New Straits Times articles from December 2009, page 21

New Straits Times archives from December 2009

Committee looking into three main issues.
December 8, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA is ironing out technicalities to make sure everything is in line with the party constitution in the event of fresh party elections. Deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who chairs a special committee to look into...

Ariffahmi must leave now, says Mahfuz.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Sajahan Waheed KUALA LUMPUR: Kelantan Menteri Besar Incorporated (PMBK) chief executive officer Abdul Ariffahmi Abdul Rahman must resign with immediate effect or go on leave instead of waiting until his three-month resignation notice...

Meeting with PWD over stadium roof that collapsed.
December 8, 2009... KUALA TERENGGANU: Several parties involved in the construction of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium are to meet the Public Works Department today over the collapse of the stadium's roof on June 2. The meeting at PWD's headquarters in...

Najib seasoning in tomyam diplomacy.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Syed Nadzri DATUK Seri Najib Razak's itinerary in his whirlwind visit to Thailand's troubled deep south tomorrow looks a little touristy and lightweight. That is, until we see the sort of significance and impact from it that could...

'Work with large plantations to get better rates'.
December 8, 2009... KOTA KINABALU: Oil palm smallholders must consider working with large plantations to get lower rates on fertiliser and other key items to increase their yield, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said yesterday....

Dubai trade carries on despite crisis.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Regina Lee DESPITE the financial meltdown in the Gulf city state which peaked two weeks ago, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Dubai has been largely unaffected. Matrade senior trade commissioner Dzulkifli Mahmud said as far as...

Dad fails to save drowning kids.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Alina Simon; T.N Alagesh MUADZAM SHAH: A father jumped fully-clothed into a swollen canal to save his four children floundering in a water canal at an oil palm plantation in Kota Bahagia near here yesterday. Although Md Shamsuri...

Yet to get plans for 100-storey skyscrapers.
December 8, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Ministry and City Hall have yet to receive submissions for the 100-storey skyscrapers planned for the city. Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said for the moment, the...

Just fine-tuning of BTN course.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Annie Freeda Cruez KUALA LUMPUR: The National Civics Bureau (BTN) course modules are being fine-tuned and not revamped, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan said yesterday. He said the government...

Grandparents slam inaction on kindy paedophile.
December 8, 2009... GEORGE TOWN: The grandparents of a 4-year-old girl have made a shocking allegation that a paedophile could be running a kindergarten here, as police investigation into the case drags on. They claimed that their grandchild was raped by the...

Convoy of hope starts long journey to Gaza.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Zaharah Othman THE temperature was low but the spirits were high and the mood and atmosphere near the River Thames by the Houses of Parliament was almost carnival-like with lorries and ambulances decorated with banners and flags...

'It matters how we behave'.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Natasha Ilyas KUALA LUMPUR: The most important aspect of the conduct of Asean relations "is not what we write into our charters and agreements but how we fundamentally behave towards one another," said the Raja Muda of Perak. "If...

Zaid sues blogger over article.
December 8, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: The pro-tem chairman of the opposition coalition, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, is suing blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin over his article entitled "Zaid, the Hurricane Hattie of PR". The article was posted on Oct 21. Zaid, the former...

Student struck by lightning.
December 8, 2009... SUBANG JAYA: A college student died after being hit by lightning during a thunderstorm in USJ 2/11, Taipan, yesterday. Tan Han Yim, 20, was playing basketball at an open court with three others at 5.30pm when he was struck by a bolt of...

WW2 era planes may lift show to new heights.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Leslie Andres FOR four straight days, a steady stream of dignitaries and trade visitors flowed through the doors of the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC) for the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition...

Sleepless nights after crash.
December 8, 2009... KOTA BARU: A 17-year-old student believed to be in the car that crashed through a wall and crushed two trainee nurses at the KB Mall shopping concourse is deeply traumatised. Yesterday, the girl who was warded at Raja Perempuan Zainab II...

Manslaughter probe starts on mall accident.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Nik Imran Abdullah KOTA BARU: Police are investigating Sunday's freak accident when a car crashed into the KB Mall shopping concourse, killing two student nurses, for manslaughter. State police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said...

Former sec-gen's graft trial in April.
December 8, 2009... SHAH ALAM: Former secretary-general of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry Datuk Abdul Hanan Alang Endut, who is charged with corruption, will be tried in April. When the case was mentioned yesterday, Sessions judge Syafeera Mohd...

Bursa 'bursting with vigour'.
December 8, 2009... THE stock market is not suffering from a crisis of confidence and this is evident from the 48 per cent improvement in Bursa Malaysia's performance since the stimulus package and market liberalisation policies were introduced by the prime...

Move to penalise Muhyiddin fails.
December 8, 2009... THE opposition failed to cut RM10 from Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's salary for non-performance yesterday. The motion tabled by Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) said Muhyiddin had failed in his task and cited the Kuala Dipang...

MACC head's comment about Teoh 'insensitive'.
December 8, 2009... MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan's comment that the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock "was a very small case" is heartless and insensitive, said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang. "Ahmad's...

Hard to swallow mules' actions.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Azmi Anshar DRUG trafficking is a systemic vicious cycle, having circumnavigated far too many circles in the history of the surreptitious import and export of the opiates. There's always a new generation of growers, peddlers and...

Big rise in number of Orang Asli in school.
December 8, 2009... THERE has been an increase in the number of Orang Asli students at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Hasan Malek said the number of Orang Asli students at the primary level had...

Public concern saves wildlife from cooking pot.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Mazlinda Mahmood SHAH ALAM: A year-old Malayan honey bear, a leopard cat and a slow loris were seized from a condominium in Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, in a raid by the authorities on Friday. A 25-year-old woman who works in a hotel...

Cigarettes worth RM239,000 seized.
December 8, 2009... MALACCA: Customs officers have foiled an attempt to smuggle in 15,920 cartons of contraband clove cigarettes valued at RM238,800. State Customs director Jamaiah Jol said the unpaid import duty was estimated at RM926,800. With the seizure,...

HK retailer warns of scam involving lucky draw.
December 8, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the public have been advised not to be duped by a prize redemption scam using the name of Hong Kong-based electronics and appliances retailer Fortress. The company issued the warning after several Malaysian tourists...

Snatch theft leaves man dead.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Alang Bendahara KUALA LUMPUR: A motorcyclist died and his wife was seriously injured when the man lost control of his bike during a snatch theft in Cheras yesterday. Cheras police chief Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Amir Mohd Hashim...

IJN not for sale.
December 8, 2009... HEALTH Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said on Saturday that the National Heart Institute (IJN) was "permanently not for sale". To which, as this paper's celebrated cartoonist Datuk Lat illustrated on Monday, many would unreservedly respond with...

An open plea: Do this for future generations.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson AGE endows the gift of perspective and perhaps even a little wisdom. As we consider what remains of our own lives, one issue that looms above all in potential scale and consequence: climate change. We...

Chill ... we will stumble on ideas to save Earth.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Umapagan Ampikaipakan THERE is scientific consensus. Human activity - industrialisation, deforestation, pollution - is slowly and surely wrecking the planet. It isn't conjecture. It is happening, right now, all around us. Arctic...

Don't forget Seremban.
December 8, 2009... Byline: K.G.K. Nair I REFER to your report "More policemen on the beat" (NST, Dec 5). Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein's decision to deploy more policemen in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor is laudable. However, I...

Sound advice for all civil servants.
December 8, 2009... Byline: M.G. I REFER to your report, "Be bold, govt officers told" (NST, Dec 2) where the State Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun was quoted as saying that government officers given the task of making...

Look at other options.
December 8, 2009... Byline: S. Sundareson DEPUTY Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe's announcement that the sugar price will not be increased till a review is undertaken is welcome ("Tan: Don't hike price of sugar" NST, Dec...

This bullying must stop.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Bulbir Singh THE Swiss ban on the building of minarets is unacceptable. It must be reversed quickly. What has come over the Swiss people? Why have they become intolerant? How can something like this happen in a country that has...

Special-fee burden.
December 8, 2009... Byline: C.S. AIRASIA says its "convenience fee is to subsidise the cost of the payment systems" and is "applicable for all online payments made via credit, debit or charge cards". It goes on to say that "the fee is charged per guest for each...

Give taxpayers value for money.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Datuk Paul Selva Raj MALAYSIAN consumers should support the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) for four reasons. First, the country's tax structure depends too heavily on petroleum revenue. Petroleum is a...

Let's have some light, please.
December 8, 2009... Byline: R.I. I WISH to highlight a road accident that caused the death of a senior citizen in Terengganu on Dec 3. A woman was crossing the road running between the Umno building in Kuala Terengganu and the Padang Midin traffic lights when...

Critical need for consensus.
December 8, 2009... Byline: James Gonzales ABOUT 15,000 delegates have converged on Copenhagen for the United Nations' Climate Change Conference. The presence of such a large gathering underlines the importance of taking far-reaching measures to combat the...

There's no need for a water war.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Joshua Ryan THERE appears to be no end to the tussle between Selangor and the Federal Government over water assets. As of Nov 30, the state government had failed to buy all water concessionaires in Selangor. With that, the Federal...

Give viewers a new channel on sports.
December 8, 2009... Byline: R.H.H.K. DO viewers have a choice as far as Astro is concerned? Astro is the only satellite station available in Malaysia. It will be good to see efforts being made to encourage alternative cable network stations. There have been...

Not the way to treat a passenger.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Aziyah Omar ON Nov 16, my sister, her wheelchair-bound daughter (cerebral palsy), 14-year-old son (cerebral palsy), 2-year-old niece and maid were stopped from boarding Firefly flight FY2066 departing from Subang Airport for Kota Baru...

Racial politics is not helpful.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Zamri Mahmud THE proposal by Liong Kam Chong for a single-stream school system is interesting, reasonable and worth deliberating ("Let's work on new roles for vernacular schools" - NST, Nov 11). His contention that vernacular...

Teens learn to use their 'inner eye'.
December 8, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: Armed with their cameras, 100 teenage shutterbugs attended a fun photography workshop at the New Straits Times here yesterday. The two-day workshop organised by the paper's Newspaper in Education (NIE) unit at Balai Berita was...

2 Indonesians on murder rap.
December 8, 2009... BUKIT MERTAJAM: Two Indonesian brothers were charged at the magistrate's court yesterday with the murder of their countryman last month. Construction workers Laingke, 35, and Laaihu, 40, were alleged to have murdered Junaidi alias Wahyudi...

50pc housing quota for Bumiputeras on hold.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Nadia Badarudin ALOR STAR: Bowing to pressure, the Pas-led state government has deferred enforcing its policy of a 50 per cent housing quota for Bumiputeras imposed on projects built on freehold land that had once been Malay reserve...

MB denies RM392m buyout an income trick.
December 8, 2009... SHAH ALAM: Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has denied that the state government's move to buy over Talam Corporation's RM392 million debts was an accounting strategy to mislead people into thinking the state coffers were heftier than...

Seeking RM700m to fight poverty.
December 8, 2009... ALOR STAR: The Kedah Regional Development Authority (Keda) has applied for RM700 million from the Federal Government to carry out seven programmes to eradicate poverty under the 10th Malaysia Plan. "The focus is on projects that can help improve...

Witness: State rep asked for donation.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Heidi Foo SEREMBAN: An Umno branch member told the Sessions Court yesterday that a first-term state assemblyman charged with corruption had solicited donations from a contractor for a charity programme in his constituency. Mustafa...

Boy without thigh needs help.
December 8, 2009... BINTULU: Looking at six-year-old Asyraf Azman running around excitedly, it's hard to imagine that this bundle of energy was born with a heart defect and congenital limb deficiency at birth. As the first born of Azman Samsudin and Artini...

Malaysian apprentices have the skill.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Go-Ram MALAYSIAN apprentice jockeys were in great form when they won two of the three Apprentice Invitational races against their Singapore counterparts to emerge champions in the team and individual championships over the weekend in...

Weightlifters face an uphill task.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Jugjet Singh MALAYSIA will send a fairly inexperienced weightlifting squad to the Laos Sea Games where they face an uphill task from the very start. The most seasoned campaigner is Amirul Hamizan, who will be competing in the 52kg...

Paddlers bank on team events.
December 8, 2009... THE team events are seen as the national table tennis squad's best chance of winning medals at the Sea Games when action gets underway at the National University Convention Hall in Vientiane today. Both the men's and women's teams have...

Athletes get Power shoes.
December 8, 2009... NATIONAL athletes at the Laos Sea Games will find comfort in Bata and Power shoes, the official footwear of the Malaysian contingent to the 25th Sea Games. "The shoes will be worn by athletes and officials for their flights to and from...

Syazwan fit to lead.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Devinder Singh SYAZWAN Husin, the national sepaktakraw team's main tekong, has been passed fit for the Sea Games to lead Malaysia's charge in the team and regu events in Vientiane. Doubts persisted over the fitness of Syazwan after...

Not ideal situation.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Devinder Singh THE weightlifters' first training session at the Pornsawan School weightlifting venue near the National University was far from an enjoyable one. A makeshift training hall under a tent set up on a concrete pavement...

Singapore dominant.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Devinder Singh SINGAPORE extended their record streak of men's water polo gold medals to 23 after claiming the first gold medal of 25th Sea Games at the National Sports Complex in Vientiane yesterday. An 8-5 victory over Thailand...

Rajagobal blasts his players.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Devinder Singh COACH K. Rajagobal read the riot act to the national Under-23 squad and will not stand any misbehaviour when the team play Cambodia in their third Group A match at the Chou Anouvong Stadium in Vientiane today. The...

No disciplinary action for now.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Devinder Singh THE national Under-23 side's ugly reaction to Sunday's 3-1 defeat by Vietnam at the Sea Games attracted widespread condemnation but any disciplinary action will be delayed until the conclusion of their participation in...

Ian keen on high level competition.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Devinder Singh YOUNGSTER Ian James Barr is counting on the experience of a lifetime when he makes his Sea Games debut to spur him to greater heights. However, Ian has no illusions about winning medals in Vientiane as the Sea Games...

Adding Pace with Italian flavour.
December 8, 2009... STARTING young and competing actively in tournaments for 12 to 16 years old in Italy, Marcello Pace, the managing director for Bata Emerging Market, East. has found much passion in tennis. Pace, who has been with Bata for almost 16 years, is...

Malaysia first in Asean to host PGA event.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Marc Lourdes MALAYSIA will become the first Asean nation to host a PGA event when the Asia Pacific Golf Classic is held here next year. The tournament will mark the first of what will be a yearly affair for at least the next seven...

Injured Chong Wei pulls out of Sea Games.
December 8, 2009... Byline: K.M. Boopathy MALAYSIA'S gold medal chances in badminton received a major blow yesterday when World No 1 Lee Chong Wei announced his withdrawal from the Laos Sea Games due to the recurrence of an old injury. Chong Wei, who won the...

Minoprio proves he's got what it takes.
December 8, 2009... Byline: Zainuddin Muhammad YOUTH triumphed over experience in the just concluded Monsoon Cup at Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort and Spa in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu. New Zealand's Black Match Racing Team skipper Adam Minoprio proved he could win the...

Special gift for Rosmah.
December 7, 2009... BANGI: The prime minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, was moved to tears when a student attending a gifted children's programme gave her a specially made birthday card. Her birthday falls on Dec 10. Nor Alia Razali, who is taking part...

'Hold MCA polls as soon as possible'.
December 7, 2009... KUALA TERENGGANU: Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday advised the MCA not to drag out its internal crisis and to hold its annual general meeting and fresh elections as soon as possible. The prime minister said it was about time MCA resolved the...

Have special programmes for gifted kids, says PM.
December 7, 2009... Byline: B. Suresh Ram BANGI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the time had come to help children with talent and intelligence to develop their inherent qualities. "Under our national education policy, we have classes for normal...

Muhyiddin on a mission to boost Japanese investment.
December 7, 2009... Byline: M. Hamzah Jamaludin EFFORTS to attract more Japanese investments to Malaysia are being fortified with the working visit of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from today. It will be his first visit to Japan after...

MACC probes will go on, says Nazri.
December 7, 2009... PEKAN: The decision by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan to shorten his service contract and step down at the end of the year will not disrupt the organisation's investigations. Minister in the Prime...

Dr M: Keep BTN course.
December 7, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad feels that the course curriculum of the National Civics Bureau (Biro Tatanegara) should be retained. The former prime minister said having delivered lectures at BTN several times, including speaking on...

Ng denies rift with Sulaiman.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Veena Babulal KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen denied talk that her deputy Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib has resigned because they could not see eye to eye. "In the seven months that I have been...

MCA chief amused by speculative news reports.
December 7, 2009... KULIM: MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has criticised some newspapers for writing speculative pieces about his political future. "I was quite amused when I read in the newspapers that I had taken away a lot of my personal belonging from...

Two crushed under car in freak mall accident.
December 7, 2009... KOTA BARU: Two nursing students from a private college here were killed and four others injured when a car plunged from the third-floor car park of KB Mall shopping complex and fell into the shopping concourse here yesterday. Siti Noramira...

Landslide at Mara college.
December 7, 2009... BENTONG: The management of the Maktab Rendah Sains Mara campus here has been ordered to immediately vacate the compound after a landslide occurred 400m from the teachers' quarters yesterday. In the noon incident, the concrete retaining wall...

'Malaysia can help restore peace to southern Thailand'.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Kamal Ahmad THAI Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya speaks to KAMAL AHMAD in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's official visit to Thailand. Q: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be on a working visit to...

'PSD takes into account Chinese, Tamil subjects'.
December 7, 2009... BANTING: Mandarin and Tamil languages are taken into account by the Public Service Department (PSD) in granting scholarships to Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates, MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said. However, Mandarin or...

Felda families to be feted at carnival.
December 7, 2009... Byline: B. Suresh Ram KUALA LUMPUR: Various activities have been lined up for a carnival to appreciate the efforts of Felda community members in assisting the government in developing the country. Karnival Ikatan Hati Warga Felda (Iktiraf)...

What is needed is tact, respect and sensitivity.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Azmi Anshar "WE believe in freedom of speech," is the usual refrain declared by most Malaysian idealists, young or old, whenever this ageless issue percolates passionately in national debate. Really? Most Malaysians love to spout...

Public are watching, so behave, speaker tells MPs.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Sajahan Waheed KUALA LUMPUR: All elected representatives have been told to behave like parliamentarians and not as politicians during parliamentary sittings. Yesterday, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said good conduct was...

600 people join Penang event.
December 7, 2009... GEORGE TOWN: About 600 people, comprising state department officers and students, took part in the Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia Dance festival at Fort Cornwallis here yesterday. A similar dance was also held at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, drawing...

Celebrating culture with dance.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Veena Babulal KUALA LUMPUR: The greatness and endurance of a race is measured not only by development of infrastructure, economic strength or military prowess but also by cultural excellence, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor said yesterday....

Carollers raise funds for rural hostel.
December 7, 2009... KOTA KINABALU: Children from Kampung Moingob, Tamparuli, a district made up of the Dusun ethnic community, make a two-hour journey to go to school every day at SK Rungus Nabaha. Their day would start at 4am, walking through hilly paths and...

Najib: Keep an eye on children.
December 7, 2009... KUALA TERENGGANU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday cited public apathy as the cause of deaths involving children during the monsoon season. Since the floods struck the east coast, almost 15 deaths have been reported. The...

Fewer at relief centres as floods ebb.
December 7, 2009... KUALA TERENGGANU: The flood situation in the state has improved, with only 829 victims still at relief centres yesterday from 1,077 people on Saturday night. Terengganu National Security Council spokesman said in Kemaman, the district worst...

Farmers to get monetary help.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Audrey Dermawan GEORGE TOWN: Farmers whose crops were destroyed by floods can look forward to monetary aid from the government soon. Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar said the government was awaiting...