New Straits Times articles from March 2009

New Straits Times archives from March 2009

Spoils of the split.
March 31, 2009... AT best, the record number of 13 independent candidates in the Bukit Selambau by-election can be seen as a boon to democracy. In which case, it is to be welcomed as a development that allows the voters a broader field from which to choose. At...

Blow for PKR as Jerai division chief quits.
March 31, 2009... SUNGAI PETANI: PKR got a serious blow to its campaign in the Bukit Selambau state seat after the party's Jerai division chief B. Kalai Vanar quit the party and dissolved the division. Following in his footsteps were about 100 division...

Terengganu bristling with confidence.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ajitpal Singh THE motto 'Terengganu Nelang' puts fear into visiting teams and current Super League leaders Selangor are in for a hellish night at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium today. Terengganu Nelang means 'Glorious...

'Give MACC a chance to fight graft'.
March 31, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: The country is not in denial that it has a corruption problem, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok. The minister pointed out that if the country was in denial, there would not have been...

What next for Umno and govt?
March 31, 2009... Byline: Syed Nadzri THE day after that euphoric finale at Umno's 59th general assembly, this text message was sent out by me to a small assortment of people, simply for the sake of capturing glimpses of the lingering but spontaneous...

'Say no to foreign party'.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Firdaus Abdullah; Sulok Tawie; Nancy Nais; Dennis Wong LUBOK ANTU (Sri Aman): Batang Ai folk have been urged not to allow the constituency to fall into the hands of a "foreign" party. This advice came from Parti Rakyat Sarawak...

Contest for engineering students.
March 31, 2009... PETALING JAYA: Global energy management expert Schneider Electric is inviting engineering students to participate in its inaugural Green the World University Challenge competition. The four-month competition is open to all local universities...

Sabah leaves it to Umno to decide.
March 31, 2009... KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is leaving it to the wisdom of the new Umno leadership to decide if more Sabah leaders should be appointed to the federal cabinet. "We in Sabah have full trust and confidence in our national leaders to decide on the...

Best council aims for zero complaints.
March 31, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: Although City Hall has been named the best local council in the country, there will be no celebrations. Mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail said City Hall should not rest on its laurels as there was much to be done. "Although we were...

RM3,000 for a last-minute catch.
March 31, 2009... SUBANG JAYA: The old adage of better late than never has once again been proven true at a fishing carnival on Sunday. Ahmad Rizuan Ali from Bandar Bukit Puchong was the big winner when he reeled in a 5.82kg catfish 30 minutes from the...

Top three places to eat.
March 31, 2009... 1. Steaks, pizzas, burgers, pastas and crispy fried chicken, Planet Hollywood has it all under one roof. This place also provides great music as bands serenade diners while they dig into their food. Take a look around and you will see some...

Dr M can be adviser to new leadership, says Zahid.
March 31, 2009... KOTA BARU: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who recently decided to rejoin Umno, can be selected as an adviser to the new leadership of the country, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday. Zahid said this was because...

PJ Council hosts ideal home contest.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Nuradzimmah Daim PETALING JAYA: Residents here may want to put in extra effort to decorate their houses as it could win them the inaugural ideal home award. The year-long contest is being organised by the Petaling Jaya City...

Three-way fight for No. 2 MIC post likely.
March 31, 2009... Byline: B. Suresh Ram IT looks like the race for the number two post in the MIC may see a three-way fight between incumbent Datuk G. Palanivel, party secretary-general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam and former deputy president Datuk S....

Ex-Balkis head on its dissolution.
March 31, 2009... SHAH ALAM: Selangor Elected Representatives' Welfare Association's (Balkis) abrupt dissolution on March 11 last year was probably because the Barisan National government had already sensed they were going to lose to the opposition, said Puan...

Blame it on our inability to accept change.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Umapagan Ampikaipakan "FOUR seasons fill the measure of the year; there are four seasons in the mind of man..." It has been a very long week. It has been a very long year. There has been a strut and a swagger. A sweep and a...

Things looking BN's way now, claims Ismail.
March 31, 2009... TAIPING: After only two days of campaigning, Barisan Nasional candidate Ismail Saffian is seeing the tide turning to the ruling coalition's favour. Ismail said the Malay community, comprising 63.5 per cent of the 55,562 voters, had...

'Nothing political in relocating school'.
March 31, 2009... KLANG: MCA has denied that the relocation of SJK (C) Wu Teck from Bagan Hailam, North Port to Bandar Parklands here was a political move to win votes in elections, as claimed by certain quarters. Party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat...

Zulmazran and Shalin carry Asia's hopes.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ajitpal Singh ZULMAZRAN Zulkifli and Shalin Zulkifli, the two hottest bowlers in the country, are Asia's main hopes in the World Ranking Masters at the Oltremare Bowling Arena in Naples, Italy on April 27-May 3. Zulmazran,...

Restructuring water service.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Hamidah Atan PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Government will not discriminate against the opposition-ruled Selangor government in restructuring its water service. Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor...

Soi Lek, Lian Hoe woo Chinese voters.
March 31, 2009... TAIPING: Barisan Nasional is unleashing two popular personalities to woo Chinese voters in Batu Gantang. Gerakan Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, a former MP for the area, is still held in high esteem and yesterday, the locals came out to...

Hafiz still remains an enigma.
March 31, 2009... Byline: K.M. Boopathy LAST week's India Open in Hyderabad was clearly a test of character for Hafiz Hashim (below) and while he has not done really enough to impress the BA of Malaysia (BAM), there was a positive intent from the...

No layoffs at Pos Malaysia.
March 31, 2009... KOTA BARU: Pos Malaysia Berhad yesterday guaranteed that the company would not terminate its employees despite the global economic crisis. Its chairman, Tan Seri Aseh Che Mat, said the employees should not worry because as a government-linked...

Nizar told to avoid media.
March 31, 2009... TAIPING: Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has been told to avoid speaking to the media. The ousted menteri besar is said to be "very, very busy" campaigning to get elected in Bukit Gantang. Nizar is involved in a three-cornered...

A battle of cyber proportions.
March 31, 2009... TAIPING: Very little seems to be happening in and around the Bukit Gantang constituency, despite the looming by-election next week. Everything has returned to normal after the nomination on Sunday. The only sign of an election is the...

Earth Hour was 'a big success'.
March 31, 2009... Byline: R. Sittamparam KUALA LUMPUR: The Earth Hour lights-off last Saturday saw a dip in electricity consumption nationwide that was sufficient to light up 14 million 40-watt bulbs. While the 550 megawatt reduction in power use...

Experts to discuss future of healthcare.
March 31, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: What will global healthcare look like in the next 10 years and beyond? An indication of this is expected when 250 of the world's top healthcare leaders meet in Singapore tomorrow. This will be the first time these leaders,...

Entry points on alert for Hilmi.
March 31, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: Police have notified all entry points in the country about Hilmi Malek's warrant of arrest. They obtained a warrant against Hilmi last Wednesday over the circulation of semi-nude pictures of Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman Elizabeth...

Modest about chances.
March 31, 2009... TAIPING: Pas yesterday downplayed the popular perception that Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin will win with a huge majority on April 7. Pas national election chief director Datuk Mustafa Ali said it was Pas which faced the huge task...

National Juniors heading to Seville for final tune-up.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jugjet Singh THE National Juniors will head to Seville on Sunday to play in a Four-Nation which will be the last tournament before the Junior World Cup on June 7-21 which will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore. The...

Can G20 fix the broken world economy?
March 31, 2009... Byline: Mohamed Ariff IT is not difficult to argue that the global economic crisis calls for global solutions. National and regional efforts can only help contain the fallout and minimise the adverse impacts of the global economic...

Lee Wei-Sock Khim aim to impress at world meet.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ajitpal Singh FOLLOWING their triumph in the recent India Open, doubles pair Beh Lee Wei and Ng Sock Khim eye another good showing in the World Individual Table Tennis Championships in Yokohama on April 28-May 5. Lee Wei-Sock...

Doing it right.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Bulbir Singh I AM with Karpal Singh in "Revoke ban on dailies, Karpal tells Guan Eng" (NST, March 29). Yes, that is the right thing to do. Why ban them? To me, this is wrong. If Lim feels he has been wronged by them, he should...

Ignore Petronas emails, SMSes, they're a scam.
March 31, 2009... KUALA LUMPUR: If you have received emails announcing that you are a big winner in Petronas' "worldwide secured online promotion", do not get too excited. These emails, which requires recipients to contact a "claims agent" for assistance...

Gunsmith arrested.
March 31, 2009... JOHOR BARU: A suspected illegal gunsmith was arrested last Friday after a self-made rifle and a bullet was found in his car. Following a public tip-off, the 34-year-old man's car was stopped by police in Jalan Sungai Kampung Telor, Kota...

Take advice.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Mohd Ghazali Osman PENANG Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had better listen to what his elders have to say, especially a veteran like Karpal Singh. Lim was just a schoolboy when Karpal started climbing the steps of Parliament House....

Two killed in collision.
March 31, 2009... JOHOR BARU: Two people were killed in an accident involving a van and a three-tonne lorry in Kulaijaya yesterday. In the 11.30am incident which took place at Km56 Jalan Kulaijaya-Simpang Renggam, Mohd Bahari Eskandar, 43, and Fatimah...

Not the way to champion freedom of the press.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Vijay Shanmugam I AGREE completely with DAP national chairman Karpal Singh's view on the banning of the New Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia ("Revoke ban on dailies, Karpal tells Guan Eng" - NST, March 29). The banning of the...

It's time for an NS rethink.
March 31, 2009... Byline: C.V. Chan I HAVE just learnt that a boy I know from Puchong, who did brilliantly in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination by obtaining 11As, was beaten up by three boys during National Service training at a camp in Seremban...

Consider quitting if you didn't make it.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Noramtaz Abdullah THE sixty-four-thousand-dollar question which everyone is asking after the recently concluded 59th Umno general assembly is whether the new Umno president and prime minister-in-waiting Datuk Seri Najib Razak is...

'Fear of unthinkable led me to fight robbers'.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Kalbana Perimbanayagam AMPANG JAYA: A mental image of his wife being harmed by an armed robber led gunshot victim Mohammad Mahadi to overpower a second robber at their three-storey house in Taman Dagang on Sunday. The...

Peijian in need of donations.
March 31, 2009... GEORGE TOWN: The parents of 1-year-old Neoh Peijian, who needs corrective surgery to his partially-blocked left ureter, are appealing for donations from the public. The surgery, to be performed at the Gleneagles Medical Centre here, is...

Wanted over attack on colleague.
March 31, 2009... DUNGUN: Police are looking for a Petronas personnel for assaulting and threatening his colleague here, on Saturday afternoon. The suspect, in his 20s, was alleged to have stopped his colleague who was riding pillion on a motorcycle while...

Reburial for boy who died while camping.
March 31, 2009... KLANG: The body of a Year Six pupil, exhumed for a post-mortem on Friday, was reburied in a new grave at the Lipat Kajang Muslim cemetery at noon yesterday. Wan Muhammad Amir Dahalan, 11, was believed to have died of a snake bite when he...

A real inspiration.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Mohd Faizal Abdullah IT is really good of the New Straits Times to come up with the idea of telling the stories of unfortunate Malaysians who have benefited from the kindness and generosity of the papers' readers via the NSTP...

Cheers to Guinness foundation.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Syafiq Razali KUALA LUMPUR: Guinness Anchor Berhad launched its foundation recently at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The guest-of-honour was Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas. Also...

Snatch-theft victim in coma.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Zarina Abdullah KUALA TERENGGANU: A clerk who was believed to be chasing two snatch thieves crashed into two cars in an accident which has left her in a coma. Nurul Fatimah Ali, 19, from Kampung Pulau Ketam, was seen riding...

Body of man found in drain.
March 31, 2009... BUKIT MERTAJAM: Police have recovered the body of a man, in his 40s, near the Penang Bridge toll plaza on Sunday. Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Assist-ant Commissioner Mohamad Shah Hussin Shah said police had classified the case...

Spread the message.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ng Chong Phee THE Earth Hour campaign last week was a good move by WWF-Malaysia. Unfortunately, the message was not clearly sent to everyone in the country to create full awareness. Only urban dwellers were aware of it....

Cop claims trial to bribery.
March 31, 2009... TEMERLOH: A police probationary inspector was charged at the Sessions Court here with accepting a bribe two years ago. Victor Anak Ripon, 29, allegedly received RM200 from Abdullah Yeoh Abdullah as an inducement to extend his bail for a...

Correction.
March 31, 2009... IT has been brought to our attention that Bukit Selambau by-election Independent candidate T. Chandraajan is not the managing director of Etiqa Insurance, as reported on Page 6 of the New Straits Times on Monday. It is learnt that he is the...

'People need a steady govt to take care of their needs'.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Suganthi Suparmaniam FOR a while, there was speculation that MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was persona non grata in Kedah as Indians and others did not like his brand of politics. It was even said that some Barisan...

Foetus found at Muslim cemetery.
March 31, 2009... SEREMBAN: Suspecting something amiss after noticing earth had been freshly dug up at the Senawang Muslim burial ground near here, a grave digger was shocked to find a shoe box containing the foetus of a baby girl wrapped in a white cloth. ...

A balanced approach is called for.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Liong Kam Chong WE often hear teachers lamenting that they are directed to sit on too many committees, attend too many meetings and prepare too many reports. As a result, they have little time left for lesson preparations and...

Teen sees again after transplant.
March 31, 2009... PETALING JAYA: A 14-year-old boy with a chronic eye disease has found new hope. He underwent a corneal transplant at Tun Hussein Onn National Hospital last month. Mathialagan Murugesu suffered from keratoconus for four years before he...

Finding unity in diversity.
March 31, 2009... Byline: K.J. IN a world where differentiation between groups of people should be kept to a minimum, I am sorry to note that this has not been the case, even in Malaysian schools. Student name lists now have the names of boys listed...

Heed Nik Aziz's advice.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Mohamad Rosli Ng I FULLY support Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's criticism of smokers ("Smokers more despicable than cows" - NST, March 28). We all know that smoking is a health hazard, so I hope smokers...

A cutter to help overcome that labour problem.
March 31, 2009... Byline: V. Thomas PALM oil prices have plummeted from a high of RM4,000 per tonne to about half that at present, and the oil palm industry is facing an uncertain future because of the global economic slowdown. To strengthen the industry,...

DBP can do more for proper use of language.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ibrahim Abd Rahman WITH reference to your report "Govt urged to protect status of Bahasa Malaysia" (NST, March 25), I would like to suggest that the government give more power to the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) to moderate the...

Man gets death for murder.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Sushma Veera SHAH ALAM: A fight over the use of a public telephone resulted in a labourer being stabbed nine times to the extent his stomach was ripped open. Irwan Amat, 32, from Sabah, was found guilty of murdering Jibal...

School kids top RTD's list of m-cyclists without licences.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Patrick Sennyah SEREMBAN: The state Road Transport Department issued 1,834 summonses to motorists for not possessing a valid licence in the first two months of the year. The majority of the offenders were teenagers, including...

It's back to drug trafficking charge for woman.
March 31, 2009... PUTRAJAYA: She has spent six years in prison following her plea of guilt for possessing 865g of ganja and was expected to walk out a free woman in 2012. However, Rosmawati Che Ngah's hopes of being reunited with her family were dashed...

A plea to save barber shops.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Aridas Ayanar FOR the past two years, we Indian barber shop owners have been in the dark over the policies pertaining to the recruitment of barbers from India as well as the renewal of our barbers' work permits. We have been...

Sultan: Respect our Constitution.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah KOTA BARU: The Sultan of Kelantan has called on the people to respect the country's Constitution and not to be easily influenced by negative elements. Tuanku Ismail Petra added that they should also...

It's a circus at the the Monorail!
March 31, 2009... Byline: Dawn Chan; K. Harinderan; Syafiq Razali KUALA LUMPUR: It looked like the circus had come to town at the Tun Sambathan monorail station in Brickfields recently. There were clowns on stilts, booths with games and food, and animals...

Sarala hits the road.
March 31, 2009... SUNGAI PETANI: Independent candidate L. Sarala started her campaign by cycling around in Taman Ria here yesterday and distributing pamphlets, door to door. The 33-year-old marketing manager said that it was the best way to get in touch with...

Path clear for Vell Paari.
March 31, 2009... Byline: V. Vasudevan SUNGAI PETANI: The path is finally clear for S. Vell Paari, son of MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, to make it into the party leadership. Samy Vellu said he had not allowed his son to contest any post as...

Jordan believes Brawn GP can go all the way.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Melissa Darlyne Chow EDDIE Jordan (pic), former owner of the Jordan team, yesterday said the new Brawn GP team could go all the way and win the Formula One title this year. Jordan, 61, who is a British Broadcasting...

Top three fauna parks.
March 31, 2009... 1. The next best thing to seeing birds in their natural surroundings is a visit to the KL Bird Park. What distinguishes this park is its "free-flight walk-in aviary" concept. Located in the Lake Gardens, the park is home to about 2,000 birds....

Subra keen on making comeback.
March 31, 2009... SUNGAI PETANI: Former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam has confirmed his intention of contesting the party's number two position, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said yesterday. "Datuk Subra wants to contest. He told me...

World's largest eco bag on KL Tower.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Noel Achariam KUALA LUMPUR: The world's largest eco bag was placed on the KL Tower on Friday in conjunction with KL Design Week 2009 (KLDW), the country's first premier design event. The bag, measuring 15.4m by 8.9m, has been...

CCTVs not effective in preventing crime.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Sheila Sri Priya SUBANG JAYA: The Subang Jaya Municipal Council spends nearly RM100,000 a month to maintain 100 closed-circuit television cameras in the district. But how effective have they been in combatting crime? Subang...

Modern-day pride for olden beauties.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Noel Archariam THE Beetles and Bikes Big Day Out event at Lake Titiwangsa brought together proud owners of restored cars and a crowd of awed fans, writes NOEL ARCHARIAM. KUALA LUMPUR: For more than 200 motoring enthusiasts,...

Think of the future, says Muhyiddin.
March 31, 2009... SUNGAI PETANI: Newly elected Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday pledged to promote equality among all races, saying that everyone would enjoy equal treatment and a share of the economic cake. He said this would be...

Competition key to lower prices.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Gomez PETALING JAYA: Even hypermarkets cannot hold prices down with tags on essential items on the uptrend over the past seven months. This was revealed in a survey of 37 essential goods at three major hypermarket...

No dirty tactics used, says election watchdog.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Firdaus Abdullah; Sulok Tawie; Nancy Nais; Dennis Wong LUBOK ANTU (Sri Aman): Malaysians For Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) said the campaigns in the Batang Ai by-election have been clean and fair. "We have not observed any...

Will No. 11 bring luck to Najib again?
March 31, 2009... Byline: Zubaidah Abu Bakar KUALA LUMPUR: Numerology is usually not taken seriously by Muslims but since politics is a numbers game, it is interesting to note that No. 11, which features prominently in the three by-elections, is also the...

Speak Iban or be lost during ceramah.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Firdaus Abdullah; Sulok Tawie; Nancy Nais; Dennis Wong LUBOK ANTU (Sri Aman): Now, everyone wants to speak Iban. It seems that non-Iban speakers are taking a crash course from their Iban friends. The reason: Iban is the...

Hishammuddin calls for patience.
March 31, 2009... Byline: B. Suresh Ram EDUCATION Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has called for patience and urged all quarters to let the cabinet make its decision regarding the use of English in the teaching of Science and Mathematics. He...

Govt paid RM286m to toll operators.
March 31, 2009... Byline: B. Suresh Ram THE government had to pay RM286.38 million to highway concessionaires when it deferred the hike in road toll this year, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday. Deputy Works Minister Datuk Yong Khoon Seng said the...

Stricter rules for recruiting Bangladeshis.
March 31, 2009... Byline: B. Suresh Ram BANGLADESH and Malaysia will tighten the rules on the recruitment of Bangladeshis for work in this country. Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said this was agreed on in talks with Bangladesh Minister...

Making your voice louder.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Mary Chandapillai MANY modern educationists hold the opinion that the best way to teach students how to spell is by using the speech sound-to-letter approach as this helps them become phonemically or phonologically aware. The...

Increase in prize money will boost sport.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Go-Ram HORSE owners are encouraged to continue in the business when the returns are attractive. It's no secret that Malaysian owners are a disappointed lot with the low prize money that many found it difficult to continue or take...

Record 132 teams fight it out.
March 31, 2009... A RECORD 132 teams competed in the inaugural Rakan Muda Unity Futsal Carnival at the Purnana Futsal Centre in Taiping, Perak, over the weekend. The response was overwhelming with teams from as far as Kuala Lumpur and Alor Star entering for...