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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA OFFICIALLY DECLARED “DEVELOPED STATE” AT 20.10HRS ON 20TH. OCTOBER 2010

MALACCA: Ten years of hard work paid off when this historical state was officially declared a “developed state” yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made the declaration via tele-conferencing from Kuala Lumpur to thousands of Malac cans gathered at a grand ceremony in Stadium Hang Jebat in Krubong last night.

The crowd cheered and clapped when Najib made the declaration at the auspicious time and date of 2010 hours on 20.10.2010.

Exciting display: Fireworks being set off during the “Developed Malacca 2010: Green Technology State City” declaration ceremony at Stadium Hang Jebat in Krubong Wednesday night.

The event was themed “Develop ed Malacca 2010: Green Techno logy State City.”

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said it was a truly proud day for Malaccans as the state was finally recognised as a developed state by the Organisa tion for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

He added that the state would have a special one-off holiday today. Jon Hall, who has been leading the OECD’s Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Socie ties, said Malaccans had higher than the OECD’s minimum levels in virtually all indicators.

In Kuala Lumpur, Najib who made the announcement from the Putra World Trade Centre where the Umno general assembly is being held – said the Federal Government would give full support to Malacca.

“The people of Malacca should be proud that they have a hard-working and visionary leader,” he added.

Najib then made the official declaration and signed an electronic plaque declaring Malacca a developed state. This was sent to Mohd Ali via an electronic capsule.

Rail progress: A monorail travelling along the Malacca River during its inaugural trip after the launching by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam Wednesday. Mohd Ali said the monorail would start operations after obtaining approval from the relevant authorities. The 24-passenger monorail runs from Taman Rempah in Pengkalan Rama to Kampung Bunga Raya Pantai in the heart of the historic city. The RM15.9mil project is part of the state’s aim to further tap the potential of the Malacca River as a tourist attraction. — A. MALEX YAHAYA / The Star

Separately, Mohd Ali also launched the RM15.9mil monorail with an inaugural ride at Spice Garden yesterday afternoon.

The monorail service starts operations today.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA ALIVE

Melaka Alive, History In a New Way project

HERITAGE PRESERVERS: Petersham Group Ltd operation and development director Keith Thomas; Sarner IXL Sdn Bhd senior vice president Saifful Azhar Sabarudin, CEO Suffian Afendi Ahmad Apandi and president Mohd Nizar Mohd Najib; Sarner UK executive director and managing director Ross Magri, and Petersham park planning and management CEO Jonathan Rounce

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should brace themselves to see history in a whole different light because by next year, Malacca, known for its historical value, will be given a facelift in a project called ‘Melaka Alive, History In a New Way’.

With this project, visitors to the historical state will be able to personally experience the renowned tales of adventure, romance, drama and mystery, set to be brought to life through seamless interactivity and state-of-the-art technology, drawing in viewers to experience history firsthand, from the early days of Malacca to the birth of Malaysia as a nation.

The project, which will be realised in Bandar Hilir, Malacca, will be developed by Sarner IXL Sdn Bhd, a company with 30-years of experience in the delivery of visitor attractions and leisure entertainment centres including the International Astronomy and Space Centre in Liverpool and the Darwin Centre for the Natural History Museum in London.

In his speech at the media briefing held today at the Le Meridian hotel here, President of Sarner IXL Sdn Bhd, Mohd Nizar Mohd Najib, said the idea of ‘Melaka Alive’ was conceived primarily out of a desire to contribute to the local tourism industry.

“In the recently concluded World Tourism Conference 2010 in Sabah, experts said tourists are no longer content with passive watching. People today are looking for new, unforgettable experiences that cannot be taken away from them,” he said.

Malacca, he said, is rich with heritage and historical sites but could do with more innovative products to tell its stories as well as its glorious past.

“Melaka Alive primarily involves upgrading of display mechanisms and a general facelift of the existing heritage sites and assets, following Unesco guidelines,” he said.

The project has two phases. The first, involving the revival of the old light and sound show estimated to cost RM21.185 million is expected to be completed by April 2011.

Phase Two will focus on the upgrading of the site and assets of existing museums to make it more compelling and enriching visitor experience through the use of modern technology.

In Phase One, the story of Malacca will be told in an immersive light and sound presentation through projected water screen on board a traditional Malay ship, called ‘Bahtera Merdeka’, which will be the first of its kind here. It will feature the biggest automated water screen in the region.

Other key features include high resolution specialist projection on water curtain with spectacular world heritage site in the background complete with hologram FX, fire and explosion accompanied by live Surround soundtrack.

Attractions from Phase Two include a maritime museum, a history museum, and the fort walls which is a scenic wall that will surround the attraction sites.

Phase Two has an estimated cost of RM41.4 million and is expected to be completed by October 2011.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA BUILDS TALLEST HOTEL

Tourism Melaka is doing our first survey on the tourism products and services in Melaka.

Please take some time to participate in this survey. You can be rewarded with a Day tour from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka by Tourism Melaka.

Click here to participate in our first Tourism Melaka survey.

VIEW MELAKA AT A GLANCE (2004)

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SHOW 2010 FROM 3RD. TO 5TH. DECEMBER 2010

Melaka International Tourism Show (MITS) 2010 will be coming soon!

From 3rd – 5th December 2010 at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), Ayer Keroh, Melaka, MITS 2010 will feature highlights such as exhibitions, seminar on green technology and green tourism, holiday bargains, cultural performances, local handicraft demonstrations as well as fun-filled events and activities including games and prizes to give away.

The issue of global warming caused by a severe degradation of the environment is certainly taking a heavy toll on our planet these days resulting in rising temperature, heat waves and wild peat fires in various parts of the world today,

it is time for MITS 2010 to educate the tourism players as well as the public to do their part.

‘MITS 2010: Think Green’ campaign is to promote environmentally sustainable development in the hospitality and tourism industry and is a must for everybody towards promoting green practices in the country.

Learn, discover and experience more about tourism and green only at MITS 2010. Please write in your calendar and don’t miss out to visit MITS 2010.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA EXPECTED TO RECEIVE 10 MILLION VISITORS IN 2010

November 25, 2010 15:44 PM

Melaka Expected To Receive 10 Million Tourists In 2010

MELAKA, Nov 25 (Bernama) — For the first time, Melaka is expected to receive as many as 10 million tourists compared with 8.9 million last year.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said up to October this year, the historical state had received 7.8 million tourist arrivals and another 2.2 million were expected in November and December.

“The number of tourists has risen considerably since Melaka was declared a World Heritage Site in July 2008,” he said in his speech at the ‘Session with Eminent Personalities’ organised by the Institute of Management and Integrity, Melaka (Inspim) at a hotel, here, Wednesday night.

Also present was Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, as the guest-of-honour.

Mohd Ali also said that the Melaka International Airport (MIA) in Batu Berendam would see the arrival of Riau Air’s Boeing 737-500 flight carrying 120 passengers on Dec 6.

He said Riau Air had been operating daily flights between Pekan Baru in Indonesia and Melaka using the Fokker 50, carrying 50 passengers.

“We will also work at having more special flights from Macau and China to Melaka as the MIA had been upgraded,” he added.

Dr Ng told a news conference later that Melaka received an allocation of RM157.2 million for a two-year period under the Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP), which was 46 per cent of the total allocation of RM340 million under the tourism implementation programme.

“This allocation is in recognition of Melaka’s role as a prime tourist destination,” she said.

At the same function, Dr Ng also announced five main projects under the two-year period of the 10MP, which include upgrading of facilities at the Ayer Keroh Botanical Park costing RM30 million, developing the Tasik Chin Chin area in Jasin (RM25 million) and infrastructure for the cable car in Bandar Hilir (RM49 million).

The two others are the monorail phase two project along the Melaka River (RM13.2 million) and the development project at the Hang Tuah village along the Duyung River (RM40 million).

Meanwhile, Mohd Ali said Melaka planned to hold a Baba-Nyonya International Festival for the first time next year to attract more tourists to the state.

He said the Casa del Rio boutique hotel in Bandar Hilir, expected to be ready by April next year, would be the main venue for the festival showcasing the culture, traditions, fashion and food of the Baba-Nyonya community.

Organised with the cooperation of the Tourism Ministry, the festival will also invite the participation of Penang, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand which also have such a community.

— BERNAMA