New Straits Times articles from October 2000

New Straits Times archives from October 2000

Too late, so Rashid goes it alone.
October 31, 2000... RASHID Ismail is training in Kuala Lumpur alone while his World Cup partner Danny Chia is busy with his practice rounds for the APGA Lexus tournament at the Windmill Country Club in Bangkok. The 27-year-old Rashid is not taking part in...

Murchison joins chase for F1 ticket.
October 31, 2000... THE race to be the first Asian Formula One driver outside Japan is heating up with a new player - 19-year-old Singaporean Christian Murchison, who will race in the FIA Formula 3000 championship next year. The event is acknowledged as the...

Yoong to partner Scheckter in Macau Grand Prix.
October 31, 2000... THE SWISS Racing Team (SRT) have confirmed that Malaysia's Alex Yoong will partner British F3 runnerup and Jaguar F1 team's newly signed test driver for next year, Tomas Scheckter, in their bid to win the Macau F3 Grand Prix and the Korean F3...

Heras may top list of big names.
October 31, 2000... SPANIARD Roberto Heras, winner of the Tour of Spain last month, could head the list of top international cyclists bound for Malaysia for next year's Tour de Langkawi on Feb 4-18. Heras, riding for famed Spanish team Kelme, is one of the...

Asean votes not enough to land host job.
October 31, 2000... MALAYSIA should get 10 votes from Asean countries but that won't be enough to secure the bid to host the 2006 Asian Games when the Olympic Council of Asia make their decision in Pusan, South Korea on Nov 10. While Sports Minister Datuk...

Shifali makes her marks on a pony.
October 31, 2000... SHIFALI Ranawaka, 14, became the youngest Malaysian to win the South-East Asian Young Rider League World Cup when she beat compatriot Azmi Azhar by 10 points at the Perak Turf Club in Ipoh last Sunday. What made her victory impressive was...

Malay Mail among 16 entries.
October 31, 2000... SIXTEEN local and foreign teams will be taking part in a two-day Tiger 7s soccer tournament in Lumut starting on Nov 6. The event, being held for the third consecutive year, is organised by Leisure Events of Western Australia and...

Mokhtar back in the saddle.
October 31, 2000... DATUK Mokhtar Ahmad, despite failing to land the Malaysia Cup title in his three seasons in charge, has been reappointed as Selangor team manager. But K. Rajagopal may not may so lucky although he steered the Red Giants to the Premier...

MHL reject BSN's appeal.
October 31, 2000... THE Malaysian Hockey League technical committee yesterday overruled the protest by Bank Simpanan Nasional against the umpires' decision to stop the match against Arthur Andersen Sports Club last Sunday. The match at the KL Hockey Stadium...

'Demise' of green lung.
October 31, 2000... WHAT used to be a small green lung, offering exclusivity to residents of bungalows on the hilltop of Kemensah Heights in Ulu Kelang, is now a wasteland. Trees have been felled to make way for the construction of medium-cost apartments....

Old folk treated to tea reception.
October 31, 2000... FESTIVE seasons come and go. But the less fortunate and senior citizens should always be remembered. In the spirit of Deepavali, Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Subang branch hosted a tea reception for some 60 old folk at Dewan Budiman,...

Joyous cabin crew party.
October 31, 2000... "BIGGER and better" would be an apt description for the colourful fourth "Malaysia Airlines Theebam in-flight nite" held recently at the Legend Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The event, held in conjunction with Deepavali, saw more than 600 guests,...

Bukit Pandan condominium buyers seek compensation.
October 31, 2000... BUYERS of Bukit Pandan Condominium II in Pandan Heights, Cheras, are highly displeased with developer Brisdale Resources Sdn Bhd for purposely ignoring their requests to resolve the problems they have with the condominium project. Buyer...

Free drinks for Formula One enthusiasts.
October 31, 2000... FORMULA One enthusiasts received free Pepsi, Excel and Mirinda drinks at the Sepang-Kuala Lumpur International Airport toll booth last Sunday, for them to quench their thirst during the race. They had Permanis Sdn Bhd, the beverage...

Shah Alam celebrates city status.
October 31, 2000... COLOURFUL and exciting - this was the atmosphere experienced by many during the proclamation of Shah Alam as the first city in Selangor, at the Dataran Shah Alam on Oct 10. Children and adults were thrilled with the colourful fireworks...

Local debut for English ale.
October 31, 2000... CONNOISSEURS of good food and fine spirits in Malaysia will have yet another choice when they visit some of their favourite watering holes now, with the introduction of Tetley's English Ale. Local brewery Carlsberg Marketing Sdn Bhd has...

Volvo to stage music fest.
October 31, 2000... THE Volvo World Music Festival to mark the launch of the new Volvo S40 and V40, will be held at Plaza Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur, starting today till Saturday. The first of its kind open-air music celebration hosted by Volvo Car Malaysia...

New outlets at Holiday Villa Subang.
October 31, 2000... RELAX and unwind at Holiday Villa Subang's Little Cuba Cigar & Wine Bar and the La Vida Lounge. Making its debut recently, both the outlets, located on Level 3 of the hotel, are refreshingly unique with distinctive concepts. Subang...

Deepavali Night for tourism students.
October 31, 2000... DEEPAVALI or the "Festival of Lights" symbolises unity in diversity and the triumph of good over evil. And true to the spirit of diversity, the Legend International School of Hospitality and Tourism organised a Deepavali Nite at the...

Deepavali high tea at Makan Makan.
October 31, 2000... CELEBRATE the Festival of Lights with an assortment of Indian culinary delights at Hotel Fairlane's Makan Makan restaurant. Diners can enjoy tempting specialties like putu mayam, idli, poori with potato masala and deep-fried samosa, as...

Tasty North India fare at Shangri-La.
October 31, 2000... THE Coffee Garden at Shangri-La Hotel Penang is always offering new food promotions for its diners. The wide variety and choices on offer - which have proved to be crowd favourites - include themed dinners such as Japanese, Italian,...

Lips say it for Chong.
October 31, 2000... FEW self-portraits can be as interesting as Chong Siew Ying's three works in yellow and oil on the lower part of the face, focusing on the mouth. Seen together, they reveal an adventurous and playful spirit, a sophisticated bent of...

Hisham Harun's hit list - (Week Ending Oct 23).
October 31, 2000... BILLBOARD TOP 10 SINGLES (USA). 1. Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You) - Christina Aguilera (RCA) 2. Music - Madonna (Maverick) 3. With Arms Wide Open - Creed (Wind-Up) 4. Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down (Republic) 5. Most...

Classical, jazz selling well online.
October 31, 2000... SALES of classical and jazz CDs accounted for almost a third of music sales on the Internet last year, says a study by Andersen Consulting. Online retailers sold more than six times the amount of classical and jazz CDs moved by...

All revved up for music fest.
October 31, 2000... UNLESS you have been in deep slumber, you would have heard that an amazing music celebration is on. For four consecutive days, Kuala Lumpur will be filled with the sounds of pulsating salsa, cool reggae grooves, smooth jazz, nostalgic Asian...

Get starry over musicals.
October 31, 2000... FANS of Western musicals have good reason to be happy nowadays. The good news for them is that a selection of the best musical numbers from London's many West End musicals will be performed "live" here early next year. The even better...

Chua takes A-G's Chambers to task over six-year wait for Bill.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng took the Attorney-General's Chambers to task today for sitting on the Mental Health Bill for six years despite numerous reminders to expedite it. He regretted that the Bill,...

Caste system of the new media.
October 31, 2000... EX-Netslaves Bill Lessard and Steve Baldwin are two old, angry, cranky bastards out for blood. And on behalf of themselves and their unfortunate friends in the Internet business, they have written a book to declare war on the Robber Barons...

Style, savings and better returns.
October 31, 2000... EVERY vocation has its hazards. The sad lot of a reviewer is picking a badly written book. I regretted selecting Corporate Management Styles: Case Study of Malaysian Companies by Norsaidatul Akmar Mazelan (Pelanduk Publications, 373 pages)...

Two car-washers get six months' jail each for attacking Europeans.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - Two car-washers who pleaded guilty to attacking three Europeans with a parang were today sentenced to six months' jail each by the magistrate's court. Gnanaprakash Anthonysamy, 23, and Siva Kumar Moganna, 27, were...

Bringing Deepavali cheer to prison inmates.
October 31, 2000... A DEEPAVALI RECORD... Forty well-wishers made 14,200 murukkus in 11 hours at the Laxshmi Narayanan temple in Kg Kasipillai, Kuala Lumpur, last Saturday. The devotees of Melmaruvathur Athiparasakthi, led by V. Thachnamurthi, undertook...

Using festivals to woo tourists.
October 31, 2000... JOHOR BARU, Tues. - Come next year, the Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministry will aggressively promote six religious and cultural occasions as national festivals to attract more tourists to Malaysia. The six occasions will be celebrated...

Protecting those who buy products online.
October 31, 2000... PETALING JAYA, Tues. - The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is looking into ways to protect consumers who purchase goods via online direct selling through amendments to the Direct Selling Act 1993. Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin...

Images for the present linked to the past.
October 31, 2000... DISTANCE proved an asset when Steven V-L Lee, who has lived in London for two decades, returned to snap photographs of Kuala Lumpur. It was the discerning lens through which he viewed the changes transforming the city and picked out things...

'Not our job to check on former mental patients'.
October 31, 2000... PANTAI REMIS, Tues. - The police are not responsible for keeping tabs on former mental patients who return to society after undergoing treatment at hospitals. Perak Police Chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Abdul...

RM14.5m haul of pirated goods.
October 31, 2000... KOTA KINABALU, Tues. - The Special Copyright Task Force in the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs seized RM14.5 million worth of pirated goods throughout the country since its inception in April last year up to Oct 15 this year....

Sleep your way to better grades.
October 31, 2000... THERE'S a wakeup call issued by American paediatricians to educators: Teenagers should start school later in the mornings. The National Sleep Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Washington D.C. dedicated to improving public...

ABRSM chief examiner hits right key.
October 31, 2000... AS chief examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Clara Taylor toured Malaysia recently, giving day-long seminars to teachers and senior students in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching before going on to...

Rush of adrenaline at Sepang.
October 31, 2000... THERE are many who do not understand the point of motorised vehicles going around in circles. I was among them. That it should be labelled a spectacular spectator sport, some argue, is even more puzzling. I remember being lulled to sleep...

Military scales down presence in Jolo.
October 31, 2000... THE Philippine military announced plans yesterday to scale down their presence of combat troops assigned to rescue five hostages held captive by Abu Sayyaf guerillas in Jolo island, Southern Philippines. Armed Forces Chief of Staff...

A people-friendly 2001 Budget is expected, says researcher.
October 31, 2000... CUT the red tape. Make the incentives more accessible to investors, especially to the foreigners. This is what 2001 Budget ought to focus on, said Affin UOB Securities Sdn Bhd chief economist Suhaimi Ilias. The process of tax incentives...

YTL buys 33pc of ElectraNet.
October 31, 2000... YTL Power International Bhd is buying a 33 per cent stake in an international consortium that will manage the recently privatised South Australian transmission network. The stake purchase in ElectraNet from investment bank Macquarie Bank...

Bright future for copter business here.
October 31, 2000... MALAYSIA'S economic recovery and its diverse landscape is poised to propel the growth for helicopter sales and the manufacture of its components in the country. With Malaysia's growth rate at 10.3 per cent for the first six months of the...

Develop Bakun project to its full potential, urges Taib.
October 31, 2000... SARAWAK wants to see the multi-billion ringgit Bakun hydro-electric dam project get "moving" and developed to its "best potential available". Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the State was not particularly concerned about...

SC chief's reminder to local accountants.
October 31, 2000... THE Securities Commission yesterday told accountants to play their role effectively in enhancing good corporate governance. Chairman Ali Abdul Kadir said chief financial officers and financial executives must ensure that the financial...

SMI gets reprimanded by KLSE.
October 31, 2000... SOUTH Malaysia Industries Bhd (SMI) has been publicly reprimanded by the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in consultation with the Securities Commission for breach of Section 335(4)(b)(x) of the Exchange's main board listing requirements. The...

TAE to buy over FA Securities for RM80m.
October 31, 2000... TA Enterprise Bhd has proposed to acquire Terengganu-based FA Securities Sdn Bhd for RM80 million cash. TAE told the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange yesterday that it had signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with FA Peninsular Bhd...

Promet Bhd restructures repayment of loans from Exim Bank.
October 31, 2000... PROMET Bhd has announced that it has restructured the repayment of two loans totalling about RM92.5 million from Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (Exim Bank). In a statement yesterday, Promet said it had, together with its 70 per cent...

Kim Loong to expand land bank.
October 31, 2000... ACQUISITIONS will be the name of the game for Johor-based palm oil milling and plantation company Kim Loong Resources Bhd once it collects the RM72.37 million from its KLSE main board listing exercise. Its managing director Gooi Seong Lim...

Sabah Air turning to Peninsular Malaysia.
October 31, 2000... IN an effort to diversify its operations, Sabah Air is now focusing on Peninsular Malaysia to capitalise on the growing market needs. Traditionally operating from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Air had spread its wings to other towns in Sabah,...

Digicert signs MoU for cross-border certification system.
October 31, 2000... DIGICERT Sdn Bhd, Malaysia's first licensed Certification Authority, signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with HongKong Post and Singapore-based ID.Safe Pte Ltd recently. The MoU enables the three certification Authorities to...

TA to wind up its South African bank venture.
October 31, 2000... TA Enterprise Bhd is winding up its subsidiary in South Africa, TA Bank of South Africa Ltd (TAB), owing to difficult economic conditions. In a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, the company said TAB's business operations have...

BMI gets two new labs on multimedia, computers.
October 31, 2000... THE British Malaysian Institute (BMI) can now boast of its new facilities with the opening of onemultimedia laboratory and a computer laboratory. It hopes with the existence of these two added laboratories, it will be able to generate...

SBB Direct set to attract customers.
October 31, 2000... SOUTHERN Bank Bhd, which recently completed its merger process with Ban Hin Lee Bank Bhd, expects to attract more customers through the introduction of its internet banking service, SBB Direct. Chief executive director Datuk Tan Teong...

Robbed of RM10,000.
October 31, 2000... PENANG, Tues. - Three parang-wielding men robbed a money changer of RM10,000 in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah yesterday. Posing as policemen, the three flagged down the car of the 31-year-old victim about 12.30am. The robbers slashed the car tyres...

Donation in honour of Nor Ramlle.
October 31, 2000... SHAH ALAM, Tues. - The Mount Everest expedition leader, the late Nor Ramlle Sulaiman was honoured today, when his family received RM50,000 from Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad. MRCB contributed RM10,000 to his wife Roslin Abdul...

NST, Shell essay competition for students to share their vision on 2020 aspirations.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - Shell Malaysia today announced an essay writing competition in collaboration with the New Straits Times Group to encourage Malaysian students to share their visions on what the country would be in the year 2020. The...

'Celebrate Deepavali together'.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has, in his Deepavali message, urged Malaysian Indians to maintain unity among the various races and work towards nation-building. In wishing all Hindus a happy Deepavali, he...

Expatriate taken for terror ride, robbed.
October 31, 2000... MALACCA, Tues. - Two men took a Japanese expatriate for a terror ride in his own car yesterday and after dumping him by the roadside in Taman Saujana, Bukit Baru, drove the car back to the spot where they had accosted him. State Criminal...

UUM to take action over illegal gathering.
October 31, 2000... ALOR STAR, Tues. - Universiti Utara Malaysia will take action against students who participated in an illegal assembly here yesterday, under the Universities and University Colleges Act. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs), Prof...

Charged: Man with cloned credit cards.
October 31, 2000... PENANG, Tues. - A 33-year-old man was charged in both the Sessions and magistrate's courts today. In the Sessions Court, Chiang Ching Kiang faced two counts of possessing cloned Citibank Master Gold credit cards made out in the name of...

Anchor-wielding 'kingpin' shot in police ambush.
October 31, 2000... MALACCA, Tues. - An illegal immigrant, believed to be the kingpin of a syndicate specialising in smuggling stolen motorcycles to Indonesia, was shot dead when he attacked police here yesterday. Four others were arrested. State...

Boat owners selling diesel to smugglers.
October 31, 2000... KUALA PERLIS, Tues. - Some owners of fishing vessels here are believed to have abused their permits to store diesel for their boats by selling the fuel to smugglers. Checks with the authorities indicated that up to 100 new refuelling...

Appeal to repay loans.
October 31, 2000... KOTA KINABALU, Tues. - The State Government is appealing to those who pursued their tertiary education with Yayasan Sabah loans to repay their debt. Chief Minister Datuk Osu Sukam said at least RM60 million had not been repaid to the...

Stopping highlands damage.
October 31, 2000... BUILDING something is difficult but destroying it is easy. It takes many years of evolution for Mother Nature to nurture into shape a hill with all its beautiful attractions but all it takes is just a few years and man's avarice to destroy...

Federation marks 40th jubilee.
October 31, 2000... THE Malaysian Employers Federation held a dinner to celebrate its 40th anniversary at Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur recently. Leading the 1,200 guests were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and wife Datin Seri...

Asean's existence clearly to serve economic and political goals.
October 31, 2000... ASEAN is not a community, imagined or otherwise. In other words, the majority of the people do not have the time even to think about it casually. Among the better educated too, few have any clear idea what it is all about. At the time of...

SIGS enjoys blast from the past.
October 31, 2000... "BLAST from the Past", the theme for the Sultan Ibrahim Girls' School (Johor Baru) Alumni dinner recently, saw "forever young" former students gamely performing song and dance routines of golden oldies and reliving past achievements of their...

Johor MB takes 'ghazal' higher.
October 31, 2000... IN his home in Saujana, Johor Baru, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman's movements are restricted. His ruptured Achilles tendon from a game of badminton ties him down almost completely. But from the sparkle in his eyes and the passion in his words,...

Reviving glory of ghazal.
October 31, 2000... THE guest-of-honour had to be ushered on wheels into the court reminiscent of days of old, except that this one happened to be the Johor Baru City Indoor Stadium. Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman was confined to a wheelchair...

Appeal of publishers, Karpal put off to Nov 9.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - The Court of Appeal today adjourned to Nov 9 an appeal by lawyer Karpal Singh and two publishers who were ordered to pay RM900,000 in damages to former Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker D.P. Vijandran for defamation. ...

Under suspension pending probe.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - A policeman, under probe over a shooting incident at the Puchong police station, has been suspended pending investigations. Police expect to complete their investigations into the Oct 6 incident soon and will then...

TNB may have to pay for land used to erect electricity poles.
October 31, 2000... KUALA TERENGGANU, Tues. - The Pas State Government may charge Tenaga Nasional Bhd for the State land used to erect electricity poles. State Economic, Petroleum, Industry and Human Resource Development Committee chairman Mustafa Ali said a...

Wanted Live in Concert postponed to after Raya.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - The much-publicised Bollywood concert, Wanted Live in Concert, slated for Sunday at the Putra indoor Stadium in Bukit Jalil will be postponed until after Hari Raya. "We've decided to postpone the show to avoid public...

Pahang braces for widespread floods.
October 31, 2000... KUANTAN, Tues. - Pahang is bracing itself for widespread floods this year following expected higher rainfall during the coming rainy season. State Secretary Datuk Zainal Abidin Mat Said said the Meteorological Services Department had...

Saudi's Prince Sultan arrives.
October 31, 2000... ROYAL VISIT... Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad listened attentively to Saudi Arabia's Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Sultan Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (left) who arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang...

Bus driver charged with rape, murder of engineer.
October 31, 2000... KLANG, Tues. - A 32-year-old bus driver was charged in the magistrate's court today with two separate offences of rape and murder of a computer engineer here on Oct 7. Hanafi Mat Hassan from Bachok, Kelantan, faces a murder charge which...

Echo 7 the killer virus.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Mon. - The Echovirus 7 or Echo 7 enterovirus caused the death of a toddler and possibly three other children from the hand, foot and mouth disease recently. Universiti Hospital consultant virologist Associate Professor Dr...

Local laws in tune with Islamic laws.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - The Government does not reject Islamic laws but is unable to codify and implement all of them fully because of Malaysia's multi-religious context, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. The Prime Minister said...

Very few apostasy cases, says Minister.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - The Government believes there have been only very few apostasy cases and these involved those whose faith was not strong. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdul Hamid Othman said there were no...

Policeman under probe suspended.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - A policeman, under probe in connection with a shooting incident at the Puchong police station, has been suspended pending investigations. Police expect to complete their investigations into the Oct 6 incident soon...

Liam: EPF scheme can be enhanced.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - While it supports the EPF Conventional Annuity Scheme, the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (Liam) believes the scheme can be further enhanced and made more attractive to EPF members. For this purpose, Liam...

A need to educate unit trust investors on benefits.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - Unit Trusts investors should be educated on the long-term benefits of investing in units trusts instead of just hoping for dividends, chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said today. ...

Remisier's short-selling case judgment on Nov 10.
October 31, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - Judgment in the case of a remisier charged with short-selling 960,000 North Borneo Timbers Bhd shares in 1995 will be delivered on Nov 10. Lua Yik Hor, now 32, was charged in the Sessions Court by the Securities...