Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- What are the Tans up to?
- Hishammuddin receives two live bullets, death threat
- Poser over sperm survival: 36 or 65 hours?
- ‘Pray Anwar does not become PM’
- Putrajaya doles out RM1.4b to the underprivileged
- THE JASMINE REVOLUTION IN SE ASIA: FACEBOOKED, TWITTERED AND RECAPPED
- Contract in Malaysia helps Petrofac outshine forecasts
- Multiracial Malaysia caught at economic crossroads
- Fuel cost burdens airlines
- Petronas, Partners Plan $5 Billion Malaysia Gas Investment to Boost Supply
- Che'GuBard tidak perlu mohon maaf sebaliknya Rosmah harus tampil memberi penjelasan
- Pakatan rahsia Najib-Anwar 1998 - John Malott
- 4 jailed for gang-rape of Malaysian student
- Vell Paari’s Aussie firm crisis
- From POLITICO - Justin Smith steps down from FBC Media board
- Beng Hock’s family challenges RCI suicide verdict
- PAS ready to face lawsuit over 'UMNO hand' in church affair
- Strengthening English By Improving The Teaching Of English
| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 05:02 AM PDT
According to those close to Umno, this 'vote of confidence' by the Tan Brothers is proof that MCA is finished. The Tans, because of their very close association with Dr Mahathir, must know that MCA is going to be completely wiped out come November. So they can discount MCA and start working with Pakatan Rakyat, which is going to be the government in Selangor and Penang for some time to come. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin It is interesting to note that Danny Tan is making inroads in Selangor while Vincent Tan is returning to Penang after a 20-year absence from the state. And what is even more interesting is to see the Tans praise the Pakatan Rakyat state governments of Selangor and Penang. ***************************************** Dijaya to develop RM2.5b worth of projects in Subang **************************************** Berjaya Land returns to Penang |
| Hishammuddin receives two live bullets, death threat Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:10 AM PDT
The home minister says the items were in an envelope posted to his office in Putrajaya. (Bernama) - Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today received two live bullets with a threatening note in an envelope posted to his office in Putrajaya. The envelope, which was received at 2pm, also contained a booklet in which the handwritten note was slipped in. Met by reporters after attending a breaking of fast at the Al-Ikhlasiyah mosque di Pantai Dalam here, Hishammuddin, however, declined to say what were the contents of the note. "I can confirm that I received two live bullets together with a threatening note today. This is the first time I have experienced such a thing. "The envelope was received by an aide of mine and he has since lodged a police report," he said. Hishammuddin, however, said it would not dampen his spirit to continue discharging his duties as entrusted to him. "I view this as something serious. However, it will not deter me from carrying out my duties as entrusted to me by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. "This might be the work of some frustrated people, probably because they are not happy with the work we (home ministry) are doing. But I am unfazed by this threat," he added.
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| Poser over sperm survival: 36 or 65 hours? Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:42 PM PDT
By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: An Australian forensic expert agrees today that sperm cells can be discovered inside a person's body up to 65 hours after sexual intercourse when testifying in the Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II trial. Dr David Lawrence Noel Wells concurred with lead prosecutor Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden when the latter pointed to a United Kingdom study published in the "Forensic Science International" journal in 1982. This contradicted Well's testimony yesterday which stated that sperm could only survive up to 36 hours. However, Wells, the head of forensic medicine at the Victoria Institute of Medicine, quickly cautioned that he, as well as most of those experts in his field, would put "reservations" on that finding as it was the only published case for over 30 years. "This particular 1982 paper is often quoted and it is quite depressing that in 30 years there's only one case. I would like to hear of one other case. The question is, how much weight should we put on this? Should we base all of our forensic findings on a single untested case?" asked Wells. Mohd Yusof also referred to an article in "Clinical Forensic Medicine" by WDS Mclay. The paper said research showed sperm may be identified and rectal swabs taken up to three days after anal intercourse even when defecation has occurred. The article also suggested that samples could be obtained even if an individual has showered. However, Wells stuck to his previous stand. "From my experience, to get an extraction after more than 20 to 36 hours is very rare. I have never heard of such a case. The single case was in 1982. The question is how much weight do you put on that case," said the expert in the field of sexual assault cases. Wells: It is exceedingly rare to get any results beyond 20 to 36 hours. Mohd Yusof: Then why do you think doctors suggest that swabs can be taken from the anus after three days up to 65 hours? This sample can even be taken when the victim has showered. Wells: The article you are quoting from also refers to the single 1982 case. Mohd Yusof: But can you say it's not possible. Wells: No I can't say. Doctor stumped Wells added that "in medicine, you sometimes have to be realistic. Why don't we collect toxicological samples from patients who consumed something two to three months ago? There's a reason for it". "I would not base a scientific premise on a single case; with some confidence I can say (in Anwar's case) that already we have a sample that is not dried and not frozen and kept at room temperature; the possibility is very small that you can extract a foreign DNA," said Wells. Wells added that there have been numerous attempts to test for sperm specimens 36 hours later, with "zero" results.
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| ‘Pray Anwar does not become PM’ Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:35 PM PDT By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT PETALING JAYA: Oposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's recent conduct in the High Court has so incensed Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali that the latter has put out a call for Malaysians to pray for the fomer's political demise. Anwar had delivered a hour-long statement from the dock on Monday denying that he had sodomised his aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008. His decision to make his statement from the dock meant that he could not be cross-examined. But numerous quarters questioned this move with his detractors surmising that his avoidance of cross-examination was reflective of his guilt. Ibrahim joined the criticism by branding this scenario as "truly insane". "Saiful took an oath sat in the witness stand and was questioned by Anwar's defence team. Anwar didn't take an oath, sat in the dock and delivered a speech about (fomer Russian dictator) Joseph Stalin, (former South African president) Nelson Mandela and conspiracy… all of which could not be cross-examined," he said. In his statement, Anwar had quoted the words of Mandela in his speech made from the dock during the Rivonia trial of 1963. His reference to Stalin was used to explain that Saiful was made to play helpless victim because the public would no longer believe the 1998 method of employing Stalin-like confessions.
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| Putrajaya doles out RM1.4b to the underprivileged Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:28 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, Aug 24 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today a RM1.4 billion welfare allocation to around 500,000 underprivileged recipients including senior citizens, the disabled and widows of army and police personnel. The allocation, to be disbursed monthly under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry's newly-launched initiative called Program Kebajikan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KAR1SMA), was increased by RM200 million from last year's RM1.2 billion for 424,000 identified recipients. Najib (picture) said the increase in aid to the needy is in line with one of the main pillars of his administration's philosophy which is to uphold social justice. "The underprivileged represent a large group and without intervention, they will remain a marginalised and we would have failed to uphold social justice. "Today, now that we have changed the direction and focus of the government through the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), we have identified that a large part of our community consist of the marginalised and they need help so they can become independent... not always depending on the government but independent," he said during his speech at the launch. Najib added that despite the global economic crisis, Malaysia still remains in the position to not only offer but increase financial aid to the underprivileged. "In some countries, they have had to slash their pensioner funds and cut back on welfare aid. "So I hope now that those receiving aid will be inspired with new hope, skills and spirit, enabling them to contribute to their futures and that of the country," he said.
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| THE JASMINE REVOLUTION IN SE ASIA: FACEBOOKED, TWITTERED AND RECAPPED Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:20 PM PDT
By Aid Nethelands Former deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim however had a different take remarking that the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt should be a warning signal to other autocracies "whether in the Middle East, Pakistan or Southeast Asia". Anwar continued noting that the demise of regimes where corruption and nepotism flourished, should remind Malaysians that governments built on the suppression of citizens are always temporary. With the war in Libya reaching its conclusion, it now looks as if Colonel Gaddafi will be the next authoritarian leader in North Africa to fall as a result the remarkable events dubbed the Arab Spring or Jasmine Revolutions. As I noted back in March many both within Asia and beyond have asked whether such 'blossoming' of dissent and revolt could occur in the authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes of Northeast, Southeast and Central Asia. T his week the Center for Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville will host a workshop that will explore precisely that question. Entitled "The Jasmine Revolution and the 'Bamboo' Firewall: The impact of the Internet and new social media on political change in East Asia.", the workshop will host 13 scholars from prestigious academic institutions and non-profit organizations around the country to participate and explore the potential impact of technology on democracy in Asia. Next week I hope to share some of the workshop's findings with you, but for this week I am reposting the original blog entry from March… (with a few very minor amendments). In Libya it resulted in the descent to near Civil War between Muammar Qaddafi and pro-democracy rebels while its demonstration effects have incited and continue to incite protest in countries from Bahrain to Oman, and from Jordan to Morocco and Syria. Much of this caught everyone by surprise, be they academics, diplomats, journalists or policy advisors. Nevertheless this outburst of popular discontent reflects a number of long-term trends, most specifically a demographic explosion in the 1970s and 1980s means that an estimated 65 per cent of the region's population is under 30. While significant sums of money have been poured into education, both secondary and tertiary, youth unemployment is a major socio-economic problem with an estimated one in four unemployed. Such high levels of unemployment combined with pervasive levels of corruption, authoritarian political systems with extensive security surveillance and harassment, and the huge growth in the number of users of social network sites (Egypt has for example over 5 millon Facebook users of whom 58% are under 25) provided a potent combination the repercussions of which are still playing out as we speak. This begs the question as to whether such a popular uprising could happen in that other bastion of authoritarian and quasi-democratic regimes, Southeast Asia. Could the demonstration effects spread to countries as diverse as Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, among others? Leaders in these countries are clearly worried. Inn February the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib issued a stark warning saying "Don't think what is happening in Tunisia and Egypt will also happen in Malaysia.. We will not allow it to happen here". Former deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim however had a different take remarking that the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt should be a warning signal to other autocracies "whether in the Middle East, Pakistan or Southeast Asia". Anwar continued noting that the demise of regimes where corruption and nepotism flourished, should remind Malaysians that governments built on the suppression of citizens are always temporary. In Cambodia, strongman Hun Sen, who has dominated national politics since 1989 and been Prime Minister since 1998, was even starker in his warnings stating on January 20th, in response to comments on a Radio Free Asia report that a Tunisian-like protest could occur in Cambodia. Hun Sen lashed out stating "I have to send a message to people who want to inspire a riot (like) in Tunisia … I will close the door and beat the dog," Again in contrast the embattled long-standing anti-corruption opposition figure Sam Rainsy echoed Anwar's views stated on February 2nd, the day pro-Mubarak forces attacked anti-Mubarak supporters in Tahir square, that "I see that it is not long … that there would be such a situation in Cambodia that is the same as Egypt and Tunisia, where people have ousted leaders from power."
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| Contract in Malaysia helps Petrofac outshine forecasts Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:10 PM PDT By Yorkshire Post OIL services firm Petrofac has posted a forecast-beating first-half profit, after receiving a boost from its business in Malaysia. The company said it was confident that demand from national oil firms would continue to fuel future growth. Petrofac, which designs and builds oil and gas infrastructure and also invests alongside oil firms in oil fields, posted net profit of $246.3m for the first six months of the year, a 6.6 per cent rise on the previous year. This compared to a consensus forecast of $238m from a company-supplied poll of eight analysts. Profits in the FTSE 100 company's offshore engineering and operations business soared by more than 700 per cent reflecting strong activity levels in Malaysia, where it has a contract to develop oil and gas facilities for the country's state oil firm Petronas. The company said it was on track to double its 2010 earnings by 2015, a goal it announced in June. The company believes a recent contract win in Mexico validated its strategy of building up the part of its business which invests in oil fields to help national oil companies develop their reserves. "We are increasingly seeing resource holders who don't want to give up the title to reserves but do need expertise to help improve or develop their resources," chief financial officer Keith Roberts said. "Whether it's Malaysia, Petrom in Romania, now Mexico. This is a long-term systemic trend," he said, adding that the company also saw future opportunities for that part of the business in Iraq and Turkmenistan. "These positive results follow the potentially transformational production enhancement contract awards in Mexico... which will go some way toward delivering the group earnings growth target," said Evolution analyst Keith Morris. He added that Petrofac looks undervalued after recent poor share price performance. Shares in the company have fallen almost 20 per cent over the last month, broadly in line with recent sell-offs across the oil and gas sector. Petrofac also said it was on course to meet market forecasts for the full-year and it expected to deliver like-for-like net profit growth of at least 15 per cent in 2011. Numis analyst Sanjeev Bahl said he believed the company could beat that target given the first-half results |
| Multiracial Malaysia caught at economic crossroads Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:57 PM PDT
By Jennifer Pak, BBC News Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers have become a symbol of rapid development - but can Malaysia's rise to prosperity overcome cultural, religious and economic challenges? Malaysia is a complex country where race and religion are inextricably linked. |
| Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:52 PM PDT By Joy Lee, The Edge KUALA LUMPUR: High fuel cost continues to weigh on airlines as low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd saw its 2QFY11 net profit shrink 48% year-on-year (y-o-y) while national carrier Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) languished in the red. AirAsia posted net profit of RM104.3 million for 2QFY11 ended June 30, from RM198.9 million in the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue, however, rose 15% to RM1.1 billion from RM933.4 million previously, supported by a 15% growth in passenger volume. |
| Petronas, Partners Plan $5 Billion Malaysia Gas Investment to Boost Supply Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:47 PM PDT By Barry Porter, Bloomberg Petroleum Nasional Bhd., Malaysia's state oil and gas company, plans to invest 15 billion ringgit ($5 billion) with partners to develop natural gas fields off the country's eastern coast in a move to help replenish the Southeast Asian nation's shrinking energy reserves. The so-called North Malay Basin project aims to extract gas with high carbon dioxide content from nine discovered fields to help meet rising demand on Peninsular Malaysia, according to a statement today from Petronas, as the company is known. A 200 kilometer-pipeline (124 miles) will be laid to transport the fuel to Kerteh, in Terengganu state, it said. "The development of the North Malay basin project follows recently introduced incentives by the government, particularly for the development of marginal fields," Petronas said. "The gradual revision of gas prices to domestic customers, as recently announced by the government, also makes the project more economically feasible for industry players." The state utility has traditionally sold gas at a discount to power distributor Tenaga Nasional Bhd. (TNB) to help keep business and consumer costs low in Malaysia. On May 30, the government allowed it to reduce that subsidy, acknowledging that this had limited Petronas's ability to reinvest and pay dividends. 'Minimal' Investment"These subsidized gas prices have resulted in minimal investments in the exploration of gas projects by oil and gas players, constraining growth in supply capacity," Petronas said in today's statement. "In recent years, demand for gas has increased by more than 30 percent, buoyed by the introduction of regulated prices in 1997 that has lagged concomitant increases in market prices." The nation's crude and natural gas production has fallen for two straight years, declining to the equivalent of 1.63 million barrels of oil a day in the year ended March 31 from 1.66 million a day a year earlier, according to Petronas's annual report. It didn't name its production-sharing partners for the North Malay Basin project. The gas fields are located within Blocks PM301 and PM302 in the Bergading contract area, about 300 kilometers off the country's peninsula, it said. The investment will be undertaken on an "accelerated" basis, with the first delivery of 100 million cubic feet of gas per day expected by early 2013, rising to 250 million by 2015, according to the e-mailed statement. |
| Che'GuBard tidak perlu mohon maaf sebaliknya Rosmah harus tampil memberi penjelasan Posted: 23 Aug 2011 04:47 PM PDT
Sejak semalam che'GuBard dihubungi ramai wartawan dan teman khususnya apabila media arus perdana digunakan untuk 'menyerang' che'GuBard dalam isu pendedahan berlian bernilai RM24.45 juta yang dikaitkan dengan Rosmah Mansor. che'GuBard dituntut mohon maaf dan dituduh diam dan gagal menjawab apabila kononya didedahkan menipu. Persoalan penting ialah adakah media arus perdana berani mengeluarkan kenyataan che'GuBard mengenai perkara ini. Sudah hampir sebulan pendedahan mengenai wujud satu kemasukan berlian bernilai RM24.45 j terkait nama 'Imelda' Rosmah. Sejak itu dia diam dan membisu cuma 'pengampu-pengampu' dia yang sibuk bertungkus lumus menjawab. Cuma sekali dia menjawab itupun hanya menuduh ia fitnah tanpa sebarang penjelasan. Menarik perlu diperhatikan di sini. Mulanya pengampu Imelda mengatakan bukti tersebut palsu dan akhirnya sudah tidak boleh menyangkal setelah SPRM mengesahkan dokumen tersebut maka muncul pula borang kastam kedua kononya belian itu dibawa keluar 4 hari selepas itu. Kononya belian itu untuk satu pameran berlian yang diadakan secara sulit, di tempat yang sulit dengan tetamu-tetamu yang sulit. Semua yang sulit itu sedang diusahakan dan disusun skripnya. Mungkin gagal menyusun skrip pameran sulit maka seorang lagi pengampu muncul dan mengatakan belian tersebut bukan milik Rosmah tetapi milik besannya. Jadi mana yang betul sebenarnya. Klik bahan - bahan di bawah untuk membaca mengenainya.
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| Pakatan rahsia Najib-Anwar 1998 - John Malott Posted: 23 Aug 2011 04:25 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Hari ini saya membaca kenyataan Anwar Ibrahim dari kandang tertuduh. Anwar mendakwa semua ini adalah konspirasi politik. Dan saya bersetuju. Sememangnya, saya adalah bekas Duta Amerika ke Malaysia semasa semua perkara ini berlaku untuk kali pertama. Sebagaimana yang diketahui ramai, kedutaan Amerika mempunyai banyak sumber maklumat. Pada tahun 1998, Rohanna telah bersama saya untuk satu makan tengahari pertemuan empat mata peribadi di kediaman duta. Pada masa itu ialah waktu Anwar mula mencabar Mahathir (mantan Perdana Menteri), secara halus namun amat jelas kelihatan.
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| 4 jailed for gang-rape of Malaysian student Posted: 23 Aug 2011 04:09 PM PDT (New Straits Times) - Four wealthy Russians cheered a gang rape like "professional footballers celebrating the scoring of a goal", a judge said today as he jailed them for a total of 36 years.
(Clockwise, from top left) Oleg Ivanov, 23, Norayr Davtyan, 22, Armen Simonyan, 19, and Gregory Melnikov, 23, denied raping the teenager but were unanimously convicted yesterday after an eight-week trial. Oleg Ivanov and Gregory Andreev Melnikov, both 23, Norayr Davtyan, 22, and Armen Simonyan, 19, filmed the sickening attack on an 18-year old Malaysian fellow student at their £30,000 (RM147,000)-a-year boarding school using an iPhone. Ringleader Davtyan was jailed for 10 years, Melnikov for nine years and Ivanov and Simonyan for eight years apiece at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday. In the course of the "disgusting" attack they egged each other on by saying: "You're not going to marry her." Judge Peter Murphy said: "The iPhone footage shows what can only be described as a callous disregard for the victim as a human being and indeed as anything other than an object of their own pleasure. "(The victim) in my judgment certainly is heard to utter the word 'no' on a number of occasions. Whatever the case of her condition, it is clear as I think it must have been to the defendants that she was in no position to decide whether to consent or not to consent, or to resist what was going on. No one who has seen that footage can leave this trial without feeling complete disgust towards it."
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| Vell Paari’s Aussie firm crisis Posted: 23 Aug 2011 03:53 PM PDT
Claims of misappropriation of funds, missing files, non-payment of salaries (The Malay Mail) - An internal financial crackdown of MIC central working committee member S. Vell Paari's Western Australia-based 4WD auto company is underway following allegations of misappropriation of millions of ringgit, missing accounting files and "stolen" intellectual property manuals. Three Australian authorities, in the meantime, are investigating his company for non-payment of staff salaries, unpaid superannuation — a retirement and pensions programme — and alleged violation of investment procedures. Vell Paari told The Malay Mail international audit firm KPMG was conducting forensic examination on the finances of OKA Motor Co., the trading name of Reymer Pty Ltd, that Vell Paari controls. The audit is also to protect the company's intellectual property in the form of manuals to manufacture all-terrain trucks and tour buses. The manuals, valued at RM80 million, were discovered missing recently, he said. Vell Paari said millions in company funds have also been siphoned out of Australia into a private account in Europe. In the case of the manuals, he said, sabotage was suspected. "The manuals that were stored in a computer server are currently being rebuilt." On the missing accounting files, he said except for those over the past two years, files from previous years had gone missing. The son of former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was speaking to The Malay Mail on claims his auto company had collapsed. "The company has not collapsed. Matters have come to a standstill until we have cleared this mess," he declared. He said: "Majority of the employees have now been paid their salaries except for those whose claims have to be verified by the auditors. "Payments to certain creditors are also disputable and I suspect their accounts are shady. We are putting everything in order and are co-operating with the authorities to get to the root of the problems." He said the irregularities came to light in an internal investigation into complaints of nonpayment of staff salaries over the past two-and-a-half-months. Vell Paari said an email sent to him by an employee raising concerns over non-payment of salaries triggered the internal action. "I suspected irregularities as we had money from sales of allterrain vehicles while the company was still focused on research and development on a new range of vehicles. "It was then we discovered millions have been siphoned out of Australia into a private account." He claimed OKA chief financial officer Tom Ksserkas had owned up to the auditors that he had misappropriated company funds. The chief executive officer, Arthur Gold, resigned soon after the forensics audit was commissioned, he added. He accused both men for the current state of affairs. "I was not responsible for the unpaid wages. "I might be company chairman and have other ventures in Australia but I don't get involved in daily operations as I spend most of my time in Kuala Lumpur. Further, I don't have a working visa there." Vell Paari said he expected a full report from the auditors soon after which he would make police reports against those responsible. In the meantime, he said, operations at the plant in Bibra Lake have ground to a halt to facilitate investigations. At least 20 workers have been retrenched. He said he was liaising with Fair Work Ombudsman that is looking into allegations of unpaid salaries. "I am aware the workers had also lodged a claim with the Australian Taxation office for unpaid superannuation. "A complaint has also been filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and I am in touch with the authorities." Vell Paari said moves were in progress to relocate the manufacturing plant to Malaysia. He said he has hired a new COO, an Indian national with expertise in armoured and non-armoured vehicles for Indonesian military, to head the operations in Malaysia from October.
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| From POLITICO - Justin Smith steps down from FBC Media board Posted: 23 Aug 2011 03:39 PM PDT Ben Smith and I report on the main site how The Atlantic has become the latest media company to get tangled in the scandal surrounding FBC Media, a British company on whose board Atlantic Media Co. President Justin Smith sat until the bad press moved him to resign.
"I have directed a full review of The Atlantic's dealings with him, and the responsibility at The Atlantic for any problems it might uncover will be mine. It is my job to safeguard at all costs The Atlantic's reputation for editorial integrity."
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| Beng Hock’s family challenges RCI suicide verdict Posted: 23 Aug 2011 02:13 PM PDT By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Teoh Beng Hock's family applied for a judicial review against the royal commission of inquiry's (RCI) conclusion that the political aide committed suicide in 2009. The application was made at the High Court today. The family's lawyer Gobind Singh Deo pointed out that there was no testimony on what happened to Teoh, between 3.30am and 7am on July 16, 2009, the crucial hours before he was eventually found dead outside the then Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam. "If you do not know for sure what happened, how can you come to these findings?" asked Gobind at a press conference after filing the application for leave today. The RCI, which was chaired by sitting Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong, found that Teoh was driven to suicide after relentless questioning by anti-graft officers. The five-man panel wrapped up its report on June 15 after having heard testimony from 70 witnesses in its bid to unravel the mysterious circumstances behind Teoh's death. Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk N.H. Chan has called the three judges on the five-man panel "three blind mice" for concluding that Teoh killed himself despite lacking expert opinion. A copy of the judicial review provided to the press today quoted the RCI as saying in its report: "We believe something had happened between 3.30am (after Teoh Beng Hock's statement was recorded) and 7.00am (the earliest estimate of his time of death) on July 16, 2009, that drove Teoh Beng Hock to suicide." Teoh's family said it was obvious that the RCI did not know what had happened to Teoh at that time before the former aide to Selangor executive councillor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, plunged nine floors to his death. Gobind also questioned the lack of action against three MACC officers whom the RCI said had pressured Teoh into committing suicide.
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| PAS ready to face lawsuit over 'UMNO hand' in church affair Posted: 23 Aug 2011 01:07 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - PAS president Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang has given his backing to secretary general Mustafa Ali over the latter's claim that UMNO had a hand in the controversy surrounding the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) and the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC). The claim has infuriated Selangor UMNO, who threatened to file a RM10 million suit against Mustafa if he refused to apologise. Mustafa however twice rejected the demand for apology, saying he had ample proof to be presented in court.
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| Strengthening English By Improving The Teaching Of English Posted: 23 Aug 2011 12:56 PM PDT By Dato' Dr. Toh Kin Woon (via Malaysian Mirror) LLG Cultural Development Centre views with grave concern the recent statement made by Deputy Prime Minister, who concurrently is also the Minister of Education that the government is mulling the possibility of allowing schools to decide on their own whether to continue using English as the medium of instruction for the teaching of science and mathematics. The aim of this move, if adopted widely, is possibly to raise the standard of English in primary schools. We are, however, of the view that such a move, besides representing yet another flip-flop in the government's education policy, is also unprofessional in its approach towards strengthening the level of English. This will in turn lead to erosion in the effectiveness of the teaching and learning of the English language, thereby bringing immense difficulties to both teachers and students alike. Once again, our children's future will be sacrificed. To us, the proper approach towards improving the standard of any language should be through improving its teaching, rather than using it as a medium of instruction for other academic subjects. This is a simple and straight forward fundamental principle of education. Hence to strengthen the level of English, the government should focus on improving the teaching of English in Malaysian schools. This encompasses reforming its syllabus and methodology of teaching English as a second language, as well as recruiting more professionally qualified teachers. From the perspective of the Minister of Education, using English to teach science and mathematics may ostensibly improve a student's grasp of English through greater exposure to, and more contact with, the use of the language. This implies that teaching science and mathematics in English brings dual benefits to students, that is learning science and mathematics, while at the same time raising the standard of English. Except for the academically competent, this may be difficult to realize in practice, however. This is because for a great majority, whose first language is not English, they will first have to attain a certain level of competence in the English language, and this in a very short while, before they can even follow, let alone be able to comprehend and absorb the concepts in science and mathematics. LLG Cultural Development Centre is thus of the view that allowing schools to choose English as a medium of instruction to teach science and mathematics will ultimately benefit only the urban, largely English-educated elites. On the other hand, those who grow up in a non-English speaking and poor socio-economic environment will be greatly disadvantaged, learning neither science and mathematics nor English. The use of English as a medium of instruction in science and mathematics is, in our view, an elitist approach that benefits the elites, while sacrificing the poor. In such a context, education will become a tool for the inter-generational transfer of elite status, rather than as a democratic tool for effecting upward social mobility for the bottom strata of society. The already grave and yawning social disparity between the rich and poor in Malaysian society will be further widened. Given these likely developments, we are strongly opposed to the proposal by the Minister of Education to allow schools a choice in the use of English to teach science and mathematics. Our opposition is premised on the belief that such an approach fails to address the root causes in the decline of both the standard of English and education in our country. We thus urge the government to re-think this proposal, look thoroughly and professionally into the factors that have caused a decline the standard of both English and education and to come forth with proposals to address these causes. We regard these as imperative steps in order to develop the necessary human capital that is proficient in several languages deemed so important for the socio-economic advancement of our country. TOH KIN WOON is President of LLG Cultural Development Centre
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