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Thursday, July 12, 2012 | Latest | Other News & Views |

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MAS, AirAsia winners at Skytrax World Airline Awards

KUALA LUMPUR: MAS and AirAsia won accolades in the SKYTRAX World Airline Awards held at Farnborough International Air Show, United Kingdom.

Contra flow at KM40 Kesas Highway from Monday

SHAH ALAM: A temporary contra flow route will be created for users of the Kesas Highway from KM40 until KM38.6 for three days from Monday.

Stationing Rela members at car parks of shopping complexes

PUTRAJAYA: The People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) will be stationed at shopping complexes to curb crimes, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Uncle Seekers rearrested, probe now on sedition

JOHOR BARU: Paranormal researcher Syed Abdullah Syed Hussein Al-Attas, better known as Uncle Seekers, was released Thursday but rearrested for investigations under the Sedition Act 1948.

Police: Putrajaya amok acted alone, no link to deviant group

KUALA LUMPUR: Police confirmed that Khalil Afandi Hamid and a woman who went amok at the entrance of the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya on Monday, had acted on his own and had no connection with any deviant religious group.

Economy too dependent on Form Five education level, says Ikim DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The national economy is too dependent on a labour force with Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or Form Five (SPM) level of education, said Malaysian Islamic Understanding Institute (Ikim) director-general Datuk Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan.

EC drawing up code of ethics for caretaker government

IPOH: The Election Commission (EC) is drawing up a code of ethics for the caretaker government which will administer the country from the time of dissolution of parliament for the general election until the formation of the new government.

Cowherd finds baby boy in vacant house

GEORGE TOWN: A cowherd stumbled on a week-old baby boy abandoned at a vacant house belonging to the former’s family in Lorong Kulit Thursday.

Najib to teachers: Prepare children to think creatively

PUTRAJAYA: Teachers need to find ways to build students' "intellectual capital" to prepare them for the future, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Peter Chin: Federal take over of water concessionaires only in emergencies

SHAH ALAM: The Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister’s power to forcefully take over water operations from concessionaires under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) only applies during an emergency.

Awang Adek: Premium charges not the reason for house price hike

KUALA LUMPUR: The premium charges are not the reason for or affecting the steep rise in house prices, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein.

Pemandu: Crime index down by 10.1% from January to May

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s crime index fell by 10.1% between January and May this year, Pemandu said on Thursday.

Two youths found shot and injured outside cafe

KUCHING: Two youths were found shot and injured around 11am on Thursday outside a cafe near the RH Plaza BDC building.

Pre-dawn accident causes gridlock on Penang bridge

BUKIT MERTAJAM: A pre-dawn accident on the Penang Bridge caused a massive traffic jam for motorists travelling from the island to the mainland, making the morning rush hour to work worse as vehicles queued for several kilometres on Jalan Tunku Kudin and Jalan Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu on the island.

More cost efficient to build Langat 2 water treatment plant, says Government

SHAH ALAM: It is more cost efficient to build the Langat 2 water treatment plant than to reduce water loss in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya by 10%, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry water sector senior division secretary Sutekno Ahmadbelon.

Najib unveils masterplan to increase SME GDP to 41% in 2020 (Update)

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has launched the SME Masterplan (2012-2020) which the Prime Minister has described as a ‘game changer’ to take the small and medium enterprises to a higher level.

Teenage siblings die after car crashes into wild boar

IPOH: Two teenage siblings were killed after their car hit a wild boar darting across the road and crashed onto a roadside wall along Jalan Kuala Kangsar-Gerik Thursday.

Two dead bodies yet to be claimed from Penang hospital after two weeks

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Hospital has appealed to the next-of-kin of two dead people to come forward and claim their bodies from the Forensic Medical Department of the hospital.

Spa manager acquitted of trafficking two Indonesians

KUALA LUMPUR: A spa manager was acquitted and discharged by a Sessions Court here of allegations that he had forced two Indonesian nationals into prostitution.

EC mulling postal votes for all M’sians abroad

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) is studying a proposal to allow all Malaysians overseas to cast their ballots by post, on condition they had returned to the country at least once in the five years before the general election.

New Harmony Act to protect multi-racial society

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sedition Act 1948 will be repealed and replaced with a new National Harmony Act in the latest measure under the country’s political transformation plan, announced Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Survey reveals many Malaysians do not settle their debts in full each month

PETALING JAYA: A global survey has revealed that Malaysians are among the worst credit card repayers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Political differences take ultimate toll on elderly couple

PASIR MAS: After 14 years of marriage, a couple here split up when the husband allegedly could no longer convince his wife to join his political party.

Cassa: Decision to audit misses the point

PETALING JAYA: A decision by the state government to appoint audit firms to review Talam Corporation’s debt restructuring exercise misses the point of public interest in this case, said a consumer-based non-governmental organisation in Selangor.

Audit firms to review RM1bil Selangor-Talam deal

SHAH ALAM: Five local audit firms of international standing will be appointed by the Selangor Government to review Talam Corporation’s debt restructuring exercise that ended in questionable deals worth over RM1bil.

State govt will not lose out in auction, says Trinity

PETALING JAYA: Trinity Corporation Bhd (formerly known as Talam Corporation Bhd) gave the assurance that the Selangor government will not lose out following the auctioning of a piece of land in Danau Putra by a bank.

Khalil’s brother fears for safety

PETALING JAYA: The brother of alleged deviant Khalil Afandi Abd Hamid said he is worried about his safety after Monday’s incident of a sword-wielding pair going on a rampage in Putrajaya.

Night of laughs raises RM15,000 to aid fight against HIV

KUALA LUMPUR: From quiet chuckles to loud guffaws, two young men had the crowd in stitches laughing for more as they took the stage with their humorous take on a serious topic – HIV/AIDS.

Rais: We need to set up social media council

SHAH ALAM: A social media council needs to be set up in the country to discuss various issues and aspects relating to the law and usage of the media.

R.AGE bags world award

BANGKOK: The R.AGE team received the World Young Reader Prize at a ceremony during the Asia-Pacific World Young Reader Summit 2012.

Heartless passers-by

GEORGE TOWN: Seven people walked past snatch theft victim Tan Kim Chuan, 60, without lifting a finger to help her as she lay unconscious on the road with a cracked skull at the Rifle Range flats.

Robber punches MP’s mum

BALIK PULAU: Fatimah Ahmad woke up with a shock at 4am – a robber had a knife to her throat.

Cabby’s hunch is right — regular passenger is a criminal

JOHOR BARU: Taxi driver Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid felt grateful that he had a regular customer who took his taxi to work daily.

Good Samaritans who rushed to aid of snatch theft victim tell their stories

GEORGE TOWN: Airport cargo worker B. Saravana Kumar, 37, had just returned home after his night shift early on Tuesday morning and was getting ready to sleep when his mother-in-law told him to help a woman who had fallen down by the roadside.

Cops: Public apathy making thieves braver

KUALA LUMPUR: Combating crime will be more effective with strong co-operation from the public, said Federal CID Director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin.

Couple terrified after robbers slash daughter

KUALA LUMPUR: The parents of a teenage girl who was attacked when their apartment was broken into early this month have fled their home and now live in their car outside a hospital near here.

Ex-Ladang Bukit Jalil employees assured they won’t be evicted

PUTRAJAYA: Former Ladang Bukit Jalil workers have been given the assurance that they will not be evicted from their houses after their land was taken over for development.

Cineplex notices are just a reminder, says Dr Rani

SHAH ALAM: The notices put up at a Kuala Selangor cineplex stating that unmarried Muslim couples should not sit together are merely reminders, said Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Rani Osman.

Acute organ shortage despite 7,000 cadaveric donors a year

KUALA LUMPUR: An estimated 7,000 potential cadaveric organ donors die in Malaysia every year yet there is an acute shortage of organs for transplant here.

Hundreds protest over Unisel and PKNS field

SHAH ALAM: Hundreds of people marched to the state secretariat building here and demanded that the state government stop politicising the management of Universiti Selangor (Unisel).

Mingbo aims for 10 million

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian-owned entertainment portal Mingbo has launched a new social networking site in Shanghai with an eye on the massive Chinese market.

RM8mil in Malaysian art sold since 1MCAT’s launch

KUALA LUMPUR: Millions of ringgit of Malaysian artworks have been sold since the 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Festival (1MCAT) kicked off three years ago, said Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Husband’s bout with cancer eats into family’s normal life

KUALA LUMPUR: Sales executive M. Meenachi Sundram Pillay, 29, was living a normal and healthy life until early this year when he was diagnosed with brain tumour.

799 hauled up for selling licences to foreigners

KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Negara was told that action was taken against 799 traders who were found to have sold their premise licences to foreigners between January and October last year.

In the Ivy League, thanks to Bank Negara

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara scholars Zul-Fadzli Abu Bakar and S. Mahalatchmi will be among the few Malaysians entering Ivy League universities in the United States this year.

Varsity entry status out tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR: The status of applications to public institutions of higher education (IPTA) for Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) holders or equivalent for the academic year 2012/13 will be announced tomorrow.

Singer Sasha mum on split

PETALING JAYA: Former pop female group Elite singer Sasha Saidin has refused to divulge the details and the reasons for her divorce from Salyo Priyanto after a six-year marriage.

Proposal to absorb TCM specialists into civil service

MALACCA: The Health Ministry has proposed to absorb practitioners of traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) as civil servants.

Crime spree comes to an end

IPOH: A snatch thief’s crime spree was finally brought to an end after he was nabbed by police in Bercham here.

Penang Port union backs privatisation

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) Workers Union fully supports the proposed privatisation of the port.

DAP to contest up to 60 parliamentary seats

GEORGE TOWN: DAP will contest up to 60 parliamentary seats in the general election, party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said.

Dept: 900,000 people in Sabah are non-Malaysians

KOTA KINABALU: Almost 900,000 people in Sabah are non-Malaysians but it is not the business of the National Statistics Department to question where they come from.