Surveys show that GTP is doing what it was meant to do for the country

By most accounts, Malaysia has made great improvements in the past five years.

The findings of major international economic, social and political surveys appear to bear this out.

From confidence to foreign direct investments and the happiness index, these surveys show that the Government Transformation Programme has been close to succeeding in its objective of turning Malaysia into a developed nation with a high-income society.

“Malaysia will be a great place to be in the global economy in 2013”. This endorsement from Osman Morad, Standard Chartered's managing director, is not an isolated view.

According to International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Osman's views were shared by the business community, analysts, fund managers, international and multinational institutions.

“These foreign experts have given their thumbs up to the country's continued improvement despite the criticisms from certain quarters,” said Mustapa in an interview.

The minister said while the surveys were mostly based on perception, the “real economic figures” have also confirmed the findings of these studies.

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MCMC website overwhelmed

More than 13,000 people have applied for the RM200 smartphone rebate, with many more flooding the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) website seeking information on the scheme.

Response to the information on the Youth Communications Package was so good that a spokesman apologised for the time taken to access the website.

“We've received more than 13,000 applications as at 6pm. The response has been overwhelming.

“Please bear with us. We are trying to fix the problem and hopefully it will be better tonight,” he said yesterday, adding that they were trying to increase bandwidth.

He added that they expected around 50,000 unique visitors a day for the rebate.

The Star frontpaged yesterday the announcement that the RM500 price limit to qualify for the rebate had been lifted.

Initially, the MCMC listed 23 phone models for the scheme which was announced in Budget 2013.

It is offered on a first-come-first-serve basis to 1.5 million eligible youths aged between 21 and 30, and who earn less than RM3,000 a month.

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Infant nearly thrown into trash compactor

A newborn infant was packed into a rubbish bag and was almost thrown into a trash compactor by rubbish collectors. Luckily for the child, her cries saved her.

Secondary school student Lee Jia Ni, 17, who was staying at her friend's place in Kota Kemuning, said it was fortunate the baby cried just before the bag of rubbish was disposed.

She witnessed a group of rubbish collectors momentarily stunned when they heard the baby cry from within a rubbish bag, just as they were about to throw the bag into the trash compactor during their rounds at 8.30am yesterday.

They opened the bag and discovered a baby girl soaked in blood.

“The rubbish collectors called the police and they arrived within minutes,” said Jia Ni.

“I hope the baby gets the proper care she deserves.”

Shah Alam OCPD Asst Comm Zahedi Ayob said the baby girl was healthy with its umbilical cord still attached.

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Cars buried in mud as landslide hits Putra Heights

A landslide hit Putra Heights here, leaving several vehicles submerged in mud and soil.

No one was injured in the incident which occurred at about 6.15pm yesterday in Bukit Cermin, Persiaran Putra Perdana.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (Operations) Mohd Sani Harul said five cars, a van and a motorcycle were damaged.

“Earth fell into a pond facing the road, causing it to overflow,” Mohd Sani said at the scene.

Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli said the road was being closed temporarily to clear the debris.

“Persiaran Putra Perdana should be reopened to motorists by Friday morning,'' he said.

Retiree Abdul Talib Ramli, 58, and his wife were on their way home when a wave of mud washed over their car.

Abdul Talib had stopped at the junction of Persiaran Putra Bahagia and Persiaran Putra Perdana at about 6.15pm.

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PERSIARAN PUTRA PERDANA PARTIALLY OPEN TO TRAFFIC AFTER MUDSLIDE

Only one lane on Persiaran Putra Perdana, in Putra Heights, is open Friday morning after a mudslide late Thursday buried a number of vehicles and made the road impassable.

Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli said the mud was so wet that it could not be picked up and removed as it kept oozing out of the lorries.

So the mud has been pushed to one side and one lane cleared for traffic, he said.

No one was injured during the mudslide at 6.15pm on Thursday in Bukit Cermin, Persiaran Putra Perdana, but a number of cars were washed in mud.

The cars were being cleaned and efforts were underway to tow them away, he said.

The OCPD said that an update of the situation would be given at a press conference after a meeting with the “relevant parties at 3pm to discuss the safety of the hill slope and the building on top of it.”

Five cars, a van and a motorcycle were damaged and earth that fell into a pond facing the road caused the pond to overflow.

Kingsley Hills Sdn Bhd founder Tan Sri Barry Goh said Thursday the earth came from a plot of land that was being filled and that all work would be suspended pending a site audit.

The company is involved in a residential development in the area.

 

TheStar

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More non-Malays keen to join civil service

More non-Malays have shown interest in joining the civil service, according to statistics compiled by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Malaysian Chinese applicants increased by 77% between June and December last year, compared with the same period in 2011, while applications from the Indian community went up by 79%.

There were 11,848 job applications received from the Chinese community in the second half of last year and 21,481 from the Indians.

This represented a giant leap in the interest shown by non-Malays in the civil service, which previously only made some 2% increase on average in the applications yearly, said PSC chairman Tan Sri Mahmood Adam.

Of the number, 2,630 Chinese successfully obtained job offers from the PSC, likewise for 2,354 applicants from the Indian community.

A total of 631,692 applications were received across the board in that period, with the Malays making the largest share at 495,015 applications.

“Other races, including the ethnicities of Sabah and Sarawak, also showed an encouraging response, jumping from 58,346 to 103,348 applications.

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More than 1,000 to take part in Ride for Sight event in Penang

About 20 visually impaired people from St Nicholas Home For the Blind will join about 1,000 other cyclists in the Ride for Sight Charity bike-a-thon event on April 14.

They will ride on two-person tandem bikes assisted by sighted riders in the annual event, which begins at 7am, at the Straits Quay here.

There is a “twist” to the route this time – participants will have the opportunity to cycle through the Unesco-recognised heritage enclave.

The 20km ride starts from Straits Quay to the heritage enclave and back to Straits Quay.

St Nicholas Home executive director Daniel Soon said the event was aimed at giving the blind a chance to take part in such an exercise.

“It also encourages them to practise their right to choose their own lifestyle. With a bit of help from us, the blind can do many things,” he said.

“We also encourage blind and visually impaired individuals from all over the country to take part in the event. If they have their own tandem bicycle and a pilot (sighted) rider, they can join in for free.”

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New batch of 42,000 trainees start national service

Parents of over 15,000 national service trainees gave their 18-year-olds an emotional send off on Thursday.

A total of 15,461 trainees out of 42,000 left in 316 buses and 20 flights to the 81 camps nationwide. The remainder will depart over the next two days.

"All trainers are well prepared to handle the programme. We have also checked all the camps and they have been certified safe," said deputy defence minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, after flagging off 49 buses that departed from the PLKN headquarters here on Thursday.

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Cops bust two drug syndicates in Johor

Two drug syndicates, were busted with the arrest of five men including three Singaporeans in two separate raids two days ago.

Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Shariff said that in the first raid, a team from the narcotics department arrested a Singaporean and seized an array of Ecstasy pills and Eramin 5 pills from a house in Permas Jaya at 11pm Tuesday.

“We seized drugs worth RM202,100 which can be used to supply to 5,000 drug addicts,” he told reporters Thursday.

In another case, police arrested four people in a house in Taman Tampoi Indah including two Singaporeans at 11pm Wednesday.

“We seized drugs worth RM20,700 from the group believed to be cannabis and heroin.

“All the suspects in both cases tested positive for drugs,” he said.

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Rain may cause another landslide

Heavy rain may cause another landslide at Puncak Setiawangsa housing area here.

Malaysian Public Works Institute (Ikram) chief operations officer Mohd Taufik Haron said the risk of another landslide was present, especially if the area is hit by a heavy downpour before repair works on the hillslope and retaining wall is completed.

He said this was the reason Ikram had maintained a 110m buffer zone at the foot of the hill.

"The weather has been good so far and work to demolish a bungalow at the top of the hill is going well.
"The buffer zone will be reduced gradually depending on the situation," he yesterday.

He said Ikram was monitoring soil movement at the area and readings showed the soil structure was static.

On the status of the houses of Rompin Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis and Setiawangsa MP Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique, he said there was a high possibility the properties would be demolished.

He said City Hall's guideline for building houses on hillslopes clearly stated that there must be a minimum of a 4.5m buffer zone from a house to the slope.

Source : NewStraitsTimes

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Plant your greens

Growing your own vegetables goes a long way in saving money, eating healthy and teaching children about food, writes Nadia Badarudin

RUNNING out of basic ingredients while cooking can be a turn-off, especially when getting to the nearest shop would mean a journey through heavy traffic.

It’s worse when the nearest shop is a hypermarket and items are pre-packed and you end up buying more than you need.
Now, wouldn’t it be nice if you can just get these from your garden?

Having a garden full of vegetables as well as herbs can be handy, especially for those living in the city.

For young mothers, Farah Ismail, Maslinda Abdullah and Lina Aisah Rahmat, planting their own greens not only saves time and money, but it also contributes to a healthier diet.

Financial advisor Farah, and her family live in a condominium in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur. She started planting edible plants and herbs in pots four years ago and has turned her balcony into a mini-garden where you can find curry leaves, kaffir lime, pandan, ginger and turmeric.

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Wet and drizzly start to first week of school

Malaysians can expect a wet and drizzly start to the first school week of the year, while the Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rain warning for several districts in Terengganu and Pahang.

The department has upgraded its heavy rain advisory (yellow stage) to warning level (orange stage) on Monday, saying that heavy and intermittent rain would persist over Dungun and Kemaman in Terengganu and Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin in Pahang.

“This condition will cause floods over low-lying areas,” it said on its website.

The areas likely to be affected by heavy rain (yellow stage) are Kelantan (Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Bachok, Pasir Puteh, Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah and Machang); Terengganu (Besut, Setiu, Kuala Terengganu, Marang dan Hulu Terengganu); Perlis (Padang Besar, Kangar and Arau); Kedah (Baling, Sik, Kubang Pasu and Padang Terap); and Johor (Kluang, Mersing and Kota Tinggi).

“Malaysia has been experiencing the northeastern monsoon since late October and this is expected to continue until early March,” it said.

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31 schools in Terengganu remain closed due to second wave of floods

About 12,000 children had to cancel their first day of school for the new year after 31 schools in Terengganu remained closed due to the second wave of floods which hit the state on Monday.

State education officials estimate that the affected schools might only be open for classes at the earliest by next Sunday.

Twenty-three of the schools were primary schools and the remaining eight were secondary schools, said State Education, Higher Education, Science, Technology and Human Resource Committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.

He added that 13 of the schools were located in the Hulu Terengganu district, 12 in Besut and three each in Kemaman and Setiu.

“We are not certain when these schools will reopen. We hope the second wave of floods will recede soon. The schools will have to hold replacement classes on a Saturday.

“Some of the schools are flooded, some are cut off by floods, while others are being used as relief centres or are being cleaned up,” he said yesterday.

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More manpower for police force

An additional manpower of 4,000 will be joining the police force next year which will provide support to the existing 122,000 personnel to fight crime nationwide.

Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said from the new recruits, a total of 1,000 personnel will carry the rank of Inspector and be stationed at identified locations.

“They will be on duty at the identified areas to aid in achieving the objectives under the Reducing Crime NKRA under the GTP 2.0 to reduce crime in housing areas, business premises, Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations and bus routes.

“This is different from the first phase where the focus was on efforts to reduce street crime, especially snatch theft as it is a major concern amongst the public,” he said.

The police force will gain strength from its current 122,000 personnel to 155,000 personnel by 2015.

The 4,000 new personnel will undergo training at the army training camps with this approach helping to save the Government’s expenditure as the training facilities are similar and the shared usage will benefit both parties.

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Building a united front against corruption

More than 150 government-linked agencies (GLCs) and private corporations across Malaysia have signed the corporate integrity pledge as an assurance that their operations are free of corrupt practices, said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

MACC deputy chief commissioner (prevention) Datuk Sutinah Sutan said those who had signed the pledge included multinational corporations, GLCs, state government agencies, small and medium enterprises as well as several other private organisations.

“We are happy to see more companies coming forward and at the same time, would like to welcome others willing to seek help on practising good governance.

“The signing of the pledge is vital to ensure there is no fraud or graft in their procurement processes and other aspects,” she said after witnessing a signing ceremony between the State Agriculture Development Corporation (SADC) of Perak and MACC at the Perak state secretariat building.

In his speech, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir commended SADC for being the first government agency in Perak to sign the pledge and further hoped that more agencies will follow the lead of SADC.

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Property prices likely to plunge if damage worsens

Property prices in Bukit Setiawangsa will plunge if the condition of the damaged wall worsens, say real estate agents.

Jane Fong, from Pan Properties, said the price of the affected bungalows in the danger zone could dive by 50% should the wall collapse.

“Nobody will go in and buy anymore. Bank valuation will also be a problem now as they (the banks) will not give out a loan for property there,” she said.

She said a bungalow above the wall costs over RM2mil while a two-storey terrace house in Puncak Se­­­­­tiawangsa costs between RM600,000 and RM700,000.

On houses outside the danger area, Fong said prices were likely to stagnate for awhile but would rebound after a year.

Another agent, Nelson Chan, of Real Estate Finders, who is familiar with Bukit Setiawangsa property, said his clients were worried the incident would drive away buyers.

“It is definitely a concern as the environment of the area will change when repairs start,” said Chan, who estimates a 10% drop in house prices in the area.

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Temporary shelter built but no takers

A multipurpose hall which was converted into a temporary shelter for the victims of the Bukit Setiawangsa retaining wall collapse is lying empty.

All the victims have decided to stay with their relatives or in hotels.

A security guard at the hall said the place had been turned into an information centre by developer I&P Group Sdn Bhd.

She added that only a few people came to the centre to seek updates on the incident.

“I think the residents can easily afford better accommodation elsewhere,” she said yesterday.

A resident, Mohd Jamaluddin Baharudin, said he opted not to stay at the multipurpose hall centre as his only thought was to get his family to safety.

“I just want to stay away as far as possible. For now, my best option is to stay with my relatives,” he added.

Sentul deputy OCPD Supt Othman Abu Bakar said 234 people from 87 families affected by the collapse of the retaining wall had been evacuated from their homes and shoplots.

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