The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- New hotel in Malacca keeps it green and pleasant
- Malacca council’s contractors need to buck up and play fair
- ‘Tourism ambassadors’ promote historic city
| New hotel in Malacca keeps it green and pleasant Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:44 PM PST MALACCA: The new Explorer Hotel in Malacca has unveilled a new concept to tap the growing number of tourists in the historic city. The hotel that recently opened its doors at Plaza Merdeka in Taman Melaka Raya has positioned itself as the first eco-friendly budget hotel in the city. Its manager Melissa Chuah said Explorer took the opportunity to complement the growth of the state's tourism sector by providing visitors with a "back to nature" feel within an eco-friendly environment. She said the hotel had 143 rooms spread over four storeys and are serviced by two elevators. "Guests can choose from the standard, deluxe to the executive rooms, all of which come with basic amenities such as television, coffee and tea-making facilities, free wi-fi access, en suite bathroom and hairdryer," she said. Chuah said as an eco-friendly hotel and mall in Malaysia, The Explorer is designed to add a breath of fresh air to its concrete surroundings and help reduce carbon footprint. "Every effort has been placed to create an environmentally sustainable business — from eco-friendly construction materials and energy-efficient technologies right down to the choice of water closets and even to the roof and paving," she said. She noted that the hotel's most distinctive feature is its curvy, almost billowing white roof. Chuah revealed that the roof is a high performance composite membrane, which hails from the Ferrari-architecture series. "Its uniform translucency optimises natural lighting while its highly concentrated PVDF dirt-resistant surface treatment makes maintenance easy," she said Chuah added that the roof had exceptionally high resistance to UV rays and extreme atmospheric conditions, offering extra protection while keeping the walkway cooler. "Best of all, it is 100% recyclable using the Ferrari Group's Texyloop process. "Our rooftop is a rainwater harvesting system where collected rainwater is recycled for flushing toilets and watering plants. "The hotel is also fitted with LED lights, which save cost and boost energy efficiency," she said. Chuah added that the interior of the hotel, features such as skylights, garden courtyards and open spaces help draw in natural daylight and promote cross channel ventilation. "Our ongoing green efforts allow us to provide a fresh, clean and pleasant environment for the satisfaction of our guests," she added. |
| Malacca council’s contractors need to buck up and play fair Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:34 PM PST MALACCA: Mayor Datuk Zainal Abu is upset over non-performing contractors commissioned by Malacca Historical City Council (MBMB) who have conveniently dropped names of eminent politicians from the state to avoid their contracts from being terminated. However, Zainal said he was unfazed by such actions and had terminated the contracts of three incompetent contractors this year alone. "The dissatisfied contractors went to the extent of hurling threats at me and my officers by misusing the names of those in office whenever we attempted to take action against them for not abiding to our prerequisites. "We have nullified the contracts of three contractors this year even though they had attempted to use the names of prominent leaders from the state to intimidate us. This took place after we had given them a second reminder to improve their quality of work," he said after launching a nocturnal road-cleaning service at Taman Melaka Raya here, recently. Zainal also hinted that more contractors would face the same action if they continued to be lackadaisical by perceiving that they were protected by influential people. He added that some of them had even told him to be careful as they had forged close relationships with the local leaders. "For me, it is important for the projects to be completed. If they fail to perform, I have no qualms to show them the way out," he said. "I have told my officers to take stern action if the contractors continue to disregard the second reminder," he said. "We pay them accordingly but as they have failed to execute their responsibilities, we have to take action. "Moreover, there are those waiting to be part of the council's contractors and we have to give a chance to those who are willing to work," he said. Zainal added that his Facebook account were often filled with complaints from residents. "When checks are made, we realised that the contractors who claimed to have special connections with prominent figures were the ones slacking," he said. On the night cleaning service that was recently launched, Zainal said it was aimed at maintaining a high-level of cleanliness at crowded and tourist spots, here. He said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam had highlighted to the local councils to keep such areas clean. Zainal added that the night cleaning service at Taman Melaka Raya was considered a pilot project and would be extended to other areas under the council's jurisdiction, gradually. |
| ‘Tourism ambassadors’ promote historic city Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:14 PM PST MALACCA: Mara Youth Tourism Association (Myta) has set foot in the historic city and UiTM Shah Alam students will act as "tourism ambassadors" to promote tourist destinations in the state. Forty undergrads led by their advisor Ahmad Fitri Amir will go around introducing the interesting destinations through virtual and cyberspace. The inaugural tourism ambassador programme launched by State Tourism, Heritage and Culture committee chairman Datuk Wira Latiff Thambi Chik, recently, is aimed at creating more experts in the tourism industry to help encourage travel and promote intriguing destination in selected states. It is also designed to enhance the communication skills of undergraduates who are pursuing tourism related studies. For Malacca, the group concentrated at Porta de Santiago, St Paul Hill, Maritime Museum, Malacca River Cruisejetty and the Stadhuys. The seven group of undergraduates were each assigned to interesting spots within the historic city. Those interested in taking part in the programme may contact Nur Selina Rafee at 013-300 9832. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Metro: South & East To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan