New Straits Times articles from June 2010

New Straits Times archives from June 2010

More views on exams sought (HL).
June 30, 2010... Byline: Hamidah Atan A ROUNDTABLE discussion will be held to allow stakeholders to deliberate on whether Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examinations should be scrapped. This would take place...

Many call in hoping to adopt baby boy.
June 30, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: The telephone at OrphanCARE, the first baby hatch in the country, has been ringing non-stop ever since news of the first baby's arrival came to light on Sunday. The callers have expressed hope in adopting the 2.7kg baby boy who...

Two babies found abandoned, two women arrested.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Kalbana Perimbanayagam; Patrick Sennyah KUALA LUMPUR: Two babies were found abandoned yesterday in the Klang Valley but in both cases, the infants survived while two women, believed to be their mothers, were arrested. One baby was...

Serve people, BN parties told.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Roy Goh KOTA KINABALU: Serve the people first. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told members of the Barisan Nasional coalition here that although there was a lot of internal politicking, "my advice is for all to concentrate on...

Najib on walkabout at popular KK market.
June 30, 2010... KOTA KINABALU: Businessman Ting Jack Kuok believes that with a little bit of practice, Datuk Seri Najib Razak could challenge him in a game of Chinese chess. "Otherwise, I am still champion, lah," said the 65-year-old man who showed his...

'Protect Malaysian investments'.
June 30, 2010... JAKARTA has been urged to protect Malaysian investments so that they are not mired in long-drawn disputes with the authorities. Citing the case of conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad, which is now in court, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin...

Media urged to play role in boosting ties.
June 30, 2010... MEDIA Prima Bhd and Indonesia's PT Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for closer cultural ties and understanding between the people of the two countries. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri...

Protest over PKR report on Felda.
June 30, 2010... KUANTAN: Some 80 members of the Kuantan Felda Malaysian Youth Council yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the Felda headquarters here, against the report carried by Suara Keadilan, alleging that Felda was bankrupt. Irked with the June...

ExxonMobil gives math whizzes RM100,000.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Koi Kye Lee KUALA LUMPUR: For some people, mathematics is a passion. Muhammad Aqil Kamarudin is one of them. The 19-year-old is one of six who will represent Malaysia in the upcoming 51st International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)...

Tian Chua seeks to appeal.
June 30, 2010... PUTRAJAYA: Batu member of parliament Tian Chua has filed a leave application in the Court of Appeal to appeal against a High Court ruling that affirmed a lower court decision finding him guilty of assaulting a policeman three years ago. The...

'TAY' series fetches RM1 million.
June 30, 2010... KUALA TERENGGANU: The "TAY" series of number plate registrations has made the state Road Transport Department richer by RM1.02 million. It has also set a national record for the number plate "TAY 1". "TAY" is now the best-selling...

State rep talks man out of suicide bid.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Chuah Bee Kim JOHOR BARU: A state assemblyman turned hero when he talked a man out of a suicide attempt here yesterday. The 37-year-old man, an electrician, attempted to jump off the roof of a four-storey building in Bandar Baru...

Ex-Pos Malaysia head to explain RM546m loss.
June 30, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will summon former Pos Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Adam Kadir tomorrow over his claims that the postal service suffered losses and should not be sold to strategic investors. PAC chairman Datuk...

Security forces keeping our faith.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Azmi Anshar WHEN it comes to neutering terrorists, Malaysia has been at the forefront of tackling what is now a destructive global menace, long before the United States or Britain had a whiff of its evil devastation. So long is the...

Trains purchased fast due to needs.
June 30, 2010... Byline: V. Vasudevan; Eileen Ng; Ili Liyana Mokhtar THE government sped up the purchase of 38 EMU (electric multiple unit) trains at some RM2 billion, as it wanted to address the shortage of commuter trains, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk...

More sugar in run-up to Raya.
June 30, 2010... Byline: V. Vasudevan; Eileen Ng; Ili Liyana Mokhtar THE supply of sugar will be increased by 10 per cent a month during the period from July to September to prevent shortages during Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The amount is on top of the...

33 ex-Mat Rempit 'graduate'.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Teresa Yong BANGI: Thirty-three former Mat Rempit and troubled youths graduated from the pilot Youth Perkasa Camp on Monday. The RM200,000 programme was sponsored by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Youth Strengthening Centre and...

Cop's 25-year service to end in the gallows.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Heidi Foo SEREMBAN: He served 25 years as a policeman but that did not earn Mazlan Othman any favours as he was sentenced to death after being found guilty of discharging a firearm during a robbery three years ago. Mazlan, who...

Taj Hospital to be paid RM1m in damages.
June 30, 2010... PUTRAJAYA: The government has to pay at least RM1 million in damages to a private hospital as the director-general of health had not promptly approved its annual operating licence. Taj Hospital Sdn Bhd's civil suit came to a finality at the...

'Include the Orang Asli in development'.
June 30, 2010... Byline: P. Chandra Sagaran IPOH: Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah said it would be a failure of the government if 25 years from now, the Orang Asli still practise their traditional way of life and were left out in the mainstream of...

Kumpulan Semesta official freed of graft.
June 30, 2010... SHAH ALAM: An assistant manager of Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd was freed of graft charge yesterday. Sessions Court judge Mat Ghani Abdullah acquitted Abd Wahab Nordin, 55, without his defence being called on a charge of soliciting RM3,000 from...

RM100 bribe lands man in jail and RM10,000 fine.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Ridzwan Fernandez KUALA TERENGGANU: Chew Moew Boon must be regretting the day he offered RM100 bribe to a group of policemen after he was caught driving through a no-entry zone at the city council bus terminal in November last year....

Accused to know fate on July 19.
June 30, 2010... SHAH ALAM: Night market trader A. Murugan, 36, will know on July 19 whether he will be freed or found guilty of murdering Indonesian maid Muntik Bani. Judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa fixed the date for judgment after hearing submissions yesterday....

UN action against Israel soon.
June 30, 2010... Byline: R. Sittamparam PUTRAJAYA: The world will know within the next few days whether the United Nations General Assembly will convene a special emergency session on Israel's recent attack on a ship carrying aid to Gaza. Deputy Foreign...

Indonesia joins search for lost duo.
June 30, 2010... KUCHING: The State Marine Operations Force has secured the help of the Indonesian authorities to help locate the whereabouts of property entrepreneur Datuk Lee Ching Lin, who was reported missing while fishing in the waters off Santubong in...

Former bank official tells why Khalid got financing.
June 30, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: An offshore bank did not call in the Islamic financing facility given to Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim when he defaulted on his repayment because he had not benefited from a deal. Former chief executive of Bank Islam (Labuan)...

Group bids to oust Chinese chamber chief.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Lee Keng Fatt GEORGE TOWN: The annual general meeting of the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) on Friday is expected to be a lively affair. The most anticipated agenda would be an attempt by a group to topple the present...

Clear stadium debris fast, MB tells dept.
June 30, 2010... KUALA TERENGGANU: Fed up with the delay in selecting a contractor to clear the collapsed roof of the Sultan Mizan Stadium, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said yesterday took the state Public Works Department (PWD) to task. He said he had...

Get with the tech.
June 30, 2010... SADLY, Fifa president Sepp Blatter's obdurate opposition to technological aids for refereeing decisions in football brand him as hidebound. Reverence for the way things were in the sport shouldn't extend to fondly preserving the human...

McChrystal fails in the art of the leak.
June 30, 2010... Byline: W. Scott Thompson WELL, Stanley McChrystal didn't and can't complain. It's actually quite funny; he and his team were stuck in Paris by Iceland's volcano, and finally taking a van to Berlin, with a reporter as it were embedded, they...

Politicians should do the right thing.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Bruce Terry IN Japan, there is an expression, yudan taiteki, or "carelessness is a great or powerful enemy". Literally, the characters for "yudan" mean "oil runs out". Whether due to carelessness or calculated deception, the...

It must be stopped.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Lt Col (R) Mohd Idris Hassan I REFER to the report "5 held over RMC fatal ragging" (NST, June 26), on the shocking death of 16-year-old Mohammed Naim Mustaqim Mohammed Sobri, a Royal Military College (RMC) student who was allegedly...

Don't encourage it.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Eashvara Lingam HATS off to our prime minister for not granting the sports betting licence. Granting licences to such activities would only encourage more demands to legalise other forms of gambling, such as betting on the results...

Good team but no luck.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Hassan Taib THE Fifa World Cup without England is like having roti canai without teh tarik. And the final without England is like graduating without your mum around. It was sad to see England losing 4-1 to Germany on Sunday....

The good of the people comes first.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Roland Benjamin I WELCOME the government's decision not to issue a sports betting licence. The issue of sports betting has resulted in a polarised debate because it bears all the marks of a relativistic culture of sentiments and...

Let them have proper childhood.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Dr Ramesh Gnasegarah MALAYSIANS are waking up to the horrific realities of child marriages taking place in the country, a practice common in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Unfortunately, this problem is prevalent. The United...

Don't make mockery of it.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Halimah Mohd Said IT is alarming to discover that many of the investigations on cases of bribery and corruption carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission have come to naught because the prosecution witnesses turned...

It's necessary to keep UPSR, but PMR can go.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Liong Kam Chong THE current discourse on the proposed abolition of Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examinations invariably touches on the merits and demerits of having public examinations in...

MRT system can ease traffic woes.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Norizan Rahman I REFER to the report "RM30 billion MRT plan" (NST, June 8). This system is long overdue and will go down well with Klang Valley commuters. We should emulate our southern neighbour in their successful implementation...

Grilling of journalists 'worrying'.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Minderjeet Kaur KUALA LUMPUR: The spate of questioning by the Securities Commission of four journalists over their reports on the Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd shares issue is a cause for grave concern, the Centre for Independent...

Company helps 12 schools master English with NST.
June 30, 2010... KUALA TERENGGANU: YTL Power Services Sdn Bhd continued its support for the New Straits Times Newspaper-In-Education (NIE) programme by committing to a sponsorship worth RM7,680 with 12 secondary schools in Terengganu. For the next six months,...

Two robbery gangs smashed with arrestof five suspects.
June 30, 2010... BATU PAHAT: Police smashed two robbery gangs with the arrests of five suspects in separate incidents on June 19. In the first case, police nabbed three Vietnamese men believed to have burgled an oil palm plantation company in Yong Peng. ...

2 get death for trafficking.
June 30, 2010... GEORGE TOWN: Two friends were sentenced to death by the High Court yesterday for drug trafficking. Judicial commissioner Yaacob Md Sam found Ooi Chee Seong, 33, and Yong Soon Lee, 31, guilty of three counts of trafficking in 691.8g of drugs...

Police detain 5 football bookies.
June 30, 2010... GEORGE TOWN: Police are not letting up on their crackdown on illegal Fifa World Cup betting syndicates. On Monday, they arrested five football bookies, including an Indonesian. The suspects, aged between 20 and 30, were rounded up at a coffee...

Ex-contractor to hang for youth's murder.
June 30, 2010... MALACCA: A former contractor was sentenced to death yesterday for murdering an 18-year-old youth four years ago. Gan Kim Lai, 27, was found guilty of knifing Ee Han Kiat to death in Jalan Tokong Lama at 10.49 pm on March 17, 2006. High...

Hornbill, pet for 15 years, given up.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Dennis Wong KUCHING: For 15 years, he took care of the bird like it was his own flesh and blood. And yesterday, it broke Beliang Mandang's heart to surrender his beloved Rhinoceros hornbill to the Sarawak Forestry Corporation. A...

Man sent to the gallows for killing.
June 30, 2010... GEORGE TOWN: A mosaic layer was sentenced to death by the High Court yesterday for murdering a claypot chicken rice seller four years ago with a machete. Ong Teik Thai, 35, was found guilty of murdering Choi Yu Ki, 20, at a coffee shop at No....

Capablanca, Tuxedo Moon in rattling form.
June 30, 2010... TRAINER Don Baertschiger has two aces up his sleeve in Friday's Open race over 1000m on the Polytrack. Both his runners - last-start comeback winner Capablanca and Tuxedo Moon - showed up during training at Kranji yesterday morning. ...

Up To You impresses.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Go-Ram UP TO YOU stepped up preparations for a comeback win in the RM75,000 Lyndhurst Stud Trophy for Class 3 horses over 1700m on Sunday with a smart trial in Penang yesterday. Taken out by a track rider, the six-year-old...

Malaysian selection for Asian Indoor.
June 30, 2010... Byline: P. Chandra Sagaran MALAYSIA, who were represented twice by Sapura previously, will enter a Malaysian selection for the third Asian Indoor Hockey Championship in Ipoh on July 6-11. Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary Hashim...

Siti Safiyah heads World challenge.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Ajitpal Singh WORLD champion Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman will lead a formidable girls' team to the World Youth Championships in Helsinki on July 23-Aug 1. Siti Safiyah has grown in confidence since winning last year's World...

Lotus look on the bright side.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Arnaz M. Khairul AFTER a promising build-up to the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain on Sunday, Lotus Racing are relieved that Heikki Kovalainen and Red Bull's Mark Webber both came out of a heavy crash on lap 10 unscathed. ...

Steel grabs lead on rain-hit day.
June 30, 2010... BAD weather forced the first round of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic national qualifier to be suspended, leaving 54 golfers yet to complete their play at the Mines Resort & Golf Club yesterday. Play was interrupted for an hour but...

Yew Meng shown the exit.
June 30, 2010... DAVIS Cup-bound Si Yew Meng was sent packing in the first round of the US$15,000 (RM48,810) F2 Futures tournament at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Yew Meng, the national No 1, was thrashed 6-1, 6-1 by India's Ranjeet...

No support and going nowhere fast.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Arnaz M. Khairul THE grassroots development structure for single-seater racing has come under criticism from team owner Nik Iruwan Nik Izani. Nik Iruwan, who runs team Iru1 Motorsports, who compete in various karting series, has...

It's over to the East Coast.
June 30, 2010... AFTER North, South and Central regions played hosts for the first four legs of the Petronas AAM Malaysian Cub Prix, Round 5 will head towards the east coast with Kuala Terengganu hosting the leg on July 9-10. The Stadium Sultan Mizan Gong...

Fattah on right track.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Arnaz M. Khairul AFTER a promising display with gold medals at the ACC Track Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur last weekend, explosive youngster Fattah Amri Zaid is now eager to stamp his mark on the World Junior Championships in Montichiari,...

Referees need goal-line technology.
June 30, 2010... Byline: Ajitpal Singh A MOVE by Fifa to reject video technology two years ago cost the Three Lions and the Mexicans dearly in the ongoing World Cup. Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany and Carlos Tevez's offside opener against...

In Khalid's corner (HL).
June 29, 2010... Byline: Ili Liyana Mokhtar; Masami Mustaza KUALA LUMPUR: Allies of Parti Keadilan Rakyat in Selangor said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's position will be decided by Pakatan Rakyat collectively, not by PKR alone. Commenting on...

Parents undecided on baby boy left at hatch.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Evangeline Majawat PETALING JAYA: A baby boy, the first infant to be dropped off at the country's only baby hatch, will not be adopted any time soon. The parents of the healthy 2.7kg baby, who has yet to be named, have granted...

Student in RMC murder probe expelled.
June 29, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: One of the five Royal Military College students being investigated for the murder of their junior has been expelled from the college. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the expelled student was also expected...

Cop dodges bullets and nabs suspect who shot man dead.
June 29, 2010... SERDANG: A policeman on beat duty shot and caught a gunman believed to have earlier murdered a man in a secluded lane in Puchong Perdana. The lance corporal, known only as Hussein and attached to the Puchong police station, was having his...

'All maid matters to be resolved'.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Hamidah Atan INDONESIA has given an assurance that all issues pertaining to its domestic maids will be resolved soon. The matter was raised during a 45-minute meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and...

New voters may hold sway over Sarawak elections.
June 29, 2010... KUCHING: With more than 60,000 new voters in the state, it will be interesting to see how they will influence the outcome of the state elections, which must be held by July next year. In the 2008 general election, the state had 886,180 voters...

The Jewel of Muscat comes a-calling.
June 29, 2010... PORT KLANG: The Jewel of Muscat, an 18-metre-long wooden ship on an epic 1,800km voyage from Oman to Singapore, arrived here on Tuesday. It is a floating history and museum piece, a replica of a ninth-century ship that sank near...

Khir: It's a desperate bid.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Mazlinda Mahmood SHAH ALAM: There are now three Parti Keadilan Rakyat captains in Selangor, said former menteri besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Khir Toyo. "Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is economic adviser, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul...

Grocers want to have their say.
June 29, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Association, which had earlier this month wanted to boycott selling sugar, flour and cooking oil nationwide, now wants the government to discuss things with them before making decisions on...

Farmers fret over labour shortage.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Chong Chee Seong MUAR: Housewives have to brace themselves for higher prices for greens in the coming months if the foreign workers' shortage is not addressed quickly. The Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers' Associations...

Free speech rights for kids.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Maizatul Ranai KUALA LUMPUR: Children under the age of 18 are to have freedom of speech and will be allowed to join children's rights associations. This will be made possible through the implementation of three articles in the...

Karpal at 70 still fighting fit.
June 29, 2010... Byline: V. Vasudevan; Eileen Ng; Ili Liyana Mokhtar DAP chairman Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Ge-lugor) turned 70 yesterday and vowed to continue fighting for justice and equality for Malaysians. "I borrow one hour every day from the next day....

'Hard to prove Nasir's words were seditious'.
June 29, 2010... Byline: V. Vasudevan; Eileen Ng; Ili Liyana Mokhtar NO action was taken against the prime minister's former aide, Datuk Nasir Safar, because of difficulty in proving he had used seditious words against non-Malays. Minister in the Prime...

Shaziman: Parliament relocation is temporary.
June 29, 2010... Byline: V. Vasudevan; Eileen Ng; Ili Liyana Mokhtar THE government gives an assurance that any relocation of Parliament is temporary. Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the upgrading of Parliament House, which costs between...

'Bank acted as conduit in Guthrie deal'.
June 29, 2010... KUALA LUMPUR: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) had identified Guthrie shares as its initial investment in the country and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) was merely a conduit for this investment. A former chief executive officer of Bank...

Trapped by RM20,000 bribe.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Kalbana Perimbanayagam KUALA LUMPUR: When a foreigner arrested on suspicion of housebreaking on Sunday offered two police constables a bribe of RM20,000, they accepted it. Little did he know, however, that they accepted the money...

'My uncle raped me for 6 years'.
June 29, 2010... KUALA TERENGGANU: For six years, a Rela officer got away with raping and sexually abusing his niece. That came to an end last week when the girl, now 12, told her mother. Then, accompanied by her mother, the girl lodged a police report,...

Man sent to the gallows for exorcism death.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Irdiani Mohd Salleh KUALA LUMPUR: Toddler Nur Farah Adila Ridzuan was strangled, had her head slammed against the wall and was thrown violently onto a thin mattress as part of an exorcism ritual. The exorcism was conducted by her...

Student battered by impatient customer.
June 29, 2010... PETALING JAYA: A 22-year-old Tanzanian student was brutally struck with a claw hammer 28 times at a fast food outlet off Jalan University, here, on Saturday. As if that was not enough, her assailant - a taxi driver - attempted to run her over...

Challenges of social progress in the South.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Manmohan Agarwal; Hany Besada; Lyal White POVERTY and deprivation are major stumbling blocks for Brazil, South Africa and India as these developing nations work towards gaining greater importance on the world stage, write MANMOHAN...

Charting our own course.
June 29, 2010... AT the Group of 20 summit in Toronto, the anarchists rampaged through the streets for no cause in particular, while other protesters saw it as a peaceful platform for drawing attention to a host of issues ranging from climate change to maternal...

Malaysian life's a lot like football.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Syed Nadzri OH, how we love the jargon and football-speak during this Fifa World Cup, especially from the TV commentators. They are quite a delight to listen to, like the one the other day: "What a scorcher! What a cracker! The...

In real politics, expect no 'West Wing' moments.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Umapagan Ampikaipakan THE 2008 US presidential election was one of those stranger-than-fiction moments. Not just in the way it turned out, but also in the way it played out. It was life imitating art. It was more than just an...

They have to be in our shoes first.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Wilson Lee IT was a beautiful Sunday morning and I was planning to have breakfast with my parents in Jalan Ipoh. But traffic was bad. We couldn't even get to the main road from our residential area. We were made to follow many...

Of rights and balances.
June 29, 2010... Byline: F.R.A.H. IN his letter "No win-win for us customers" (NST, June 24), Philip Yeoh called on lawmakers to introduce provisions ensuring that terms and conditions of agreements between consumers and businesses are fair and benefit both...

RM8m to destroy beach.
June 29, 2010... Byline: Tunku Abdul Aziz AT a time when millions of ringgit of public money is being spent to promote tourism, the Manjung local authority is proceeding with a project to build 35 shops, many selling food, on the beach in Teluk Nipah. They...