Friday, July 23, 2010

Penyertaan Inai Kiara Semarakkan Lagi Industri Perkapalan Negara

21 Julai, 2010 20:28 PM

PELABUHAN KLANG, 21 Julai (Bernama) -- Isteri Perdana Menteri Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor berkata penyertaan Inai Kiara Sdn Bhd dalam sektor pembinaan kapal menerusi anak syarikatnya, Selat Melaka Shipbuilding Corporation Sdn Bhd mampu menyemarakkan lagi industri perkapalan negara terutamanya dalam pembinaan kapal pengerukan.

"Ia juga merupakan satu langkah yang positif serta proaktif kerana sebelum ini Malaysia tidak mempunyai keupayaan untuk membina kapal pengerukan," katanya semasa merasmikan Pelan Induk Projek Pembangunan Limbungan Selat Melaka Shipbuilding dan upacara menamakan kapal pertama keluaran firma itu di Pulau Indah di sini.

Beliau berkata dengan usaha berani Inai Kiara untuk membawa masuk teknologi Jerman dan Belanda, negara kini mempunyai teknologi yang diperlukan untuk membina kapal pengerukan di persada tempatan.

Rosmah berkata beliau difahamkan limbungan Selat Melaka Shipbuilding ini merupakan satu-satunya limbungan yang berkemampuan untuk membina dan membaik pulih kapal pengerukan di negara ini.

Dengan kedudukannya yang strategik yang mempunyai akses melalui jalan darat dan laut serta berdekatan dengan Pelabuhan Klang, ia sangat berpotensi bagi menarik minat para pelabur asing untuk melabur di dalam pelbagai industri berkaitan seperti minyak dan gas, katanya.

Rosmah berkata: "Justeru, sudah tentu pembangunan limbungan perkapalan ini, bakal memberi nilai tambah yang diperlukan oleh industri perkapalan Malaysia pada ketika ini."

"Saya pasti perkembangan terbaharu ini akan membantu meletakkan nama Malaysia di peta dunia, sebagai sebuah lokasi baharu yang menawarkan kemudahan membina dan membaik pulih kapal pengerukan," katanya.

Selain daripada itu Rosmah berkata beliau difahamkan apabila limbungan kapal ini siap sepenuhnya nanti ia akan menyediakan 10,000 peluang pekerjaan dalam pelbagai kemahiran, dan menjana peluang perniagaan kepada para usahawan, serta pembekal peralatan dan perkhidmatan kepada industri pembinaan kapal tempatan.

Secara tidak langsung, limbungan kapal ini akan turut menjadi pemangkin kepada pembangunan ekonomi negara, khususnya di Pulau Indah, katanya.

Rosmah berkata:"Penglibatan Inai Kiara sebagai sebuah syarikat tempatan di dalam industri pembinaan kapal pengerukan ini akan membantu untuk menyumbang kepada penjimatan dalam pertukaran mata wang asing negara dan pengurangan kebergantungan kepada syarikat-syarikat perkapalan luar serta insurans asing."

Penglibatan Inai Kiara dalam industri pengerukan dan perkapalan dapat membantu kerja-kerja meningkatkan prasarana dan menaik taraf pelabuhan tempatan, katanya.

Rosmah berkata: "Di samping itu usaha ini juga dikatakan dapat membantu proses pemulihan pantai yang dianggap penting bagi industri pelancongan serta keseimbangan ekosistem negara."

Segala usaha ke arah membangunkan industri perkapalan negara ini sememangnya dialu-alukan kerana ia bukan sahaja dapat membantu pertumbuhan ekonomi negara tetapi mampu memartabatkan industri ini setaraf dengan negara-negara lain di dunia, katanya.

Beliau berkata: "Mengikut sejarah, negara Jepun dikatakan telah berjaya membangunkan semula ekonominya selepas Perang Dunia Kedua dengan memberi tumpuan kepada industri pembinaan kapal sebagai salah satu daripada strateginya."

Oleh itu, beliau berkata Malaysia kini boleh dianggap berada di landasan yang betul dengan penglibatan syarikat-syarikat tempatan di dalam industri pembinaan kapal negara.

Pada majlis itu, Rosmah diberikan penghormatan untuk menamakan kapal sulung yang dibina limbungan itu, "Inai Ixora" sebuah kapal korek sepanjang 84 metr dengan 13,200kuasa kuda yang boleh mengorek pasir sedalam 18 hingga 25 meter.

Sementara itu, Pengerusi Eksekutif Inai Kiara Datuk Kapten Gulzar Mohamad berkata Inai Kiara bergiat di dalam kerja mengorek pasir dan menambak semula pada tahun 1997 sebagai kontraktor kecil dengan menyewa peralatan dari Indonesia dan Eropah.

Bagaimanapun, tujuh tahun kemudian, syarikat itu mula memiliki sendiri kapal-kapal pengerukan terpakai yang dibeli dan dinaik taraf dan sehingga kini ia memiliki 22 buah kapal.

-- BERNAMA

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Sembcorp appoints Mohd Hassan Marican as independent director

From : www.channelnewsasia.com
Posted: 15 June 2010 2028 hrs

SINGAPORE : Conglomerate Sembcorp Industries on Tuesday said it has appointed a new independent director to its board.

He is Mohd Hassan Marican, the former president and CEO of the Malaysian oil giant Petronas.

Mr Mohd Hassan led Petronas from 1995 until his retirement in February this year.

He takes up his new appointment with Sembcorp from Wednesday.

Sembcorp said Mr Mohd Hassan brings over 30 years of experience in audit, accounting and management.

He currently serves as a Director of International Centre for Leadership in Finance.

He holds a Honorary Doctorate from the University of Malaya and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. - CNA/ms

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

KSN Nafi 431,000 Penjawat Awam Terima Rasuah

Rabu Jun 9, 2010

KOTA BAHARU: Ketua Setiausaha Negara Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan hari ini menafikan 418,200 atau 41 peratus daripada 1.2 juta penjawat awam dikesan terbabit dengan rasuah sepanjang tahun lalu, sebaliknya angka itu merupakan jumlah tangkapan oleh Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) bagi tempoh itu.

Beliau berkata Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs) telah tersilap tafsir berkenaan fakta itu. "Ramai (rakyat) yang tidak faham dan salah fahaman berhubung perkara ini (jumlah penjawat awam terlibat rasuah).

"Kenyataannya ialah peratusan itu bukannya daripada jumlah penjawat awam (terbabit rasuah) tetapi daripada jumlah tangkapan yang dilakukan SPRM sepanjang tahun lalu," katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang 2009 Universiti Malaysia Kelantan(UMK) di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian sebagai mengulas kenyataan Presiden Cuepacs Omar Osman pada 2 Jun bahawa seramai 418,200 atau 41 peratus daripada 1.2 juta penjawat awam dikesan terbabit dengan rasuah sepanjang tahun lepas. -BERNAMA

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Singapura tidak lagi sambung perjanjian air

SINGAPURA 24 Mei - Perdana Menteri Singapura, Lee Hsien Loong berkata, negaranya akan menyerahkan semua kemudahan air yang terkandung di bawah Perjanjian Air 1961 kepada pihak berkuasa air Johor secara percuma dan dalam keadaan berfungsi dengan baik selepas 1 Julai 2011.

"Selain itu, Singapura turut mencadangkan projek bersifat "mercu tanda" bagi Lembaga Pembangunan Wilayah Iskandar (IRDA), yang melibatkan kawasan pembangunan seluas 500 ekar.

"Kedua-dua pemimpin telah bersetuju menyokong sebuah perbandaran yang dibina mengikut konsep 'menetap bekerja bersantai' (live work play), yang mana ia akan menawarkan kemudahan serta perkhidmatan yang berasaskan kesejahteraan hidup," jelas Hsien Loong pada sidang akhbar bersama dengan rakan sejawatnya, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak di sini hari ini.

Perjanjian pertama pembekalan air dari Malaysia untuk Singapura itu melibatkan penjualan air mentah dari Loji Air Skudai di Johor Bahru yang diurus oleh syarikat Public Utilities Board (PUB) Singapura untuk pembekalan air bersih kepada Johor dan Singapura.

Perjanjian itu dijadualkan akan berakhir pada 1 Julai 2011 dan Singapura telah menyatakan bahawa negara pulau itu tidak berhasrat untuk menyambung perjanjian berkenaan.

Mengenai projek "mercu tanda" untuk Iskandar Malaysia, Hsien Loong berkata, ciri unik projek tersebut ialah ia akan merangkumi segala aspek "kesejahteraan hidup" menerusi pelbagai aktiviti dalam sebuah perbandaran, seperti kaedah-kaedah rawatan tradisional, perubatan alternatif yang saling melengkapi dan rawatan-rawatan serba moden.

"Kedua-dua Perdana Menteri juga bersetuju Khazanah Nasional Bhd. dan Temasek Holdings Ltd. akan membentuk sebuah syarikat usaha sama dengan ekuiti 50-50 bagi melaksanakan projek pembangunan itu.

"Pastinya projek itu akan melibatkan penyertaan sektor swasta dari kedua-dua negara dan kami (Hsien Loong dan Najib) harap untuk melihat pelancaran projek berkenaan dalam tempoh satu tahun," ujarnya.

Dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan hari ini, Singapura dan Malaysia turut bersetuju untuk berkongsi pengalaman dan sama-sama merencanakan pelan pembangunan bersama untuk pembersihan sungai, yang selari dengan usaha-usaha yang kini dilakukan di Iskandar Malaysia.

Kedua-dua negara juga akan melihat kemungkinan melakukan program berkembar bagi produk-produk pelancongan khususnya ekopelancongan. - Utusan

Monday, May 10, 2010

400 Chinese turn up for MACC jobs

2010/05/10 NST
By Minderjeet Kaur

KUALA LUMPUR: The long queue of about 400 Chinese young adults lining up for job interviews with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday is an indication that the community wants to work with the government, the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia said yesterday.

The association's honorary deputy secretary-general, Dr Chin Yew Sin, said the unexpected large turnout had dispelled the perception that the Chinese were not interested in joining the government service.

"Due to the perception, no one had expected such a big turnout. It was beyond our expectation as there are only 40 vacancies," he said.

The exercise is an MACC and Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia initiative to open the commission's doors to more non-Malays.

Some of the youths came from Penang and Johor, with the hopes of becoming MACC investigation officers and assistant investigation officers.
The interviews were scheduled from 10am to 2pm at the Chinese Assembly Hall here. Most of them were there at 8am.

MACC officers who had printed about 200 job application forms immediately started to print more copies.

Although only 10 per cent of the applicants would be offered jobs, Dr Chin said it was a good starting point.

The association would request the government to work with non-governmental organisations to encourage more Chinese youths to work in the civil service.

Dr Chin said the federation would also check if there were vacancies in the army and the Public Services Department for the Chinese community.

Dr Chin said some of the youths were fresh graduates while others were looking for better job opportunities.

"Some of them are here because they want to see the country free of corruption while others are here for better salaries and incentives," he said.

Degree holders would earn between RM3,000 and RM4,900 a month while diploma holders would receive RM2,500.

They are also entitled to allowances as well as RM200 to RM400 for housing and RM400 for entertainment.
MACC's assistant commissioner for corporate communications Zainal Adam said the good turnout showed MACC was well received by the Chinese community.

"We welcome them to join us to fight corruption in the country."

One of the applicants, Chan Saw Seng, 26, from Penang, said he applied for a job in MACC because there were few Chinese working in the government sector.

Hong Chin Chin, 24, a Universiti Malaya law graduate, said she wanted to be part of MACC to help fight corruption while Terence Ng, 23, a graduate of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, was attracted by the salary and incentives.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Enam juta wanita Indonesia di luar negara

JAKARTA - Sekurang-kurangnya enam juta wanita Indonesia bekerja di luar negara sama ada secara sah atau haram, kata sebuah agensi kerajaan, semalam.

Laporan agensi itu menyatakan kebanyakan wanita Indonesia bekerja di Timur Tengah.

Sebahagian besar lagi bekerja di rantau Asia-Pasifik, termasuk Malaysia, Singapura, Hong Kong, Korea Selatan dan Taiwan.

Keadaan itu menyebabkan kebanyakan kampung di Indonesia kekurangan wanita.

Laporan Bank Dunia menyatakan kiriman wang dari pekerja migran Indonesia menjadi sumber pendapatan kedua terbesar selepas minyak dan gas.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Online users hit 400m ~ May 1, 2010 Straits Time

BEIJING - THE number of Internet users in China, already the largest in the world, has surpassed 400 million and accounts for almost a third of the country's population, state media reported on Saturday.

The online population in the world's most populous nation has reached 404 million, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the State Council Information Office. That compares with 384 million users at the end of 2009.

Users accessing the Internet with mobile phones was steady at 233 million while the number of people with broadband access reached 346 million, the report said.

China's spiralling online population has turned the Internet into a forum for citizens to express their opinions in a way rarely seen in a country where the traditional media is under strict government control.

The growing strength and influence of the web population has prompted concern in Beijing about the Internet's potential as a tool for generating social unrest, and authorities have stepped up surveillance in recent years.

The government blocks web content that it deems politically sensitive in a vast system dubbed the 'Great Firewall of China'. -- AFP

The Reversal of Anwar Ibrahim- by Rachel Motte, The new Ledger

This week, Barack Obama reached out once more to the Muslim world. Following his promise last June in Cairo, President Obama hosted a Summit on Entrepreneurship, “to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.” Bringing together 250 participants from 60 countries, the Administration once again tried to build bridges between East and West, and even brought Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along to close the summit on Tuesday evening.

Yet it remains as hard as ever to figure out who are America’s real friends and allies in the Muslim world, aside from the good King and Queen of Jordan, a handful of emirates, and the Saudi royals. Take the strange case of Malaysia, for example. The Malaysian state and its ruling party are broadly constructive and cooperative with the United States — but its political opposition is another story. And that’s the reverse of what often gets portrayed in Western media.

The present Malaysian leadership is pro-business, pro-American and prepared to stand up and be counted in the Muslim world as a strategic U.S. ally. During the recent Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged to assist Washington on numerous fronts, and even shut off petroleum supplies to Iran within hours of returning home to Kuala Lumpur.

Though Malaysia isn’t quite as far along as Muslim nations such as Jordan or Egypt with respect to Israel — it refuses to recognize the Jewish state or its passports — its official anti-Israel position does not come from a societal wellspring of anti-Semitism. Though Malaysia used to have a small Jewish community of its own, it dwindled as a consequence of the Second World War rather than, as in most of the Muslim world, as vengeance for Israel’s founding.

Malaysia’s reputation as a majority-Muslim nation known for moderation and stability is hard won in this decade, and a result of the leadership of the present Prime Minister and his immediate predecessor.

Prior to October 2003, Malaysia’s position as a responsible member of the community of nations was less certain. This was thanks to the country’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed. Even in power, Mahathir was a well-known anti-Semite and anti-American.

This past January, Mahathir declared that the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were “staged as an excuse to mount attacks on the Muslim world.” He didn’t stop there. Speaking at that same month’s General Conference for the Support of Al-Quds (that is, the Arabic name for Jerusalem), he declared that Israel was created to solve “the Jewish problem” in Europe after Hitler failed to complete the Final Solution. “Even after their massacre by the Nazis of Germany,” said Mahathir, the Jews “survived to continue to be a source of even greater problems for the world.”

The case of Mahathir isn’t merely one of a has-been politician with a penchant for vile Jew-baiting. He still retains influence with hardliners. And the man whom he mentored, and then repudiated, is now leader of Malaysia’s political opposition — and he’s showing the world how well he learned under Mahathir’s tutelage.

Anti-Semitism is now resurgent in Malaysia thanks to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a charismatic firebrand of a politician who collaborated with Mahathir — as a deputy prime minister and top aide— for nearly a decade in a relationship that Ibrahim described as being one of “father and son.” In 1998 Ibrahim got impatient about taking over from Mahathir, embarked upon a power struggle, and lost. For his troubles, Mahathir put him on trial for corruption and sodomy: and Anwar Ibrahim ended up in jail at the hand of his mentor.



Upon his release, Anwar Ibrahim came to Washington, D.C., and has spent the past decade cultivating a genteel, enlightened image in the West. Otherwise informed American observers of foreign affairs have adopted him as an exemplar of liberal Southeast Asian and/or Muslim democratic governance. Just a few years ago, he was invited to teach for a year at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, from which he cultivated the acquaintances of eminent Jewish Americans like Paul Wolfowitz — as a means of showing just how far behind him was his own militant Islamist past.

Indeed, as recently as 2008, Al Gore — usually a savvy and perceptive man — could be found posting on his blog in defense of Ibrahim’s dignity in the face of criticism. That’s big-name Western approval one can’t buy — but one can work hard for it with the right enemies and media outreach inside the Beltway.

It also helps if one knows what to tell Western audiences who tune in to Western media outlets. This past March, in an interview with CNN World, Ibrahim told Wajahat Ali, “Stoking the flames of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism is a good distraction from the stench in [Muslim societies’] own backyard, namely rampant corruption, denial of basic human rights, abuse of power and the suppression of civil society.”

The reality is that if you’d asked a well-informed American who the liberal democrat was in Malaysia between 1999 and 2009, he or she might well have said, “Anwar Ibrahim.”

But does Anwar Ibrahim’s portrayal of himself outside Malaysia match Anwar Ibrahim’s actions within his own country? Unfortunately, Ibrahim has decided to make his mark in domestic Malaysian politics — away from CNN, Al Gore, and Johns Hopkins — as an anti-American, anti-Semitic demagogue.

The proximate cause of Ibrahim’s descent into the foul rhetoric of anti-Semitism was his decision to exploit the government’s hiring of a Washington, D.C., public relations firm, APCO, to do minor communications work within Malaysia. Like many international firms, this one has done business within Israel, and even counts among its senior personnel persons of the Jewish faith.

Ibrahim has now effectively trashed his old friends in Washington and has used this PR contract as an excuse to spin a dark conspiracy theory of Jewish control, Zionist plots, and subversion.

Ibrahim’s lieutenants have charged, among other things, that the Malaysian government has “engag[ed] a company that has a close tie with the Zionist regime in Israel. Its advisory panels consist of former security chief of the Israeli government, and many of their staff are formerly from the Israel Security Agency,” and that “its operators in Tel Aviv have close links to the Zionist regime.”

Ibrahim himself has delved headlong into anti-Semitic theorizing, publicly alleging that there are “Israeli intelligence personnel in the Police IT unit.” Worse, he connected his anti-Semitism to his anti-Americanism, when he angrily denounced the Malaysian Prime Minister’s politically courageous decision to stand with President Obama and cut off oil supplies to an Iran seeking nuclear weapons. Ibrahim stood in the legislature to charge that the supposedly “Jewish-controlled” PR firm hired by the Prime Minister was, in fact, working to manipulate Malaysian policy on America’s behalf.

Ibrahim angrily demanded: “How can our foreign policy have changed dramatically,” unless Jews were controlling Malaysian affairs for America’s benefit? “Our policy on Iran shows how weak we are. Unprecedented in the history of our country, even Mahathir Mohamad himself never shifted in Afghanistan and the Palestinian question.”

Remarkably, Ibrahim closed his statement with oblique praise for Mahathir — the man who shaped Ibrahim’s core thinking on things Jewish and American.

The sad truth is that we shouldn’t be surprised by Ibrahim’s descent into anti-Americanism or anti-Semitism. When he told CNN that “stoking the flames of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism is a good distraction,” he wasn’t condemning: he was observing and prescribing.

This is not the first time Ibrahim has gone down this road: he has a history of Jew-baiting when expediency calls for it. To pick just one example, in 2008, with Malaysian elections approaching, he casually tossed out this charge in an interview with IslamOnline: “I have evidence proving that the government is backing the Jewish lobby in the U.S. and some parties inside Israel.” (To the credit of the Malaysian electorate, Ibrahim’s opposition coalition failed to win a majority in that election.)

And as scholars of terrorist finance like Ilan Weinglass have documented, “Anwar Ibrahim is a founder and director of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a think tank in Virginia that has alleged links to terrorism.” In 2002-2003, Ibrahim’s institute in Virginia was even investigated by the FBI, IRS and CIA for alleged financing of Hamas and Hizbollah.

In looking for America’s friends in the Muslim world, it’s often difficult to know the Good Guy from the Bad Guy. But it’s a good rule of thumb that the politician promulgating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories is not a friend of America.

In Malaysia, the events of the past few months have made it crystal clear a strange role reversal: it’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who is whipping up anti-Semitic sentiment — and it’s Prime Minister Najib Razak who is, for better or worse, standing firm with President Obama and the United States.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Najib dan AS rapat

US Vice-President Joe Biden welcoming Najib to the Naval Observatory in Washington, Monday, April 12, 2010, for a luncheon meeting in conjunction with the Nuclear Security Summit. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Washington Post label Najib 'pemenang' dapat bertemu Obama

ARKIB UTUSAN MALAYSIA: 15/04/2010

WASHINGTON 15 April — Penulis akhbar Washington Post, Al Kamen menerusi ruangan 'In The Loop' menyifatkan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak sebagai 'pemenang' kerana berpeluang bertemu secara empat mata dengan Presiden Amerika, Barrack Obama.

Kamen memberi komen tersebut berdasarkan daripada kalangan 36 ketua kerajaan dari 46 negara yang menyertai Sidang Kemuncak Keselamatan Nuklear, Najib diberi kesempatan berbincang selama 40 minit dengan Obama.

Katanya, itu menggambarkan keistimewaan yang ada pada Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang dapat mengadakan pertemuan dua hala dengan Obama sedangkan permintaan Perdana Menteri Jepun, Yukio Hatoyama untuk bertemu dan berbincang dengan Obama, ditolak.

"Pemenang pada sidang kemuncak minggu ini mudah dikenal pasti. Mereka adalah pemimpin yang mengadakan perbincangan empat mata dengan Obama, satu bukti mengenai prestij dan kedudukan mereka ini,” kata Kamen.

Menurut beliau, Presiden China Hu Jintao yang mengadakan pertemuan 90 minit dengan Obama mendahului senarai itu, diikuti Raja Abdullah dari Jordan, Najib, Presiden Viktor Yanukovich dari Ukraine, Presiden Serzh Sargsian dari Armenia, pemangku Presiden Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan dan Menteri Luar Mesir Ahmed Aboul Gheit.


Kamen berkata, Obama mengadakan beberapa pertemuan dua hala, bermula dengan Perdana Menteri India Manmohan Singh dan berakhir dengan Canselor Jerman Angela Merkel, satu-satu pemimpin dari Kesatuan Eropah yang berbuat demikian.

Pertemuan Najib dengan Obama, yang pertama antara kedua-duanya pada Isnin lalu, berlangsung selama 40 minit sebelum bermulanya sidang kemuncak itu di Pusat Konvensyen Walter E.Washington.

Sementara itu, Najib ketika ditanya mengenai pertemuannya dengan Obama berkata, ia membawa erti yang cukup besar dan penting buat Malaysia.

"Ia bermakna kita dilihat sebagai penting dan Malaysia dilihat sebagai penting,” katanya.

Sambil menjangkakan bahawa hubungan Malaysia dan Amerika Syarikat akan menjadi lebih produktif dan menarik, Najib berharap Malaysia akan terus dibawa berunding oleh pentadbiran Obama. - Bernama

Najib di New York 17 April 2010

NEW YORK 17 April – Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata, beliau dan barisan pentadbirannya bersedia membuat apa juga keputusan sukar yang diperlukan negara kerana yakin akan dihargai oleh rakyat, sekalipun wujud tentangan oleh golongan berkepentingan sempit.

Sementara itu, selepas menunaikan sembahyang Jumaat di Pusat Kebudayaan Islam di sini, Perdana Menteri mengadakan siri pertemuan terakhir dengan para peneraju syarikat-syarikat terkemuka AS di hotel kediamannya.

Mereka termasuk Naib Presiden Kanan IBM Global Business Services, Frank Kern yang antara lain memberi taklimat kepadanya bagaimana IBM menyediakan sistem maklumat bagi membantu pasukan polis New York menyediakan laporan serta penilaian jenayah serta menangani keadaan lalu lintas yang sentiasa sesak di kota metropolitan ini.

Sambil memberitahu bahawa pihak IBM akan diminta membuat taklimat lengkap kepada kerajaan di Kuala Lumpur, Najib menjelaskan, rangkaian sistem yang disediakan IBM di New York ini mampu membuat penilaian jangkaan tentang sesuatu bentuk jenayah yang akan berlaku.

Mereka juga dapat membantu membuat ramalan awal tentang apa juga kemungkinan mengenai aliran trafik di New York serta mencadangkan langkah-langkah mengurangkan tekanan kepada sistem lalu lintas seperti mengelakkan kesesakan teruk.

Beliau juga menerima kunjungan Pengerusi dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif News Corp., Rupert Murdoch dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Greenstreet Partners, Steven J. Green.

Murdoch, yang pertama kali ditemuinya, menganggap iklim pelaburan di Malaysia sangat positif dan berkemungkinan akan melawat Malaysia untuk melihat peluang pelaburan baru, jelasnya. – MINGGUAN

Monday, March 29, 2010

Sidang kemuncak mi segera di KL

Utusan Online - 30 Mac 2010

KUALA LUMPUR 29 Mac - Persatuan Mi Segera Dunia (WINA) buat pertama kalinya menganjurkan Sidang Kemuncak WINA di Kuala Lumpur pada bulan hadapan. Nestle Malaysia akan menjadi penganjur sidang tersebut yang bertemakan 'Makanan Dunia: Berusaha Menjayakannya', sidang kemuncak itu akan diadakan bermula 20 April hingga 21 April, 2010 di Hotel Mandarin Oriental.

Lebih 120 delegasi negara anggota WINA akan berhimpun di Kuala Lumpur untuk membincang kesemua aspek yang meliputi ekonomi, alam sekitar, pemakanan, teknikal dan kesan sosial hasil revolusi yang dicetuskan mee segera.

Lebih menarik lagi, sidang kemuncak kali ini diadakan pada tarikh ulang tahun kelahiran yang ke-100 pengasas mee segera dan WINA, iaitu mendiang Momofuku Ando yang turut menubuhkan syarikat gergasi mee segera Jepun, Nissin Foods Holdings Co. Ltd.

Timbalan Ketua Eksekutif WINA, Norio Sakurai berkata, objektif WINA adalah memperkasakan industri serta meningkatkan tahap pemakanan masyarakat dunia dengan memperbaiki kualiti mee segera selain meningkatkan jumlah pengambilan makanan ini.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

APCO Responds to Statements Made in Malaysian Parliament

Kuala Lumpur (March 18, 2010) – In the course of Parliamentary debate in Malaysia on March 17, 2010, inaccurate statements were made regarding APCO Worldwide and its role in Malaysia, as well as its work, past and present, in relationship to other governments.

In 2009, the Government of Malaysia retained APCO, an international strategic communications company with 29 offices throughout the world, to assist in evaluating its capabilities to communicate through new media. APCO was also asked to assist the Malaysian government by sharing recent developments in strategic communication undertaken by governments in Europe, North America and Africa.

APCO's work has included communication support for a broad range of reform initiatives undertaken by the government of Malaysia, especially in the areas of creating jobs, promoting education, and strengthening delivery of services to the people. APCO is honoured to be provided the opportunity to assist the government in this important work.

However, contrary to statements made in Malaysia's Parliament, 1Malaysia was conceived of by the Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Razak prior to the government of Malaysia retaining APCO. APCO had no role of any kind in creating the 1Malaysia concept, which was fully formed, and made public, prior to APCO's engagement.

It is also incorrect that APCO represented the Government of Israel or Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak as has been alleged in Malaysia's Parliament. At no time has APCO been involved with a public relations campaign relating to a "One-Israel" concept. The statement in Malaysia's Parliament that APCO was involved in such a campaign is false.

APCO is proud of its work over the past 25 years providing strategic communication services to many governments, including the Government of Malaysia. APCO has also provided services to many of the world's leading companies and to international institutions such as the World Bank, United Nations, the European Commission and ASEAN, among others. (www.apcoworldwide.com)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Lima juta warga Malaysia aktif dalam Facebook - Najib

PUTRAJAYA 13 Mac - Kira-kira lima juta warga Malaysia sangat aktif dalam laman web sosial, Facebook, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Beliau berkata ini satu petanda yang baik bahawa masyarakat kini memanfaatkan penggunaan Teknologi Komunikasi Maklumat (ICT) dan kerajaan akan melaksanakan inisiatif jalur lebar seberapa luas yang boleh.

"Dengan itu, kita dapat menghubungkan semakin ramai warga Malaysia. Dengan itu, kita dapat menggunakan Internet untuk meningkatkan kesinambungan sosial kita.

"Keindahan Internet ialah ia meruntuhkan benteng antara kita. Ia meruntuhkan benteng (perbezaan) bangsa, agama dan usia. Kita berada di sini kerana kita dihubungkan di Internet," kata beliau dalam majlis jamuan teh Perdana Menteri bersama rakan Internet 1Malaysia di kediaman rasmi beliau, Seri Perdana, di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir ialah isteri beliau Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor dan dua anak mereka, Nooryana Najwa serta Nor Ashman Razak.

Kira-kira 300 rakan Internet beliau dari seluruh negara dan daripada pelbagai kaum serta peringkat umur menghadiri majlis itu.

Najib berkata kerajaan menggunakan teknologi terkini, iaitu Internet, sebagai salah satu cara untuk berkomunikasi dengan masyarakat, contohnya, selepas beliau membentangkan Bajet 2010, beliau menerima beratus-ratus cadangan yang berguna daripada rakyat.

"Saya mahu anda semua merasakan bahawa anda mempunyai kerajaan yang sangat responsif kepada keperluan dan aspirasi rakyat Malaysia.

"...dan kami akan menggunakan teknologi terkini untuk berhubung dan berkomunikasi dengan rakyat Malaysia. Melalui cara ini, kita akan memperoleh komunikasi dua hala dan kesinambungan antara rakyat dan kerajaan.

"Memanglah orang akan mengutus surat, orang menulis dakwaan dan sebagainya, tetapi tiada yang serupa dengan penggunaan Internet kerana ia semestinyalah kaedah yang paling berkesan untuk berkomunikasi antara satu sama lain," katanya.

Mengenai majlis hari ini, Najib berkata pertemuan yang julung kali diadakan itu sebagai kaedah untuk mengenali secara bersemuka dengan rakan internet yang telah mengambil inisiatif untuk mendaftar sebagai rakan Facebook beliau.

Bagaimanapun, Perdana Menteri berkata beliau tidak dapat menjemput kesemua rakan internet beliau yang kini berjumlah kira-kira 120,000 orang dan jumlah itu meningkat setiap hari ini.

Beliau berkata kumpulan pertama seramai 300 orang dipilih memandangkan ia jumlah maksimum yang dapat memenuhi saiz dewan bankuet di Seri Perdana dan lebih ramai lagi akan dijemput pada majlis seumpama itu pada masa akan datang.

Daripada jumlah yang hadir, seramai 45 peratus daripada kalangan umur 15-29 tahun, antara 30-39 tahun (35 peratus) dan lebih 40 tahun (20 peratus), katanya.

Sambil melahirkan penghargaan kepada rakan Internetnya kerana sangat responsif dan turut meminta maaf kerana adakalanya tidak dapat membalas komen-komen yang diberikan, beliau menyifatkan majlis itu sangat berjaya.

"Ini kali pertama kita berjumpa namun saya dapat merasakan hubungannya. Saya mendoakan kejayaan anda semua dan komited kepada semangat 1Malaysia... anda semua penggerak yang penting bagi membangunkan negara bersama-sama dengan kerajaan.

"Ayuh kita bekerjasama dan menjadikan Malaysia negara yang utuh, bersatu padu dan makmur. Sila teruskan berhubung menerusi Internet," katanya.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

China Says It Needs No Internet Lessons From U.S

BEIJING, Jan 24 (Reuters) - China needs no lessons about its Internet from the United States, the head of an online media association said through official media on Saturday after the United States rapped Beijing over information freedom.

A speech by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday showed a lack of respect for China, which cannot accept conditions on matters of "national security" or "social stability", said Beijing Association of Online Media Chairman Min Dahong.

The Internet has joined trade imbalances, currency values, U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan and tensions over human rights and Tibet among the quarrels straining ties between the world's biggest and third-biggest economies.

"How China's Internet develops and how it is managed are Chinese people's own affairs," Min said in an interview with state-run Xinhuanet.com.

"On the Internet question, China doesn't need any lessons from the United States on what to do or how," he said.

Clinton's speech criticised the cyber policies of China and Iran, among others, and demanded Beijing investigate complaints by Google Inc about hacking and censorship.

Google, the world's top search engine, said it may shut its Chinese-language google.cn website and offices in China after a cyber-attack originating from China that also targeted other firms and human rights campaigners using its Gmail service.

Websites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked in China, which uses a filtering "firewall" to prevent Internet users from seeing international web sites with content China's Communist Party opposes.

"Hillary's speech on Jan. 21 insinuating that China lacks freedom of information and speech is in fact disrespectful and doesn't stand up," Min said.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Malaysia has healthy birth rate, says lecturer

(The Star)
Friday January 22, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 516,645 babies were born in Malaysia last year, an increase of 3.9% or 20,231 from 2008.

Selangor continued to record the highest birth rate with 80,110 babies, followed by Sabah (60,190) and Johor (58,597), according to the National Registration De­part­ment.

In 2008, Selangor was ahead with 76,932 births, Johor 58,517 and Sabah 51,773.

A total of 129,922 deaths were reported last year compared with 123,335 in 2008, an increase of 5% or 6,587.

Selangor also recorded the highest number of deaths at 16,494, followed by Johor (15,749) and Perak (15,467).

According to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia’s population in 2007 was 27.17 million. It increased to 27.73 million in 2008 and is believed to have reached 28.31 million last year.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer Marshitah Mohd Radzi said Malaysia had been having a healthy birth rate for the past 10 years.

She said that based on the National Population Policy of 1985, the population is expected to grow to 70 million people by 2100. — Bernama

Jumlah penduduk Malaysia kini menghampiri 30 juta orang

(Utusan Online 22/1/2010)
KAJANG 21 Jan. - Jumlah penduduk Malaysia dijangka mencecah 28.9 juta orang pada tahun ini berdasarkan kadar pertumbuhan kira-kira 2.1 peratus pada setiap tahun.

Ketua Perangkawan Jabatan Perangkaan, Datuk Wan Ramlah Wan Abd. Raof berkata, jumlah penduduk tahun lalu meningkat 1.54 peratus iaitu daripada 27.7 juta pada tahun 2008 kepada 28.2 juta orang.

''Orang Melayu kekal dengan kaum paling banyak iaitu 66.7 peratus diikuti Cina 24.6 peratus dan India 7.4 peratus,'' katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas merasmikan Pejabat Operasi Jabatan Perangkaan Negeri Selangor di Wisma Wan Asia di sini hari ini.

Pada masa sama, katanya, kaum lain iaitu bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak adalah sebanyak 1.3 peratus.

''Selangor kekal dengan jumlah penduduk paling ramai di negara ini iaitu 5.2 juta orang diikuti Johor seramai 3.4 juta orang dan Sabah sebanyak 3.2 juta orang pada tahun lalu," katanya.

Turut hadir pada majlis itu ialah Timbalan Ketua Perangkawan (Program Sosial/ Demografi), Ismail Yusoff; Timbalan Ketua Perangkawan (Program Ekonomi), Dr. Abdul Rahman Hasan dan Pengarah Jabatan Perangkaan Selangor, Ibrahim Jantan.

Menurut Wan Ramlah, kadar pertumbuhan 2.1 peratus pada setiap tahun adalah sihat dan bukan satu keadaan yang mendadak.

Dalam pada itu, beliau memberitahu, jabatan berkenaan kini mempunyai 10 pejabat operasi di seluruh negara termasuk di Kajang.

''Tujuan pejabat operasi ini ialah mempercepat dan memudahkan penyeliaan serta mengurangkan kos operasi penyiasatan," katanya.

Mengulas bajet jabatan itu yang dikurangkan 30 peratus tahun ini, katanya, ia akan memastikan langkah penjimatan dilakukan dengan berkesan supaya perbelanjaan digunakan secara berhemah.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya akan menggunakan teknologi terkini seperti e-survey dan e-mel bagi membantu penjimatan perbelanjaan jabatan tersebut.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Usage of word not an issue, says Anwar

The Star
Monday January 18, 2010

KUANTAN: The usage of the word “Allah” by Christians to refer to “God” should be allowed, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

He said that the word had been used about 1,000 years ago by the Christians and this was not an issue.

“Our stand is similar to PAS that the word can be used by non-Muslims, but it should not be abused. The issue to address now is whether it may be abused and not its actual usage per se by those of the Christian faith,” he told reporters after opening the state PKR convention in Tan Jung Restaurant here yesterday.

MIC Youth: Register missing foreign workers

The Star
Monday January 18, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth has asked the Government to come out with a clemency programme to register the missing foreigners working illegally in the country.

Youth chief T. Mohan said the Government could legalise them and allow them to be employed by local companies in need of workers.

“It would be pointless to deport them. We should think of ways to get them to come out, register and be legal workers in the country,” he said yesterday.

He said these illegal workers would not take up the offer if they were required to pay a hefty fine or leave the country.

“We feel a minimal fine and a condition to allow them to work legally in Malaysia for a three-year term would be an attractive incentive,” he said.

Mohan said the Government would also benefit from the levy imposed on the workers.

He was commenting on reports that there were nearly 40,000 Indian citizens missing in Malaysia after their tourist visas expired.

Mohan urged the Government to set up a special committee to identify the reasons for the high number of missing foreigners in the country and recommend appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Nearly 40,000 Indian Nationals "Missing" In Malaysia - Najib

January 12, 2010 16:08 PM

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- A total of 39,046 Indian citizens are "missing" in Malaysia after their tourist visas expired and it is a worrying issue for the country, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The prime minister said they had gone missing from the Immigration Department's records, according to an estimate drawn up in June last year.

That was why the department was not keen on visa-on-arrival for Indians as the facility had been abused, especially by those from Chennai, he said.

"These people who came to Malaysia through the visa-on-arrival facility, could be back in India or be among people here...(maybe) working in the Indian restaurants.

"We just don't know where these people are now...probably still in Malaysia for economic reasons," he said in a interview with visiting Indian journalists at his office here Monday.

Najib indicated that he might take up the issue during his three-day official visit to India, beginning Jan 19.

The prime minister said Malaysia had been quite liberal in allowing priests and barbers from India to come and work in the country.

"We would like the Indian people to visit Malaysia as tourists. We have been quiet liberal. We want genuine ones. They are most welcome.

"We are willing to consider reintroducing the visa scheme for people coming from cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi but not from Chennai. The problem of overstaying is only from Chennai, he said.

Asked whether the government would hold any dialogue with the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), Najib said many people had realised that the group had "really exaggerated and manipulated the whole situation" of the ethnic Indian minority.

He said that most Indians in the country wanted the government to be sensitive to their needs and the government had been responsive.

"We have attended to a lot of the Indian problems and I don't see that Hindraf has been an important force in Malaysian politics," he said.

Asked on the move by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to appoint a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Najib said any follow-up action would be possible only if India and Pakistan were agreeable.

"Malaysia feels that the issue should be settled through peaceful negotiations," he added.

-- BERNAMA

Monday, January 4, 2010

Record number of students in Chinese schools ( The Star)

Monday January 4, 2010
Compiled by ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN, LEE YUK PENG and A. RAMAN

THE number of students studying in the 61 Chinese independent schools throughout the country has reached unprecedented numbers.

Sin Chew Daily reported that 2,635 applications had to be turned down, even with student enrolment increased by 1,077.

Last year, student enrolment totalled 60,481. In 2008, the number was 58,212.

In Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, the Chinese independent schools resorted to only taking in “good students” due to their limited capacity.

Chung Hwa Independent School and Kuen Cheng Girls’ High School each turned down 400 students while Confucius Independent School had to reject 100 applications.

The daily reported that parents preferred to send their children to such schools although the fees were no longer cheap.

Their decision, the daily said, showed that parents had acknowledged the teaching system adopted by such schools.

Feedback from parents showed that they opted for Chinese independent schools due to the good discipline, dedicated teaching staff, the double system of sitting for SPM and the United Examination Cer­tificate (equivalent to SPM) and the recognition of United Examination Certificate by foreign universities.

The daily also reported that the Penang education department had adopted a new system which allowed Year 6 pupils to choose their own secondary school.

It also consented to vernacular secondary schools increasing their number of Form 1 and Remove classes.

These two measures had directly affected the student intake of Chinese independent schools in the state, it said.

Except for Jit Shin High School which maintained the size of its new students intake, three other Chinese independent schools in the state recorded a drop of 67 students.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a sub-heading, it denotes a separate news item.