Cumulonimbus clouds observed 27°C

Humidity:

94%

Wind Speed:

Calm

Barometer:

1011 mb

Dewpoint:

26°C

Heat Index:

30°C

Wind Chill:

27°C

Visibility:

8 km

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodations with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a TV, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT (light rail) Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodations with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a TV, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT (light rail) Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

Light rain with thunder 28°C

Humidity:

88%

Wind Speed:

2 KMH

Wind Direction:

ENE (060°)

Barometer:

1009 mb

Dewpoint:

26°C

Heat Index:

33°C

Wind Chill:

28°C

Visibility:

5 km

Low cost carrier AirAsia has successfully completed the implementation of its new state-of-the-art reservation system, New Skies, ahead of schedule. The system migration from Open Skies to New Skies, which was expected to be completed at 6pm on Sunday, was fully completed from 3.15 pm today, AirAsia said in a statement. New Skies is powered by Navitaire, a subsidiary of industry-leading technology and business solutions provider, Accenture, it said. As the New Skies booking system takes over, AirAsia guests can now continue to carry out online bookings on www.airasia.com as well as purchases through AirAsia sales offices, counters and the call centre. All Self Check-In services via the web, mobile and kiosks at the airport are also functioning normally, along with self-manage options online, such as adding check-in baggage weight, pre-order hot meals and seat selection, it said. Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial, AirAsia, said: "Surpassing our own expectations and completing the new reservation system successfully ahead of schedule only reiterates our commitment to provide the best services to our guests. "We set a record of only nine months to complete this major migration, while other major airlines usually take between 18 and#8211; 24 months." Among the exciting features which guests will experience in the New Skies reservation system is the Low Fare Finder. Guests will have the convenience of viewing the lowest fare available according to their selected destination and preferred date of travel. AirAsia guests will also be able now to book seats for multi-cities in one transaction, that is, guests flying from Perth to Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong and return, do not need to make two separate bookings anymore. This was a limitation with the Open Skies system. The new system is also able to support characters such as Mandarin, Thai, Japanese and other language characters. This makes it easier to include more robust content for AirAsia's multilingual guests globally, in a continuous effort to be relevant and stay ahead as a leading industry player. -- Bernama

It is the right time now to undertake the process of consolidation among local automotive companies, especially if there is overcapacity in the industry. Proton Group Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said consolidation is a normal process in other countries. "I feel now is the right time for it to happen. It is a good thing and will certainly make our automotive industry more competitive," he said. He said this in response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's comments last night that local automotive companies should consider mergers, if overcapacity happens in the industry,to continue progressing. The Prime Minister said only companies that were innovative, willing to make changes and have a sustainable business plan, will truly succeed in this 21st century. Proton, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last night, has to date produced more than 3.3 million cars. It has also created job opportunities for more than 30,000 individuals and 1,842 professionals while assisting 212 local vendors. "At present, our task is to discuss with government authorities, the ways and means to consolidate. I feel, if all of us,are willing and ready to discuss, maybe the consolidation can be realised," said Syed Zainal. However, the process of consolidation will eventually involve many parties and it is very important that all concerned, sit down for a discussion and find ways for the said proposal to happen. "We cannot think of ourselves as I feel it is important to the country, the government and the industry. I think a number of parties have to sit down together and hopefully, we can come out with a solution on how to consolidate," Syed Zainal explained. Meanwhile, the president of the Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA) Datuk Aishah said the idea of consolidation is good but it is up to the industry stakeholders to decide. She said, the problem of overcapacity is only for Proton as the other manufacturers, are operating to meet demand. According to CIMB-GK Research Pte Ltd (CIMB Research), Proton has the capacity to roll out one million cars annually through its manufacturing facilities in Shah Alam and Tanjung Malim but this has been underutilised. The research house said the national car manufacturer's export plan is likely to fill up the capacity. Up to May this year, Proton had sold 156,653 units on the local front, surpassing its target of 155,000 units. Meanwhile, exports jumped from 17,000 units in 2009 to 25,000 units up to May this year. -- Bernama

A pilot project on the use of electric vehicles (EV) will be implemented in Putrajaya soon, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin said today. He said his ministry, in collaboration with the international trade and industry ministry, as well as national car manufacturer, Proton, had submitted a proposal to the Cabinet to start the project. "The government will buy the vehicles at cost price from Proton," he told reporters after handing over minor rural project grants in Miri. Without specifying the duration of the project, Chin said the EVs would be first tested for usage by several departments before the government decided on the next course of action. The project was also in line with the government's commitment towards reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, he said. -- Bernama

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodations with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a TV, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT (light rail) Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodations with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a TV, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT (light rail) Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

Mostly cloudy 33°C

Humidity:

66%

Wind Speed:

16 KMH

Wind Direction:

WSW (250°)

Barometer:

1007 mb

Dewpoint:

26°C

Heat Index:

41°C

Wind Chill:

33°C

Visibility:

11 km