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Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Johor expects surge in visitors as school holidays kick in on both sides of causeway
Johor expects surge in visitors as school holidays kick in on both sides of causeway JOHOR BAHRU - Johor's tourism industry is bracing for a surge in visitors with the school holiday period being observed in Malaysia and Singapore. Local industry players said they are gearing up for a much-anticipated travel wave from across the Causeway. Desaru Fruit Farm director Steve Er said the tourism industry in Johor is experiencing good times again with both local and international visitors. 'With Malaysia and Singapore having school holidays now, we expect to see many visitors at the farm,' he said. Mr Er said many hotels operating in Desaru, which is about 75km from Johor, were highly booked due to the school holidays in both countries. 'We expect June to be a busy month for us, especially from the second week, as Desaru has become a popular getaway for both Malaysian and Singaporean holidaymakers with many attractions in the area,' he added. Mr Er said there are many activities at the farm for the family to enjoy, from tasting various tropical fruits to seeing its many animals. 'Besides hotels in Johor Baru, those in other areas in the state such as Desaru and even Mersing are experiencing a surge in bookings. 'Singaporeans remain the bulk of foreign visitors but we are also seeing visitors from Japan, South Korea and China coming over.' State unity, heritage and culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said about 80 per cent of hotel rooms throughout Johor were already booked due to the school holidays. He said that the strong bookings reflect the growing global interest in Johor as a travel destination. 'This is not just a school holiday phenomenon because even on regular weekends, we have recorded impressive numbers, particularly around Johor Bahru. 'Other areas like Mersing are also seeing an increase in visitor traffic,' he said. The school holidays in Malaysia started on May 29 and will last until June 9, while Singapore school holidays are from May 31 till June 29. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New Paper
7 days ago
- New Paper
S'porean man and wife nabbed in Malaysia for peddling drug-laced vape liquids to schoolkids
The police have arrested a 41-year-old Singaporean man and his Malaysian wife, 38, at their rented house in Jasin Bestari, Melaka, for allegedly distributing drug-laced vape fluid to schoolchildren. Melaka police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the couple, who tied the knot three months ago, were apprehended at 11am on May 26 by a team from the Jasin district narcotics investigation unit. "Preliminary investigations indicate that the couple had been actively distributing various types of drugs in the form of vape liquids, pills and powders across the state over the past three months," he told a press conference at state police headquarters in Bukit Beruang on May 27. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Dzulkhairi, said his men seized 127.5ml of ketamine believed to be intended for use in vape devices, 212 ecstasy pills, 212 Erimin 5 pills, 13.7g of methamphetamine, 10g of cannabis and 80g of ketamine powder - enough for 786 drug abusers. "We also confiscated a car and a motorcycle belonging to the couple," he said. "The total value of the seized items and assets is estimated at RM32,650 (S$9,900)," he said, adding that both suspects tested positive for methamphetamine during screening. "The drugs were believed to have been marketed through social media and close personal contacts," Mr Dzulkhairi said. "The couple has been remanded for seven days to assist investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952." THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Local government in Japan mulls whether to charge for cost of Mt Fuji helicopter rescues
Local governments near the foot of Mt Fuji in Japan have questioned the use of public funds to rescue people in distress during the off season. PHOTO: AFP Local government in Japan mulls whether to charge for cost of Mt Fuji helicopter rescues KOFU – As more climbers have become stranded on Mt Fuji when the mountain is closed to the public, the Yamanashi prefectural government is considering charging for the cost of helicopter rescues, according to prefectural sources. Local governments near the foot of the mountain in Japan have questioned the use of public funds to rescue people in distress during the off season. The prefecture hopes to discourage climbing during the off season by having those who are rescued cover the costs. According to prefectural officials, the prefectural government is studying the example of Saitama prefecture, which charges for mountain rescues by prefectural disaster prevention helicopters, and are considering whether to introduce such a system. The prefectural government will also sort out issues such as whether to charge for rescues for mountains other than Mt Fuji such as in the Japanese Southern Alps. A male university student of Chinese nationality was rescued twice in one week from Mt Fuji in April during the off season, which sparked criticism by the mayors of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka prefecture, and Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi prefecture, who said that there is a tendency to casually request rescue services using smartphones. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Straits Times
For 15 years, Apple's Find My app didn't work in South Korea - but this man changed that
For over a decade, Apple users in South Korea could not use its device-tracking feature. Mr Hwang Ho-chan refused to accept it and forced the company to act. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK For 15 years, Apple's Find My app didn't work in South Korea - but this man changed that SEOUL - Apple is not the type of company that explains itself. It doesn't respond to petitions. And it almost never makes country-specific feature changes, especially not for one person. Except in South Korea, where that's exactly what happened recently. For over 15 years, one of Apple's most critical device-tracking features, called Find My, was quietly and almost entirely disabled in South Korea. Millions of Korean users owned iPhones, AirPods and AirTags that were, in practice, untrackable if lost or stolen. Unlike billions of users in nearly every other country, they couldn't locate their devices via GPS or track missing items with AirTags. No one seriously questioned it. The assumption was: There must be a law -- something about Korean mapping regulations or national security. Even Apple's own support website vaguely cited 'local laws' without naming one. But there was no such law. And in all likelihood, Apple could have activated the feature the entire time. Now Koreans know this, because one man bothered to raise the issue. The man who asked a 'stupid question' In 2022, Mr Hwang Ho-chan was a regular Apple user with a long-held irritation: 'Why couldn't people in Korea use Find My like everyone else?' He was told the usual: laws, security, geopolitics. But then he stumbled across something odd - an old post claiming someone had tracked their AirPods using Find My on Baengnyeong Island, a remote Korean territory. If the feature was illegal under Korean law, he thought, why did it work there? Most people would've shrugged. But Mr Hwang decided to book a trip there to investigate. He traveled to Ulleungdo and Dokdo, two remote Korean islands in the East Sea. There, with his own devices, he tested Find My. And it worked. Find My lit up. The GPS tracking feature worked. Mr Hwang persistently sought answers as to why the feature did not work in South Korea. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK He recalled, 'I remember standing there with my phone thinking, 'Okay, either this is illegal and Apple's violating the law out here, or the whole thing is a lie.'' Most users would have stopped there, but Mr Hwang didn't. Campaign nobody asked for What followed was a 19-month campaign marked by Mr Hwang's dogged persistence, overwhelming indifference and frequent humiliation. Mr Hwang began by writing up a meticulous breakdown of his findings on Asamo, Korea's largest Apple user forum. He showed that GPS-based features like Fitness tracking and iCloud photo geotagging were already live in Korea. There was in fact no law blocking Find My from working as well. When online posts weren't enough, he escalated. He filed formal complaints and information requests to: The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport The Consumer Protection Agency The Fair Trade Commission Government replies slowly trickled in. None could cite any law prohibiting Find My. The KCC confirmed that Apple Korea itself had stated the limitation was not due to law, but 'internal policy'. Still, Apple Korea didn't take further action. So Mr Hwang took his campaign to the streets of Seoul. Living outside Seoul, he printed protest signs and rode hours by bus to stand, alone, outside Apple Stores in Myeongdong, Garosu-gil and Gangnam, holding large signs with QR codes linking to his findings. Most passersby ignored him. Online, many ridiculed him. 'Why are you yelling at Apple? It's the government's fault.' 'You think they'll change anything because of you? You're no one. You have zero power.' But Mr Hwang kept going. Letters, petitions and doors that wouldn't open Then Mr Hwang did something few ever have: in June 2024, he went directly to Apple Korea's headquarters in Seoul's AsemTower. He had no official appointment or legal team. He just drafted a letter demanding a clear explanation. The front desk refused to take it. So he waited, received a visitor card, went up to the door, and slid it under and into their office, hoping 'someone would see it'. In July, he even launched a national petition titled 'Apple Korea, Please Explain the 'Find My' Discrimination'. Over 9,000 users signed. At the same time, he also started a KakaoTalk open chat group, which eventually saw thousands cycle through, many of them sharing stories of lost devices and missed opportunities. Eventually, major media noticed. In late July, SBS aired a national news segment on the issue. Mr Hwang's long-dismissed campaign was now mainstream. His once-ignored protest signs appeared on national TV. And then, in September 2024, Apple blinked. It was never just about Find My feature On Sept 5, 2024 , Apple issued an extremely rare, Korea-only press release: Find My would finally be rolled out in full as part of iOS 18.4, set for release in spring 2025. On April 1, the update went live. Korea's Apple users could now do what those in the rest of the world had taken for granted since 2010: track lost AirPods or other Apple devices. Within days, Mr Hwang's open KakaoTalk chat filled with screenshots of recovered items. With AirTags — Apple's coin-sized trackers that use nearby devices to relay their location — finally working in Korea, users were able to find lost backpacks, wallets and AirPods for the first time, along with some long-overdue peace of mind. Apple never acknowledged Mr Hwang. It never admitted it was at fault or explained the original restriction. But it didn't matter. Now the feature was available. Although no offical data is available, Mr Hwang believes South Korea has over 10 million Apple users, yet for 15 years, no one — not the media, influencers or lawmakers—questioned why a basic feature was missing. Everyone assumed someone else had checked. One person finally did. 'For me, this wasn't just about the feature alone,' he said. 'It was about how easy it is for misinformation to settle into something permanent. People thought Apple had a good reason. But no one could say what it was.' Looking back, what surprises him most is not how long it took to get the service working here, but how no one else had attempted to do so. He's still amazed it worked. 'I had no power. I didn't have money or a title. I was unemployed when I started. But I kept thinking, If this isn't right, someone should fix it. And eventually, that someone had to be me.' THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Korean children starting day care earlier, staying longer: Survey
SEOUL - South Korea's infants and toddlers are entering day care institutions at a younger age and spending more time there, according to a new national child care survey released on May 20 by the Education Ministry. The 2024 National Child Care Survey, which collected responses from 2,494 households and 3,058 day care centers and kindergartens nationwide, found that the average age for first enrollment in child care facilities dropped to 19.8 months, compared to 30 months in 2009. This marks a continued trend toward earlier use of child care services. The average daily attendance time also rose. Children now spend an average of 7 hours and 31 minutes per day at day care centers, an increase of 19 minutes from the 2021 survey. Kindergarten attendance averaged 7 hours and 20 minutes, up by 16 minutes. Despite the increase, a gap remains between actual and desired hours. Parents expressed a preference for an average of 8 hours and 13 minutes of daily care, yet actual usage fell short at 7 hours and 25 minutes. A ministry official attributed the earlier use and longer hours to evolving family dynamics. 'The growing number of dual-income households has increased the demand for early and extended child care,' the official said. 'At the same time, declining birth rates may have made child care services more accessible, encouraging parents to use them even for shorter durations.' Monthly child care-related expenses per household averaged 1.11 million won (S$1,000) , up 140,000 won from 2021. However, the proportion of these expenses relative to household income decreased to 17.8 per cent from 19.3 per cent. Parental use of child care leave also increased across the board. In 2023, 34.5 per cent of mothers and 3.6 per cent of fathers took child care leave individually, while 6.1 per cent of households had both parents use it. This represents a rise from 2021, when the figures were 32.6 per cent for mothers, 2.1 per cent for fathers and 2.4 per cent for both. Parental satisfaction with child care services reached an all-time high. Overall satisfaction stood at 91.9 per cent, up from 77.7 per cent in 2021 and 80.9 per cent in 2018. Day care centers scored 92.4 per cent, while kindergartens recorded 91.7 per cent. Senior researcher Choi Hyo-mi, explaining the rise in satisfaction, said: 'Unlike the 2021 survey period, which was affected by Covid-19-related service restrictions, recent expansions in child care subsidies have contributed to the increased satisfaction.' The survey also addressed workplace rights for child care staff. While 17.7 per cent of child care staff still reported experiencing rights violations at work, the figure marked a notable improvement from 30.1 per cent in the previous survey. In response, the Education Ministry recently introduced new protective measures for child care staff, including dispute mediation procedures and awareness campaigns to foster a culture that respects the profession. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
