Tag: director-general

Categories
Cuisine in Melaka

PATENTS FOR MALACCA’S UNIQUE TRISHAWS

Patents for Malacca’s unique trishaws

By Jason Gerald John
New Straits Times
Monday, Jun 10, 2013

MALACCA – THE famed Beca Melaka (trishaw) which have been plying the Historical City since the 1920s will soon be patented by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).

The move to patent the Beca Melaka is aimed at preventing the unique designs and decorations, which differ from one trishaw to another, from being reproduced.

State Agriculture and Entrepreneur Development chairman Datuk Hasan Abdul Rahman said each trishaw was unique in its own way as the decorations and lights on the pedal-powered three-wheelers spoke for the innovation and creativity of the owner.

“A patent gives the owner an exclusive right to stop others from manufacturing, using or selling the owner’s invention in Malaysia without the owner’s consent or permission.

“There are some 250 beca under the Persatuan Beca Pelancongan Negeri Melaka (PBPNM) in the state, which are used mainly for tourism purposes. We want each and every one of them to be patented to protect this unique heritage.

“PBPNM mooted this idea to protect their innovative creation through MyIPO and the state government fully supported this move,” he said after launching the Beca Melaka Parade, held in conjunction with National Intellectual Property Day 2013 and the International Melaka River Festival at the Melaka River Square in Jalan Merdeka here yesterday.

Present were MyIPO chairman, Datuk Abdul Manan Ismail, MyIPO director-general, Datuk Azizan Mohamad Sidin, and PBPNM chairman, Capt (Rtd) Khalid Ahmad.

Hasan said that with the patent, each trishaw rider could also reap numerous benefits including monetary gains through the right marketing strategy, sales of patent, licensing and franchising, not only locally but in other parts of the world as well.

On a related matter, Hasan called on trishaw riders to continue preserving the tradition of providing trishaw services to tourists as well as help promote the state’s tourism industry.

Categories
Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA RIVER PROJECT NOW A MODEL FOR OTHERS

14 June 2013| last updated at 11:38PM

Sungai Melaka project a model for others

By Jason Gerald | nstjason@gmail.com

REHABILITATION: The once lifeless waterway has been turned into Malacca’s most lucrative tourism product

THE phrase “Everything began in Malacca” is not something which was just coined to attract tourism, but is in actual fact what this state has to offer to other states in Malaysia.

The birth of the nation is attributed to the glory of the Malacca sultanate in the 15th century, and Malacca is where the independence of Malaysia was first announced by the country’s founding father, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj at the Dataran Pahlawan in Banda Hilir.

Malacca has been a benchmark for many developments in the country after the state was steered into becoming a developed state — recognised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — and is now spearheading the nation’s green technology initiatives.

And now, what was once famed as one of the busiest ports in the world, the Melaka River, is becoming a benchmark for the rehabilitation and beautification of rivers throughout the country.

Known as the Venice of the East in the 15th century, the waterway had slowly deteriorated and became one of the dirtiest rivers in the country till some 12 years ago.

In 2001, the state government, with assistance from the Federal Government, had embarked on the first phase of the Melaka River beautification project costing some RM200 million.

The first phase of the Melaka River rehabilitation project started at the tip of the river mouth to the Hang Tuah bridge which included the construction of two new jetties and an archway across the river.

The restoration and beautification project paid off handsomely, as now the once lifeless river has not only been revived but it has been turned into the most lucrative tourism product that Malacca has to offer.

The recent Sungai Melaka International River Festival created history when the Drainage and Irrigation Department director-general, Datuk Ahmad Husaini Sulaiman, said the State administration’s success in turning the river into one of the finest in the country, region and also the world would be the main point of reference for the revival and beautification of all rivers in the country.

The effort taken by the Malacca government in beautifying the Melaka River has not only managed to turn the river into a commodity for tourism but also helped in mitigating floods.

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan all rivers in the country were allocated RM3.47 billion for flood mitigation works, rehabilitation and beautification exercise. Melaka alone was allocated RM285 million.

In Malacca’s case, this money was not only used for flood mitigation works but also for the cleaning, beautification, and upgrading of the river system from the Sungai Melaka estuary right up to Malim.

This success of making Sungai Melaka into a living river is proposed to be replicated across the country.

Sungai Melaka is flanked by several delightful structures such as the Dutch or Red Square, traditional villages and other tourist attractions. In the second phase of its rehabilitation would start at the Hang Jebat bridge up to Batu Hampar, covering 5.2km.

The second phase would be divided into three main work packages; first would cover a 2.4km waterway from the Hang Jebat bridge to the Tun Razak bridge, followed by 1.2km from the Tun Razak bridge to the Melaka Sentral bridge, and the final package from the Melaka Sentral bridge to the Tidal Control Gate that stretches for 1.6km.

This would also include deepening the depth of the river, constructing walls and walkways along the river, landscapes, three water taxi stations at Taman Rempah and Jusco AEON, building unique bridges and beautifying the banks of the river.

Once the project is completed, the water quality of Sungai Melaka is expected to improve from class 111 barometer to class 11B by the year 2015.

The current success of the Melaka River rehabilitation and beautification project could also be seen through the Melaka River Cruise.

When the cruise started in 2006 there were only 56 visitors, but last year alone it attracted some 1.1 million passengers, and this year it is targeted that the Melaka River Cruise would attract some 1.4 million visitors.

Besides being a benchmark for rivers in Malaysia, the Malacca government is also aiming to work towards getting this event listed on the World Tourism Calendar of Events, similar to the San Antonio River festival in Texas, United States.

Read more: Sungai Melaka project a model for others – Columnist – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/sungai-melaka-project-a-model-for-others-1.299900#ixzz2WE8IVouO

Categories
Cuisine in Melaka

NATIONAL ARCHIVES TO RECOVER PRE-1800 HISTORICAL RECORDS

National Archives to recover country’s pre-1800 historical records

Posted on October 31, 2012, Wednesday

MELAKA: The National Archives is on a mission to recover records on the country’s history dating back before the year 1800, of which many are currently kept in foreign countries, especially in India.

Its director-general Daresah Ismail said this effort could help to enlighten the people on the history during that era, as the historical records kept by the Naational Archives at the moment were mostly after the year 1800.

“We lack of historical records during the British, Dutch and Portugese colonial eras before 1800 because those records had been brought back by them.

“So the National Archives is now attempting to bring back copies of the records especially from India as it was a former administrative centre for the British,” she told reporters after attending an outreach programme at Saad Foundation College here, yesterday.

Daresah added that the oldest collection at the National Archives was on churches in Melaka during the Dutch colonial era in the 16th century as well as the birth and death registry of that time.

“We also have copies of documents from Japan which contained stories on Admiral Hang Tuah and the Melaka Malay Sultanate in the 1500s,” she said. — Bernama

WEBMASTER: IT WILL BE INTERESTING IF WE CAN GET A COPY OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES’S LETTER TO LORD MINTO APPEAL TO HIM TO STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MALACCA A FAMOSA FORTRESS.

Categories
Cuisine in Melaka

WHAT TREE DID PARAMESWARA SEE WHILE RESTING BESIDES THE RIVER

Saturday November 5, 2011

What tree did Parameswara really see in Malacca?
INTERACTIONS
By FRANCIS NG

IT is taken as a historical fact that Malacca was founded by Parameswara, who named it after the melaka tree. Parameswara, in the legendary account of the founding of Malacca, actually had no idea what the tree was.

He had seen a mouse deer kick one of his hunting dogs and, inspired by the fighting spirit of the mouse deer, he asked his followers “What is the name of the tree under which I am standing?” His followers replied “It is called melaka, your Highness”. Nobody said “Wait, let us check this out.”

I would like to present evidence that Parameswara was wrongly advised. Before anybody questions whether I am qualified to change history, let me explain that my comments are based on botany, and I am, after all, a qualified taxonomic botanist, one who deals with the naming and classification of plants.

The melaka tree, known in Sanskrit as amalaka’, has an ancient and venerable history in Sanskrit culture and medicine.

What’s in a name? Phyllanthus pectinatus is native to Malacca but is often mistaken for Phyllanthus emblica from which Malacca is believed to have gotten its name.
When the Swedish founder of modern plant classification, Carolus Linnaeus, gave this tree its scientific name in 1753, he Latinised amalaka’ to emblica’ and placed it within the genus Phyllanthus. Hence the melaka tree became known in science as Phyllanthus emblica. Phyllanthus emblica is now planted all over Malacca as the state’s iconic foundation tree.

However, what Parameswara saw must have been another species, Phyllanthus pectinatus, which has a superficial resemblance to Phyllanthus emblica.

Phyllanthus pectinatus was first described and named by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1890, based on specimens collected in Perak, Malacca and Singapore.

I first became aware of the possible mis-identification when I planted melaka’ trees in FRIM (Forest Research Institute Malaysia), some from seeds collected in a forest, and some from seeds collected from a garden.

When the trees grew and produced flowers and fruits I found that they represented two utterly different species. These differences are obvious when specimens of the two species are placed side by side for comparison.

In Phyllanthus emblica, the fruits are clustered at the base of rather robust leafy shoots whereas in Phyllanthus pectinatus they sway in the wind at the ends of the finely feathery leafy shoots.

Inside the fruit is a hard stony structure containing the seeds. This stony structure is sharply 3-angled in Phyllanthus pectinatus but rounded in Phyllanthus emblica. There are also differences in flower structure and in the appearance of the bark.

In trying to figure out the relationship between the two species, I checked the specimens of melaka’ preserved at the herbarium of FRIM.

A herbarium is a place in which specimens collected by plant explorers are permanently preserved for scientific study and reference.

The FRIM herbarium serves as the national herbarium for Malaysia and it has specimens from all over the country, collected by botanists and foresters during the past 100 years of forest exploration. All the specimens of melaka’ in FRIM were of Phyllanthus pectinatus.

When I had the opportunity to visit the world herbarium at Kew, I examined the collections from all over Asia, including the specimens seen by Joseph Dalton Hooker. I also went to the Botanic Gardens Singapore to check the specimens in its herbarium.

Putting all the information together, the picture that emerged was that Phyllanthus emblica has its natural range across India, Burma, Thailand, Indo-china and South China.

In contrast, Phyllanthus pectinatus has its natural range within the Malay Archipelago, especially in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo. In their natural state, there is no geographical overlap between the two species.

In brief, Phyllanthus pectinatus is a true forest tree of the Malay Archipelago and it is particularly common in the forests of Malacca state.

In contrast, Phyllanthus emblica occurs only as a planted garden tree in the Malay Peninsula and the rest of the Malay Archipelago. It has never been able to escape and establish itself in our forests.

The best place to see Phyllanthus pectinatus is in the recreational forest of Ayer Keroh just outside the city. This area is now being redesignated as a botanical garden, but its core area is maintained as natural forest.

In this forest, there are many natural trees of Phyllanthus pectinatus, prominently mislabelled as Phyllanthus emblica. Just outside the forest, the true Phyllanthus emblica has been planted prominently in various locations for visitors to see.

Nobody has noticed that the native trees in the forest are a different species from the planted trees outside. What Malacca needs is a botanist, ideally a taxonomist cum horticulturist, to manage its botanical garden.

Malacca may have to accept that it has two iconic foundation trees: the tree that Parameswara saw and misidentified, and the tree it got mistaken for.

To me, the native tree is the more attractive of the two.

? Botanist and researcher Francis Ng is the former deputy director-general of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. He is now the botanical consultant to Bandar Utama City Centre Sdn Bhd and the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. (fng@pc.jaring.my)