Early bird commuters get 50% off LRT fares
LRT and Monorail commuters will be given a 50% discount on their fares if they use the service between 6am and 7am, beginning September 16. At the launch of the LRT3 project yesterday, Prime Mnister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the move is to reduce congestion in the trains at peak hours and encourage commuters to leave their homes earlier. The move is expected to benefit some 500,000 commuters who use the services daily. The LRT3 network, which will begin construction next year, will connect Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya to Johan Setia in Klang. (Malay Mail Online)

Concept art for the Forest City development in Johor

China’s Country Garden expects $3bil sales from Forest City in 2016
Country Garden, one of China’s biggest builders, is counting on a surge of sales from its $121 billion Forest City development project in Malaysia to bring in more than $3 billion in new sales this year. President of Country Garden, Mo Bin, told the South China Morning Post that the company expected sales at Forest City in the second half to exceed the RMB10 billion recorded in the first half. Work began on the 1,400-hectare development in March this year, with phase one slated to complete by late 2017. A region-wide sales campaign has been launched, with ads bring advertised on local Chinese television and on billboards in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and other major cities. (Ming Tian Di)

LRT3 ‘new milestone’ in urban rail transportation
The launch of the LRT3 marks a new milstone in urban rail transportation in the country, said Transport Ministe Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai. He said that great strides will continue to be made towards improving the public transportation network within the Greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley region. the LRT3 project was launched as part of the government’s efforts to encourage use of public transportation. Other initiatives include the capacity increase for the existing Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines, the GO KL free bus services, the Sunway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the LRT Extension Project, and the soon to be operational MRT Line 1. The rail was designed to ensure integration with existing and future public transportation services, such as the MRT1, LRT, BRT, and KTM. (New Straits Times Online)

Penang land reclaimation projects out of control, says Malacca MB
Foreshore land reclamation work along the coastline has always complied to the standards set by the ministry, federal and state governments. Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said the Malacca state government always made sure the operating procedures were in tandem with the Department of Environment and local authorities. He stated that all land reclaimation projects in Malacca followed the guidelines and procedures, and wished “to inform he Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, that land reclamation in Penang was not under control compared with Malacca”. Idris’ was commenting on newspaper reports that claimed Lim had questioned reports which claimed land reclamation in Penang had caused environmental damage was bias since similar land reclamation projects carried out by Malacca and Perak was not reported. (Malay Mail Online)

Anti-DASH lobby fails to stop land acquisition for highway
Residents of Damansara Perdana who joined the Say No To DASH (SNTD) group have failed to prevent land acquisition for the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (DASH) despite protesting the project for five years. The group only found out about the acquisition of a piece of land in Metropolitan Square, Ritz Perdana 2 and part of Neo Damansara about a week ago. The acquisition implied that existing roads would have insufficient space for a six-lane elevated highway and that the highway would be “unbearably close” at 11 metres. Residents in the area have opposed the highway’s alignment since 2012 as they claim that the highway encroaches on public facilities in the area. (Malay Mail Online)

Putrajaya adds RM200,000 cash incentive for Olympic medalists
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced yesterday that the five Malaysian Olympic medallists would be given an extra RM200,000 as a reward for their performances at the Rio Olympics.Five Malaysian athletes scored four silver medals and one bronze in Rio. Previously, the government said it would reward silver medallists with RM300,000 and bronze medallists RM100,000 each. “With this achievement, I am confident that the next Olympics in Tokyo, we will able to hunt down gold,” said Najib. (Malay Mail Online)