The Star Online
18 December 2008

PUTRAJAYA: Several companies have indicated to the Government they will be retrenching workers in January and February.

Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Thomas George said all were in the manufacturing sector, which was dependent on exports and overseas demand.

“Our labour officers have been told to focus their monitoring on areas in Penang, Selangor and Johor, where the manufacturing sector is the strongest.

“We have also been told to expect a significant increase in lay-offs in the six months ahead,” he told reporters at a briefing on Malaysia’s employment outlook yesterday.

However, Thomas stressed that the current situation was still healthy compared to 1998, at the height of the Asian financial crisis when there were 80,000 lay-offs.

“Normally it is around 30,000 or less. And we still have over 77,000 active vacancies registered with JobsMalaysia,” he said.

To an accusation by trade unions that reports of retrenchment and a possible slowdown had been exaggerated and exploited by unscrupulous employers, Thomas said: “This is real and we are not overdoing it. We are not shielded from it.”

Thomas said the ministry would implement a “train and place” programme for those retrenched without compensation or benefits.

“While undergoing training, these workers will be paid an allowance to help them tide over the crisis.”

In BUTTERWORTH, more than 60,000 workers in the seafood export industry are expecting difficult times in the next two months if the Government fails to overturn the ban on import to the European Union.

It was imposed in June after the EU health authority found unsatisfactory conditions in aquaculture farms, seafood-processing facilities, fishing vessels and fish-landing areas.

It remains in force until the next inspection in early March.

Malaysian Frozen Food Processors Association president Chng Chin Hooi said many processing plants would not last through Chinese New Year. “Seafood exporters have estimated loss in sales and production of more than RM1.5bil to date,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

ARE YOU WORRIED?

The Star Online
16 December 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Travellers should make sure they are sufficiently insured before travelling abroad.

They must also make sure they deal with agents registered with the Malaysian Associa- tion of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta).

Matta vice-president John Tan said buying an insurance policy was a necessary precaution in case of unexpected mishaps.

He said anyone could fall sick or even hospitalised while travelling overseas.

“There are various travel insurance protection schemes in the market including Matta Global Traveller Insurance to choose from,” he said during a press conference yesterday to announce the setting-up of a complaints bureau.

Tan chairs the bureau.

On another related matter, he said customers who encountered problems with travel agents should first complain to Matta before contacting non-governmental organisations or political parties.

He added that the Matta Complaints Bureau can be contacted at 03-9287 6881 or e-mail admin@matta.org.my.

The Star Online
16 December 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Whether you’re a student on a shoestring budget or travelling with your family, Malaysia Airlines has widened the choice with four new economy fare options.

Budget travellers planning their trips well in advance and travelling light, will be happy with the MHlow fares seats discounted from 70% off the full fare. On the other hand, families going on shopping holidays may prefer the MHsmart seats, with discounts from 20%. This fare allows for a higher baggage allowance at 25kg per person.

MAS managing director/chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala said the four MH Value Fares – MHlow fares (20kg baggage allowance), MHbasic (20kg), MHsmart (25kg) and MHflex (25kg) – were specifically designed for specific passengers.

“We made it with different travellers in mind,” he told a press conference after making the announcement for the domestic sector here yesterday.

The MH Value Fares for the international sector will be launched in February next year.

MHflex are full fare seats, while MHsmart seats will have discounts from 20%, MHbasic (discounts from 50%), and MHlow fares (discounts from 70%).

A check on www.malaysiaairlines.com showed that a one-way air ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching costs RM114 on MHbasic, RM304 (MHsmart) and RM379 (MHflex) before taxes.

Travellers, however, have to book their MHlow fares tickets at least a month in advance, while MHbasic and MHsmart tickets will have to be booked more than 14 days and more than seven days before travel respectively.

The different fares also have different purchase requirements and benefits.

“This is not a promotion. It is what we’re embarking on from now on,” Idris said.

When asked how seats would be allocated for the different fares, he said it would be based on past passenger preference.

“There are no specific seats allocated for each fare. It will change according to the market demand, such as when it is peak period or non-peak period.

“Non-peak period will obviously see more low fare seats,” he said, adding that MAS would review the prices daily on a flight by flight basis.

On a separate issue, Idris said MAS had no plans to abolish the fuel surcharge.

The Star Online
16 December 2008

JOHOR BARU: After 41 years of being in operation, the Malaysia-Singapore Causeway checkpoint finally closed its doors at 12.01am on Tuesday.

Johor Immigrations Department director Mohd Nasri Ishak said that the checkpoint, which started operations in 1967, would cease all activities and its operations moved to the new Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex.

He said there was minor congestion at the new complex as road users were still adapting to the new route.

“Traffic was at a slight crawl as there were some technical difficulties.

“All immigration personnel have been moved to the new complex, and we expect the new complex will reduce traffic congestion,” he said.

Photo Gallery : Here

The Star Online
5 December 2008

PETALING JAYA: Former de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim will not join any opposition party soon but does not rule out doing so later.

Zaid, who was sacked by Umno two days ago, said that for the time being he would concentrate on youth work through his recently set up myFuture Foundation.

Asked if he would consider rejoining Umno should there be a change of heart among the party’s leadership, his reply was a terse “No”.

He also said that he would not appeal against the decision or go to court to be heard as that would be a hollow victory if he won.

“It is obvious that I was sacked not because I had attended functions organised by the opposition parties, but more so because many leaders in Umno are not comfortable with my views and stand on many issues,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Zaid said he had expected to be disciplined by the party following harsh statements about him by several Umno leaders, but was surprised to be sacked instead.

“I am a victim of double standard in Umno. I have not been given the opportunity to be heard and neither am I aware of any specific violation that I had committed,” he said.

“I did not attend the DAP dinner nor PKR congress to provoke anyone. I was there on the invitation of friends only to listen.”

Abdullah, in announcing Zaid’s sacking, had stated that drastic action had to be taken against him because his transgressions were too serious and that the party must not be seen as practising double standards.

Zaid said he realised that he was just a “small guy in the party” – a term Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz used – but asserted that even a small man had rights.

He said his only regret after spending 23 years in Umno was that all his good intentions had been misunderstood by his colleagues, especially on the issue of reform so that Umno would once again be a more inclusive and progressive party and in its approach in helping the Malays.

Asked if he felt betrayed by Abdullah who had handpicked him to be a Cabinet member after the March election, Zaid said he did not.

“Pak Lah is a nice man,” he said. “On his own I don’t think he would have sacked me. I think there are leaders in Umno who thought that I was about to join Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR de facto leader) or the DAP or PAS.”

The Star Online
3 December 2008

JOHOR BARU: The Ketuanan Melayu issue was among the hot topics at the state assembly yesterday with one assemblyman even asking for those raising racial matters to be jailed.

Ayub Jamil (BN-Rengit), when debating the 2009 state Budget, called on the Government to implement an Act or a ruling governing racial disputes.

Any individual that clearly questions the rights of a race or religion should be punished with jail or the equivalent, he said, adding that politicians too who question this should be banned from participating in any elections.

The implementation of such an Act would stem burgeoning racial disputes that were threatening to engulf the country.

Ayub said that a study conducted by an independent organisation had categorised Malaysia as having the highest political risk in Asia after India and Thailand.

“Today we have seen what has happened in India and Thailand.

“Something beyond our expectations may occur in the country if the sparks caused by racial disputes are not immediately extinguished,” he said, claiming that the cracks between the various races in the country were caused by leaders who wanted to be heroes in their own community.

Tahir Taat (BN-Bukit Serampang) meanwhile, said politicians, including members of the Barisan Nasional component parties, started harping on racial issues, though such issues did not crop up among rural folk.

The concept of Ketuanan Melayu, he said, did not mean that non-Malays were servants but it was merely a mark of respect for the Malay sultanate.

Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman (BN-Puteri Wangsa) argued that Malaysians should not renege on agreements made prior to the country’s independence, including the special rights accorded to the Malays.

To dispute the phrase Ketuanan Melayu was something sensitive and should not be raised, he said adding that politicians had the responsibility to maintain harmony among the races.

The Star Online
3 December 2008

KUANTAN: Despite the global economic crisis, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) is confident it would be able to pay out dividends of between 7% and 8% to the more than nine million investors in both Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) and Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) by the end of this year.

PNB president and chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said an announcement on the dividends will be made in “a few days’ time,” and promised it would be competitive with other financing institutions in the country.

He said PNB has kept its promise of giving out dividends consistently without fail over the past 28 years, including during the Asian economic crisis of 1998.

“We will continue giving out dividends of 7% or 8%, and the rate is competitively logical compared with other financial institutions,” he said after paying PNB’s business tithe (zakat perniagaan) for 2006 and 2007.

The tithe, amounting to RM2.35mil, was delivered to Tengku Mahkota Pahang (the Pahang Regent) Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who represented the Pahang Islamic Religion Council and Adat Istiadat Melayu (MAIP), at Istana Abdul Aziz in Indera Mahkota here on Wednesday.

Hamad Kama Piah said PNB currently has nine million investors with RM89bil worth of investments in the country. About RM3.4mil comes from 54,300 investors in Pahang.

Meanwhile Tengku Abdullah said the targeted zakat collection of RM43mil for Pahang state had been achieved.

PNB was the second highest contributor with its RM2.35mil, while Felda Holdings was the highest with its zakat payment of RM3.2mil.

The Star Onlne
3 December 2008

IPOH: There more than 2,000 Perak government study loan defaulters, some stretching back to the loan’s inception in 1973, owe the state about RM19mil.

“Efforts had been made to get the defaulters to pay up, but they have chosen to ignore the notices of demand,” Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin told reporters after presenting loans totalling RM2.5mil to 136 students at the State Secretariat here on Wednesday.

They should approach the state if they have problems settling the loan, he said, noting that the terms of payment were flexible and no interest was charged.

“As they refused to pay up, the state had to turn away 20 loan applicants wanting to take up post-graduate studies,” he said.

He said the state had since 2006 sent out legal notices to 2,372 study loan defaulters.

“Some of them paid up immediately on receiving the notices, but the majority did not,” he said, adding that the defaulters were businessmen or those holding high positions in companies.

Since the inception of the loan, the state had disbursed RM54mil loans to 5,243 students.

The Star Online
1 December 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: The PPP will pull out of the Barisan Nasional if the Internal Security Act is not amended before the next elections, party president Datuk M. Kayveas said.

“I have to follow what the Youth and Wanita divisions have proposed to the party and they want the ISA abolished.

“As a responsible party I told them let’s go halfway and ask for amendments to the Act so that it is not a draconian law imposed on innocent citizens,” he said when opening the Youth and Wanita meeting and elections yesterday.

“The Barisan has to make changes before the next general election. It would be suicidal if we do not.

“The problem with the Barisan is its success the past 50 years. Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.

“The March election has shown what the voters are looking for: good governance and multi-racialism.

“The solution has always been multi-racialism but to date the Barisan is still caught in its own political racial configuration and so what is said is not implemented fast enough.”

Wanita leader C. Josephine Anne said the Barisan had to act now to “fast-track development programmes for all races, show our sincerity and start by uniting the Barisan parties.”

“The Barisan must work towards a common society to regain the confidence of the rakyat, and not just offer lip service and continue to use the race card.

“In this day and age, we cannot continue to pit one race against the other and talk about unity.”

PPP Youth chief T. Murugiah said they did not support the use of the ISA against ordinary citizens.

“The ISA was designed to handle a terrorist threat and should be used only for the purpose.”

On Murugiah’s position in PPP, Kayveas said that he would appoint him to the supreme council and get the council’s approval to appoint him as vice-president.

R. Ellan Govan, who was deputy Youth chief, beat two others to become Youth chief while incumbent Wanita chief Josephine won uncontested.

The Star Online
1 December 2008

SHAH ALAM: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has once again stressed that Pakatan Rakyat would form the Federal Government but would not say when.

Saying it would occur in “the shortest possible time,” the PKR adviser said it was not a question of “when” but that it involved the people.

“Insya Allah, we will certainly be in Putrajaya soon,” he said in his address yesterday at the close of the PKR national congress.

Anwar said there was no other option because the people

would no longer support the

current system which he said was corrupt and insulted their intelligence.

At the March 8 general election, Barisan Nasional won 140 parliamentary seats while the Opposition secured 82.

Anwar, however, said he was confident he could topple the Federal Government as there were more than enough Barisan MPs who wanted to cross over to their side.

He had earlier claimed that the Pakatan Rakyat would be able to form a new government by Sept 16.

When that failed to materialise, people began having doubts and some have even accused him of lying.

Anwar said the plans were still on track, adding that he believed in the power of prayer and the wisdom of the people. His wife, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail rose to his defence and the takeover plan.

She reminded delegates they had already won by making a comeback in the recent elections after being nearly wiped out in 2004. On members who kept asking if the takeover would really happen, she advised them to be more patient.

Deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali and vice president Azmin Ali also told the delegates to have faith in Anwar’s takeover plans.

Dr Syed Husin said he had known Anwar for more than 40 years and was his lecturer at university.

“Some are cynical about the road to Putrajaya. But from my experience, I believe and trust in his confidence to get to Putrajaya. This is not empty talk,” he said in his winding-up speech.

Azmin, who said he had known Anwar for 25 years, said he was certain the takeover would happen soon.