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The Star Online: Metro: South & East

School head calls it a day
Strong winds cause havoc across village and nearby areas
Passengers left in the lurch

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 02:54 AM PDT

JOHOR BARU: It looked like a scene straight out of television when hundreds of students waved goodbye to SMK Taman Daya principal Azizah Mohd Zaki on her retirement day as she was sent off in a horse-drawn carriage.

The 56 year-old principal was smiling from ear-to-ear as she waved to her former students and ex-colleagues as the carriage made its way out of the school.

In her speech at the farewell ceremony, Azizah was overcome with emotion while addressing the school.

"My fondest memory at the school was when I taught cooking classes to the Pendidikan Khas students.

"We cooked nasi briyani and baked cakes together. It was such a simple yet sweet memory that I will hold with me for as long as I live," said Azizah, who comes from Batu Pahat.

The mother of three, who is fond of travelling, joked that her next step after retirement is to fully resume her role as a loving wife, mother and grandmother to her two grandchildren.

"I always advise my students and teachers to always be innovative and creative to avoid from losing out in a competitive world.

SMK Taman Daya's head prefect Afiqah Hazwani Md Nordin said Azizah was like a mother to them, because she was strict and a loving headmistress. "She always put her students first, before anything else and we love her very much," she said.

Azizah was also treated to birthday wishes as everyone at the school sang Happy Birthday to celebrate her birthday on Oct 11, which was a day before her retirement.

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Strong winds cause havoc across village and nearby areas

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 02:56 AM PDT

MALACCA: A severe thunderstorm swept across Kampung Krubong Tengah and nearby areas here on Monday, severely damaging 10 houses.

Tiles and tables were blown away, roofs were ripped off and trees uprooted when the massive thunderstorm hit the area at 3.45pm.

While no injuries were reported, many villagers said they were shocked to see the effects of the strong, tornado-like winds generated by the storm.

Traffic in the area came to a standstill when electrical and telephone cables were severed causing several traffic lights at busy junctions to malfunction.

Police officers and fire officers from state Fire And Rescue Department were summoned to the area to control the traffic and to carry out clearance work.

Grandmother Zainab Mohd Amin, 79, was among those who witnessed the storm's wrath.

Zainab, said she was awakened by the loud noises caused by the wind and asked her grandson to seek shelter.

"The storm was followed by a heavy downpour. This is the first time I witnessed such a storm after having lived here for the past 60 years," she said.

Zainab said she looked outside and saw the tiles from her neighbour's porch being carried away by the wind before a plastic table from one of the nearby houses flew into her compound.

Another villager, Zakaria Che Lin, 46, said the wind was violent and it only took a few minutes for the thunderstorm to tear off roofs.

"This is the first time such an incident has happened in the area and is was a scary event for all of us," Zakaria said.

In one area, huge trees were uprooted and the street lamps were torn off and scattered everywhere.

Retiree Mat Manis Ismial, 49, said he was watching television with his wife when part of the roof of his house was suddenly torn off.

"Thank God we were not injured, one of my daughters was sleeping in her room, so I immediately woke her and we went to the back of the house for shelter," he said.

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Passengers left in the lurch

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 02:52 AM PDT

JOHOR BARU: The cancellation of flights for the Johor Baru-Kuching and Johor Baru-Kota Kinabalu routes by community airline Firefly has caused a lot of inconvenience for both travel agents and passengers.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Johor chapter chairman Kenny Ngi said that more than 10,000 passengers who had purchased flight tickets from 241 travel agents were still unhappy over the matter.

"We were only given short notice on the matter as Firefly announced the cancellation of the routes from Sept 15, on Aug 25.

"A lot of customers have called to tick off the travel agents on the short notice as many had bought holiday packages, took leave and paid for hotel bookings," he told a press conference at the MATTA office here recently.

Ngi said that although Firefly offered full refunds to customers, they are still unhappy as the cancellation of the routes disrupted their plans.

"Firefly should have given customers a longer period of time to plan and amend their plans before cancelling the routes.

"Travel agents and operators also suffer in terms of business as the public thinks the cancellations were due to the agents' poor planning," said Ngi.

He added that the matter has affected their reputations and customers also feel dissatisfied over the inconveniences caused.

"We as travel agents also feel at a loss as we have not been given a clear reason or explanation for those who are looking to travel to Kota Kinabalu or Kuching.

"I hope that the state government or Firefly will come up with a solution soon as I feel that the Senai Airport will be under-utilised after the flights are cancelled," he said.

In an unrelated matter, Ngi wanted to clarify to the public that the upcoming MITM travel fair is not organised by MATTA but organised Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA).

"I feel that the public is confused by the matter as we have received numerous calls from a lot of customers and travel agents asking us about the fair," he said.

When contacted, Firefly declined to comment on the cancellation of the routes.

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 19 Oktober 2011