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NATION

Saturday, February 04, 2012 | Other News & Views |

Parents in a bind

PETALING JAYA: The rising cost of living, a shortage of maids and the lack of support from extended family are creating a dilemma for urban working parents.

Unlicensed childcare centres

KUALA TERENGGANU: Over half of the 2,035 unregistered daycare centres nationwide made the mistake of setting up their operations even before getting approval from the authorities.

Centres the most practical solution, say parents

PETALING JAYA: Many parents now have no other choice but to entrust the care of their children to strangers.

Owner: Baby did not crack skull at my centre

SHAH ALAM: The owner of a nursery in Section 8 here, where an infant was said to have fallen and cracked his skull, has claimed that the incident did not occur at her place but elsewhere.

PM: Their guessing on polls date will eventually come true

MARANG: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has laughed off talk that Parliament will be dissolved next week to make way for the 13th general election.

Najib is tops with 419,000 Twitter followers

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has become the “most followed” Malaysian politician on Twitter, with over 419,000 followers to date, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Housing scheme loan won’t affect EPF, Najib assures people

MARANG: The public need not worry about their savings in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) despite the money to be used to fund loans for the purchase of public housing projects, said the Prime Minister.

Arowana declared world’s top breed by international body

PETALING JAYA: It’s official -- the highly prized Malaysian golden arowana has been declared as the best golden arowana species in the world by an international body.

Fish a good luck charm and symbol of prosperity

PETALING JAYA: Many, including overseas buyers, regard the Malaysian golden arowana as a good luck charm and symbol of prosperity.

Claims of schoolgirl playing truant to sell sex will be probed

PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has ordered a probe into allegations involving a student who played truant to offer sex services to strangers during school hours.

Shahrizat not quitting despite calls to resign

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is holding on to her Wanita Umno chief post despite calls by her deputy who stopped short of asking her to quit.

Malaysia seeking verification of Marwan’s death from Philippine authorities

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is seeking verification from the Philippine authorities of Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf leader Zulkifli Abdul Hir’s death in southern Philippines.

Cops obtain DNA sample to confirm JI leader’s death

MUAR: Bukit Aman has taken a DNA sample from a brother of Zulkifli Abdul Hir, the Jemaah Islamiyah leader known as Marwan, who was killed in the Philippines on Thursday.

Four caught in the act of stealing ATM

KAJANG: A Colombian gang skilled in disabling sophisticated alarm systems before carting away ATM machines was caught in the act by police.

Three robbery gangs busted

KAJANG: Three gangs that were terrorising business outlets and committing armed robberies have been busted in a sting operation in several parts of the Klang Valley over the past week.

1Care proposal ready in 2 years

IPOH: The proposal for the 1Care for 1Malaysia plan to revamp the country’s healthcare sytem will only be ready in two years.

Scrap 1Care plan, urge groups

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry should scrap plans to change the entire healthcare system under the 1Care for 1Malaysia plan, said medical experts and concerned citizen groups.

Azizan will keep cool for now in response to gag order

PETALING JAYA: If not for the PAS president’s gag order, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak would have continued firing salvo at his critics.

Malaysia aims to produce excellent students from 100 schools by year-end

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is getting closer to its dream of producing excellent students from 100 schools by the end of the year.

States rebel against Zaid

PUTRAJAYA: Five state Kita chiefs have rebelled against Datuk Seri Zaid Ibrahim, who announced his decision to dissolve the party.

Tiew did right by quitting, says Chua

KUALA LUMPUR: Sri Desa MCA branch chairman Collin Tiew, who resigned from all party posts following Perkasa’s “white packet” debacle, acted responsibly by doing so, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said.

RM5.9bil in govt aid for SMEs last year

KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium entrepreneurs received RM5.9bil through Government assistance programmes last year, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung.

Let group hold re-election, MMA urged

SEREMBAN: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) council should step aside and allow a caretaker committee to conduct fresh elections for the grouping of some 10,000 doctors, former president Datuk Dr Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir said.

Fight cases on merit, says ex-CJ

BANGI: Former Chief Justice Tun (Dr) Abdul Hamid Mohamad has said that court cases should be fought on merit, not just to attack judges or the judiciary.

EDL opening delayed by cracks in tunnel

JOHOR BARU: Cracks have appeared in certain parts of the tunnel that links the RM1.27bil Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) here.

Businessman: I’m not on the run

KOTA KINABALU: A businessman is claiming that he is the man being sought by the authorities for graft.

Kavadi maker toiling away to meet demand

GEORGE TOWN: Kavadi maker R. Karunagaran is toiling day and night to meet the demands of his customers as Thaipusam beckons.

‘TOL given to Lynas after weighing all factors’

DENGKIL: The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has stressed that its decision to approve a temporary operating licence (TOL) to Lynas Corporation was made after considering all factors, including national and international safety standards and regulations.

Two more bodies found in boat capsize disaster in Sedili

JOHOR BARU: Two more bodies have been found in the boat capsize disaster off Telok Semayong in Sedili here, bringing the total number of deaths to 11.

Licences of 17,000 public transport operators considered void

PETALING JAYA: The licences of more than 17,000 public and commercial vehicle operators are now considered expired as they did not re-register with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to receive the operator licence (OL).

Business training for former soldiers with no pensions

PUTRAJAYA: The Defence Ministry has introduced an entrepreneurship development programme to assist former soldiers not eligible for pension to venture into business.

PAS leader hit by arson attack

JOHOR BARU: The house of Johor PAS deputy commissioner Dzulkefly Ahmad was splashed with petrol and set ablaze in an early morning fire here.

Hakka CNY clip ala LMFAO goes viral online

KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah-made Chinese New Year video greeting in Hakka is the latest clip to have gone viral with close to 300,000 views within 10 days.

Taking aid to the elderly

KOTA KINABALU: Welfare officers are making rounds to ensure senior citizens who are eligible to receive a monthly aid of RM300 will be getting their financial assistance.

Two die in road mishaps

KUANTAN: A senior citizen was killed when a car rammed into her near the Temerloh hospital.

Nik Aziz: Party wants me to stay

KOTA BARU: Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has revealed that he had wanted to withdraw from politics but this was rejected by Kelantan PAS.

Two suspected triad members gunned down

KULIM: Two men in their 30s, suspected to be triad members, were shot dead in Jalan Bukit Lada, Lunas near here.