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Wonderful Malaysia

Top 10 Famous Malaysians

Who are the ten most famous Malaysian celebrities

While Malaysia is a relatively small country, the nation has produced its fine share of well-known and talented people. They are leaders in their own fields, ranging from the arts to entertainment to sports. They have inspired many young Malaysians to achieve the status and success they have already gained. Here is a list of these inspiring Malaysians:

Dato’ Michelle Yeoh

michelle-yeohIn the world of entertainment, Dato’ Michelle Yeoh is definitely Malaysia’s most successful movie star. Her career began in Hong Kong when she starred alongside Jackie Chan in The Police Story 3, a critical and successful movie which was released in 1992. Dato’ Michelle impressed Jackie so much that she is among the handful of stars that he would allow to do their own stunts. Since then, she has appeared in both Hong Kong and Hollywood films.

It is safe to say that appearing as a Bond girl in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, alongside Pierce Brosnan elevated her status not only as an action star but it also proved she could take on Hollywood as well. Notable movies she has appeared in includes the highly acclaimed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Mummy 3 and Babylon A.D. Indeed an impressive list for a girl who hailed from the small town of Ipoh.

Dato’ Michelle has proved time and time again that she has the acting skills to take on dramatic roles and has broken the stereotype that Asians are limited to only action roles.

Amber Chia

amber-chiaAmber Chia is a supermodel and is undoubtedly the most well-known in recent history. She began her modelling career at the age of 17 and gained international recognition when she won the Guess Watches Timeless Beauty Contest in 2004. This contest was a search for models from across the globe in hopes of finding a brand ambassador for Guess Watches. Amber is not only the first Malaysian to win the contest but also the first Asian to do so.

Her win in the professional modelling contest jump started her fashion career. In 2004 and 2005, she was named the Model of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards. Since then, she has also become ambassadors for brands which include L’Oreal and Sony. She has even created her own modelling reality show, I Wanna Be a Model.

Dato’ Jimmy Choo, OBE

jimmy-chooWhen you have a theme song and that song was recorded by Ashanti, you know you have made it. When people like Jay-Z and Lil’ Kim mentions your name too, there is definitely something right in what you are doing. Jimmy Choo is not your ordinary shoemaker. His name is synonymous with luxury footwear and women all around the world would do just about anything to own a pair designed by him.
He was born in Penang to a shoemaker and at the age of 11 years old, he had already crafted his very first shoe. He went to London to study and in 1983, he graduated from the London College of Fashion. Three years later, he opened his shoe shop in Hackney. His designs quickly established himself as an up-and-coming shoe designer and when British Vogue expressed desire to feature him in their publication, his career as a shoe designer took off. The magazine gave him a record 8-page spread where he featured his collection and from then on, Jimmy Choos have become the sought-after footwear of the rich and famous. From ordinary people to celebrities and even royalty, people from all walks of life desire a pair of Jimmy Choos. Even the late Princess Diana was a loyal client of his.

In the fashion world, there is definitely no Malaysian who can compare to Jimmy Choo. He is probably the most talked about Malaysian out there today. The UK has even recognised his contributions to the fashion and shoe industry by conferring him an Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Nicholas Teo

nicholas-teoHe made it big not in Malaysia but in another Asian country, Taiwan. Nicholas won the Astro Talent Quest competition in 2002 at the age of 21. Two years later, his career as a recording artiste took off when he released his first album. With his boyish good looks and vocal skills to match, the album was largely successful in Taiwan where it sold 30,000 copies in the first month of its release, an accomplishment which rivaled some of the more established names in Taiwan.

His popularity also helped him secure a role in the Taiwanese drama “Smiling Pasta” which was highly rated, further cementing his career as a star. Without a doubt, Nicholas is the best example of being Malaysia’s best export to the Chinese entertainment industry.

Ling Tan

ling-tanThe name and face may not be familiar to you but Ling Tan has indeed made it big in the world of international modelling. Ling has an Asian face desired by many big brands and agencies. She first appeared in a relatively small fashion show before a commercial with Tiger Beer provided her with some success in the local market. She then went to New York and was quickly snapped up by one of the most famous modelling agencies in the world, IMG.

Name a designer and most probably Ling would have already worked with them. Just to give you an idea, Ling has worked with Donna Karen, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino and Jean Paul Gaultier, all of which need no introduction. On the other hands are names less familiar such as Richard Avedon, Mario Testino and Patrick Demarchlier but these are geniuses in the world of photography that have worked with Ling.

Besides doing runways and photo shoots, Ling has also been featured in reputable fashion publications such as Elle and Vogue, appeared in an episode of Sex and the City as herself as well as the George Michael’s music video “Fast Love”.

Sheila Majid

sheila-majidOver the past two decades, Sheila Majid has been slowly but surely dominating the international market. The country’s premier diva was the first ever Malaysian to successfully penetrate the Indonesian market and in 1986, she won the Indonesian BASF award in the category of Best Female Artist, a truly remarkable accomplishment as the award was never won by a non-Indonesian before. Besides Indonesia, Sheila Majid also has a strong following in Japan and still remains the only Malaysian recording artist to do so.

She has been given the nickname the Queen of Jazz and has collaborated with some of the world’s best musicians, including the Japanese violinist Aska Koneko and the American bassist Nathan East. In 1996, she performed a sold out concert at the Royalty Theatre in London’s West End and later the same year, she returned to perform at the jazz Mecca of music where Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder had once performed too.

Nicol David

nicol-davidDato’ Nicole David is a professional female squash player who is currently ranked no.1 in the world. She is the first Asian female to hold this title and has won a record of 6 World Championship titles in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. She has also added the British Open title to her cap for 3 times in 2005, 2006 and 2006.
Nicol has also been honored with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) in conjunction with Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin’s birthday. She was the first ever recipient of this title which was established way back in 1975. In 2004, Nicol was invited to carry Malaysia’s Olympic torch during the build-up to the games in Athens and also in the same year, she was appointed as the UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia. Nicol is definitely a sports icon and inspires many young Malaysians to achieve the success she has achieved thus far.

Lee Chong Wei

lee-chong-weiLee’s career as a badminton player began when he was discovered by Misbun Sidek, a former national badminton player turn coach. At the young age of 17, he was drafted into the national squad. Lee is a professional badminton player and was the first ever Malaysian to reach the finals of the men’s singles category in the 1996 Olympic games, being the first to end the medal drought since then. The achievement in the Olympic Games earned him the title of Datuk where the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, described Lee as a national hero. Lee also has other accolades other badminton players yearn for – two All-England championships titles.

Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza

siti-nurhalizaIn terms of star power, no one can take that title away from Dato’ Siti. She started her career by joining the reality singing competition, RTM Juara Bintang, where she won the title in 1995 at the age of 16. Aside from making waves on home ground, her talent has taken her to other countries where she continues to awe and inspire. She held a very successful solo concert in 2005 in London at the Royal Albert Hall where the media dubbed her as the Celine Dion of Asia.

Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

muszaphar-sheikHe takes the coveted title as being the first Malaysian to go into outer space but that’s not all. He was the first Muslim to observe Ramadhan while in space. The historical journey took place on October 10th 2007 where he blasted off with two other astronauts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station. During his nine days on the space station, he performed various scientific tests and experiments. Upon his return to earth, he has participated in space research programs and organized various motivational talks with the intention to relay to the younger generation that working towards your dreams do make it come true.

 

 

 

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA WANTS MORE SINGAPOREAN TOURISTS

02 November 2012 | last updated at 01:20PM

Melaka to draw more Singaporean tourists

SINGAPORE: The Melaka government is set to attract more tourists from Singapore to the Unesco World Heritage City of Melaka through collaboration with the main industry players in the city state, said Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

“We are really looking forward to establishing networking and cooperation with the main industry players here in order to attract more tourists from Singapore,” he said at a Melaka tourism product update event here on Thursday.

Mohd Ali said that to sustain Melaka City’s position as a must-visit destination, the state government was promoting it based on 12 sub-sector tourism products, namely history, culture, recreation, sports, shopping,convention, health, education, agro-tourism, food, Melaka My 2nd Home and youth tourism.

Also present at the event were Tourism Malaysia Director for Singapore Zalizam Zakaria; Melaka State Secretary Datuk Wira Omar Kaseh; Melaka Tourism, Culture and Heritage Committee Chairman Datuk Wira Latiff Tamby Chik; General Manager of the Tourism Promotion Division in the Melaka Chief Minister’s Department, Abd Kadir Md Idris, and local tourism industry players.

Mohd Ali said: “Last year, we received a total of 12.2 million tourist arrivals compared to 10.3 million in 2010, an increase of 17.5 per cent, with the length of stay at 2.15 nights. Tourist expenditure increased to about RM7.5 billion compared to RM5 billion previously.”

In terms of foreign markets, he said, China continued to be the market leader, with a share of 21 per cent, followed by Singapore (18.9 per cent),Indonesia (11.3 per cent), Taiwan (six per cent) and Myanmar (5.5 per cent).
“Singapore continues to be the second major market for foreign touristarrivals in Melaka,” he said.

The chief minister said various efforts and strategies had been developed toattract 12.5 million tourist arrivals to Melaka this year, and added that this mission was supported by the theme of “Visit Historic Melaka Means Visit Malaysia”.

He also said that Melaka was being introduced to tourists as a state that was clean, beautiful, colourful and bright, as well as a shopping paradise which also had delicious and tasty food.

“I hope this visit will mark the beginning of a steady flow of tourists from Singapore to Melaka. In conjunction with the ‘Melaka 750 Years’ celebration,should you visit Malaysia, and specially Melaka, this year, you would be able to experience more than 120 events, including 20 mega events and festivities, that have been planned throughout the year,” he said.

— BERNAMA

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Cuisine in Melaka

UNESCO LISTING BOOSTS ARRIVALS

MELAKA- In 2008, UNESCO chose to register both cities of Melaka and Georgetown (State of Penang) into the World Heritage List. Both cities were seen as lively historical testimonies of 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca.

The UN agency for culture then acknowledged that few urban centres in Southeast Asia blended to intimately influences of Asia and Europe providing both towns with a specific multicultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka is a remarkable example of colonial architecture, which stretches back to the 15th-century Malay sultanate, continued with the Portuguese and Dutch presence from the early 16th century to finally become part of British Malaya before being part of the new independent Malaysia.

UNESCO then helped Melaka to preserve and renovate its blend of Chinese, European and Malay architectures as well as preserving its peculiar way of life. Over the last five years, old houses along the River have been renovated, some transformed into trendy cafes, eateries and hotels. In the evening special lighting effects turn also the city into an attractive night destination. 

Long considered as a sleepy outpost on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, Melaka is now reviving as tourists and domestic visitors rediscover the city since its UNESCO inception.

In 2011, Melaka recorded its highest number of visitors ever at 12.165 million. They generated tourism revenues of RM 7.06 billion (US$ 2.2 billion).

According to State Tourism, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Wira Latiff Tamby Chik, growth in tourist arrivals was 17.5 per cent higher than in 2010.

During the first four months of 2012, growth continued unabated. Melaka welcomed during that period 4.11 million, a further rise of 13.3 % over the same months of 2011. From this number, 2.92 million were domestic tourists while the rest were foreigners.

Foreign arrivals grow faster than the domestic ones (37.3% versus 5.8%). The State government now believes that Melaka will welcome over 12.5 million visitors by year end. 

According to report by the State Tourism Department, Melaka top five foreign country tourist arrivals were China with 222,999 tourists followed by Singapore (185,277), Indonesia (16890), Taiwan (108,128) and Hong Kong (57,241).

Most popular attractions to the area are museums (312,058 visitors) followed by the Malacca River Cruise (279,338 visitors), Malacca Zoo (176,943) and Menara Taming Sari (169,340). 

A popular program in Melaka for foreign travellers is homestays with local people. Melaka offers 7 homestay programs officially registered with the Tourism Ministry. They welcomed last year 25,109 visitors, of which 8,883 were foreign guests. 

Among the new initiatives launched towards for travellers is a new website called ‘Welcome to Melaka’. The site provides travellers with everything about Malaysia’s capital city of culture by sharing some of Melaka’s best addresses, providing also web-surfers with articles and even discounts to selected shops. 

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Wonderful Malaysia

Overall growth of tourist arrivals Malaysia

Malaysia recorded an overall growth of +1.2% tourist arrivals with 9,438,592 tourists for the first five months of 2012 as compared to 9,323,827 for the same period last year, according to the Tourism Minister, Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen. ASEAN region still contributed the largest number of tourists to Malaysia with 73.4% of the total arrivals. The positive growth come from Indonesia (+19.3%), Philippines (+41.7%), Vietnam (+35.2%), Myanmar (+6.9%) and Laos (+19.9%). Other notable progressive medium and long haul markets include Saudi Arabia (+50.7%), China (+34.1%), Japan (30.6%), Russia (25.8%), Kazakhstan (25.2%), Denmark (14.4%) and India (+7.8%).

Total receipts by tourists from January to May 2012 rose by +1.9%, generating RM21.8 billion to the country’s revenue as compared to RM21.4 billion in 2011. The tourists’ per capita expenditure for that period is estimated at RM 2,309 an increase of 0.7% as compared to RM 2,294 in 2011.

The minister added that in line with the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan 2020 towards achieving 36 million tourist and 168billion in receipts by 2020, it is important for Malaysia to shift its focus on growing yield per tourist rather than to rely heavily on growth in tourist arrivals. “To attract the higher yield segment, we will need to enhance connectivity to key priority markets.” For a start, Tourism Malaysia works to increase flight frequencies to 6 priority countries namely China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan besides developing an air-rights allocation framework to facilitate efficient development of these key routes and others.

One of the most successful programs that have been identified by the Ministry to develop rural based tourism is the Homestay Program. The tourism program recorded a significant increase with 38.4% of occupancy rate compared to 24.9% for the same period last year. A total of 133,689 tourists visited our homestay from January to May 2012 of which 110,322 were domestic tourists and the rest 23,367 were foreigners. This is a 70.7% increase compared to the same period last year where we only received 78,333 tourists. Tourist receipts from homestay program for the first five months of 2012 also proliferated to RM 7,376,446.50 (+53.1%) compared to RM4, 817,158.30 in January to May 2011. Increased spending by these tourists has stimulated the rural economy. The homestay tourism program has encouraged local communities to be a part of rural based tourism whilst maintaining their traditions and identities.

Recognized as one of the National Key Economic Areas, the tourism industry remains as one of the major contributor to Gross National Income, foreign exchange earnings and employment. In 2011, tourism ranked seventh (7th) largest contributor with a GNI total of USD12.3billion and the third (3rd) largest foreign exchange earner after manufacturing and palm oil. The Malaysian tourism industry in 2010 provided 1.8 million jobs (15.9%, share of employment in tourism to total employment). Amongst the 12 Entry Point Projects are duty free shopping, luxury tourism, designating KLCC–Bukit Bintang area as a vibrant shopping precinct, improving business tourism and increasing the supply of 4 5 star hotel rooms, etc.

The percentage on tourist shopping recorded from January to May 2012 shows 32.3% (RM7.04 billion) of the total tourist receipts. This is an increase compared to 30% last year. The covered walkway connecting Bukit Bintang and KLCC completed early this year to facilitate shopping has shown a positive impact.

To attract high yield tourists, we need quality four five star hotel rooms. Currently there are 59,804 four five star hotel rooms available in Malaysia. By 2020, 37,000 additional four five star hotel rooms are required. The Ministry of Tourism targets to increase 3000 four five star hotel rooms in Malaysia as at end 2012. Currently 71% of the target is achieved with 2,123 rooms completed. The government’s liberalization policies and lucrative tax incentives have resulted in domestic and foreign investments on hospitality assets across Malaysia.

Malaysia has premised itself as a world class destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE). The Malaysia Convention Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) successfully secured 33 major events throughout January to May 2012, attracting total delegates of 50,770 and generating an estimated economic impact of RM499.9 mil. The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Rankings 2011 ranked Kuala Lumpur number 21 in the world and number 5 in Asia Pacific. Malaysia ranked number 29 in the world and number 7 in Asia Pacific.

Domestic tourism is also another important part of Malaysia’s tourism industry. The number of domestic tourists in 2011 increased 15.7% (45,731,000 as compared with 39,539,000 in 2010). In 2011, the spending by domestic tourists was RM27.0 billion, registering a 13.9% increase as against RM23.7 billion spent in 2010. This is the success of the “Cuti Cuti 1Malaysia” Campaign.

In order to grow the tourism industry, efforts have been intensified towards enhancing existing tourism products and developing new, creative and innovative tourism products. This included the “1Malaysia International Shoe Festival 2012?, “1Malaysia International Tourism Exchange 2012?, “1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism 2012? and the recently concluded “1Malaysia International Tourism Night Floral Parade 2012?.

The Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Malaysia: Truly Asia’ branding is recognized worldwide and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has ranked Malaysia the ninth most traveled to destination in the world.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MELAKA AIMS FOR 12.5 MILLION TOURISTS IN 2012

Malacca sees 13.3pc rise in tourist arrivals

By Syawal Syahrin | news@nst.com.my 0 comments

4 MILLION IN FOUR MONTHS: Chinese, Singaporeans and Indonesians among top arrivals

MALACCA: More than four million tourists visited the state in the first four months of this year, an increase of 13.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2011.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said of the 4.11 million tourists, 2.92 million were domestic tourists while the rest were foreigners.

“From January to April last year, Malacca saw some 3.62 million tourists visiting the state.

“But this year, for the same corresponding period, we saw an increase of 481,217 visitors.

“Foreign tourists saw a sharp increase of 37.3 per cent or 321,441, while domestic visitors grew by 5.8 per cent or 159,776 people,” he said.

Based on a report by the State Tourism Department, Ali said the top five foreign country tourist arrivals were China with 222,999 tourists, Singapore (185,277), Indonesia (168,190), Taiwan (108,128) and Hong Kong (57,241).

“As for the domestic tourists, the bulk of them were from Selangor, which recorded 773,271 tourists, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 666,520 tourists and Johor stands at the third place with 484,748 tourists.”

In the area of health tourism, Ali said some 141,602 people had sought treatment from three major private hospitals in the state — Mahkota Medical Centre, Putra Specialist Hospital and the Pantai Hospital Ayer Keroh.

“This figures comprises 81.6 per cent of the total number of tourists who came to Malacca to seek medical attention, with a majority of them coming from Indonesia with 29,789 people.

“Other foreigners who come here for medical tourism are from Singapore, China, Middle East and also Bangladesh.”

Ali also said museums in the state were the most popular attraction among tourists as they attracted 312,058 people, followed by the Malacca River Cruise (279,338 visitors), Malacca Zoo (176,943) and Menara Taming Sari (169,340).

Ali said the state government’s initiative in developing a variety of attractions had resulted in the drastic rise of tourists in this state, thus making Malacca a must-visit state in Malaysia.

“Besides this, several tourism aspects such as hygiene, tourists’ safety and communication facilities were crucial factors in attracting tourists to the state.

“Our ‘Think Tourism and Act Tourism’ initiative also managed to get the people to realise the importance of tourism to the state’s economy and this, too, is vital in ensuring we remain on top in the country’s tourism scene.”

This year, he said the state aims to attract 12.5 million tourists.