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KL’s $1 Billion Budget Air Terminal Is Sinking

Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s new budget passenger terminal is sinking, with cracks appearing in the taxiway and water forming pools that planes must drive through.

The defects could cause flight delays, increase wear and tear on planes and pose potential safety risks, according to AirAsia Bhd., the new terminal’s biggest user. Though take offs and landings aren’t affected, the carrier has asked Malaysian authorities to fix the problems before passengers get hurt, Chief Executive Officer Aireen Omar said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

“The airport is still sinking,” Aireen said. The operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd., “has done some partial resurfacing, but what the airport actually needs is a permanent solution.”

Complaints about the new terminal cap a bad run for Malaysia’s aviation industry, after two deadly accidents for the national carrier — the unsolved disappearance of Flight MH370 in March 2014 and the shooting down of another plane over Ukraine last July. Construction expenses for klia2, as the new terminal is known, ballooned from an initial estimate of about 1.7 billion ringgit ($446 million) to 4 billion ringgit.

“Since MH370, a lot of shortcomings have been found” in Malaysia’s aviation infrastructure, said Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based consultancy Endau Analytics. “The authorities haven’t done enough to address these shortcomings, not enough to put them on par with the First World.”

Ponding

The Transport Ministry has set up an independent audit committee, which will submit a report on ponding issues “in due course,” the ministry told Bloomberg. Malaysia Airports, which has used its own funds to rectify the situation, “will be responsible for the findings and proposed solutions,” the ministry said in an e-mail.

AirAsia initially refused to move when klia2 opened in May 2014, citing concerns over flight operations and security. The carrier gave in after the government said it would stop immigration and customs services at the old budget terminal.

The AirAsia group of airlines flew 15.2 million passengers through klia2 in its first year of operation, accounting for 87 percent of the terminal’s traffic, according to Malaysia Airports data. Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd., Cebu Air Inc. and Malindo Air declined to comment on their experience at the new terminal. An official from Lion Mentari Airlines PT didn’t respond to requests for feedback.

Waterlogged Tarmac

“If you go to the airport you can see ponding with your very own eyes,” said Mohshin Aziz, an analyst at Malayan Banking Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. Still, he noted, “it’s more of an irritation rather than a safety hazard.”

Last year, local media photographed Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai and airport officials walking through the terminal’s waterlogged tarmac during an inspection.

Construction of klia2 started in 2009 after the growth of low-cost travel, particularly by Malaysia-based AirAsia, pushed passenger traffic beyond the existing budget terminal’s capacity. At 257,000 square meters, klia2 can handle 45 million passengers, with the potential to expand.

Most full-service carriers, including Malaysia Airlines, use the main KLIA terminal, which began operations in 1998 about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Kuala Lumpur after the government relocated the capital’s main airport from suburban Subang.

Malaysia Airports said the depressions and ponding at klia2 were caused by differential soil settlement in the apron and taxiway, where some of the structure is built on piling and some stands on normal ground.

Bangkok, Kansai

The settling “has been anticipated from the start of construction,” Malaysia Airports said in an e-mailed response to questions. Stakeholders such as AirAsia are updated weekly on the progress of the maintenance and are “constantly engaged on operational issues.”

The airport is addressing the issue by patching and resurfacing problem areas and injecting polyurethane under the ground. A concrete slab to be completed by next April will provide a more permanent solution, Malaysia Airports said.

Klia2 isn’t the only Asian airfield to face difficulties getting off the ground.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, which opened in 2006 atop a reclaimed swamp, suffered from cracks at taxiways and runways and faulty baggage-scanning machines. Airports of Thailand Pcl was forced to close some taxiways for repair and reopen the old airport to alleviate congestion. The company’s president quit amid probes of the construction flaws, citing health reasons.

In Japan, the government had to reinforce landfill under Osaka’s Kansai International Airport after it was found to be sinking. Opened in 1994, the facility took almost eight years and 1.43 trillion yen ($12 billion) to build on a manmade island.

“It’s about time aggressive steps are taken to improve standards in Asia,” said Mark D. Martin, chief executive officer of Dubai-based aviation consulting firm Martin Consulting. It’s bad for the region “that we have to see such incidents and events that negatively affect the safe operation of an aircraft or airport.”

Source: www.bloomberg.com

July 27, 2015
Iron Fence Pierce Man Through Armpit, Man Survives

KLANG: A 68-year-old man had a lucky escape when the iron fencing rod he fell on narrowly missed his chest and pierced through his armpit.

Ng Ah Eng was pruning plants at his house compound in Jalan Alor Star, off Jalan Kapar, when the accident happened yesterday evening.

He was on a ladder but he slipped and fell on the fence, said Sungai Pinang fire station Senior Fire Officer II M. Sathiaseelan.

A neighbour called the Fire and Rescue Department at 4.40pm and a team reached the scene within five minutes.

“The fencing rods are solid iron but we managed to cut through three of them in 20 minutes,” said Sathiaseelan.

He revealed that the firemen did not pull the iron rod out from Ng as it would cause profuse bleeding.

“We sent him to hospital by ambulance with the impaled iron piece,” said Sathiaseelan.

Ng was rushed to the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah emergency unit for removal of the rod and subsequent treatment.

Source: www.thestar.com.my

July 27, 2015
Perlis Fatwa Committee: Not A Sin To Give Custody Of Muslim Child To More Suitable Parent, Regardless Of Religion

PETALING JAYA: The Perlis Fatwa Committee has issued an edict which states that the custody of a child be given to the more suitable parent, regardless of religion.

State mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said the committee found it unfair to determine custody of a child based solely on the parents’ religion, as the overall welfare and interests of the child were paramount.

He said the edict could signal a turning point in the way child custody cases were deliberated at the Syariah courts, especially in cases where a parent sought custody of the child upon converting to Islam.

“The overall welfare of the child includes his or her physical, moral and emotional needs. The parent who is more able to provide these needs should get custody, whether they are Muslim or not,” Dr Mohd Asri told The Star.

He said the courts needed to judge which parent was more suitable by studying their background and lifestyle, as well as taking into consideration the choice of the child.

“If both parents are equally suitable to care for the child, then the child has the right to choose which parent he or she wants to live with.

“This is provided the child is old enough to decide,” he said.

Under the ruling, it will still be compulsory for the Muslim parent to introduce Islam to the child, whether they have custody or not.

However, Dr Mohd Asri said religion should not be forced upon them.

The fatwa committee has also ruled that custody should automatically be granted to the mother if she is still breastfeeding the child.

“If the child is no longer breastfeeding and hasn’t reached maturity, then custody should be given to the more suitable parent or the one the child is closer to,” he said.

The latest edict, he said, was a change from current practice in the Syariah court, where religion was a dominant factor in deciding a custody dispute.

“The common case these days is that both parents are non-Muslims, and then one of them converts to Islam. If going by the Syariah court, then custody is unquestionably given to the Muslim parent.

“This is actually not right, as there is no basis for that sort of ruling, whether in the Quran or hadith,” he said, adding that the fatwa committee would propose that the edict be adopted as a guideline by Syariah judges when evaluating such cases.

The edict, which was passed by the state Islamic religious council recently, is also a general guide for Muslim parents, who often feel guilty for giving up custody to a non-Muslim spouse.

“We released this fatwa to let them know that it is not a sin to offer custody to a non-Muslim parent, especially if that person is better equipped to care for the child,” added Dr Mohd Asri.

Source: www.thestar.com.my

July 27, 2015
Straight A Student Commits Suicide After ‘Poor’ Result, Guilt-Stricken Mother Takes Own Life After

She is still coming to terms with the death of her teenage granddaughter, who had committed suicide over two Bs in her O levels.

Then three months after the 16-year-old plunged to her death, Madam Ng Siang Mui’s grief- and guilt-struck daughter, who was the teen’s mother, also killed herself.

The tragic double deaths has left her son-in-law, the teen’s father, mentally unstable.

In an interview with The New Paper, Madam Ng, 71, shared the devastation and anguish of the triple tragedy that began in January this year.

She was reluctant to speak at first, noting that the death had torn the family apart.

Madam Ng initially said: “Talking to you now is useless. My daughter is dead. My granddaughter is dead.”

She changed her mind later because she hoped that sharing their story could help highlight early intervention and save more lives.

Madam Ng said that in January, just three hours after getting her results slip, her granddaughter jumped to her death.

Except for two Bs – in English and Mathematics – the student had scored distinctions for her other subjects.

More children and teenagers have been seeking help for suicidal thoughts, said the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS).

SOS says that in 2013, they had 224 clients, aged 19 and below, writing in to them — that is 65 more compared to the year before.

Source: http://www.tnp.sg

July 27, 2015
Polis Israel Masuk Masjid Al-Aqsa Banteras Kumpulan Didakwa Perusuh Palestin

JERUSALEM: Polis Israel memasuki tapak suci yang amat sensitif, Masjid Al-Aqsa, bagi membanteras kumpulan yang didakwa adalah perusuh Falastin.

Polis Israel berkata, mereka memburu para penunjuk perasaan Palestin yang lari bersembunyi di dalam masjid itu di timur Bailtulmakdis.

Mereka dipercayai sedang menyiapkan bekalan bunga api dan bom petrol untuk melakukan rusuhan.

Setakat ini tiada kecederaan dilaporkan. Enam warga Falastin dilaporkan ditahan.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

July 27, 2015