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Sunday July 9, 2006

Week That Was

Compiled by K.S. USHA DEVI

PIRATES HIT VESSELS: (July 4) Pirates attacked three vessels in three days, all of them in the same area off the Aceh coast of the Malacca Strait. The first attack occurred last Sunday. The first two vessels were United Nations ships delivering goods to the Aceh tsunami victims under the World Food Programme, and the third a Japanese bulk carrier.

DIAL 999: (July 4) The nationwide police emergency number will be “999” once negotiations between relevant authorities are completed, said Internal Security and Public Order Commissioner Datuk Mustafa Abdullah. The public could access 999 using a fixed line or mobile phone once the number becomes operational, he said.

YOUNG MUMS WAIVER: (July 4) The National Service Training Department decided to exempt young mothers from NS training. They, however, have to apply to the department to get the waiver. NS director-general Abdul Halim said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who chaired a meeting with the department recently, had endorsed the move.

SUICIDE SCENES OUT: (July 5) Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk G. Palanivel called on the Censorship Board to cut out suicide scenes in Indian films. Palanivel said the scenes were of no benefit to the audience and might influence those facing serious problems to mimic such actions.

COUNCILS CALL SHOTS: (July 5) Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting set out to correct the public’s misconception of local authorities as being directly under the jurisdiction of his ministry. Local authorities have autonomous powers, except for matters – including land and the appointment of presidents – that came under the respective state governments, he said. The National Council on Local Authority, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, had been set up to coordinate policies of the local authority, he said.

CARRY MYKAD: (July 6) Malaysians were reminded to not leave home without their MyKad unless they are prepared to pay a fine of between RM3,000 and RM20,000 or face up to three years in jail. National Registration Department director-general Datuk Abdul Halim Mohamed said they had, since last month, conducted checks at shopping complexes, roads and highways together with Rela, the Road Transport Department and Immigration Department officials.

TAKE THEM BACK: (July 7) AirAsia CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes said his budget airline is willing to give up interlining routes Johor-Baru-Kuching and Kota Kinabalu-Miri if Malaysia Airlines (MAS) wants them back. He said he had written a letter to MAS managing director Idris Jala to this effect. It is crucial that MAS maintained the low fares because they were getting a government subsidy of about RM1bil, he said.

DISCLOSURE SYSTEM: (July 7) An information disclosure system would help avert problems in environmentally-sensitive areas in Sabah such as Pulau Sipadan and Mount Kinabalu, Japanese scientist Dr Toshinori Tsubouchi said. Japan adopted such a disclosure system more than 10 years ago, under which official documents and decisions, apart from those pertaining to matters related to the military, national security and private affairs, had to be divulged, said Dr Tsubouchi, who is adviser to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) – Bornean Biodiversity Ecosystems Conservation programme.

FOREIGN

MISSILE OUTRAGE: (July 5) North Korea test-fired another missile on Wednesday, intensifying the furore ignited when it launched at least six missiles, including a long-range Taepodong, earlier in the day. The missiles apparently fell harmlessly into the Sea of Japan, and US officials said the long-range Taepodong-2 failed shortly after take-off. The political reaction was swift. The White House called the tests a “provocation”, while the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting and Tokyo warned of economic sanctions against North Korea. Pyongyang last fired a long-range missile in 1998.

CALDERON VICTORY: (July 6) Mexico’s conservative presidential candidate, Felipe Calderon, snatched a razor-thin victory in an ugly and fiercely contested election that plunged the country into a political crisis. His leftist rival, former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, vowed to fight the result in the courts and on the street.

TERROR ATTACK FOILED: (July 7) The FBI said it had foiled a terror plot to attack mass transit targets in New York, including tunnels, and arrested a key suspect in the alleged conspiracy in Lebanon. News of the plot was broken by the New York Daily News newspaper, which cited counter-terrorism officials in identifying the chief target as the Holland Tunnel, the main road link between Manhattan and New Jersey.

SILK ROAD REVIVED: (July 5) Asian giants India and China opened a Himalayan pass to border trade on Thursday, 44 years after a brutal frontier war shut down the ancient route. Senior officials from Tibet and the tiny north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim cut a ribbon marking the border at the Nathu La pass as freezing rain poured down. Scores of businessmen queued to complete formalities before crossing into each other’s territory through the border post at Nathu La pass, which means the pass of the listening ear, to visit newly-built markets on either side.

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