More than 21kg of wagyu beef seized from car at M’sian immigration checkpoint
A car entering Johor Bahru (JB) from Singapore was found to be carrying RM18,832 (S$5,700) worth of wagyu beef in its trunk.
In a Facebook post on Saturday (21 Dec), the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (MAQIS) said the discovery was made on Friday (20 Dec).
Source: Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department on Facebook
Car carrying wagyu beef came from Tuas Checkpoint
Johor MAQIS director Edie Putra Md Yusof said the car was attempting to enter JB via the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex — across the Straits of Johor from the Tuas Checkpoint.
During an inspection of the vehicle after 11am, three boxes containing wagyu beef were found in its back.
Source: Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department via Utusan Malaysia
The beef, which was seized, weighed about 21.4kg and is estimated to be worth about RM18,832 (S$5,700).
Preliminary investigations showed that the beef was brought in without a MAQIS import permit.
Further inspection also revealed that it was imported without a veterinary health certificate and halal certification.
Source: Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department via Sinar Harian
45-year-old car driver arrested
The 45-year-old driver of the car was arrested and his vehicle was impounded.
The Star reported that he is a Malaysian.
He is suspected of the offence of importing agricultural products without a permit under Section 11(1) of the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011.
If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to six years and/or a fine of up to RM100,000 (S$30,000).
Mr Edie Putra said MAQIS remains committed to ensuring that plants, animals, carcasses, fish, agricultural products, soil, and microorganisms entering Malaysia are free from pests, diseases, and contaminants.
Malaysia is the safest country in Asia, says ‘World’s No. 1 Retreat Site’
While Singaporeans might think Singapore is safe, we are not the safest country in Asia, according to one website.
That distinction goes to our nearest neighbour Malaysia, said BookRetreats.com.
Source: Esmonde Yong on Unsplash
76 destinations ranked for ‘peace & quiet’ by wellness platform
Wellness retreat platform, which calls itself the “World’s No. 1 Retreat Site”, released its Holiday Relaxation Report on 18 Dec.
It aimed to find out where travellers can find “genuine peace and quiet”, analysing 76 destinations based on five factors:
safety
solitude
serenity
nature
wellness
They were evaluated via nine metrics that included forest coverage, crowd density, noise and light pollution and peacefulness.
Each destination was then graded on a 100-point scale to produce the Global Relaxation Index.
Malaysia is Asia’s second-most relaxing destination
It turned out that Malaysia ranked No. 20 on the list of the world’s most relaxing vacation destinations, with Australia coming in at No. 1.
Source: Mahmud Ahsan on Unsplash
Malaysia was also the second-highest-ranking Asian country, with Japan at No. 15 named Asia’s most relaxing destination.
Source: BookRetreats.com
This means that Malaysia is Asia’s second-most relaxing destination.
Singapore was not found on the list.
Malaysia named safest country in Asia based on ‘peacefulness’ metric
One of the five categories that influenced the overall score was safety, which is based on the metric of “peacefulness”.
The “peacefulness” figure was in turn based on the country’s performance in this year’s Global Peace Index (GPI).
Malaysia, which was No. 10 on the GPI, emerged as No. 8 on the list of “Best Holiday Destinations for Safety”, and the only Asian country in the top 10.
Source: BookRetreats.com
This also means it’s the safest country in Asia, ahead of even Japan.
Source: Job Savelsberg on Unsplash
Incidentally, Japan was No. 17 on the Global Peace Index but Singapore was No. 5 and the most peaceful country in Asia.
Considering the above, it’s strange that both countries are nowhere to be seen on the BookRetreats.com list.
The other four categories in the main “most relaxing” list are solitude, serenity, nature and wellness.