Penang to add 100 MyKiosks to existing 80
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government plans to apply for 100 more MyKiosk units due to high demand from traders following the deployment of the initial 80 units in the state.
State local government, town and country planning committee chairman H'ng Mooi Lye also refuted claims that the kiosks were 'white elephants' as alleged by certain parties.
"The Penang City Council received an offer for the kiosks under the Housing and Local Government Ministry's programme in 2022 and submitted an official application to build 45 units, with 35 units approved in 2023 costing RM15,000 a unit," he told reporters after inspecting five kiosks at Miami Beach near here on Sunday (May 18).
He also informed that all 35 kiosks under the council were placed at 10 locations, with 32 of them occupied, and the remaining three kiosks - at Padang Tembak Complex and Kota Selera Complex - would house unlicensed traders in the area.
The remaining 45 kiosks are in areas under the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP), with 30 located in Taman Robina, five in Vision Park in Bertam and 10 in South Seberang Perai, H'ng said, adding that they received RM690,000 in allocations from the ministry for the units.
"Rental rates for kiosks under the council are RM145 monthly including licence fees of RM45 while for MBSP it is RM120 a month.
"Currently demand is very high and we will prioritise unlicensed roadside hawkers so they can conduct their businesses legally," he added. - Bernama
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
11 hours ago
- New Straits Times
MACC to question 20 witnesses in highway probe
KUALA LUMPUR: About 20 witnesses will be called by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) next week as part of its ongoing probe into the alleged misappropriation of sukuk funds meant for the construction of a highway in the Klang Valley. MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said this includes recalling witnesses who had previously given statements in order to gather further information on the fund, which is worth millions of ringgit. He said the commission aimed to complete the investigation paper within two months. "As of now, the investigation team is scrutinising various documents, including bank records that we must analyse, and recording statements from bank personnel to verify the contents of the bank statements," he told Buletin TV3 today. However, he said that there is currently no need to conduct a new search or recall the corporate figure with a "Tan Sri" title who has been linked to the case. MACC investigators had recorded the corporate figure's statement three times, working alongside a tactical team due to suspicions of weapon and asset possession related to the misappropriated funds. MACC has so far seized RM141 million worth of assets in Malaysia linked to the case and is currently tracking RM15 million in foreign assets.
New Straits Times
16 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Bus drivers struggle on RM700 basic pay, rely on overtime
KUALA LUMPUR: With a basic salary as low as RM700 a month, or sometimes none, bus drivers depend heavily on travel allowances and overtime, often sacrificing their days off just to cover living expenses. A 34-year-old tour bus driver, who only wished to be known as Mior, said he relied entirely on commissions and the distance travelled, based on his customers' requests. "My basic salary is only RM700 a month. I receive a 15 per cent commission for each bus rental, while the remaining 85 per cent goes to the employer or tour bus owner. "If I take on many long-distance trips, I can earn up to RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month, with only five or six days off. "But if I take on shorter trips, I earn around RM2,000. "Based on last year's records, the fewest days off I had in a month was three," he said when contacted. Mior earns about RM400 for a trip from Parit to Seri Iskandar, Johor. A journey from Seri Iskandar to Kuala Lumpur, including sightseeing with his passengers, brings in about RM1,800. With a 15 per cent commission per rental, he pockets an additional RM60 for the first trip and RM270 for the latter. However, a 29-year-old bus driver, who only wished to be known as Mamat, claimed his company did not provide any basic salary. "For a trip from Manjung to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), I earn about RM50. I can make around RM100 a day for a return trip. "If I have four days off a month, I earn about RM2,600. If I work without any days off, I can make RM3,000," he said, adding that he still needed to apply for leave whenever necessary. He however said some express bus companies provide a basic salary of RM1,700, including travel allowances. Previously, Bumiputera Bus Operators Association (PPBBM) chairman Zainal Abidin Mehat said some companies allowed their drivers to work up to 28 days a month due to a shortage of drivers. He said the arrangement was mutually agreed upon by both the company and the drivers for their shared benefit. Zainal also said that bus drivers typically earn a basic salary of RM1,700 and have to rely on travel allowances and overtime to supplement their income.
The Sun
17 hours ago
- The Sun
UTM trio develops 24-hour self-service printing solution
JOHOR BAHRU: What began as a trivial issue - printing assignments outside regular hours - became the driving force behind an innovative venture by three Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students, who developed PrintTEX, a self-service kiosk offering round-the-clock printing access. Through their startup, Uninet Teknologi Enterprise, the trio from the Faculty of Computing and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering – Fikri Akmal Aizuddin Bahrim, 23, as Chief Executive Officer; Iqmal Aizat Mohd Zamri, 23, as Chief Technology Officer; and Low Lie Xin, 25, as Chief Operating Officer – began operating the kiosk in December 2023. Fikri Akmal Aizuddin, a final-year computer science student, said the kiosk is complemented by the PrintTEX mobile app, which offers on-demand printing services with rates as low as RM0.20 for black and white and RM0.45 for colour prints. 'The PrintTEX app comes with several handy features, such as users being able to find the nearest kiosk, upload documents and make payments online. 'Users just need to install the app, upload their documents, make a minimum payment of RM3, and then head to the kiosk to scan the QR code and print straight away,' he said when met by Bernama here.\ Fikri Akmal Aizuddin said they first developed a basic prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) in August 2023 using their own funds, which covered development costs, hardware such as printers, storage systems and other electronic components. He shared that with full support from the UTM Centre for Student Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship, his team successfully secured RM30,000 from the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) to assist with system development, documentation, and company registration. 'We developed the entire system ourselves, from the mobile app and integration platform to printer configuration and payment management. It took us around six months for the research and development and another month or two to build the first unit,' he said. Currently, two PrintTEX kiosks are available at the UTM Skudai campus – one in the 24-hour Study Room at the Sultanah Zanariah Library and another at Arked Lestari – while a third unit is operating outside Johor at UNISEL Bestari Jaya in Selangor. The company has also been approached by two higher education institutions under MARA that have expressed interest in allocating space for the installation of the Internet of Things (IoT)-based kiosk at their campuses.
