KUALA LUMPUR: The Puduraya bus terminal will be closed for four months from March 19.

UDA Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Jaafar Abu Hassan said the closure was to allow for works that would upgrade the terminal and provide more comfort to travellers.

PETALING JAYA: Travellers can get flights for as low as RM9 one way during AirAsia’s “Big Sale” promotion this week.

All destinations apply from March 3 to 7, with domestic destinations like Penang, Langkawi, Terengganu, Johor Baru and Kota Baru priced from RM9 one-way.

KUALA LUMPUR: The percentage of students who passed all their subjects in the 2009 STPM examination increased to 47.7% from 44.1% in 2008.

Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC) chairman Tan Sri Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said the number of students who obtained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 and above also increased to 35.9%, compared with 31.5% the previous year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Commuters switching between the monorail and light rail transit trains at KL Sentral here will soon be able to do so without being exposed to the sun or rain.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said a covered walkway, which will be slightly more than 150m long, would be ready by July next year.

The walkway will connect the monorail station which is located on Jalan Tun Sambanthan with the LRT station within the KL Sentral complex.

KUALA LUMPUR: The 2009 Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) will be announced on Feb 25.

The Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC), in a statement here Friday, said candidates could obtain their results at their respective schools from 12 noon that day, while the private candidates would get their results by post.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians need not worry about paying goods and services tax (GST) on certain basic necessities and services under the new tax regime targeted for implementation in the middle of next year.

The Government has decided that 40 basic goods and services will be exempted from the GST, said Finance Minister (II) Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah.

BANGI: A new speed radar gun will be introduced for Ops Sikap XXI for Chinese New Year from Feb 7 to 21.

The new gun, the LTI20-20 TruCAM, is the most sophisticated speed-enforcement tool of its kind. Police have five of the TruCAM for now.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pos Malaysia has engaged 50 temporary staff to process an estimated 6.92 million Chinese New Year (CNY) greeting cards this festive season.

Pos Malaysia Head of National Mail and Parcel Operations Hasnul Haniff said a 2% increase in greeting cards was anticipated this year.

He said this was despite the number of greeting cards sent out by mail having decreased due to the economic slowdown, and more people sending SMS and E-greetings instead.

PETALING JAYA: More than 300,000 Malaysian passports were issued in the two months following the Government’s introduction of the RM100 two-year passport on Oct 1 last year.

Immigration Department director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman said the overwhelming response was beyond the department’s expectation.

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia is expanding its “coverage” of India with flights to five more cities, including the capital, New Delhi, from April.

The budget carrier’s other new routes are to Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. All flights will take off from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Malaysia is planning a different kind of tourism – railway tourism – as an added attraction to lure Western tourists to Asean countries, said Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

She said the move would enable visitors to enjoy a slow and relaxing holiday from Singapore all the way up to the east coast states.

JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail, passed away at 7.15pm yesterday. He would have been 78 in April.

A Sultan for almost three decades, he had been admitted earlier in the day to the Puteri Specialist Hospital here due to an illness.

PETALING JAYA: There will be no further increase in the price of sugar before Chinese New Year.

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in giving this assurance, said:

“There will be no increase of sugar price before Chinese New Year and immediately after that. So, for the Chinese, please enjoy your New Year.”

PETALING JAYA: Consumer associations welcome the Government’s plan to cap the amount of subsidised petrol a car owner can buy monthly.

However, they called on the authorities to ensure that the new fuel pricing mechanism would not complicate or confuse consumers.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines is offering fares as low as RM89 for domestic travel and RM193 for international destinations, in line with its Everyday Low Fares promotion starting today.

From now until Friday, travellers bound for Hong Kong can also take advantage of the promotion and fly to the city for only RM419 one-way.