Thursday, July 30, 2009

PIES 27 - 31 July 2009:Potential Seen For Kota Tinggi To Lure More Visitors

Kota Tinggi, an area gifted with natural resources and scenic settings, is set to become a major tourist attraction in Johor.
Located just over 40km from Johor Baru, the district exudes a fresh, calm and relaxing ambience. The stunning beaches of Desaru make it a popular international destination.
The attractions include the Kota Tinggi waterfall, Johor Lama Fort, theme museums, seafood villages and historical sites.
Johor Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman said that Kota Tinggi had everything for a perfect holiday. “We see potential in Kota Tinggi as it is near Johor Baru, the southern gateway to Peninsular Malaysia.Tourists arriving at Senai international Airport will have easier access into Desaru when the Senai-Desaru Expressway is opened this year,” he said.
Hoo said the state had re-structured travel packages and tourism attractions in Johor. He said the attractions had been divided into nine categories – eco-tourism, culture and heritage, islands and beaches, shopping, food and entertainment, health and education, sports and recreation, homestay and agro-tourism, golfing and accommodation, meetings, conventions and exhibitions.
“We must make changes and repackage our products from time to time to attract tourists,” he said.

WORD LIST
1. gifted
2. resources
3. calm
4. destination
5. sites
6. potential
7. gateway
8. packages
9. attractions
10. heritage,
11. recreation
12. homestay
13. accommodation,
14. conventions
15. repackage

ENRICHMENT LIST
1. lure
2. scenic
3. exudes
4. ambience
5. stunning

Academic Month 2009


For Academic Month 2009, ELD has planned a few activities for the students.The following activities are done during clas:
a)Form 1 - Crossword puzzle competition
b)Form 2 - Health poster competition
c)Form 4 - Book Mark competition (idioms & proverbs)
Meanwhile, The English Language Society(ELS) organised Inter Society Spell it Right(SIR) Competition. The results will be announced at the end of the month and the winning posters and book marks will be displayed at The R.E.D Tunnel.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yes DEAR: 27 - 31 July 2009 : Looks can be deceiving

Fat and grimy, short and slimy was Pankaj, the abominable school boy. Everyone grimaced when he prodded along the school corridors, even teachers. Very few went near and even fewer spoke to him. Pankaj had absolutely no friends and no guardian. He lived with his grandmother and played alone.

Only because he looked a tad unlike other humans. He had hair all over his body and his face, an angular nose, his extra two teeth that hung over the others looked felony when he smiled. His looks were so viscous that everyone preferred to stay away from him. And so Pankaj grew up alone, isolated only with his grandmother for company.

When he was out of school he fetched some work for himself as he did not want to go through all the trials of being poked at in college. His peers Rajan and Rahul who gave him nightmares with incessant ragging went on to college like the other boys in his class. Soon Pankaj’s grandmother expired, leaving him completely alone. Pankaj moved out of the locality to another state for work. After a bit of searching, he was employed in a local factory at a measly sum, even lower than the others at his level. All because he looked ugly.

But it did not matter to Pankaj, so he worked hard and worked long. Soon it came to the notice of his seniors that he was much smarter than the others in his department. Mending tools and fixing pipes were a piece of cake for him. Often he was sent outside the factory to repair the broken machines and fix pipes. Once a drain had been choked, and all the water from the factory sewage was flowing back into the factory. The best of engineers rummaged their head to fix it, but in vain. When somebody mentioned Pankaj, he was summoned to fix the damage. Within an hour Pankaj had everything under control; he not only fixed the drain, but also cleaned the stench and cleared the area.

This deed made him the cynosure of every officer. Soon he was promoted as his expertise matched that of an engineer. His immediate boss Laxman was kind hearted and calm. He saw the intelligent twinkle in Pankaj but also caught the shadow of isolation. Once Laxman called Pankaj to his cabin and asked him if he could give him a makeover. Pankaj agreed because he did not have much to lose, as in office too nobody would come close to him. His looks scared them all.

Laxman got all his excess hair shaved and waxed. The dentist managed to pluck out the dogteeth and the hairstylist cropped the hair with extreme caution but with trend in every snip. When Pankaj looked into the mirror, he was surprised to see the new himself. He no more looked vicious and horrid. He was now a handsome looking lad. His colleagues grew envious of him, his seniors now admired him. The next raise and promotion was not far away.

Soon Pankaj was sent on an assignment to his childhood hometown. Nobody recognized him there too, even when chanced upon his old school mates Rajan and Rahul; they had no clue that he was their childhood victim. But when Pankaj’s helped the fireman shut the water leak that led to flooding, people began to praise him. Soon his real identity was known and everyone was taken aback to see a swan rise from an ugly duckling. From then on, Pankaj enjoyed the rest of his days as any other human being.

Moral: Do not judge a person by his looks alone.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A visit to Petronas Refinery, Sg Udang

On 24th June 2009, the English language society members, along with Madam Ivy and Pn Sinar Suria visited the Petronas Refinery in Sg.Udang, Melaka. It was a very informative experience. The Petronas Oil and Gas Company was established in 1974 with the effort of Tun Abdul Razak. Its first office was located at Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur with a staff of only 20 people. From there, it blossomed and 35 years later, it is the 7th biggest oil and gas company in the world with around 39000 staff and the head office is the Petronas Twin Towers. Petronas can now be found in 30 countries all over the world including Indonesia, Australia, South America, Cuba, Africa, Sudan, Iran, Algeria, Japan, Wales, Russia and Papua New Guinea. For your information, Exxon Mobil is the world’s number one oil and gas company. Petronas refinery in Sg. Udang was built in 1994. It is one of the only 2 refineries in Malaysia, the first in Kerteh. In Sg. Udang, 250000 barrels of crude oil is produced per day. There are 115 tanks to store these crude oil. Petronas as a whole produces 660000-670000 barrels of crude oil per day, with one barrel measuring 160 litres. One barrel costs 64 USD. All the drillings are done offshore in Malaysia. There are actually 2 types of crude oil, sweet and sour. The sweet oil has less sulphur content which makes it easier to be processed and has a higher price compared to sour oil which is high in sulphur content. One barrel of sweet oil is priced at 64 USD while sour oil is 40+ USD. The products for export are loaded via pipelines onto ships at Sg. Udang Port. The ships anchor there during processing then once loaded, make their journey to countries such as Japan and Korea. Petronas contributes to 40% of Malaysia’s income and Petronas is special as it reports directly to the Prime Minister’s office whereas companies such as Telekom, Tenaga Nasional and Pos Malaysia report to the Ministry of Finance.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

PIES 20 - 24 July 2009:1,295 lose jobs in Malacca

Some 1,295 workers from five factories were laid off recently while several other factories were cutting down on production instead of laying off workers. However, all is not lost as some have been offered jobs at other factories here.
A RM2.3bil investment in Alor Gajah to manufacture solar panels is anticipated to create jobs. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the retrenched were in several companies in the manufacturing and electronic sectors that had relocated operations or were undergoing takeovers.
He said that new businesses were creating job opportunities and attributed this to the state’s booming tourism industry. Those retrenched were paid compensation, he added. Meanwhile, Mohd Ali said the RM52mil MITC Fashion City would be the state’s new textile, home appliances and home deco hub. He said the complex had 173 two-storey shoplots taken up by businesses expected to start by early March.

WORD LIST
1. recently
2. factories
3. production
4. offered
5. manufacture
6. companies
7. electronic
8. takeovers
9. businesses
10. opportunities
11. tourism
12. compensation
13. appliances
14. hub
15. expected

ENRICHMENT LIST
1. anticipated
2. relocated
3. attribured
4. booming
5. retrenched

Yes DEAR: 20 - 24 July 2009 : Day dreaming

Ramu Das lived in his humble dwelling with his better half, Mrs. Das. Their only child dropped early out of school to help his father fill the family coffers. The Das family sustained from hand to mouth existence and gradually began to dream of a better life, of a wealthier life. Dreaming became so inherent in their bed every night that it continued in the morning. They would discuss their dream and the best won an extra chappati for dinner.

Day dreaming, night dreaming and more dreaming. Life revolved around dreaming and very little was worked upon achieving the dream. Towards achieving a little more wealth. To sweat from the brow and feed their cows.

Once Mr. Das said, I will start planting vegetables in our garden tomorrow. There will be all types of vegetables available in our vegetable garden. All our neighbours will come to us to buy vegetables. Then money will start pouring in and we will get rich. Inspired Mrs. Das added that I will cut vegetables and slice them too and charge a bit higher for the sliced vegetables.

Sooner said than done, Mr. Das took the spade and dug up the entire backyard. He unearthed the entire ground and stormed off to buy seeds for the vegetables, only to realize that he did not have any money to buy them. Sulking he sat in a corner and left rats and stray dogs find a home in the ruined backyard.

And so went on the dreaming paradise of the Das’s until one day a neighbour’s son Shyam who had returned from the city heard about the Das’s. Shocked by their life he wondered how to bring the Das’s out of their surreal world. He chanced upon them at the tea stall and worked his way to being invited home.

The thatched roof and the cow caked walls were not very welcoming, but Shyam battled the stench for he had come with a purpose. He realized what a simple life the Das’s had. That Mr. Das was far behind his peers who had all progressed. Mr. Das had spun into the laughing stock of the village with his dreaming feature characteristic and it had to stop.

Occupied in his thoughts, Mr. Shyam had barely spoken that Mr. and Mrs. Das began telling him about their dreams of getting rich. Soon they had a new dream, at that spur of the moment. Mr. Das said I could sell the milk of our cows, go door to door or directly to the village market and make money out of it. Everyday I will give my cows more to eat so they will give me more milk and I will reap more money. Then I can go give some milk to my sister said Mrs. Das. No you will not, said Mr. Das, I cannot let anyone have a share of my profits. I will break all the pots in the house so that you will not have any pot to carry milk to your sister. Saying this he began breaking all the pots, leaving terrified Shyam in the midst.

Instantly Shyam began beating the cows outside. What are you doing, said Mr. and Mrs. Das, why are you beating the cows. Well your cows will want more food to give more milk and they will eat my garden plants, so I am beating them up even before they can do that.

Then suddenly it dawned on the Das’s their critical mistake. No milk, yet the pots were broken. No milk, yet they were dreaming. They looked up to Shyam and said. May be god sent you, so that we learn a lesson for life. From that day on, day dreaming was shunned and hard work was plugged in.
Moral: Put your dreams into action.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

PIES 13 - 17 July 2009:Paper Consumption Is Set To Increase

Paper consumption is set to increase over the years and the government should make it more attractive for local industries to set up more paper mills here in collaboration with foreign investors.
“More than half of what is used now is imported,” Malaysia Paper Merchants’ Association(MaPMA) secretary Manmohan Singh said at its 20th anniversary dinner last night which was graced by Deputy Finance Minister.
“About 150,000 tonnes is produced locally at the Sabah Forest Industries(SFI) in Sipitang, Sabah, Malaysia’s first integrated pulp and paper mill.”
Malaysia consumes about 380,000 tonnes of printing and writing paper annually, of which about 230,000 tonnes are imported, including from Thailand and Indonesia.
“With attractive incentives, our mill partners from the neighbouring countries will be more attracted to add on to, or shift, their operations to Malaysia, while SFI will certainly consider expansion plans to meet the present shortfall and the annual growing demand.
SFI’s production, he said, was set to increase to 180,000 tonnes a year within the next two years. The deputy Finance Minister said the Government would always hold a dialogue with the industry prior to formulating a policy or law.
“I encourage paper merchants to come together and invest in the industry so that we do not have to depend so much on imported paper, as imports can affect pricing,” he added.
He said the fluctuating oil prices had affected all industries, including the paper industry, making budgeting and purchasing difficult.


WORD LIST
1. mills
2. integrated
3. pulp
4. consumes
5. incentives
6. shift
7. consider
8. expansion
9. annual
10. demand
11. prior
12. formulating
13. invest
14. affect
15. budgeting

ENRICHMENT LIST
1. consumption
2. collaboration
3. graced
4. shortfall
5. fluctuating

Monday, July 6, 2009

PIES 6 - 10 July 2009: Sarawak braces for another round of floods

Floods have forced the evacuation of some 800 people in central and northern Sarawak, while the southern region braces for a second round of flooding in a month.
State authorities have alerted villagers in low-lying areas, including in Bau district, to be ready to move out from their homes.
Kuching, Samarahan and Sri Aman Divisions were hit by massive floods more than two weeks ago when thousands of residents were moved to higher grounds.
Dr Chan said the water level in Sungai Sarawak Kiri in Batu Kitang near here and Sungai Sarawak Kanan in Buan Budi had surpassed the the alert level at noon Thursday, and was still rising. Dr Chan said 795 flood victims from 140 families were now housed in nine evacuation centres in Sibu, Bintulu and Miri Divisions.
Roads in Sebauh/Tubau and Kampung Pandan in Bintulu are not accessible to small vehicles. Dr Chan said directives had been issued to all divisional engineers to check on landslide-prone areas to ensure that early warnings on any danger could be issued to the public.

WORD LIST
1. evacuation
2. flooding
3. authorities
4. alerted
5. low –lying
6. district
7. residents
8. grounds
9. families
10. centres
11. housed
12. evacuation
13. directives
14. divisional
15. warnings

ENRICHMENT LIST
1. braces
2. surpassed
3. accessible
4. prone
5. issued

Yes DEAR: 6 - 10 June 2009 : A Story to Share - True Friend

Inspirational Short Story

Horror gripped the heart of the World War 1 soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he might go out into the "no man's land" between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back.
"You can go," said the lieutenant, "but I don't think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away." The lieutenant's advice didn't matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder and bring him back to their company's trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, and then looked kindly at his friend.
"I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded." "It was worth it, though, sir," said the soldier. "What do you mean; worth it?" responded the Lieutenant. "Your friend is dead" "YES, Sir" the private answered. "But it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say, "JIM........, I KNEW YOU'D COME."
(Take sometime to think about the story then stroll down)
Many times in life, whether a thing is worth doing or not, really depends on how you look at it. Take up all your courage and do something your heart tells you to do so that you may not regret not doing it later in your life...”May each and every one of you be blessed with the company of TRUE FRIENDS." "A true friend is one who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out." War doesn't determine who's right. War only determines who's left.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

English Literature Workshop


An English Literature Workshop for form 5 students was held on 4th July 2007. The students were divided into groups of 4 and asked to answer literature questions from past years' questions. Students worked in the group to answer the questions and find the textual evidences needed. At the end of the session, students handed in the completed answer written on mahjong papers. The form 5 teacher are going to mark the answers and choose the best answer for each year to be displayed in form 5 classes. All the students will be asked to copy the answers.

The Star and Pizza Hut’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) Mag Inc (Magazine Incorporated) Contest 2009

When school reopened, the teachers collected the mini magazines to be sent to NST.This year, MOZAC sent a total of 78 entries which involved 390 students. A total of 31 teams are from form 1 and 29 teams are from form 2.The students of form 1 & 2 submitted the mini magazines as part of the project this year. The teachers evaluated them and the marks will be added in their Test 2. Form 3 students sent 7 entries while there were only 9 teams of form 4 students took part in this year's competition. Only 1 team of from form 5 sent their entry this year.