65 peratus penduduk Pantai Teluk dikategori miskin tegar

65 peratus penduduk Pantai Teluk dikategori miskin tegar

PANTAI TELOK - Pemimpin di sini berharap supaya pihak berkenaan memberi tumpuan yang lebih dalam mengatasi masalah kemiskinan di kawasan ini, berikutan hampir 65 peratus penduduk termasuk dalam kategori miskin tegar.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK) Pantai Telok, Busu Yaakub berkata, pihak berkenaan diharap dapat mengkaji kembali permohonan bantuan yang dikemukakan dan telah mendapat sokongan daripada JKKK kerana calon yang hendak dibantu itu layak mendapat pertimbangan.

“Kebanyakan calon yang kami kemukakan kepada pihak berkenaan layak menerima bantuan dalam pelbagai bentuk kerana kami sendiri telah menyelidik latar belakang calon tersebut.

“Lagi pun, calon ini adalah anak jati daripada kampung ini, jadi kami sendiri tahu bagaimana kehidupan sebenar mereka di sini,” katanya.

Busu berharap pihak berkenaan membuat penilaian kembali permohonan tersebut dan turun padang melihat sendiri kedaifan penduduk terlibat.

“Majoriti penduduk di sini miskin kerana mereka hanya bergantung dengan hasil laut sahaja,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian.

Thursday May 7, 2009

Dungun to be turned into seafood hub

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government will develop Dungun as a seafood hub for tourism and commercial purposes in the East Coast Economic Region.

Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the district was selected because it was the state’s major fishing area.

“We want to make Dungun a centre for tourism and seafood based commercial products like crackers,” he told reporters after opening the Terengganu State Development Office here.

He said the state would streamline cracker production because the supply of fish-based food items was never enough to meet demands.

“Presently, we cannot even export crackers and can only meet local demand,“ he said. In view of this, the state will set up a factory in Dungun to process and pack quality crackers.

Ahmad said 1,000 fishermen from 100 villagers along the coast would benefit from various economic activities beginning this month. — Bernama

An open mind spells success for villagers

NST Online » Local News

2009/05/08

KUALA TERENGGANU: For 15 Kampung Pela villagers here, the key to success was a healthy mindset.

They not only triumphantly rose above the hardcore poverty line after participating in a rock melon venture last year, they also became the first group of farmers in the country to set up their own management company, overseeing production of the fruit.

And to think that the farmers, most of whom are in their 40s, initially ventured into the fertigation project just to supplement their income.

Most of them were in the oil palm industry.

Fertigation is the application of fertilisers, soil amendments, or other water soluble products through an irrigation system.
The fruits are harvested 70 days after the seeds are sown while it is sold statewide to hypermarkets with the help of the Terengganu Agrotech Development Corporation Sdn Bhd, a state government linked company.

They also provide the fruits for Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and AirAsia to be served to its passengers.

Their 10ha site produced RM600,000 worth of rock melons or Cucumis melo last year and they expect to produce close to RM1 million worth of fruits within the next three months, making them the most successful participants out of 229 throughout Terengganu.

Bazli Yahya, 45, manager of Pela Agrotek Management and Services, the company set up by the villagers to run the farm, said the recipe for their fairy tale was keeping an open mind, coupled with good management.

"We seized the opportunity offered to us. While most under the hardcore poverty line take for granted some of the aid and unlike farmers who are techno-phobic, we worked really hard and embraced modern farming."

Aviation industry to encourage tourism

NST Online » Local News

2009/05/09

KUALA TERENGGANU: The tourism industry here is waiting for the aviation industry to take off in hopes it will boost tourism prospects in years to come, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahamd Said said Wednesday.

Ahmad said the development of the aviation industry here would play a vital role in supporting the state which is poised to become the tourism gateway in the east coast following the signing of an MoU between the state government, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Asia Pacific Flight Training (APFT), a flight school based in Kota Baru.

"We need pilots, technicians and engineers to cater to what we have planned for the state and also for the nation's tourism industry in general.

"For example we need pilots, including helicopter pilots, to fly tourists to islands as well as manpower to service the international direct flights coming into Terengganu.

"The aviation industry also plays an important role in the creation of skilled manpower. Based on a report by the International Air Transport Association, as many as 32 million people are involved in this industry," he said after witnessing the MoU signing at Wisma Darul Iman.
Ahmad also said under the agreement, it would be the first time that state government-financed students were attending the flight school.

The state government was represented by state Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology and Human Resources committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, while MAS and APFT was represented by its executive director Tengku Azmil Zahruddin and chairman Datuk Faruk Othman respectively.

Under the agreement, APFT will train the cadet pilots sponsored by the state government via the Yayasan Terengganu. MAS will then take over to enable the pilots to obtain their licences to fly the B737 fleet. Successful candidates will be considered for a job after completing the training.

The training of 20 pilots, 10 aircraft engineers and 20 junior technicians is scheduled to begin in July this year. Pilots will be trained for 18 months, while the engineers and technicians will undergo five and two years of training respectively.

Ahmad said the response had been encouraging with 150 students signing up.

ECER opens new office in Kuala Terengganu

KUALA TERENGGANU: East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Terengganu hopes to boost progress at its projects with its new state office in Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin here.

ECER Development Council (ECERDC) chief executive Datuk Jebasingam Issace John said he hoped the ECER’s economic growth would be accelerated in line with the objectives in its master plan.

“The Terengganu office opening reaffirms ECERDC’s commitment towards facilitating smooth implementation of the projects. It will fuel the projects, coordinate potential and current investors and provide information on the projects,” he said here recently.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, 44 projects were identified for implementation in Terengganu under the ECER.

Of these, 31 are exclusive to the state, while the remaining 13 were cross-border projects involving neighbouring states, he said.

Some 21 projects commenced last year while 11 will begin by the middle of this year, 10 before year-end and another two by 2010.

Under the ECER masterplan, Terengganu is positioned as a tourism gateway and hub for the region’s centres of excellence.

The state’s primary focus is on the petrochemical, oil and gas-based industries; goat breeding and mutton clustering; vegetable farming; herbal parks and industry-based crops focusing on kenaf cultivation.

The total investment generated for Terengganu from 2005 is estimated at RM10.8bil.

Friday May 1, 2009 The Star

Felda Tenang jadi medan buruan - Anjing hutan ancam peneroka, bunuh ratusan ternakan

BESUT - Para peneroka di Felda Tenang dekat sini tidak dapat tidur lena sejak 2007 bukan disebabkan turun naiknya harga komoditi kelapa sawit tetapi ancaman dari hutan yang bersempadan dengan ladang mereka.

Apabila menjelang waktu malam, gerombolan anjing hutan mula bergerak memasuki ladang itu dengan sasarannya ialah ternakan lembu milik peneroka.

Peneroka ada sebab untuk bimbang memandangkan pada 2007 sahaja, sebanyak 100 ekor lembu mereka telah dibaham oleh anjing hutan, diikuti dengan 80 ekor tahun lalu manakala dalam tempoh empat bulan tahun ini, ternakan yang dilaporkan mati diserang ialah 50 ekor.

Tidak cukup dengan itu, ada laporan kononnya haiwan tersebut keluar berkeliaran waktu siang untuk mengejar peneroka yang masuk ke dalam ladang untuk memungut buah kelapa sawit.

Setakat ini tidak diketahui jumlah anjing hutan di kawasan tersebut tetapi ada penduduk yakin ia mencecah 100 ekor dengan kumpulan itu memburu pada waktu malam sehingga subuh.

Seorang peneroka, Zakaria Mat Noor, 43, mendakwa kerugian kira-kira RM8,000 selepas 15 ekor lembu peliharaannya dibaham anjing hutan sejak awal tahun ini.

Berdasarkan pemerhatiannya, haiwan itu menyerang lembu secara berkumpulan dengan begitu ganas sehingga badan ternakan itu 'koyak-rabak' dimamah.

"Selepas menyerang lembu, anjing-anjing itu akan memakannya.

"Biasanya kami hanya sedar ada serangan bila terjumpa bangkai lembu di ladang kelapa sawit," katanya di sini semalam.

Menurutnya, masalah itu telah dimaklumkan kepada Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (Perhilitan) namun sehingga kini tiada langkah susulan diambil.

ECER opens new office in Kuala Terengganu

Friday May 1, 2009 - The Star
ECER opens new office in Kuala Terengganu

KUALA TERENGGANU: East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Terengganu hopes to boost progress at its projects with its new state office in Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin here.

ECER Development Council (ECERDC) chief executive Datuk Jebasingam Issace John said he hoped the ECER’s economic growth would be accelerated in line with the objectives in its master plan.

“The Terengganu office opening reaffirms ECERDC’s commitment towards facilitating smooth implementation of the projects. It will fuel the projects, coordinate potential and current investors and provide information on the projects,” he said here recently.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, 44 projects were identified for implementation in Terengganu under the ECER.

Of these, 31 are exclusive to the state, while the remaining 13 were cross-border projects involving neighbouring states, he said.

Some 21 projects commenced last year while 11 will begin by the middle of this year, 10 before year-end and another two by 2010.

Under the ECER masterplan, Terengganu is positioned as a tourism gateway and hub for the region’s centres of excellence.

The state’s primary focus is on the petrochemical, oil and gas-based industries; goat breeding and mutton clustering; vegetable farming; herbal parks and industry-based crops focusing on kenaf cultivation.

The total investment generated for Terengganu from 2005 is estimated at RM10.8bil.