- MOE, TM collaborate to empower education system
- Six new ERL trains to increase passenger capacity by 50 per cent
- Visa Malaysia confident of double-digit growth for billing transactions this year
- DHL Express launches inaugural passenger-to-freighter A330-300 as part of rapidly-growing Asia Pacific air network
- China slashes ministries in sweeping changes to reduce bureaucracy
- Annual World Sleep Day: Join the Sleep World, Preserve Your Rhyhms to Enjoy Life
- Cultural Bias, Lack of Access to Financial Services, and Limited Knowledge Key Roadblocks to Parity for Indian Women Entrepreneurs
MOE, TM collaborate to empower education system
The Ministry of Education and Telekom Malaysia will embark on a Digital Education Transformation initiative to empower the Malaysian education system through innovation and digitalisation. Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the long-term partnership would enable the ministry to boost and accelerate its digital transformation journey through high-speed broadband connectivity, interactive smartboard, smart devices, as well as teaching and learning the 21st century way. “The transformation will also digitise the students’ tracking and attendance system for their own safety, as parents and teachers will have real-time visibility of the students’ attendance.” “Ultimately, all data and information from these solutions will be integrated and combined into one single platform for Big Data analytics,” he told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur.
Six new ERL trains to increase passenger capacity by 50 per cent
The capacity of Express Rail Link will increase by 50 per cent with the newly launched six trains today. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the purchase of the new trains from China-based Changchun Railway Vehicles Co Ltd would add to its existing fleet of 12 trains, bringing the total number to 18. He said two sets of the new trains would be servicing the KLIA Ekspres and another four, the KLIA Transit. “The additional services on KLIA Transit will improve the waiting time to every 15 minutes from the current 20-minute intervals during morning and evening peak hours on weekdays.”
Visa Malaysia confident of double-digit growth for billing transactions this year
Visa Malaysia is confident of posting double-digit growth for overall billing transactions this year which focus on online transactions and digital applications, especially expenditure from travel and retail segments. Last year, total billing transactions for both debit and credit cards in Malaysia stood at US$23 billion, said Country Manager, Ng Kong Boon. “We are confident of organic growth this year for overall billing transactions and with today’s partnership with Corporate Information Travel Sdn Bhd (CIT), we optimistic of increasing our market share,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. Visa Malaysia today teamed up with CIT to launch the ‘Pick A Trip’ application (app) platform. Ng said Visa Malaysia also targeted paywave transaction growth rate in Malaysia by between 25 per cent and 30 per cent this year from 20 per cent now.
DHL Express launches inaugural passenger-to-freighter A330-300 as part of rapidly-growing Asia Pacific air network
DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, has welcomed its first ever Airbus A330-300 aircraft at its Penang Gateway. Malaysia is the first country in the world to operate the first of four A330-300s that will join the DHL Express fleet under a new passenger-to-freighter (P2F) deal with Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture between Airbus and Singapore Technologies Aerospace. The flight will also be servicing the Vietnam and Hong Kong markets. With 33% more freight capacity per flight, DHL Express aims to strengthen their delivery capabilities across its network, while enhancing its capacity to deliver more shipments than ever before. The A330-300 P2F will provide additional high-volume, low-density capacity in Malaysia with a gross payload of 61 metric tons. It will import and export goods 6 times weekly from Penang to Hong Kong. Christopher Ong, Managing Director of DHL Express Malaysia & Brunei shared: “Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing regions driven by e-commerce trade. “Malaysia’s trade performance is also forecasted to maintain its growth momentum and hit RM1.8 trillion in 2018.
China slashes ministries in sweeping changes to reduce bureaucracy
China has unveiled an ambitious plan to revamp its central government structure, with more than two dozen ministries and organisations affected. The sweeping changes include the merger of the country’s banking and insurance regulators, and the setting up of special agencies to oversee issues related to immigration and military veterans. As a result, the number of ministries under the State Council, China’s cabinet, will be reduced by eight to 26, while seven non-ministerial agencies will also be cut. The plan, which is expected to be endorsed by the National People’s Congress later this week, marks one of the biggest changes to the central government in the history of the People’s Republic of China. The last such reshuffle of a similar scale happened in 1998 when then Premier Zhu Rongji closed or merged 15 ministries and commissions under the State Council. The move is part of President Xi Jinping’s plan to retool the entire administration to give the ruling Communist Party greater control and a more effective platform to govern the world’s most populous nation.
Annual World Sleep Day: Join the Sleep World, Preserve Your Rhyhms to Enjoy Life
Marking the 11th edition of the annual World Sleep Day on 16 March 2018, sleep health specialist, Amlife International, together with health care practitioners and medical doctors worldwide will be commemorating the day with a series of awareness initiatives. In Singapore, the global call to action on the importance of healthy sleep will follow this year’s theme of ‘Join the Sleep World, Preserve Your Rhythms to Enjoy Life’. A study by SingHealth Polyclinics found that 44% of Singaporeans have insufficient sleep on weekdays, with each of them having less than seven hours of sleep per day. There are close to 100 sleep disorders, with insomnia being the highest common sleep disorder in modern societies, triggered by hectic lifestyles. Commemorating World Sleep Day, Amlife has invited Professor Laura Palagini, a renowned psychiatrist and an expert in sleep from Italy to spread the message on the importance of quality sleep in Singapore. With over two decades of research experience in biological, clinical psychology and an expert in sleep disorders, she explains, “This disconnect and statistics clearly shows that there is a need to address the impact of sleep. The lack of quality sleep not only results in acute consequences like poor productivity or reduced alertness, but also chronic long-term consequences that puts individuals at risk of developing other severe health issues like heart diseases or diabetes; and trigger several mental health conditions.”
Cultural Bias, Lack of Access to Financial Services, and Limited Knowledge Key Roadblocks to Parity for Indian Women Entrepreneurs
Mastercard has released the second edition of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE). The index focuses on female entrepreneurs’ ability to capitalize on opportunities granted through various supporting conditions within their local environments. India ranks 52nd amongst 57 countries studied, significantly behind the United States (4th) and China (29th). The results suggest that the underlying conditions for women business ownership/entrepreneurship in India are less favorable as compared to the countries with high index score. According to the report, the Indian women business owners, leaders or professionals exhibit less inclination towards business ownership due to cultural bias. They are also less likely to grow their business, whether locally or overseas, and are more prone than other regions to discontinue their businesses due to unprofitability or lack of finance.
