Monday, 8 October 2012

BN man’s car splattered with red paint

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Barisan Nasional Youth chief Oh Tong Keong's car has been splashed with red paint and both its windscreen and rear screen smashed.

Oh had earlier parked his car at the Old Frees' Association building in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah to meet friends for lunch and a discussion of party matters yesterday.

He said it started to rain heavily about 10 minutes after he arrived at the association at about 2.50pm.

“I just started eating when a waiter told me at 3.30pm that my car was splashed with red paint. I rushed out and saw the car splattered with paint.

“The windscreen and rear screen were smashed,” he said.

Oh said two men wearing raincoats were seen leaving the building compound on a motorcycle but no one had witnessed the incident.

Repairs to the car were expected to cost about RM10,000, he added.

Oh later lodged a report at the Patani Road police station.
 
Source : TheStar

Posted on 13:26 | Categories:

LINUS programme to detect dyslexia symptoms



The Education Ministry, through the Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) programme, has established an early detection ground for dyslexic students to ensure help is provided at an early stage.

All Year 1 to Year 3 students have to undergo a LINUS test to determine their level of competency in reading, writing and arithmetic (3R).

The Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah has shared that this system is trusted to be able to provide an early detection of children with dyslexia symptoms so they can be provided with special education to help them cope with their education needs.

“More public awareness needs to be created to help children with dyslexia in this state.

“They are intelligent but they sometimes find it hard to communicate or have problems with spelling.

Agencies pledge to work together on transborder corruption

KUALA LUMPUR: The top brass of anti-graft agencies from all over the world are committed towards working together in the fight against transborder corruption.

“For the future, we will not only appreciate each other's problems but commit ourselves to making concerted efforts to assist and support member states,” said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed.

“We all have strengths and weaknesses, but as has been shown, collaboration is not only possible, but desirable, too,” he said as the Sixth International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) Annual Conference and General Meeting ended yesterday.

Association president Prof Cao Jianming said it was the common aspiration among member states to strengthen information exchange and promote technical assistance.

Sports cars go crashing, four killed

KUANTAN: Four lives were lost when two high-powered sports cars were destroyed after they skidded and hit two trees.

The crashes involving Nissan Skyline cars occurred moments apart at about 4am, fuelling speculation that the drivers were speeding along the Jalan Haji Ahmad Satu stretch here.

The driver of the first car was identified as Tan Kah Yong, 34, a businessman from Klang while a woman from China, Bao Shanshan, 27, was his front passenger.

Firemen had to extricate their bodies from the badly-mangled vehicle.

Two other women passengers, Wei Litong and Zhang Hongmei, also from China, have been warded at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital with serious injuries. All three women apparently worked at a karaoke outlet here.

Also killed were the driver of the second car, businessman Go Haw Wei, 20, from Alor Akar, and car salesman Koay Khor Liang, 21, from Bukit Sekilau.
Posted on 10:03 | Categories:

Thursday, 4 October 2012

Five men escape with RM1mil from security van

KLANG: Five men, armed with pistols, fled with about RM1mil from a security van which was later found burnt at Jalan Tiong off Jalan Eng Ann here.

North Klang district police chief ACP Mohd Shukor Sulong said the van had stopped at a 3D shop to take its collection when a green Proton Waja arrived at the scene at about 5.30pm yesterday.

He said a few men armed with pistols, got out of the car and rushed towards the van driver and his colleague, who were carrying the money from the shop to the van.

ACP Mohd Shukor said they then ordered the van driver to drive the van, while one of the suspects followed behind in the car.

“At Jalan Tiong, off Jalan Eng Ann, about two kilometres from the location of the heist, one of the suspects seized a firearm from a security guard and ordered them to leave the van.”

More protection for whistleblowers

Malaysia has joined more than 50 countries in introducing the whistleblower protection laws in varying scopes as part of their anti-corruption efforts.

The laws are meant to encourage individuals to speak out if they find corrupt practices or improper conduct in their workplace.

It provides protection to informers, or “whistleblowers”, in terms of confidentiality of information as well as immunity from civil and criminal action.

The 1863 United States False Claims Act was one of the first laws meant to protect whistleblowers. Enacted during former US president Abraham Lincoln's administration, the act was targeted at catching dishonest suppliers during the American Civil War who would provide ill horses or faulty rifles and ammunition to the Union Military.

Under the act, whistleblowers are not only protected from wrongful dismissal, but also promised a percentage of the money recovered or damages won by the government.
Posted on 12:05 | Categories:

School phone ban retained

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has decided to maintain its ban on students bringing mobile phones to school, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said the ministry was still studying on the need for students to bring IT devices to school.

“We have conducted a roundtable discussion on Aug 25 involving relevant stakeholders including headmasters, teachers, parents and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to discuss the need of bringing IT gadgets and proposals to use these as part of the learning process,” he said in a written reply to Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam).

Liang had asked the ministry to state whether pupils are allowed to bring mobile phones and IT gadgets to school.

The ministry, Muhyiddin said, had conducted a study among students and teachers to get their feedback on the matter.

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Big budget boost for crime-fighting efforts

A SUM of RM591mil has been allocated under Budget 2013 as part of the Government's efforts to reduce the crime rate in the country.

The Home Minister, under whose jurisdiction the police come under, says a massive recruitment exercise not seen in the nation for the past 43 years will get under way next year.

The budget allocation makes provisions for an increase in the strength of the police force, apart from introducing measures that will strengthen the role of other stakeholders in helping police do their job well.

Previous expansion exercises, according to Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, have not kept pace with the country's demographics.

There are now 110,000 police personnel serving 28.3 million people, which means there is one policeman for every 257 people in the country. But the statistics tell a different story when drilled down to the local level.

The number of police bases or stations, and the personnel to go with them, often cannot keep pace with the rapid pace of development in many districts where housing estates mushroom overnight.
Posted on 16:56 | Categories:

IGP: We will work towards making the public feel safer

KUALA LUMPUR: The police are aware that despite impressive national crime index statistics, many people still feel the country is not safe.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said they hoped to remove this perception in the second phase of the National Key Results Area (NKRA) of reducing crime.

“We realise that many people still feel it is not safe out there.

“We take this as a challenge and we will respond to it,” he said at a press conference after a top-level police meeting at the Royal Malaysia Police College in Cheras yesterday.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein closed the meeting.

“This (managing perception) will be the focus in the second phase of the crime NKRA,” said Ismail.

Morning fire damages Labuan ferry

KOTA KINABALU: A fire gutted the upper passenger deck and bridge of the Wawasan Perdana ferry that was docked at the Labuan terminal.

No casualties were reported in the 6am blaze yesterday as the vessel, which can carry up to 550 passengers and 80 vehicles, was empty.

Labuan police chief Supt Adzhar Othman said the fire broke out before passengers were due to board the ferry for the first trip of the day to Menumbok at 8am.

About 30 passengers had bought tickets for that trip. The vessel was also supposed to have ferried 43 vehicles then.

The ferry is operated by Labuan Ferry Corporation Sdn Bhd (LFC).

He said the fire was believed to have started at the canteen counter area in the upper passenger deck of the Korean-made ferry that had been in service since 2003.
Posted on 11:51 | Categories:

Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Hisham: Focus now on managing public perception of crime

CHERAS: The Government will switch its focus from reducing the crime index to managing public perception in the second phase of the Crime NKRA.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said even with a drop in the crime index, there were still sections of public who felt unsafe.

"In the first phase of the NKRA, our focus was on reducing street crime and the crime index. For the second phase, we will be looking into managing perception.

“House break-ins and safety in malls will be given more attention," said Hishammuddin after a meeting with police heads here on Tuesday.

Smoking, heavy drinking linked to earlier onset of pancreatic cancer

Those who smoke and drink heavily may develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than those who don't, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

The study involved 811 pancreatic cancer patients from the international database Pancreatic Cancer Collaborative Registry, which gathers information on patients with pancreatic cancer and at high-risk for developing pancreatic cancer.

Citing the study, China's Xinhua news agency said Tuesday that heavy smokers were defined as those who smoked more than a pack per day, and heavy drinking was measured at about three average drinks per day.

The researchers from University of Michigan Health System found the heavy smokers with pancreatic cancer were diagnosed around age 62 and heavy drinkers at age 61 almost a decade earlier than the average age of 72.
Posted on 16:51 | Categories:

Kate’s ‘brave and handsome’ Zakwan dies of leukaemia

PETALING JAYA: Teenager Zakwan Anuar whose poignant meeting with the Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Middleton made international news during her visit here, has died of leukaemia.

The Britain-based daily The Sun quoted a palace spokesman as saying that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were saddened to hear of Zakwan's death and that their thoughts were with his family.

It also said that the royal couple were told of Zakwan's death after his mother Norizan Sulong contacted the paper that ran the story, Farewell to the boy who gave Kate his last smile.

Kate, as she is affectionately known, had visited Zakwan, 15, at Hospis Malaysia during her tour with Prince William here last month and said that he was “very brave” and “very handsome”.

Norizan, 47, was quoted by The Sun as saying: “We were next to him when he had his last moment. He was surrounded by his brother, sister, father, grandfather, grandmothers and schoolmates. I miss him terribly.”
Posted on 16:28 | Categories:

Monday, 1 October 2012

Police plan massive intake next year


KOTA KINABALU: A massive police recruitment exercise not seen in the nation for the past 43 years is set to take off next year, thanks to Budget 2013.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the last mass recruitment for the police force was conducted in 1969.

“The budget announcement includes an increase in police force strength. Previous expansion exercises has not been in pace with the country's demographics,” he said, adding that there are now 110,000 police personnel serving 28.3 million people.

“This means that there is one policeman for every 257 people in the country,” he said after attending a gathering with Rela members in Beaufort yesterday.

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced allocations totalling RM591mil for crime-fighting efforts for 2013.

Killed — suspected car thief involved in shooting of policemen

KUALA LUMPUR: A suspected car thief believed to be involved in the recent shooting of two policemen at Jalan Kuchai Lama was killed in a shoot-out with the police.

The drama unfolded after a police patrol car tried to stop a Proton Waja near Mid Valley Megamall at around 3am yesterday.

The driver sped off when the police attempted to stop the car. A chase ensued until the suspect lost control of his vehicle at the parking lot of a water theme park nearby, said City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah.

“When police approached the car, the 32-year-old suspect opened fire at them.

“My men had no choice but to return fire and the suspect succumbed to gun shot wounds,” he said yesterday.
Posted on 11:19 | Categories:

Police recover RM349,700 kidnappers stashed at temple

ALOR SETAR: Five kidnappers who escaped with RM350,000 in ransom after they kidnapped a 13-year-old son of a dermatologist could only spend RM300 before they were caught.

Police arrested three of them at 2am on Friday at a construction site at Taman Sutera in Sungai Petani, while two others were detained here on Thursday.

One of them was nabbed at a temple in the housing estate. It is learnt that the officers recovered RM349,700 which was taped to the temple ceiling to avoid detection.

Four of the suspects are locals while the other was a Myanmar national.

It was reported that the boy was released unharmed on Friday after the ransom was paid.

Kedah police chief Deputy Comm Ahmad Ibrahim said the kidnappers had earlier asked for RM500,000 from the boy's family, but they later agreed to reduce the sum to RM350,000 after negotiations.
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