New Straits Times articles from July 2000

New Straits Times archives from July 2000

MAS Super Saver Package extended.
July 31, 2000... LANGKAWI, Sat. - Malaysians can continue to enjoy affordable holidays to the island resort as the Malaysia Airlines Langkawi Super Saver package has been extended by another year from Tuesday. The MAS Golden Holidays package has been a...

Set up panels to boost agriculture, DPM urges Ministry, private sector.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - The Agriculture Ministry and those from the private sector involved in agricultural activities should each set up a panel to boost the agriculture industry. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said...

Five per cent of blood donated in Pahang contaminated.
July 31, 2000... KUANTAN, Sat. - The Pahang Health Department has found that 1,122 units or 561,000 millilitres of blood donated by the public in the State last year were contaminated. State Health director Dr Khoo Soo Teck said the 1,122 units had...

Police: No permit issued for Aug 4 gathering.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - Police will not hesitate to detain those involved in any unlawful gathering in connection with the judgment of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial on Aug 4. City police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Kamaruddin...

Projects to check delinquency launched in Negri.
July 31, 2000... SEREMBAN, Sat. - In a bid to reduce teenage delinquency, the Negri Sembilan branch of the National Crime Prevention Foundation today launched two new programmes called the "Nilam" project and "A-Day-With-The-Police" session at the district...

PM: Use brand names to develop KLIA's image.
July 31, 2000... SEPANG, Sat. - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here to develop its image by associating with world-renowned brand names. This can be done by inviting established brands to set up...

Siti Hasmah opens St Mary's new premises.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - The St Mary primary and secondary schools' new premises in Selayang was opened today by the Prime Minister's wife Datuk Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, one of the schools' better-known former pupils. Also present in...

Sarawak leaders and the new way of thinking.
July 31, 2000... A PAPER on Sarawak politics reminded political leaders to accommodate the current wave of thinking of the masses and that abuse of authority no longer has a place in today's administration. "Unless they are willing to modify their methods...

'A unified Sabah only came about after 1941'.
July 31, 2000... SABAH only emerged as a unified political entity within which traditional elements were incorporated into a modern administrative system after 1941. It was during the period of colonial rule, initiated by the Overbeck- Dent Association...

1922 debate on sex in the tropics: All reports on "Conference of International Association of Historians of Asia 2000" by Zainon Ahmad.
July 31, 2000... A DEBATE - whether it was prudent for European men (who pleaded necessity but not love) to have sexual relations with Asian women - took place in the pages of the Malay Mail in 1922. This was pointed out by Australian historian Dr John...

Professor: European conquerors subverted Asia's maritime trade.
July 31, 2000... LAND-BASED empires in Asia practised free maritime trade during the pre- colonial period but this was subverted and destroyed by the Europeans when they arrived there, said a German historian. The Europeans, starting with the Portuguese,...

Staff of Berjaya join hands to get into records book.
July 31, 2000... IT is all smiles for 1,135 staff of the Berjaya Group of Companies who held hands for 15 minutes to stake a place in the record books for "The Longest Unbroken Floating Human Line". The activity was part of the company's Family Day held at...

Mustapa: Pas leaders must say sorry for 'sandiwara' allegation.
July 31, 2000... KUALA TERENGGANU, Sat. - Umno wants Pas leaders to apologise for their allegation that the Grik arms heist was a sandiwara (staged) because such claims have insulted the integrity of the Armed Forces. Umno information chief Datuk Mustapa...

Show gratitude by being good paymasters, petty traders told.
July 31, 2000... PENANG, Sat. - Bumiputera petty traders should show their gratitude to the Government for the financial assistance accorded to them by making their businesses successful and also promptly repaying their loans. "They must not default on...

Overseas students being misled into opposing Umno, says DPM.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - Malaysian students abroad are being misled by certain groups into opposing Umno and its struggle for race, religion, nation, deputy Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today. The Deputy Prime...

Agency welcomes all poison pen letters, says D-G.
July 31, 2000... JOHOR BARU, Sat. - Poison pen letters have become a leading source of information for investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency. ACA director-general Datuk Ahmad Zaki Husin said there had been an increase in poison pen letters and this...

'Amanat Hadi a threat to security'.
July 31, 2000... SUNGAI PETANI, Sat. - The "Amanat Hadi" issued by Pas deputy president Abdul Hadi Awang had caused a lot of problems for the Malays and is now a threat to national security. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paduka Dr...

Cult members not charged yet.
July 31, 2000... KUALA KANGSAR, Sat. - Members of the deviationist cult, Al-Ma'unah, who were expected to be produced in court this week to answer charges ranging from robbery to kidnapping and murder, have yet to be charged although today is the last day of...

Special department may be set up for ex-soldiers.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - The Defence Ministry plans to establish a department to handle all matters relating to former servicemen in a move to better safeguard their welfare. To be modelled after the United States' Veterans Services...

Selangor win Open.
July 31, 2000... SELANGOR won the Terengganu Sepaktakraw Open Championship, a leg in the National Grand Prix series, beating Kuala Lumpur 2-0 in the final in Kuala Terengganu yesterday. The win was worth RM7,000 to Selangor with Kuala Lumpur receiving...

Penang blow title chance.
July 31, 2000... PENANG blew a golden opportunity of winning the Premier One League title when they couldn't raise their game to beat Malaysia Cup champions Brunei at the Stadium Negara Hassanal Bolkiah last night. The 0-0 draw was all Brunei needed to...

Rahim: There's still a long way to go.
July 31, 2000... NOTHING succeeds like success and Kelantan soccer fans, sensing that their Premier Two team were on to greater things, packed the Sultan Mohamed IV soccer Stadium on Friday night. Kelantan did not let the 12,000 fans down, beating Kedah...

FAM considering foreign players.
July 31, 2000... THE review was supposed to be after three years but the FA of Malaysia yesterday set into motion a chain of events that should see foreign players returning to the Premier League next season. An all-local cast since last year has resulted...

Police in the limelight.
July 31, 2000... POLICE made their presence felt at the Northern Zone Guinness Jonah Jones seven-a-side rugby tournament at the Polo Ground in Penang yesterday. Penang Police topped Group C, scoring a 29-0 win over Hot Dog, beating Raja Rimba 24-21 and...

Title chase in danger for Forces.
July 31, 2000... DEFENDING champions Armed Forces are in danger of losing their title after they were held to a 17-17 draw by Selangor in the King's Cup rugby tournament at the Bellamy ground in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Forces, despite taking a 17-0 lead...

Unheralded Chew gives Ismail a run for his money.
July 31, 2000... UNHERALDED Alvin Chew almost sent top seed Ismail Saman packing from the Kuala Lumpur Open badminton championships at the KLBA Stadiun Cheras yesterday. The joint fifth seeded back-up shuttler shocked Ismail to take a 8-1 lead in the...

Christopher Reeve.
July 31, 2000... THIS week, the focus is on Christopher Reeve. Most of us know him as Superman. Due to a tragic riding accident that left him paralysed, Reeve is now confined to a wheelchair. This is the story about the reality of a man with a devastating...

Well juiced up over a quick lunch.
July 31, 2000... NEVER mind that neither of them had ever run a restaurant before. All Jackie How and Shirley Tang had was plenty of pluck. Taking over a corner, ground-floor pub in Uptown 5 from 11am to 4pm, the duo have injected a new life into the...

Folding 'life' into paper.
July 31, 2000... EVERY child has, at one time or another, attempted to fold a paper aeroplane or boat during play. Little does he know that what he is doing is actually a form of the Japanese art of origami. For most, it remains a childhood fascination...

Through young artists' eyes.
July 31, 2000... HOW do we channel the bursting energy of the young into something positive and useful? They have to be given productive activities to keep themselves occupied as well as to learn something new. Wetlands International-Asia Pacific and the...

New date for the Johor-Singapore Second Link Run.
July 31, 2000... JOHOR BARU, Sat. - The inaugural Johor-Singapore Second Link Bridge Run will be held on Oct 22, not Oct 1 as earlier planned. The run, which will comprise two half-marathon and five quarter-marathon categories, is targeting 5,000...

New ruling for pre-war buildings in Malacca.
July 31, 2000... MALACCA, Sat. - To preserve pre-war buildings in Malacca, the State Government has decided that owners will have to get its permission before carrying out renovations. Chief Minister Datuk Wira Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam said applications for...

One-day training on new driving curriculum.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - All driving instructors must undergo one-day familiarisation courses begining Aug 7 on the new curriculum introduced by the Road Transport Department yesterday. RTD public relations officer K. Balakrishnan said the...

RM20b assets seized from traffickers.
July 31, 2000... TAIPING, Sat. - Properties worth RM15 billion to RM20 billion have been confiscated since the Dangerous Drugs Act 1984 was introduced to enable the authorities to seize the assets of convicted dadah traffickers. Deputy Home Minister...

Teacher files police report against school's HM.
July 31, 2000... KLANG, Sat. - A 29-year-old teacher today lodged a police report against her school headmaster for allegedly trying to hit her with a book following a heated argument in his room. Ten Suh Yeen of Sekolah Menengah Pin Hua, who lodged the...

Ling: Stress management will reduce road rage.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik today said the new curriculum for learner drivers introduced by the Road Transport Department would help reduce the number of road rage cases. He said the idea of...

Gang strikes at Tioman resort.
July 31, 2000... KUANTAN, Sat. - An eight-man gang stole 11 boat engines, a jet ski and a boat belonging to the Berjaya Tioman Resort from two villages in Pulau Tioman yesterday. The gang struck between 3am and 4am at Kampung Genting and Kampung Tekek....

Blowing hard ... Students going ...
July 31, 2000... BLOWING HARD... Students going through their paces yesterday during the dress rehearsal for today's School Marching Band Competition 2000. The annual event is being held at Dataran Merdeka and 15 teams from 14 States will be participating....

One killed, 14 hurt in NSE pile-up.
July 31, 2000... MALACCA, Sat. - A van driver was killed and 14 others injured, four of them seriously, in a pile-up involving a trailer, a lorry, a tour bus and a van at 205.3km of the North-South Expressway near Ayer Keroh early this morning. The driver, an...

RM14 billion boost for entrepreneurs.
July 31, 2000... BUKIT MERTAJAM, Sat. - The Entrepreneur Development Ministry will spend RM14 billion on various programmes to boost the local entrepreneurial sector under the Eighth Malaysia Plan, its Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said today....

Grik arms heist sparks fierce BN-Pas debate.
July 31, 2000... KANGAR, Sat - An urgent motion to condemn the recent arms heist in Grik, Perak, by the Al-Ma'unah group triggered a fierce debate between Barisan Nasional and Pas State Assemblymen at the State Legislative Assembly sitting today. The...

'Please don't eat turtle eggs'.
July 31, 2000... TURTLE number 1993G001 heaved herself up the beach. A dark, hulking shape struggling in the sand just two metres away. We could have reached out to touch her but doing so would have sent her back into the water. "If you all sit still...

A passionate man worries away at a thorny problem.
July 31, 2000... SATURDAY morning at The Brunetti is not the place to try and spot someone of whom one has a vague recollection. The caf, such as one might call it, occupies four shoplots in this Italian quarter of Carlton, in inner-city Melbourne. The...

Extremist groups look to Indonesia for role models.
July 31, 2000... SLIGHTLY over a month ago, a vigilante group, calling itself the Laskar Pembela Islam (LPI - Defenders of Islam Army) attacked Kafe Jimbani, a pub in the illustrious Kemang area in Jakarta. They did not hurt any of the patrons but...

Not time yet.
July 31, 2000... FINDING a common equation to suit each and everyone has never been an easy task. Nevertheless, the Barisan Nasional coalition of 14 political parties effectively allows the voices of all communities to be heard and decision on party matters...

The NST diary.
July 31, 2000... ** A CHALLENGE FOR DR MAHATHIR * Proof Of The pudding Is In The Eating MALAYSIANS generally tend to overreact to commentaries about them in foreign media. Sheila McNulty operates from Singapore, and we should have known what she was...

How we can attract more FDI.
July 31, 2000... PRIVATE investment, foreign and local, plays a key role in our economic development. The success or failure of the economy depends on it. Thus far, Malaysia has been more successful than most developing countries in generating domestic...

Olympia invests for success.
July 31, 2000... OLYMPIA College is certainly on its way to becoming an educational institution of international standing. The student enrolment at its seven campuses across the country and Singapore now boast a sizeable number of foreign students -...

Making impact where it matters most.
July 31, 2000... KENG Ming started his career in 1984 when he joined Johnson & Johnson. He then continued his career with fast-moving consumer products (FMCG) multinationals in the area of brand marketing, namely Gillette, Pepsi and RJ Reynolds, before...

Britain remains a top choice.
July 31, 2000... THERE is no doubt the United Kingdom is famous for a good number of things - double-decker buses, Big Ben and of course, its soccer teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The list is endless. For students and their parents,...

Nilai College opens door to US varsities.
July 31, 2000... ONLY the Nilai College American Degree Programme enables a student to complete a university degree in three to four years after Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or an equivalent examination. Nilai College, located in Bandar Baru Nilai, Negri...

Sedaya route to Canadian varsities.
July 31, 2000... CANADA is one of the top five overseas destinations for Malaysian students. At Sedaya College, the transfer process to a selected university overseas is ironed out through its Degree Tranfer Programme (DTP). Canadian qualifications are...

KDU-Murdoch tie-up for BA programmes.
July 31, 2000... KOLEJ Damansara Utama has grown from strength to strength, successfully placing itself among the top private colleges in Malaysia, since its inception in 1983. KDU is recognised for its quality in teaching and strong affiliation with a...

Syed Hamid: We're satisfied.
July 31, 2000... MALAYSIA will always play a constructive role to bring about better understanding and co-operation among Asean members and its dialogue partners in addressing regional and international issues. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar...

Sustain today for tomorrow.
July 31, 2000... YAYASAN Anak Warisan Alam - YAWA, (Children's Environmental Heritage Foundation) will be organising the 3rd International Children's Conference on the Environment from September 3-6, 2000 at Kem Bina Semangat, Ampang Pecah, Selangor. The...

A class of his own: HEARTWOOD; By James Lee Burke (Orion, 338 pages).
July 31, 2000... JAMES Lee Burke's name is not one that appears often on the bestseller lists. But to those who read his work, his prowess as a writer of crime fiction puts him almost in a class of his own. Burke is a fine writer. Full stop. Not just an...

Cuisine of the rice bowl State: KEDAH FLAVOURS; Editor: Terry Tan; Publisher: Couture Publishing (M) Sdn Berhad; Pictures by Suan I Lim.
July 31, 2000... THE rice bowl State of Kedah to the north of the Malayan Peninsula is largely fertile agricultural land the feeds the country with the bulk of its rice needs. Together with its many rivers and a coastline offering a constant supply of...

Dazzle of dance hits.
July 31, 2000... ** CYBER CLUB - Various Artistes DANCE music has always played a dominant role in clubs around the world. But it has been making steady inroads into the pop charts and indeed has begun to feature more and more in movies and...

Unleashing the tiger and dragon.
July 31, 2000... UNDEFEATED warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) endures a unvoiced love for Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), the most renowed woman fighter in the land. When Li's legendary sword, Green Destiny, is stolen in Beijing, Yu traces the theft to a...

Love on and off the set.
July 31, 2000... THEY do not act overly loving but the aura surrounds real-life couple Marco Ngai and Joyce Tang (left) nevertheless. Busy, busy, busy is how Marco describes himself these days. He has become a sort of a jet-setter as one of the hosts for...

Just rent, scratch and win.
July 31, 2000... FIVE million ringgit worth of prizes await you with the Golden Star Video/TVBI scratch and win promotion beginning July 3 to November 2, 2000. In conjunction with its 20th anniversary, Golden Star Video has come up with a splendid way of...

Freed soldier back home to emotional welcome.
July 31, 2000... SEPANG, Sat. - A Malaysian soldier, who was held captive by rebels in Sierra Leone during an uprising in the country in May, arrived home safely to an emotional welcome today. Major Ganase Jaganathan, 42, arrived at the Kuala Lumpur...

Helping the retrenched.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - The Government intends to implement a national retrenchment scheme if this receives employers' support, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. The scheme will provide financial aid to workers who...

Man charged with killing his two sons.
July 31, 2000... KUALA SELANGOR, Sat. - A 31-year-old labourer was today charged in a magistrate's court with killing his two sons. Ahmad Safuan Shahadan was charged with murdering his sons, six-month-old Mohamad Shawal Hafiz, and two-year-old Mohamad...

Policemen to be tried, escaped robber caught.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - The two policemen who let one of two robbers escape with their patrol car, a sub-machine gun and four loaded magazines in Gombak, Selangor, last Thursday, will be charged in court. Selangor Criminal Investigations...

Attitude towards arms regretful.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed regret over the attitude of some security personnel who were not careful about the firearms in their custody. Despite repeated reminders, such situations still recurred,...

This time, PBDS polls shaping up to be a hotly-contested affair.
July 31, 2000... WITH compromise unlikely to be reached among the contenders for various posts, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak, a fourth member of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, will hold its triennial delegates' conference on Aug 5-6. On the agenda are...

Putting fun back into teaching.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - About 300 English teachers attended the New Straits Times' NST-in-Education Conference 2000 today to learn how to "put the fun back into teaching and learning". The teachers, who came from schools nationwide, cheered...

Set to be the best, biggest show ever.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - With just a day left, the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show (Maha) 2000 is set to be the biggest and best ever. have sampled, shopped and seen a large variety of vegetables, fruits, drinks,...

Al-Ma'unah group in Sabah disbanded.
July 31, 2000... KOTA KINABALU, Sat. - The Al-Ma'unah group in Sabah has been disbanded after its members disassociated themselves from the movement, State Deputy Police Chief Datuk Mazlan Tyan said. He said all members of the group surrendered to the...

Medical corps introduces new system.
July 31, 2000... LUMUT, Sat. - The Armed Forces Medical Corps will go high-tech next year, with the introduction of the Hospital Information System to enhance efficiency and reduce paperwork. The system, to be introduced as a pilot project at the Armed...

Promotions for navy and air force chiefs.
July 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - The Armed Forces today marked a historical milestone with the upgrading of the Royal Malaysian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Navy chiefs to four-star general and admiral respectively. With the promotions, the...

Five Indons held, lobsters seized from boat.
July 31, 2000... BUTTERWORTH, Sat. - Marine police seized 234 live lobsters worth RM1,500 from a foreign fishing boat in Prai, near here, last night. The raiding party also detained five Indonesians aged between 24 and 42, on suspicion of smuggling the...

Selangor champions.
July 31, 2000... THEY definitely didn't play like champions but champions Selangor were crowned when they ended their Premier One campaign with this win at the Paroi Stadium in Seremban last night. And Selangor had to thank Brunei who held Penang to a 0-0...

Rizal and Noor take one title each.
July 31, 2000... SELANGOR won two of the three finals in the first circuit of the Sports Excel/MNCF-MSN-Milo junior cycling competition at the Veldrome Rakyat in Ipoh yesterday. Rizal Tisin of Selangor emerged champion in the one kilometre individual...

City Hall light up Velodrome Rakyat.
July 31, 2000... NIGHT riding comes to Ipoh, thanks to City Hall who spent about RM700,000 in preparation for the hosting of the final leg of the Track World cycling championship on Aug 11-13. Ipoh Mayor Datuk Talaat Husain called on Perak Cycling...

Hong Kong ace Kwan in pole position.
July 31, 2000... ASIAN Touring Car championship Diision One Charles Kwan of Hong Kong clocked 135.72 to secure first position, continuing his streak from last round at Shah Alam. The EKS driver will also start alongside the front row with teammate Paul...

Shahrun, Mega in fierce tussle.
July 31, 2000... VETERAN cub prix rider Shahrun Nizam Mohamed Tamin is expected to put up a stiff challenge with defending champion M. Meganathan in the second round of the Shell Advance Malaysian Cub Prix Championship at the Seremban 2 circuit today. ...

God's level of perfection.
July 31, 2000... IN Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. At a fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and...

Maltese doctor returns after 47 years.
July 31, 2000... IN 1953 a 28-year-old Maltese doctor set foot in Malaya for the first time to serve in the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. He was to stay eight years, with stints also at the Sungai Buloh Leper Hospital, the Kuala Pilah district hospital...

Malaysia's language science pioneer.
July 31, 2000... NOT many may know that right from day one of her plunge into the world of languages, Asmah started achieving a string of "firsts" in her long career - starting her first (and only) job in 1963 at the University of Malaya as a 23-year-old...

Tobacco or health: A lesson on what being fair is all about.
July 31, 2000... MAJOR tobacco companies were claiming that "they would go bankrupt if forced to pay out the multi-billion-dollar fines sought by plaintiffs in a landmark class-action suit on behalf of 300,000 to 700,000 ill smokers in the state of Florida...

Nicol cruises but injury forces Low out.
July 31, 2000... AN Ankle injury forced Kenneth Low out of the Kuala Lmpur Open while Nicol David cruised to the final at Jalan Duta courts yesterday. The second seeded Low sprained his right ankle during the quarterfinal on Friday and conceded a walkover to...

Yeap disappoints, Malaysia finish 6th.
July 31, 2000... GOLAN Borja was too good for Marcus Yeap as Spain edged Malaysia 2-1 in the playoff for fifth placing at the world men's junior squash championships in Milan yesterday. The Spaniard was hardly tested as he beat a listless Yeap 9-0, 9-0,...