Latest news with #RM149
Borneo Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Borneo Post
Bookings now open for AirAsia's new routes to Pontianak from Kuching, KL
Ria (front, fourth left) in a group photo with other distinguished guests during the launch of AirAsia's new travel routes in West Kalimantan. — Photo by Kentigern Minggu PONTIANAK (July 26): AirAsia's new flight routes between Kuching and Pontianak, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Pontianak, are now open for bookings from today until August 3, 2025, for travel between September 12, 2025 and March 28, 2026. Flights from Kuching to Pontianak are available from as low as RM149 one-way, while flights from Pontianak to Kuching start from IDR467,371. Meanwhile, flights from Kuala Lumpur to Pontianak start at RM159 one-way, with return flights from Pontianak priced from IDR499,000. According to West Kalimantan Governor Drs H Ria Norsan, these new routes serve the interests of all three cities as they not only facilitate easier access for travellers, but also boost trade, investment and tourism flows. 'West Kalimantan stands ready to welcome more Malaysian visitors, while providing convenient access for Indonesians seeking business opportunities, leisure travel and medical services in Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur,' he said when launching the AirAsia flight routes in conjunction with the Sarawak Travel Fair by Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) at Ayani Megamall here today. He added that the route is especially important as many Indonesians, particularly from Pontianak, seek medical treatment in Kuching, as well as in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. This expansion follows AirAsia's rapid growth in Indonesia, including the recent launch of the Kuala Lumpur–Palembang route in July and the upcoming Kuala Lumpur–Semarang route in September. With the addition of Pontianak, AirAsia Malaysia will serve a total of 17 destinations in Indonesia, operating 223 weekly flights between Malaysia and Indonesia, solidifying its position as the airline with the widest network serving the archipelago. The launch of these routes also enhances regional connectivity and supports both governments' tourism targets, Malaysia's goal of attracting 4.3 million Indonesian visitors in 2025, and Sarawak's target of five million visitor arrivals by year-end. It also contributes to Indonesia's national goal of recording 16 million international tourist arrivals, with Malaysia remaining one of its top source markets. In March 2020, the flights between Kuching and Pontianak, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Pontianak, were fully suspended, following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, compounded by the temporary reclassification of Supadio Airport to domestic status. This year, the route has resumed following the reinstatement of Supadio Airport in Pontianak as an international airport, as stated by Sarawak Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin in a recent statement. Previously, former Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuching, Raden Sigit Witjaksono, had commented that direct flights between Kuching and Pontianak would greatly benefit both regions—particularly in view of Indonesia's capital relocation from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan. Lee also acknowledged Raden's vital role, noting that his support and coordination were instrumental in the route's reinstatement. Bookings are now available on the AirAsia MOVE app and at Also present at the event were Consul of Malaysia in Pontianak Azizul Zekri Abd Rahim, STB's marketing director Barbara Benjamin Atan, AirAsia's head of commercial Liyana Mahizzan, and other distinguished guests. Airasia bookings kuala lumpur Kuching lead Pontianak flights
The Star
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
How AI is transforming wedding planning
By the time Emily Strand and Will Christiansen exchange vows this fall, most of the tasks on their wedding to-do list will have been created, organised and completed thanks to artificial intelligence. These include everything from a seating chart to a personalised 70-word crossword puzzle for their Oct 11 wedding at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. AI is helping them manage their budget and found their officiant and cake maker, too. Strand's secret for getting it all done? Specificity. 'I asked ChatGPT to list, as a bride, common and uncommon things I needed to do to plan a DIY, 120-person, outdoor ceremony in Las Vegas in October 2025,' said Strand, 31, a public defender for Clark County, Nevada. Within seconds it spit out an Excel document listing 200 suggestions, including ideas from blog posts, Reddit and Google Crowdsource. 'Once it suggested vendors,' Strand said, 'I had AI write my query letters to them.' She also asked for advice on improving her wedding website. What probably would have taken her 250 hours of research overall, she said, was completed by AI in about an hour. Wedding planning has long been time-consuming and stressful, filled with meticulous details and endless decision making. AI is transforming the process by providing couples and event planners with many useful tools. Among them: real-time cost analyses and budget tracking; virtual styling assistants; algorithms for seating; automated RSVP reminders; and augmented reality, or AR, which can allow couples to tour venues remotely. Anne Chang, 32, a freelance DJ from New York City, said she wanted to 'simplify and optimise' the planning for her five-day bachelorette party in Ibiza, Spain, and turned to an AI tool on Bridesmaid for Hire, a wedding service platform. Seconds after plugging in some basic information, a six-page itinerary was produced that 'factored in that the night we're going to a club, our following morning would be a late rise and breakfast, and a chill beach day,' Chang said. She paid US$35 (RM149) for the assistance. The itinerary offered recommendations and featured a 'fun meter' for each activity. Other unexpected touches included group photo shoot suggestions and locations, a packing checklist, emergency precautions and names of the nearest hospitals. Julia Lynch, 31, and Alex Eckstein, 30, of New York City, used the same site, but a different tool to create a seating chart for their 300 guests, who are attending their wedding Aug 23 at the Hillrock Estate Distillery in Ancram, New York, where Eckstein, is a partner. 'The complexities of who to seat people next to is overwhelming,' said Lynch, a personal brand strategist. After inputting the names and details about their guests, the program created two seating charts, for two meals that will be served on different nights, taking into account guests' commonalities and family dynamics. 'The tool gave me suggestions for designs, layouts and types of tables within the parameters of our tent,' said Lynch, who chose round tables for easier conversation. She described the experience as fun and, at US$9 (RM38), inexpensive. Though her wedding planner is full service, she said she wanted to optimise his time. 'This took seconds and eliminated the need for him to do the work,' she said. Last year Jen Glantz, a professional vows writer who started Bridesmaid for Hire in 2014, added an AI speechwriting component to her human-driven offerings. Since introducing the tool, around 1,300 people opted for a US$35 (RM149) AI speech, versus 20 people who each hired Glantz to write them for US$375 (RM1,595). Now 10 different AI tools, including a 24-hour hotline that people call for advice, are available, and account for 70% of her business. 'The hotline gives users actionable advice and steps they can take, with a bit of sympathy in my trained voice and expertise,' she said. 'For my customers, AI is making this industry more personalised, affordable, faster, and efficient.' Popular wedding platforms like the Knot, Minted and Canva are also incorporating AI into their sites. Zola, the wedding website, added two AI programs last year: Split the Decisions, which helps couples divide wedding planning responsibilities, and a thank-you note generator tool available as a mobile app. It is also planning to add a wedding vendor budget assistant in August. Other AI platforms have been recently built out of firsthand wedding experiences, like Guestlist and When Michelle Nemirovsky, 35, and Federico Polacov, 34, of Austin, Texas, were married in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Dec 17, 2023, the couple wished they had a better way to track RSVPs and connect instantly with guests. 'People have a wedding website, but no one looks at it, and it doesn't give updates in real time,' said Nemirovsky, who, with Polacov, started Guestlist in 2024. Nemirovsky described the site as a social network that organises RSVPs and offers real-time updates. More than 7,300 people have downloaded the app since its launch, and a 24-hour AI chatbot component is in the works for later this year. Some services are free, and others require a US$10 (RM42) monthly subscription that gives unlimited photo and video uploads, and texting to guests. This year, another couple, Alvina Putri, 29, and Deepak Venkatesh, 32, of Los Angeles, created a wedding planning platform powered by AI. The couple married in Newport, Rhode Island, on Sept 17, 2023, and had longed for some help organising and executing their wedding-planning tasks. Their site can generate personalised checklists based on cultural or traditional nuances; curate vendor recommendations; manage guest lists; streamline repetitive tasks, 'like emailing vendors or chasing down RSVPs, and do smart vendor matching,' Putri said. 'Our average couple is 25 to 34, who spends over 500 hours planning their wedding,' she said. 'We're bringing that down to 50 hours.' According to Putri, some parts of the platform are free; others cost US$20 (RM85) per month or a US$200 (RM851) annual plan, which 60% to 70% of couples pay for and stay on until their wedding happens. Though most professionals and couples agreed AI is a tool, rather than a replacement for people, many said AI was doing the job of numerous people, all at once. 'Not all brides will need a full-service planner if they can do a lot of legwork themselves with AI,' Strand said. 'We only needed 'a day-of coordinator'.' Nemirovsky, though, was glad to have her planner by her side. 'The night before our wedding, a huge storm hit,' she said. 'Everything we planned was outside and needed to be inside. ChatGPT could not have replaced our wedding planner who consoled me while I was crying, or coordinated our vendors while making sure our Plan B looked like plan A.' – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The Star
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
China's Xiaomi receives almost 300,000 SUV pre-orders in minutes
A Xiaomi YU7 car at a Xiaomi store in Nanjing, eastern China on June 26, 2025. The company's electric vehicle division said on its official Weibo account that there had been 289,000 pre-orders for the five-seater YU7, priced from 253,500 yuan (RM149,454), within the first hour of sales. — AFP BEIJING: Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi received almost 300,000 pre-orders within an hour for its first sport utility vehicles in what the company said was a "miraculous" moment for the industry. Lei Jun, founder and CEO of the electronics-turned-car company, said he was astonished by the reaction from customers. "My goodness, in just two minutes, we received 196,000 paid pre-orders and 128,000 lock-in orders," Lei said in a video distributed after the vehicle's launch on Thursday night. "We may be witnessing a miracle in China's automotive industry." The company's electric vehicle division said later on its official Weibo account that there had been 289,000 pre-orders for the five-seater YU7, priced from 253,500 yuan (RM 149,454 or about US$35,000), within the first hour of sales. Xiaomi's Hong Kong-listed shares soared 8% at one point before paring their gains but ending at a record high. The Beijing-based commercial tech giant made its first foray into car-making with its SU7 EV model last year, part of a broader industry push to boost domestic consumption. Initial enthusiasm for intelligent driving features in such vehicles was tempered by the fatal crash of a Xiaomi SU7 in March. The vehicle had been in assisted driving mode just before it crashed, killing three students. Premier Li Qiang used the World Economic Forum in Tianjin this week to outline China's ambition to become a "major consumption powerhouse", emphasising policies to stimulate demand for high-value goods such as electric vehicles. – AFP
New Straits Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
HIMP2030 first phase achieves 89.7pct implementation, contributes RM149bil to GDP — Zahid
PUTRAJAYA: The first phase of the Halal Industry Master Plan (HIMP2030), covering the period from 2023 to 2025, has recorded encouraging achievements with an implementation rate of 89.7 per cent, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Halal Industry Development Council (MPIH) chairman, said that during this period, the halal industry contributed RM149 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while halal exports reached RM61.8 billion. "This achievement is a clear indication that our halal industry development direction is on the right track and is gaining increasing confidence not only domestically, but also in international markets," he said in a statement after chairing the MPIH Meeting No. 1/2025 here today. The meeting, attended by representatives from 15 federal ministries and state governments, served as a key platform to coordinate policies and strategic actions aimed at strengthening Malaysia's position as a global leader in the halal industry. Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia continues to strengthen the halal ecosystem through the expansion of Halal Parks, which now total 14 strategic halal parks spanning 200,000 acres nationwide. As of the first quarter of 2025, these parks have recorded a cumulative investment of RM3.8 billion. "This proves that the competitiveness of our halal ecosystem continues to be a key attraction in the regional investment landscape," he said. Following this, Ahmad Zahid urged all state governments to submit specific intervention plans to enhance their respective halal parks, especially those still facing low industry participation rates. In line with the government's aspiration to boost investment value and stimulate employment in the halal sector, he said MPIH has introduced a new framework for HALMAS (Halal Malaysia)-certified Halal Industrial Parks, which is more dynamic and aligned with the National Investment Aspirations. Under this framework, Malaysia is targeting RM25 billion in cumulative halal sector investment by 2030, supported by infrastructure development initiatives, improved governance and the strengthening of more competitive investment incentives. "The government is also reviewing the formulation of a Bill of Guarantees, offering investor-friendly incentives, integrating HALMAS services into the Malaysian Investment Development Authority's Digital One-Stop Portal, and introducing the HALMAS Mark of Excellence as a symbol of global quality and standards," he said. Today's meeting also saw the launch of the Women in Halal Industry initiative, a joint effort aimed at empowering women's roles in the national halal ecosystem and recognising their contributions across various stages of the industry value chain. Led by Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad, in collaboration with Halal Development Corporation Bhd, the initiative is expected to provide greater opportunities for women to shine in the sector.
The Sun
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
HIMP2030 first phase achieves 89.7% implementation, contributes RM149 bln to GDP — Ahmad Zahid
PUTRAJAYA: The first phase of the Halal Industry Master Plan (HIMP2030), covering the period from 2023 to 2025, has recorded encouraging achievements with an implementation rate of 89.7 per cent, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Halal Industry Development Council (MPIH) chairman, said that during this period, the halal industry contributed RM149 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while halal exports reached RM61.8 billion. 'This achievement is a clear indication that our halal industry development direction is on the right track and is gaining increasing confidence not only domestically, but also in international markets,' he said in a statement after chairing the MPIH Meeting No. 1/2025 here today. The meeting, attended by representatives from 15 federal ministries and state governments, served as a key platform to coordinate policies and strategic actions aimed at strengthening Malaysia's position as a global leader in the halal industry. Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia continues to strengthen the halal ecosystem through the expansion of Halal Parks, which now total 14 strategic halal parks spanning 200,000 acres nationwide. As of the first quarter of 2025, these parks have recorded a cumulative investment of RM3.8 billion. 'This proves that the competitiveness of our halal ecosystem continues to be a key attraction in the regional investment landscape,' he said. Following this, Ahmad Zahid urged all state governments to submit specific intervention plans to enhance their respective halal parks, especially those still facing low industry participation rates. In line with the government's aspiration to boost investment value and stimulate employment in the halal sector, he said MPIH has introduced a new framework for HALMAS (Halal Malaysia)-certified Halal Industrial Parks, which is more dynamic and aligned with the National Investment Aspirations. Under this framework, Malaysia is targeting RM25 billion in cumulative halal sector investment by 2030, supported by infrastructure development initiatives, improved governance and the strengthening of more competitive investment incentives. 'The government is also reviewing the formulation of a Bill of Guarantees, offering investor-friendly incentives, integrating HALMAS services into the Malaysian Investment Development Authority's Digital One-Stop Portal, and introducing the HALMAS Mark of Excellence as a symbol of global quality and standards,' he said. Today's meeting also saw the launch of the Women in Halal Industry initiative, a joint effort aimed at empowering women's roles in the national halal ecosystem and recognising their contributions across various stages of the industry value chain. Led by Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad, in collaboration with Halal Development Corporation Bhd, the initiative is expected to provide greater opportunities for women to shine in the sector.
