Eyes on Miri

Miri City Christmas Parade
Start time : 5pm, 8th December 2012.
Venue : Miri City Fan

Starting point at Miri City Fan, the route of parade covers main streets in Miri City Centre. A combined effort of all churches in Miri and Miri City Council to celebrate this jovial festive occasion with the aim of promoting it as one of the signature events in Miri.

Note : Road blocks will be initiated in certain parts of the city center for this.

Apparently, in today's news the "Say No to Plastic Bag" campaign conducted by Miri City Council (MCC) in September 2009 through participating supermarkets does not seem to have helped in reducing the total quantity of plastic bags produced by the participating supermarkets.

According to the statistic issued by the City Council, the total amount of plastic bags produced by the participating outlets has actually increased from 1,072,895 pieces in year 2010 to 1,779,406 pieces last year. As of November this year, the number is at 873,847, which seems to indicate a reduction for 2012.

There were also numerous complaints from the public that there were non-participating shopping outlets that had taken advantage of the campaign by charging plastic bags at RM0.20 each for their own profit. The RM0.20 collected for each plastic bag is supposed to go into charity, although there is no detail on this.

In my point of view, they have taken the approach of charging for plastic bags, instead of REDUCING the plastic bags as they should be doing, and this is exactly what will happen as a result!

Here's a small list of suggestions to tackle this problem more effectively:

- Encourage the use of paper bags or biodegradable plastic bags. Restrict plastic bags that are not degradable. Do not charge the bags.

- Encourage local manufacturers to reduce plastic packaging. This will automatically reduce plastic waste from top to bottom. The current system works from the wrong way, bottom up, which the consumers have to bear but not the manufacturers. This is actually very unfair.

- Stop using excuses that plastic bags choking birds or sea turtles because they mistake it for jellyfish - that is another problem altogether. It has everything to do with irresponsible people disposing of their trash in the sea/rivers, and completely unrelated to plastic bags. Fix the root cause - fine the people who liter the rivers and seas!

- What is not recorded is the people buying bundles of plastic bags for their trash. People are actually buying their own plastic bags because they don't get extra plastic bags nowadays. The actual plastic bag count may actually be even higher. In short: problem not solved!

Source

A water theme park project has been planned for Senadin. This theme park is planned to be first of its kind and the largest theme park in East Malaysia. The park is planned to have giant waterslides, swimming and wading pools, even an old folk health care center.

The proposed project would not just be a theme park but a new resort township featuring two hotels, six blocks of condominium towers, a commercial centre, and a mega mall boasting two million square feet of retail space.

Phase I construction is to start after Chinese New Year 2013, and the whole three phases are scheduled to be completed in five years time.

Source : Borneo Post

MAB to close inner lane at Miri Airport

MIRI: Malaysian Airports Bhd (MAB) Miri has issued a notice that the inner lane at Miri Airport will be closed to the public from tomorrow (Oct 22).

MAB announced in a notice that due to safety reasons, the inner lane at Miri Airport would be closed to the public (to drop off or pick up passengers) except to ambulances, fire engines, police, airport taxis, and VIPs (with prior approval from
airport authority).

Source

What was puzzling is that this lane had actually closed yesterday (20th October), not 22nd October. I know, I was there.

I highly disapprove of this move.

Was there a particularly good reason to close the inner lane? What was the reason? Is it to facilitate VIPs? What other reason? For safety? From safety risk? Roof collapse? If so, then why allow ambulances and taxis, police and even VIPs?

The airport originally had a VIP TERMINAL. After the redesign, now it only has a VIP Lounge. This is a poor design, as that would mean if this was true that it was due to facilitate VIPs, then the whole airport would have to be basically shut down just for them. You don't see LAX or JFK airport shutting down just because the President of United States wants to land there, the public continues to use the airport, the President just uses the VIP terminal..

Back to the Miri Airport. The outer lane is too small for use, it will be congested. It's not rocket science; you have two lanes, and you cut down one lane,you're left with one. That's 50% drop in efficiency. On top of that the airport is built for the public (that's us) to load & unload passengers and their baggage using the inner lane, so closing the lane not only causes inconvenience to the public, it is a totally unfair move to the public.

To top it of; it's the rainy season. Without use of the roof, they are willing to want to inconvenience the public to walk and move pick up their baggage in the rain by disallowing the use of the inner lane roof?

Also, and this is the most important : what are we paying the airport tax for?