Housing developers will be allowed to operate under Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the national recovery plan effective immediately.

In a statement today, the housing and local government ministry said this is applicable to housing developers which have valid housing development licences and advertisement and sales permits (APDL) under Act 118.

The ministry said housing developers’ management offices and handing over vacant possession notices and house keys will now be allowed during Phase 1.

Also on the list of allowed activities in Phase 1 are critical damage repair work during the defect liability period and construction works for Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) under Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) for G1 to G4 contractors.

Under Phase 2, marketing and sales activities at developers’ offices, sales agents, sales galleries, show units and subsale property units are now allowed.

Permission to operate is subject to compliance with the latest SOPs set out by the housing and local government, works, and health ministries, the National Security Council and the Construction Industry Development Board.

Eight states are in Phase 2 of the national recovery plan after meeting certain thresholds, with residents enjoying fewer restrictions.

The states are Penang, Perak, Pahang, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

By Emilia Ismail

Jalan Batu Jantan and Jalan Batu Perempuan didn’t get their names because someone ran out of ideas to name the roads in Air Itam — the names originated from a “tragic” love story! 😉

Legend has it that two rocks, one male and the other female, located just a short distance away from each other, used to get together to mate. How they moved was never explained but moved and mated they did according to the stories. There was also no account if they ever produced baby rocks.

Those living nearby knew about the happenings but their superstitions and beliefs taught them such supernatural occurrences were better left undisturbed lest they suffer the wrath of the spirits of the rocks.

When the British arrived in the late-18th century and discovered the goings-on, they built a road between the two rocks with the sole purpose of breaking the magic. The rocks have been permanently separated since then.

Another version is that British soldiers on patrol chanced upon the rocks going through their rituals. The male rock was shot and lay mortally wounded by the side of the road, unable to get back to its original resting place. The female rock was unscathed. Since then, neither the female nor male rock have been seen moving again. To add insult to injury, houses have been built around both stones, blocking their view of each other.

Whether either version really happened or not, it will never be known for sure. But what is certain is that there are indeed two rocks near Air Itam that are known to the local community as the male and female rocks. Their legend was further immortalised when two side roads were named after them. Jalan Batu Perempuan is on the right and Jalan Batu Jantan on the left of the main road leading to the town.

Fascinating!

Sources: The Borneo Post

Emilia Ismail is the co-founder of Penang Hidden Gems and is an amateur “historian” who enjoys discovering lesser-known historical information about Penang properties. (More about Penang Hidden Gems)

The e-Land system implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement will be expanded to other states after it was proven successful in increasing the quality and efficiency of land administration in Kuala Lumpur.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) said the system would be expanded to the Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan, as well as Selangor, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan as it is expected to be fully developed and adopted by 2024 at the latest.

“I was made to understand that the e-Land System concession agreement for the Land and Mines Office of Putrajaya and Labuan will be inked today,” he said when opening the National Land’s Day 2021 celebration theme “Facing Post-Covid-19 Challenges in Land Administration” held virtually on Tuesday (July 27).

Muhyiddin who also launched the expansion of the PPP e-Land System in conjunction with the celebration said since the modernisation initiative in land administration service was implemented in the early 1980s, it has always been fine-tuned and modernised in line with technology development and that the federal government had in 2014 agreed to implement the e-Land System through PPP arrangement.

The e-Land System is an initiative that involves a collaboration between the federal government, state governments and private companies, aimed at standardising land administration in the states based on applicable legislation, reducing bureaucracy and increasing transparency and integrity in land administration.

Source: Bernama

Golden De’Residence, a proposed residential development by Golden Village Properties Sdn. Bhd. at Seberang Jaya, Penang. Located adjacent to Residensi Permatang Pauh affordable housing along Jalan Permatang Pauh, just a stone’s throw away from Butterworth-Kulim Expressway interchange. It is only a 3km drive to Sunway Carnival Mall and about 5 minutes to Butterworth town center.

This development will see the construction of two residential buildings and shop offices:

• 9-storey affordable condominium (112 units)
• 13-storey medium cost condominium (198 units)
• 4-storey shop offices (6 units)

This project is still pending approval. More details will be available upon official launch.

Project Name : Golden De’Residence
Location : Permatang Pauh
Property Type : Condominium
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Total Units: 112 (affordable), 198 (condo), 6 (shop office)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Golden Village Properties Sdn. Bhd.

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider or party in question.

Several hotels nationwide have put aside their core business and have stepped in to assist the country in its efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic by turning their premises into Covid-19 quarantine centres.

Just a month ago, two hotels in Penang decided to operate their premises as quarantine centres. They are Vouk Hotel Suites and Bahang Bay Hotel in George Town.

Vouk Hotel, which was closed recently due to a near standstill in the tourism industry, has been taken over by Blanket Hotel on the mainland in March this year.

Its director Leja Hindon Salleh, 41, said it was important to stay relevant during this Covid-19 and the same applies to hotels that can do their bit to help the state in its fight against the unprecedented situation.

“We have to accept the fact that it is going to take some time before the tourism industry recovers.

“Rather than waiting and hoping for it to end any time soon, why not we from the related industry offer what we can to help put an end to this issue.

“People can laugh at you for doing something out of the norm, something that doesn’t reflect the nature of your business.

“But why bother when you can take pride from doing something that can benefit the lives of others?

“I saw the potential in these two hotels. That is why I decided to turn them into Covid-19 quarantine centres,” said Leja during an exclusive interview via telephone today.

She also added that since a month ago, a total of 300 individuals have been quarantined in both the hotels.

Source: Buletin Mutiara