, left via MH3093 for their first ever field trip by flight to visit the Sandakan District Library. The students had earlier travelled by road from Nabawan to Keningau, which was roughly an hour-long trip, before continuing their overland journey for another two hours to Kota Kinabalu to take the flight. MASwings regional vice-president for Sabah, Shauqi Ahmad said the airline was more than happy to sponsor the students' flight after learning the intent and objective of the field trip initiated by the teachers to reward these students. He added that MASwings recognised that the teachers, students and families were enthusiastic about their annual trip despite the hardship they faced. The teachers overseeing the Library Club would organise a field trip for their students every year to expose them to places beyond their small village, hoping and believing that it would motivate the students to strive for a better life for themselves and their families in the future. Previously, their Library Club had visited the Keningau and Tenom District Library. Last year they ventured further, to the Sabah State and UMS libraries. This year their three-day field trip included a visit to the Sandakan Library, SMK Elopura, the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Sandakan Crocodile Farm. "MASwings will continue to be firmly committed to meaningful initiatives under its Wings of Love project, through various methods including investing in the future of students, especially those who are underprivileged and come from remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak. "We hope that through the use of our resources and contribution, it will bring about positive changes in the community and the country as a whole," said Shauqi. |
| Biscuit manufacturer hosts event to show gratitude to its employees Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:22 PM PDT MALACCA: Biscuits manufacturer Julie's held a "Share the Love" mini concert for its employees recently. The event was one of the highlights of the 'Share the Love' movement which the company started in early June. Believing that charity, caring and loving starts at home, Julie's organised the mini concert specially for its staff. "This exclusive concert is for our staff only, to show them our appreciation and for them to be part of the movement. "We did not want any of our family members at Julie's to miss the show so we shut down the production line for six hours and rearranged our entire production schedule," said Julie's sales and marketing general manager Martin Ang. "Abiding by the principle of the 'Share the Love' movement in which we hope to inspire people to express love, we are starting with ourselves and our personnel. It is important to us that everyone in Julie's feel that they are part of any activities that we do." Rocking the factory grounds of Julie's in Alor Gajah, Malacca were five talented musicians who were also the composers and singers of the Share the Love album. Kicking off the concert was Jasemaine Gan who set the mood with the title song, Share the Love which she sang in Mandarin and English. This was followed in succession by Lab the Rat with the song Time to Share, Asmidar Ahmad and Izaad with the Malay song Langit Biru and an easy sing-along song entitled The Heart Way by Bihzhu. Rounding up the performances was Superstar, a rock dance number that is set to be a hit, by Prema Yin. The finale saw everyone singing their hearts out when all the musicians came together to reprise Share the Love in English. The lyrics of all the songs communicate the message of love and sharing, and how we need to care for one another in society. In line with this belief, Julie's recently changed its tagline to "Baked With Love." Ang said that among the practices implemented by the company were providing a shuttle service for the non-local workers, ensuring a conducive working environment and creating an open canteen with a cool green garden for employees to take a break. "Biscuits baked by someone who feel that they are cared for will inevitably taste better because they too would have put a good dose of love in it!" he added. In the spirit of caring, Julie's also invited children and teachers from Harvest Centre in Kuala Lumpur for a field trip to Malacca where they were given a first-hand look at how the biscuits were made, before going for a tour of some of the historical sites in the state. The children also enjoyed the concert before heading home. Located in Sentul, Harvest Centre is a learning centre operated by Dignity for Children Foundation. It advocates and provides quality education for underprivileged children. Julie's is planning another concert later this year that will be open to all. For more information and updates on the "Share The Love" movement, log on to www.sharethelove.my where you can also download for free the five songs performed at the mini concert. |
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