THE Penang Housing Department has offered 95 people units at the Sri Saujana flats on Macal- lum Street, and they will move in after their bank loans have been approved.

State Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said these people were squatters and residents affected by the Sungai Pinang flood mitigation project.

He was responding to a query by Pengkalan Kota Barisan Nasional coordinator Loke Poh Chye on why 324 low medium-cost units at the Sri Saujana flats had been left empty.

Wong in a statement said the remaining units would be offered to eligible applicants next month.

Loke had said that it was important for the state to fill up the empty units, as they would not only turn into breeding grounds for mosquitoes but also attract drug addicts, who might use the units as their haunt.

Source: The Star

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Thousands of people converged at the Auto-City in Juru here to usher in National Day.

Merrymakers, shoppers and diners gathered at the venue as early as 7.30pm yesterday to be part of the celebration which was among the highlights of the three-day 2011 GLANZ Merdeka Living Green, Beauty and Health Carnival which ends tomorrow.

A host of events was held to keep the crowd entertained till the countdown which began 10 seconds before midnight.

Penang Health, Welfare, Environ-ment and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh joined Highway Auto-City managing di-rector Gary Teoh and representatives from several sponsors on stage to lead the countdown while waving mini Jalur Gemilang.

The crowd was also thrilled with celebrity appearances and perfor-mances by, among others, Miss World Malaysia 2008 winner Soo Wincci, Bossa Princess Z Yan, and singer, songwriter and TV host Gary Yap.

The three-day carnival was orga-nised by Junior Chamber Interna-tional (JCI) Butterworth City and managed by Glanz Event Manage-ment in conjunction with the National Day.

Other highlights of the carnival is the Miss Glanz beauty contest, a teh tarik competition, a song composing competition and a recycling competition for children.

There is also an exhibition featuring more than 30 booths which, among others, showcase healthcare and lifestyle products, properties and automative supplies. The carnival will be open from 4pm to midnight today and tomorrow. Admis-sion is free.

SOURCE: The Star

PROPERTY developers with projects in Batu Maung, Penang, have expressed their commitment to help out during flood-related emergencies.

Batu Maung assemblyman Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said they would work closely with all eight Com-munity Development and Security Committees (JKKKs) in the constituency.

?In view of the rainy spell, each JKKK will set up a Rapid Action Force with the help of the developers and Penang Municipal Council to prepare for all eventualities.

?The public can contact the respective JKKKs for help during emergency,? he said.

The numbers of the JKKKs are as follow: Sg Ara (013-4883445), Bukit Gedung (019-4142904), Teluk Tempoyak (013-5137324), Batu Maung (016-4131841), Kg Naran (012-4183048), Sg Tiram (017-4279353), Kongsi 10 (016-5622872) and Permatang Damar Laut (012-5787964).

The public can also call Abdul Malik (019-4451005) or his service centre (013-5101968) for assistance.

Abdul Malik was speaking to reporters yesterday after meet- ing with the developers? repre- sentatives from Mah Sing Group Bhd, PLB Properties, Sunway City Berhad (SunCity) Property Development and Setia Promena-de.

During the meeting, they also discussed how to prevent the backflow of seawater, the synchronising of old and new drains, silting problems and retention ponds.

He said Batu Maung was vulnerable to high tides and strong winds due to its close proximity to the sea.

At the same time, he advised Batu Maung residents to obtain the latest information from relevant agencies such as the state Meteorological Department.

SOURCE: The Star

MORE than 320 families living on Kampung Cross Street in Bukit Mer-tajam are happy after the developer agreed to increase their compensation.

The residents expressed their happiness when Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng conveyed the good news during a meeting at the Seberang Prai Municipal Council headquarters in Bandar Perda.

Residents action committee chairman Tan Khin Mok, 47, said the developer served an eviction notice to the residents about a year ago.

“We had numerous meetings with the developer, who offered each of us only RM15,000 regardless of our house size.

“The compensation offered then was too little for us to do anything, it was not even enough for us to buy a low-cost flat,” he said yesterday.

Tan said they took up the matter with Chief Minister who managed to get the developer to increase the compensation to RM30,000 and RM45,000.

Source: The Star

The banking sector's loan growth is expected to taper off in the coming months following clear signs of a slowdown in momentum due to rising global uncertainties, says ECM Libra Investment Research.

In an update on banking sector, ECM Libra said the growth momentum of all three lending indicators slowed considerably in July.

It said month-on-month growth rate of loan applications, loan approvals and disbursements dropped to RM65.3 billion (-5.3 per cent), RM32.2 billion (-15.4 per cent) and RM64.1 billion (-13.8 per cent), respectively.

"Year-to-date annualised loan growth decelerated to 13.6 per cent from 14.6 per cent in June, dampened by increased global uncertainties and gradual monetary tightening by Bank Negara Malaysia," it said.

ECM Libra said property loans remained the key growth driver.

"However, the growth momentum of property loans was expected to taper off going forward with the May increase in overnight policy rate starting to take effect and a more stringent credit policy instigated by banks," it said. – Bernama

SOURCE: Business Times