New Straits Times articles from April 2010

New Straits Times archives from April 2010

One size doesn't fit all.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Nicholas Leong AT the recent Asian Metrocity Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the Clinton Foundation's Clinton Climate Initiative's energy efficiency building retrofit programme regional manager of Asia, Christopher Seeley, said the region's...

Home, green home.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Andrew Wong SOON, we might all be feeling uncomfortably guilty staying at home. In our energy-sapping, resource unfriendly, large carbon footprint dinosaur home, that is. Unless we do something to lower energy consumption, be more...

Security firms: Postpone pay hike.
April 30, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: Security services companies want the pay hike for guards scheduled for July 1 to be postponed by six months to renegotiate agreements with clients. Security Services Association Malaysia (SSAM) president, Datuk Shaheen Mirza...

Castration solution to abandoned babies.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Ili Liyana Mokhtar KUALA LUMPUR: Men who do not want to take responsibility after having made girls pregnant out of wedlock should be castrated. Venting his anger and frustration over the rising number of abandoned babies, Senator...

FiT for Malaysia.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Abby Lu EARLIER this month, Hans-Josef Fell, a parliamentarian and a key legislator of Germany's Renewable Energy (RE) Sources Act, spoke to 150 industry players, policymakers and analysts at an event organised by Malakoff Corp Bhd....

Challenge for budding architects.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Nicholas Leong; Gunaprasath THERE'S a new competition in town that will not only raise awareness about the importance of sustainable development but also exemplify to academics and professionals in the building industry how concepts...

Eco-money spinners.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Nicholas Leong AT the International Green Building Conference on May 13-14, World Green Building Council (WGBC) chief executive officer Jane Henley will share her views on "Green Effects on Investments, Property Values and Returns",...

Our first carbon neutral meet.(Conference notes)
April 30, 2010... Byline: Abby Lu FOR the first time, the country will be hosting a carbon neutral conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Slated for May 4-6, it is jointly organised by Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC) and Institute...

'Do not question rules'.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Mazlinda Mahmood KLANG: Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said the prohibition on using mosques and surau in the state for politics was to safeguard the sanctity and harmony of Muslim places of worship. He said those...

Green Trane-ing.
April 30, 2010... IVORY Properties Group (IPG), developer of Penang Times Square, a massive urban redevelopment project in Georgetown, has been conferred the Trane Energy Efficiency Leader Award. It was given by Trane USA, a business of Ingersoll Rand, under...

How smoke alarms save lives.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Patricia Jones OBVIOUSLY smoke detectors are your first line of defence against fire in your home. Many homeowners neglect these important guardians of our safety so please don't be one of them. In this article, we will go over a...

Desa ParkCity goes 'zero on fire'.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Nicholas Leong WITH statistics showing a rise in loss of lives and damage to properties due to fires, the Fire Prevention Council of Malaysia (Fipcom) in collaboration with the Desa ParkCity township in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, recently...

Brunei joins Malaysia as peacekeepers.
April 30, 2010... SUBANG JAYA: A Malaysian battalion (Malbatt 2) with 13 officers and 292 personnel of other ranks departed for Lebanon from the Royal Malaysian Air Force base here yesterday. They left on a chartered Malaysia Airlines jet for a nine-month...

2 heart patients add to death toll.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Annie Freeda Cruez; Nur Fatin A. Rahman KUALA LUMPUR: A 61-year-old woman died of influenza A (H1N1) on Saturday, bringing the death toll of people who died directly from the disease between May last year and yesterday to 81. ...

(Equipping homes with the ... ).
April 30, 2010... EQUIPPING homes with the right tools to face a fire is irrefutably the first line of defence, says the Fire Prevention Council of Malaysia (Fipcom). The protection of lives, the council said, must be the prime consideration in any fire...

MBFC means business at Marina Bay.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Chris Prasad WITH 710.2 square kilometres to call home, the microstate of Singapore is less than 0.30 per cent the size of our country. Yet our southern neighbour somehow finds room to reinvent itself time and time again. The...

Main witness sticks to his version of incident.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Mazlinda Mahmood; Noor Hazwan Hariz Mohd KLANG: The main witness in the shooting of Aminulrasyid Amzah was questioned for more than three hours by police on Wednesday. And according to Selangor chief police officer Datuk Khalid Abu...

Perth vs KL.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Elvin Fernandez PERTH is the capital of the state of Western Australia and has a population of 1.6 million. Here, the median house price for a two-storey bungalow, the predominant housing type, is A$500,000 (RM1.49 million) while its...

Road fatalities high in 16 to 25 age group.
April 30, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: Youngsters who choose to drive before they get their licences are likely to panic and make mistakes when they are caught, said Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh. If their actions caused deaths, their...

Just a wave for not wearing seat-belts.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Lydia Gomez; Elvina Fernandez KUALA LUMPUR: There seemed to be an "understanding" between government enforcement officers, especially when it comes to enforcing road rules. This "apparent agreement" was evident yesterday at a...

Political maturity or development question for Sibu.
April 30, 2010... KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu deputy president Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg said the outcome of the Sibu parliamentary by-election should not be determined solely by the political experiences of the candidates. He said the question...

How safe is 'Safe City'?
April 30, 2010... Byline: Roznah Abdul Jabbar CRIME reduction has been identified by the government as one of the National Key Result Areas, which goes to show how serious the situation has become. It was only the other day that this reporter became a...

Ascott brings '5S' brand promise toTiffani by i-Zen.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Roznah Abdul Jabbar THE Ascott Ltd, the biggest international serviced residence owner-operator, is working with Ireka Corp Bhd to manage 147 fully furnished apartment units in the 399-unit Tiffani by i-Zen in Kuala Lumpur's Mont'...

9,000 schools slip through the Net.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Ili Liyana Mokhtar THE aim to upgrade the broadband services to 9,884 schools under the SchoolNet programme has not been achieved, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday. Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr...

Solaris Dutamas adopts art as its retail concept.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Nicholas Leong SUNRISE Bhd's ongoing 17.1-acre mixed development of Solaris Dutamas in Mont' Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, is poised to grab the attention of the young and creative by turning it into a hub where arts and shopping meets when it...

PM's trips 'for benefit of country'.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Ili Liyana Mokhtar PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said it was not fair to compare the number of overseas trips he had taken with those of previous prime ministers as the events he attended were not held annually or at the same...

Bullet trains not right for inner city.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Ili Liyana Mokhtar IT will be difficult to construct a high-speed train system such as the bullet train in Kuala Lumpur, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday. "Bullet trains are made to transport people from city to city, unlike the...

Ken Bangsar strikes gold ... twice!
April 30, 2010... Byline: S.C. Cheah WHERE it shines is behind the doors of each of its apartments, where developer Ken Holdings Bhd has taken great pains and expense to offer a truly over-the-top quality product. Priced from RM1.6 million to RM3.6 million...

Inside Melbourne's clever green building.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Lim Lay Ying AS with many green buildings, the cleverest features of Council House 2 or CH2 in Melbourne, Australia, are hidden from view. During the day, thick, undulating concrete ceilings chilled by cool water flowing through...

Hotel guests pedal for supper.
April 30, 2010... CROWN Plaza Copenhagen Towers in Denmark has installed two electricity-producing exercise bicycles connected to the hotel's main electricity supply as its latest green effort. The energy produced will be stored in a battery on the bikes and...

Watch out for TREE 2010 seminar.
April 30, 2010... MALAYSIA will be among the places including Mexico, South Africa, India and Abu Dhabi where the Transfer Renewable Energy and Efficiency (TREE) seminars will be held. TREE is a German scholarship programme run by the Renewable Academy AG and...

Chua: By-election may have seen sabotage.
April 30, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA will probe into the possibility of sabotage among its members in the just-concluded Hulu Selangor by-election. Its president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said a committee headed by MCA secretary-general, Datuk Seri Kong...

Programme helps schools do better.
April 30, 2010... Byline: R. Sittamparam PETALING JAYA: The newly launched School Improvement Programme (SIP) is a mechanism to assist under-performing schools raise students' performance in a consistent manner. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin...

UK to unveil green bank.
April 30, 2010... THE Labour government of the United Kingdom has announced it will unveil a STG2 billion (RM9.93 billion) green investment bank to help its transformation to a low carbon economy. The green bank will help finance projects such on railways,...

Solar windows that pay.
April 30, 2010... DUTCH company Peer Plus is currently in a pilot project to develop and install smart energy glass (SEG), an organic-based glass coating, and windows made with this can multitask as solar energy collectors. The energy collected by SEG windows...

Mah Sing plans new launch.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Gunaprasath MAH Sing Group Bhd plans to unveil its M Suites@Jalan Ampang comprising highrise serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur in the second half of the year. The project, located next to Great Eastern Mall and off the Embassy...

Acquitted of falsifying Perdana repair bill.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Ridzwan Fernandez KUALA TERENGGANU: The owner of a workshop here who was accused of falsifying an invoice for the maintenance of a Proton Perdana V6 Executive car belonging to the Terengganu government walked out of the Sessions Court...

Cop gets extra jail time, rotan for raping illegal.
April 30, 2010... SEREMBAN: A police lance corporal failed in his appeal in the High Court yesterday to overturn a Sessions Court conviction on two counts of rape and one count of extortion. Mohd Khairul Nizam Abd Aziz, 31, was found guilty in Kuala Pilah last...

Man to hang for child's murder.
April 30, 2010... GEORGE TOWN: A wireman accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend's 3-year-old son six years ago was yesterday sentenced to death by the High Court. Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Mohd Yassin, in his decision, said the defence had failed to raise...

Brutal murder may be a crime of passion.
April 30, 2010... JOHOR BARU: Police have not ruled out the possibility that the gruesome murder of a man, whose body parts were disposed of in a dumpster, could be a crime of passion. A police source said it was highly unusual for a murderer to mutilate the...

Housewife stabbed to death.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Audrey Dermawan; Looi Sue-Chern GEORGE TOWN: The senior citizen, who was stabbed to death at her home here on Wednesday night, is believed to be a victim of a gang robbery. M. Visalakshi, 67, was found sprawled in a pool of blood...

Manager killed on the day his flight was delayed.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Elizabeth Zachariah; Roy See KUALA LUMPUR: Eleven-year-old P. Nirosha told her father on Tuesday that it would be a good day. Little did she know, those would be the last words she would ever say to her dad when he dropped her off...

Witness denies making up story to get off hook.
April 30, 2010... PETALING JAYA: A police witness denied that he had made up the story of police constable V. Navindran beating up suspected car thief A. Kugan in order to get himself off the hook. He also denied that he did so to cover up the fact that he was...

1m visitors even before opening.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Chan Cheng Tuan THE official opening of the Shanghai World Expo may still be days away but it is poised to be a success, seeing how its trial run last week drew more than one million visitors. Visitors had to queue up for almost...

'They hit to control boy'.
April 30, 2010... MALACCA: A 10-year-old boy from Machap Umboo, Alor Gajah, was beaten with a cane and rubber hose by his parents because he was naughty and hyperactive. The boy, who had been abused since 2008, is now under the care of the state Welfare...

Toddler dies after falling into fish tank.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Ben Tan MUAR: A 16-month-old toddler, who fell into an aquarium at her home in a freak accident here two days ago, died without regaining consciousness yesterday. Nurul Najwa Atika Robin was pronounced dead at 1pm while being...

Respect for life.
April 30, 2010... IN THE 1980s, singer Sanisah Huri sang Baju Hijau, wishing our soldiers well but cautioning them, "peluru tak bermata, harus waspada" - bullets have no eyes and know not foe or friend, so be careful. The caution was to save our soldiers getting...

For these voters, the big picture matters.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Zubaidah Abu Bakar CAREFUL management of issues affecting the Chinese Malaysian community is needed to draw their support for Pakatan Rakyat back to Barisan Nasional, writes ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR. ANALYSTS continue to speculate; many...

The miracle that occurs after each poll.
April 30, 2010... Byline: John Teo SO, another keenly fought by-election has come and gone in Selangor and another will follow next month here in Sarawak. If nothing else, the spate of by-elections points to the vitality of our democratic tradition. ...

Make firms hire Malaysians.
April 30, 2010... Byline: L.B. IT is with a deep sense of foreboding that I read of attempts by multinationals to coerce the government into finding solutions to a problem created by these companies. Your report on April 28 quoted Datuk Seri Mustapha...

Remain calm.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Lionel Perera MY heartfelt condolences to the family of Aminulrasyid Amzah who was shot dead by the police. In cases such as this, police should not assume that the person who has been shot is a criminal. They should only make...

Invite that brave ex-civil servant.
April 30, 2010... Byline: H.A. THE report on the expensively inspirational Tony Blair lecture ("Blair's RM1.7m whirlwind lecture in Southeast Asia" - NST, April 27) has inspired me to make a suggestion. Ever since the Iraq inquiry in London, I have been...

Follow UN Code.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Nora Murat AMNESTY International Malaysia (AIM) regrets the death of Aminulrasyid Amzahwho was shot by police. AIM emphasises that the police force has the responsibility to abide by international standards for law enforcement...

Stop blame game.
April 30, 2010... Byline: C.K. WITH regard to the shooting of the 15-year-old boy, I sympathise with the mother and family. However, I don't think we should blame any party yet. Let's wait for the results of the investigation that is being done. The...

Waiting for the truth.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Mohd Faizal Abdullah I REFER to the report "Boy, 15, shot dead after car chase" (NST, April 27) about a teenager being shot dead while reversing his car in an alleged attempt to run over several policemen who were in two police patrol...

No supervision.
April 30, 2010... Byline: K.T. I REFER to the letter "Who let him drive?"(NST, April 29). The policemen were only doing their duty. I think the family of the victim could have done a better job of keeping an eye on him. Let me relate an incident. My son,...

To deter crimes, law need not be people-friendly.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Tam Yong Yuee I STILL have not got over the shock at the reason our lawmakers gave for withdrawing the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill. The bill was withdrawn because it was too harsh and "not people friendly". A law that serves to...

Drop plan to vaccinate schoolkids.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim BERNAMA reported last week that 17,000 girls in Form 1 in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will be given the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine to reduce the risk of cervical cancer. The Parent Action Group...

Short-changed by KTMB.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Siow Jiun Hou ON the morning of April 22, I went to the Seremban railway station to purchase an inter-city ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kampar for April 26. I asked the counter officer for economy class, but he said only...

Give more tax breaks for education.
April 30, 2010... Byline: R.A.S. THE time for tax payers to submit their respective tax forms ends today. This year, many changes and discussions have been centred on our education system and on educational development. There seems to be a trend where...

Reduce the import tax.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Idris Mokhtar I AM an avid cyclist and have been one since childhood. Now, in my mid-40s, I encourage my kids to take up cycling as a form of exercise as I deem bicycles are an amazing invention where, with just human power, you...

Hurt in drive-by shooting.
April 30, 2010... BATU PAHAT: A 45-year-old direct selling agent, who was waiting in his car for his disabled child, was injured in a drive-by shooting in Jalan Penghulu Abdul Majid here yesterday. A pillion rider on a speeding motorcycle fired three shots at...

RM50,000 boost for college.
April 30, 2010... GEORGE TOWN: Some 3,000 students of Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman will soon benefit from a RM50,000 aid - thanks to S & O Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. The Kedah-based electronic factory's managing director, Hiroshi Ogawa, handed over the...

Perkasa chief sues newspaper.
April 30, 2010... SHAH ALAM: Pribumi Perkasa Negara president Datuk Ibrahim Ali has filed a defamation suit against Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd over an article published in The Sun newspaper last month. Ibrahim, who is an independent member of parliament of...

Making school cool.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Audrey Dermawan GEORGE TOWN: More than 900 students of SMK Jelutong can now look forward to a more conducive learning environment. Yesterday, LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd donated 12 units of its latest cooling innovation to the...

Nigerian drug mule held.
April 30, 2010... MALACCA: Police arrested a Nigerian man, believed to be a drug mule, and confiscated six packages of dried leaves, believed to be cannabis, at a hotel in Banda Hilir here on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, a team from the state Police Narcotics...

Accused to know fate next Friday.
April 30, 2010... SHAH ALAM: Night market trader A. Murugan, 36, will know next Friday whether he will be called to enter his defence for the murder of Indonesian maid Muntik Bani or if he will be acquitted. Judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa fixed May 7 for his...

Wives turn 'informers'.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Jassmine Shadiqe JOHOR BARU: Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. The phrase aptly relates to many of the raids by police on entertainment outlets where foreign women ply their "trade". The raids were organised after police...

City dwellers cool about tense situation.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Sharanjit Singh AS the world's focus is on the mayhem in Bangkok, it is difficult to fathom how the city dwellers themselves are reacting to the violent incidents happening in their own backyard. There is almost a surreal...

Sing Over The Rainbow today.
April 30, 2010... EXPENSIVE import Over The Rainbow can make it two up in as many outings when he takes on nine rivals in the S$75,000 (RM180,000) Kranji Stakes C event over 1100m (Race 7, 9.30pm) on the Polytrack at Kranji tonight. The four-year-old...

Zhen Dao in great shape.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Go-Ram ZHEN DAO geared up for back-to-back wins in the Nikko Handicap for Class 5 horses over 1700m in Race 2 tomorrow with a two-round workout in Penang yesterday. Taken out by a track rider, the six-year-old Australian gelding by...

Cabadbaran proven stayer.
April 30, 2010... KUALA Lumpur-based trainer Johnny Lim's Cabadbaran is the only Class 3 newcomer entered for the Penang Turf Club's (PNTC) May meeting starting tomorrow. Racing as Warspite back home, the four-year-old bay Australian gelding by Platinum...

Business as usual for Mat Zan.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Zainuddin Muhammad SPECULATION is rife over his position but KL Plus coach Mat Zan Mat Aris prefers to focus on the away game against Perak on Tuesday. Mat Zan said it would not do him or his players any good to worry about his...

Chance to play like the Brazilians.
April 30, 2010... FOOTBALL players in the 15-19 age-group should be at the FA of Malaysia ground in Kelana Jaya on May 23 to experience the latest edition of the Nike Football+Elite Training Live Master Speed session. Training techniques utilised by the...

Medscheme rule Stage Three.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Arnaz M. Khairul THE first bunch sprint finish of this year's Jelajah Malaysia ended with South African team Medscheme achieving a one-two finish through Malcolm Lange and Arran Brown in the 126.1km Stage Three from Taiping to...

Using gag order to keep a lid on truth.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Devinder Singh GAG orders are there for a reason, whether valid or not, it depends on an individual's point of view. But what gag orders usually represent is fear. Fear of deep and dark secrets spilling out into the open, as some...

Malaysia make up for hiccup.
April 30, 2010... THE Malaysian women's hockey team made amends for their initial hiccup against Chile by blasting three goals past Ireland in the World Cup Qualifier in Santiago on Wednesday. Malaysia, who lost 1-0 to hosts Chile in the curtain raiser,...

Delia holds the key.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Devinder Singh DELIA Arnold has the unenviable task of taking on the entire Hong Kong team by herself to ensure Malaysia retain the women's team and individual titles at the Asian Championships which start tomorrow in Chennai, India....

Do or die for BJSS.
April 30, 2010... Byline: Jugjet Singh TWO title contenders clash this weekend with the victors earning a clearer path to the Division One title in the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League. Leaders UniKL and defending champions Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS)...

Keeping faith in players.
April 30, 2010... Byline: K.M. Boopathy NATIONAL coaches Rashid Sidek and Rexy Mainaky believe the national squad have as good a chance as China at winning the tournament, despite Malaysia facing a tough Thomas Cup campaign. Rashid, the most influential...

More priority to Malaysia.
April 30, 2010... Byline: K.M. Boopathy SPORTS Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek regrets that Malaysia, as the Thomas Cup hosts, did not secure Putra Stadium early for training. But he promised other measures will be taken to give priority to the national...

Chong Wei wants cheers, not jeers.
April 30, 2010... Byline: K.M. Boopathy LEE Chong Wei can still recall Malaysia being jeered by their fans in the failed 2000 Thomas Cup campaign at Putra Stadium and has vowed that this will not happen this time around. Chong Wei said he will lead the...

Zulfahmi eyes better show in Spain.
April 30, 2010... TEAM AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit rider Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin is eager to improve on his performance in the season opener in Qatar two weeks ago when he takes to his second 125cc World Championship ride in the Spanish Motorcycle Grand...

IGP: Be fair to us (HL).
April 30, 2010... Byline: Fadhal A. Ghani KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of PoliceTan Sri Musa Hassan hit out at politicians who have been criticising police over the shooting of a schoolboy on Monday. In a rare outburst, Musa said police were not biased...