The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- UTM students build prototype cars to help save fuel
- Authorities step up efforts to clean up pirated DVD hotspots in Johor
- Developer will launch scheme for eligible first-time houseowners
| UTM students build prototype cars to help save fuel Posted: 05 Feb 2013 02:54 PM PST JOHOR BARU: A group of final year Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students have managed to build a prototype car that could help save fuel for our vehicles. The university recently organised a fuel-saving car design competition for its Kemahiran Hidup Education faculty as part of its final year assignment. UTM Technical and Engineering Education Department, Education faculty lecturer Prof Adnan Ahmad said six teams participated in this year competition. He added that the main target for the students was to design a car that could use less fuel over a long period. "We are very satisfied with the performance of each team as all of them had done a wonderful job in coming up with original designs in the competition. "These prototype single-seater cars built by the students themselves give a glimpse for the future as they managed to save lots of fuel compared to current road vehicles," he said. Adnan pointed out that a car would use one litre of petrol for 7km while the prototype car could go up to 12km. He added that the winning prototype car used up to 35% of one litre of petrol in the event. "The cars were put in a series of tests including a racing mode, where a car would commonly lose more fuel if it accelerates. "By far, a prototype car designed by a group of final year students, who called themselves Power Rangers saved more fuel compared to other cars," he said. Power Rangers leader Nurfairus Jaafar Sidek, 28, said the group had spent RM4,000 to build and design their car in just two months before the competition. "There are 12 of us and each one of us had specific tasks in building our car which is loosely based on the Ford T car produced in the late 1920s. "Our single-seater car is only 130kg, which is one of the lightest in the competition with a top speed of 60km per hour. The engine itself comes from a Honda motorcycle," he said. Nurfairus said the group's next target is to represent UTM in the Shell Eco Challenge, which will be held in Sepang, Selangor in June. |
| Authorities step up efforts to clean up pirated DVD hotspots in Johor Posted: 06 Feb 2013 05:21 AM PST JOHOR BARU: The Johor Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) has declared an all-out "war" against pirated DVD sellers here. Its director Ayub Abd Rahman said last year, the department had seized almost 150,000 pirated DVDs alone in known hotspots at major shopping centres in the city centre. He added that last year, the department raided 98 shops for selling such DVDs, of which 39 cases had been brought to court. "The department is looking into the matter seriously as we do not want Johor Baru to be known as a pirated DVD haven. "In 2012 alone, we seized about 148,090 DVDs, including pornographic movies from such raids," he said when contacted here. Ayub added that besides setting up a special taskforce to look into the matter, the department was also working closely with other enforcement agencies such as the local authority, Customs Department and police. "This is part of our efforts to clean up known hotspots that sell pirated DVDs to locals and foreigners," he said. Ayub also advised members of the public to stop buying such DVDs as it would only increase the amount of pirated DVDs in the market. He pointed out that pirated DVD sellers were making an offence under the Trade Description Act 1972 and the Copyright Act. "Under the Trade Description Act, DVD peddlers could face a maximum fine of RM20,000 or a jail term of not more than three years while the company could face a maximum fine of RM50,000. "DVD peddlers could also face a maximum fine of RM30,000 for each pirated DVD or a jail term of not more than five years under the Copyright Act 1987," he said, urging those who have information on such activities to contact the department's hotline at 1-800-886-800. It was recently reported in The Star that DVD sellers were raking in thousands of ringgit each month from Singaporeans who wanted their pirated DVDs to be delivered across the Causeway. DVD sellers, especially at major shopping centres and hypermarkets in the city centre, have been providing the delivery service to Singaporeans for the last few years. They are now sending the DVDs by courier to avoid getting caught by the Malaysian and Singaporean authorities. |
| Developer will launch scheme for eligible first-time houseowners Posted: 05 Feb 2013 02:54 PM PST GELANG PATAH: UEM Land Holdings Bhd will be launching its affordable housing scheme project made up of landed residential properties for eligible first-time houseowners this year. Its senior general manager Mohd Nadzari Bachek said the company would build about 1,000 units of houses on a 32.37ha site near the Iskandar Malaysia Public Housing project in Jalan Ulu Choh-Lima Kedai near here. "We are already in the final stage of planning the project including the pricing and the floor built-up area of each unit," he told StarMetro. Mohd Nadzari said this after presenting a RM90,000, 14-seater van to Kampung Pok An-Nur Mosque chairman Musa Johari. The van had been converted into a hearse. He said the company was still contemplating on building single-or double-storey terrace houses for the project, and that it all depended on the state government's approval. "We are looking at selling the houses at RM150,000 each but the final price will also take into account other factors such as building material and labour costs," added Mohd Nadzari. He said initially, the company wanted to build apartments but the state government was not too keen on the proposal as other issues such as collecting joint building maintenance fees from residents could arise. Separately, Mohd Nadzari said the company wanted to attract more Chinese investors into Nusajaya as they were looking at foreign countries to diversify their investment portfolios. He said these investors, including property developers, had a lot of money in hand and when they invested overseas, they would spend generously. "We still have 3,237.48ha land for development in Nusajaya, including 1,821.08ha in Gerbang Nusajaya, which is suitable for big-scale property projects," added Mohd Nadzari. Last December, UEM Land and Chinamall Holdings Pte Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding to develop China Mall, a trade and exhibition centre in Gerbang Nusajaya. The 1.4mil sq ft gross floor area of a 12.94ha site worth RM562mil will house 3,000 merchants from China offering products such as textile, gifts, souvenirs, furniture, electrical and household appliances, jewellery and toys. In an unrelated matter, the company also planned numerous corporate social responsibility events that focus on academic development through its Pintar school education programmes lined up for this year. UEM Land has adopted 17 schools within Nusajaya in Iskandar Malaysia under the Pintar programme since 2007, with initiatives such as the English Programme, Green School Project, Hygiene Talk and Motivational Camp. |
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