Tag: Pulau Melaka

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Cuisine in Melaka

WANGKANG FESTIVAL IN MELAKA FROM 1ST.FEBRUARY TO 6TH.FEBRUARY 2012

10th.December 2011

After an absence of 10 years, the Wangkang Festival will be held again in the historic city of Melaka from 1st.to 6th. February 2012.

This Wangkang Festival was held in 1933, 2001 and now in 2012.

The Wangkang Festival is of Hokkien origin, and it is held in China, only in Chiang Chew Hoo and Chuan Chew Hoo ( 2 very large districts of the Hokkien province ) and in Malacca.

In the early days, it was also held in Manila, but I don’t know whether it is still being held there or not. I have heard of it also being held in Sarawak.

During the persecution of the Chinese by the Manchus in the Ching Dynasty about 3 centuries ago, a great many Hokkien people emigrated from China and some of them sailed towards Malaya, and the first country they reached was Malacca, where they settled down and worshipped the Ong Yahs as they had been used to in their own country.

As customary, their descendants – the Straits-Born Chinese – followed their footsteps in worshipping five Ong Yahs and this is why Malacca is the only place in Malaya, where the Wangkang procession is held.

This festival was last held in Melaka in 2001 and 1933. Now, a procession ofthe Wangkang through the streets of Melaka City which covers over 20km, will be held on 6th. February 2012 before the Wangkang will be burnt in the Straits of Melaka off Pulau Melaka.

This is a festival for all and all are invited to witness this once a lifetime event. Tourists will be able to witness this unforgettable event and to take part in festival which will be held from 1st. Februaryto6th. February 2012.

For more details and read aboutthis festival, please log into: www.yongchuantian.com.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA CHIEF MINISTER TO LAUNCH OFFICIAL WEBSITEOF WANGKANG FESTIVAL 2012

On Sunday 11th.December 2011, the Melaka Chief Minister YAB Datuk Seri Mohd.Ali Rustam has been invited to officially launch the official website of the Wangkang 2012 festival in Melaka.

The members of the public are also invited to witness this event.

The event will be held from 1st. February to 6th.February 2012 which the climax of this festival will be the procession of the Wangkang over 20km through the streets of Melaka City. The Wangkang will be burnt off Pulau Melaka at the end of the Festival.

For details, log into : www.yongchuantian.com.

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Cuisine in Melaka

PULAU MELAKA PROJECT REVIVED

Monday January 3, 2011

MALACCA: It was a good start to the New Year for the state when the RM1.46bil Pulau Melaka twin reclaimed island project was revived after a decade of financial and legal woes.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the state would start work on the abandoned project, off the coast of Bandar Hilir by September.

Among the works included are resolving issues faced by some 1,009 buyers who were left in a lurch when the project was abandoned several times since its launch in the mid-1996.

Beauty nearly wasted: A bird’s-eye view of the abandoned Pulau Melaka, off the straits of Malacca. The multi-billion ringgit project will finally resume by September this year.

The state took possession of the island project from the developers and won the case at the Court of Appeal on Dec 28.

“The state can finally proceed with reviving the project as those involved in the case will not appeal to the Federal Court,” he told reporters after a ceremony marking the state’s possession on the island here yesterday.

He said the project involved the construction of some 400 commercial shop lots comprising a total of 1,534 units.

Most of the development work on the island have been completed with 521 units completed out of the 612 under Phase I.

Another 598 units have been completed out of 726 units under Phase II, Mohd Ali said, adding that there were 160 units yet to be developed under Phase III.

He said the island would be managed by the State Economic Development Corporation and Chief Minister Incorporated with main contractors Kejuruteraan Asas Sdn Bhd completing work for the sewage treatment system.

The state would meet the affected buyers next month over the issue, Mohd Ali said.

“They can opt to continue with the purchase of their units or alternatively offer them to the state,” he added.

Covering some 40ha, the project was launched in mid-1996 by Pulau Berkembar Sdn Bhd Talam Bhd, a subsidiary of Talam Corporation Sdn Bhd but was abandoned in the late 1990s following the global economic down turn.

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Cuisine in Melaka

NEW MELAKA FERRIS WHEEL TO BE HOUSED ON PULAU MELAKA

MALACCA: A new ferris wheel to replace the Eye On Malaysia will be erected on Pulau Melaka by a local private company this year.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam confirmed that Melaka Wonderland Sdn Bhd has agreed to source for a 85m-tall ferris wheel from China and are currently negotiating its purchase.

“The state has also decided to make Pulau Melaka the location for the new ferris wheel.

“This is because the former location in Kota Laksamana is near the heritage buffer zone,” he told reporters after visiting SJK(C) Bukit Beruang yesterday.

He noted that attempts to erect a new ferris wheel at the former site would delay the project as approval from the Paris-based Unesco World Heritage Committee is needed.

“There is a height restriction for development in the area and it would take at least one to two years for approval from the World Heritage Committee,” Mohd Ali said.

He said the state would either rent or lease a site on Pulau Melaka for the company to set up the new ferris wheel.

“We will not be involved in the project as it is a private initiative,” he said.

The 62m-tall Eye On Malaysia, a joint venture between MST Ad Suria Sdn Bhd and state-owned Eye On Malaysia Sdn Bhd, ceased when its Belgian owners Fitraco MV took possession of the wheel last Jan 7 over an RM18mil debt owed by MST Ad Suria.

The wheel was removed by Fitraco in October last year. Meanwhile, Mohd Ali said the state is also in negotiations with the Royal Malaysian Police to convert the present Melaka Tengah District Police station along Jalan Quayside and the Melaka Tengah Narcotics Department near Jalan Gereja into tourist attractions.

He said both police stations are located within the state’s core heritage zone and there are plans to make them into museums and tourist attractions.

He added that the state is ready to offer land on Pulau Melaka for schools such as SK Banda Hilir and St Francis Institution, both located within the state’s core heritage zone, and the police if they wish to relocate.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA AXES SFI RELOCATION PROPOSAL

Monday January 10, 2011
Malacca axes SFI relocation proposal

By MARTIN CARVALHO malacca@thestar.com.my

MALACCA: The state government has shelved a proposal to relocate the 131-year-old St Francis Institution, currently sitting within the Unesco World Heritage site, to Pulau Melaka.

This follows a deluge of requests on Facebook to allow the school to stay put at its current site.
Former Franciscans had campaigned against the idea of relocation on a Facebook page, We Dont Want St Francis Institution To Be Relocated, which garnered 1,000 responses in five days.

Status quo: The 131-year-old St Francis Institution will remain at its present location.
“I was surprised at the swift and overwhelming response from the school’s former students and the public,” said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, who has agreed to overturn the earlier decision.

“I thank them for voicing their thoughts,” he told The Star, when contacted while on transit in Dubai on his way to attend the 39th World Boy Scouts Conference in Brazil.
“I understand that over 90% of them disagree with plans to relocate the school. So, the school can stay put,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mohd Ali said the state government would consider offering land to SFI and another school, SK Banda Hilir, on Pulau Melaka, touted as Malaysia’s first Twin Island City Centre.

The waterfront development project involves the reclamation of two islands, approximately 0.5km off the coast of Malacca new town centre.

The reclamation of the first island and construction of a 30m bridge linking it to the mainland has been completed.

The chief minister’s statement caused a furore among former SFI students, who launched their Facebook campaign to get feedback on the issue.

The issue of relocating the school, which has over 1,200 students, was first mooted in the early 1990s, following plans to convert the area and nearby St Paul’s Hill to a tourist hub. It was deferred following protests by former students.

Mohd Ali said the suggestion was meant to preserve the school building as an education museum, which will now be set up on Pulau Melaka instead.

Responding to the change of heart by the state government, SFI director Rev Bro Ambrose Loke said he was happy with the decision.

“I am glad the state has accepted the views of the former students and the public,” he said.
SFI Old Boys’ Association president Ong Eng Khiam said he was also happy.

“There is no need to turn SFI into a museum as it is already a living museum, with a rich legacy and is a tourist landmark,” he said.

Webmaster: I hope this decision covers SK Bandar Hilir (better known as BHES) as well. BHES is about 103 years old and we want a living school, not a museum devoid of the pupils. History is not about buildings and artifacts but buildings with people. The schools are where different generations of pupils have passed through their gates and nurtured by dedicated teachers.

We do not want these schools to be re-located in Melaka. In KL, famous schools such as Bukit Bintang Girls’ School and St. Mary’s were re-located because they sit on invaluable land in KL. These schools were there before development and they were part of the landscape of the city.