Malaysia Update

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KUCHING: Datuk Amar Laila Taib, wife of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, died at her residence at Demak Jaya, Jalan Bako here at 3.40pm yesterday. She was 68.

Family sources said Laila, Sarawak’s First Lady who was born in Poland, had battled cancer for the past few months.


Datuk Amar Laila Taib
Laila and Taib celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a hotel here three months ago.

At that occasion, Taib paid a glowing tribute to Laila as his pillar of strength and source of inspiration.

He said Laila had stood by him through thick and thin throughout his career as a politician.

Laila and Taib have four children including Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib. The others are Datuk Mahmud Bekir Taib, Jamilah Hamidah Taib and Hanifah Hajar Taib.

Laila will be laid to rest at Demak Jaya burial ground at 11.30am today, said Deputy State Secretary Datuk Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani in a statement.

He said those who wished to pay their last respects should do so before 11am.


Big celebration: Taib and Laila cutting their 50th wedding anniversary cake as their family members look on in January 2009.
Sarawak Governor Tun Abang Muhammed Salahuddin, visiting Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and state cabinet ministers were among the first to pay their last respects last evening.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is also expected to attend Laila’s funeral.

Laila was actively involved in charitable, social, community and religious work through numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

As founder and president of Sabati (Wives of the Sarawak Ministers and Assistant Ministers), she was instrumental in setting up the Sarawak Heart Foundation.

The foundation, of which she had been president since its formation, has raised millions of ringgit and sponsored many needy heart patients for surgeries and treatment in the country and abroad over the years.

Laila also helped to set up an orphanage home named after her in Petra Jaya here.

Laila was head of Perkim (the Muslim Welfare Organisation of Malaysia) women’s wing since 1980.

She also headed Regional Islamic Da’wah Council of Sourtheast Asia and the Pacific (Riseap) since 1983.

She was patron of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society Kuching Chapter, Persatuan Anak-Anak Yatim Sarawak, Sibu Kidney Foundation, Kuching Lions Nursing Home and Sarawak Single Mothers’ Association and Trustee of the Malaysian Humanitarian Foun dation.

It is okay to use the prefix “Mc” in naming a company. The Court of Appeal said McCurry Restaurant (KL) Sdn Bhd at Jalan Ipoh did not misrepresent the public nor confuse them in conducting its business.

“There was no proof of the tort of passing of in this case,” Judge Datuk Gopal Sri Ram said in allowing an appeal by McCurry Restaurant against McDonalds Corporation.

Sri Ram, who sat Datuk Heliliah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Sulong Matjeraie, in delivering the unanimous decision yesterday, said there were several distinguishing features between the two in the conduct of their trade.

He said the McDonalds logo consists of a distinctive golden arched “M’ with the word “McDonalds” against a red background.

Sri Ram said McCurry’s signboard carried the words “Restoran McCurry” with the lettering in white and grey on a red background with a picture of a chicken giving a thumbs up and with the wording “Malaysian Chicken Curry.”
Secondly, he said, the items of food available at McDonalds carried the prefix “Mc”.

“However, as evident from the defendants (McCurry) menu card, none of the food items served carries the prefix ‘Mc’,” he said.

Thirdly, he said, McCurry only catered Indian food whereas McDonalds served fast food.

Sri Ram said the High Court judge who ruled in favour of McDonalds overlooked this material fact, a serious misdirection that resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

Fourthly, he said, those who patronised McCurry outlet were mainly adults and senior citizens while those who patronised McDonalds were mainly children.

Sri Ram, now a Federal Court judge, said the irresistible inference to be drawn from the totality of the evidence was that McDonalds’ signboard would not result in reasonable people associating McCurry with the McDonalds’ mark.

Sri Ram said the High Court judge, in arriving at her decision, erred that McDonalds had a monopoly in the use of the prefix “Mc” on a signage or in the conduct of business.

In September the High Court ruled that "Mc" is the exclusive right and trademark of fast food giant McDonald's Corporation, and McCurry then appealed to the Court of Appeal.

Counsel S. F. Wong and S. Indran appeared for McDonalds while Sri Dev Nair represented McCurry.

GEORGE TOWN: The skeletal remains of a seven-year-old disabled girl, who died after being allegedly beaten by her father in 2006, were exhumed from a shallow grave in Jalan Kampung Pisang, Air Itam, here.

Police carried out the exhumation following a report by a close relative accusing the father of filicide. The man was arrested on Tuesday night.

One of the man’s three sons led police to the gruesome discovery in an open field at 1pm yesterday. The three brothers were at the scene when police exhumed the girl’s remains.


Brutal end: Forensic police collecting what’s believed to be Priya’s skull from a shallow grave in Air Itam.
State CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Wan Abdullah Tuanku Said said police were assisted by forensic pathologist Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh.

“Our investigations found that the girl, identified as Priya, could have been beaten to death with a stick at a house in Bandar Baru Air Itam in March 2006.


Her three brothers were at the scene after one of them led police to the site.
“She was then taken to the site and buried. We have classified the case as murder.

“The father, an odd-job labourer in his 40s, has been remanded by a magistrates court,” he said, adding that police were looking to the girl’s mother to assist in the investigations.

It is learnt that only 60% of the skeletal remains were found.

The foreigners being taken for questioning after their boat was intercepted by the marine police off Kuala Langat on Sunday (below). — Pictures courtesy of marine police

PORT KLANG: The drowning incident off Pengerang in Johor and the arrest of 33 foreigners off Port Klang have confirmed suspicions that Malaysia is a transit point for human trafficking syndicates.



On Tuesday, nine bodies, eight of them Pakistanis, were found floating in the South China Sea off Pengerang.

On Sunday, marine authorities nabbed 33 foreigners from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq on a boat off Kuala Langat, some 30km from here.

In both incidents, the foreigners had luggage with them and most were carrying huge amounts of money.

Police recovered US$8,800 (RM31,620) from the body of a Pakistani woman who had drowned off Pengerang.
Malaysian authorities are probing if both incidents are linked as intelligence reports indicated that the foreigners were on their way to Indonesia before continuing their journey to Australia where they hoped seek asylum.

Last week, Australia's national security adviser led a delegation to Kuala Lumpur seeking the help of their counterparts to intercept these boats before they reached the continent.

On Sunday, Selangor marine police intercepted a boat off Kuala Langat and detained 16 Afghans, 14 Pakistanis and three Iraqis. The Afghans comprised five families with children as young as 2 years old. Initial investigations revealed that the 33 foreigners were on their way to Australia and had big travelling bags with them.

The 44-year-old Indonesian boatman was taking the foreigners to Tanjung Balai in Sumatra.

The Pakistanis were from the border regions with Afghanistan while the Iraqis were Kurds from the north of Iraq.

All had valid passports except for one Iraqi. One of the Afghans also had a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees card with him.

The Afghans and Pakistanis had obtained their visas from the Malaysian embassy in Pakistan.

The foreigners had entered the country through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport about two weeks ago and were attempting to leave by illegal means.

They waded through muddy waters to get to the boat in Sungai Langat before they sailed to the open sea, where they were nabbed at 3.40am on Sunday.

The group allegedly paid US$1,000 per person to the syndicate for the trip to Indonesia.

Selangor marine police chief Deputy Superintendent Marzuki Ismail said the foreigners were nabbed after a tip-off from a passing boat.

They have been handed over to the district police for further investigations.

It was reported that human traffickers promised their victims better lives in Australia and Western countries for a fee. The victims are usually picked from war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Myanmar and Iraq.

Recently, there has been a large number of refugees from Pakistan.

They are given valid passports from their countries. They are then taken to Malaysian embassies or consulates where they will apply for tourist visas to enter the country.

They will arrive in Malaysia through normal entry points.

Once here, arrangements are made to get them to Indonesia illegally through fishing or barter trade boats.

From Indonesia, they will be "loaded" into another boat for Australia.

PETALING JAYA: The audit report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) is ready and the Port Klang Authority (PKA) has been given one week to make it public. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said he would contemplate submitting the report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Accounts Committee after its release.

Writing this in his blog (ongteekeat.net), the minister said that by releasing the audit report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers he would be keeping a pledge he made earlier.

“I have pledged to ensure transparency on this issue and I intend to keep my word,” he wrote.

He also announced that he had decided to extend the services of PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng whose term of office expired on March 31.

“One of his key priorities now is to ensure the release of the report,” he said.

Ong, who is the MCA president, said that he had directed the PKA last year to commission an independent and credible firm to look into the PKFZ controversy.

“The delay in completing the report is due to several technical issues, including the declassification of key government documents related to the investigations,” he explained.

Now that the report was ready, it was only natural for the PKA, which had commissioned the report, to release the findings.

On Sunday, Ong hit out at his critics, saying that it was grossly unfair for some “snipers”, including certain individuals from certain media, to ignore that declassification had to be sought before the report could be released.

The 405ha PKFZ transshipment hub has been dogged by controversy ever since it was revealed that its original development cost had ballooned from the original less than RM2.5bil to RM4.6bil.

Former Transparency International chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam commended Ong for handling the situation very well, “by giving due respect to the PKA and allowing it to release the report.”

He said that Ong, by ordering the release of the report, was also ensuring that public interest was upheld.

“It is right and proper that he submits the report to the MACC and Public Accounts Committee after it is released,’’ he said.

If there was any wrongdoing, those concerned must be brought to book, Navaratnam added.

PETALING JAYA: The electrical and electronics sector is asking the Labour Department for workers, now that orders for its products are on the upswing again.

Labour director-general Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim said they were receiving requests for more workers from employers in the sector since the beginning of the month.

“The majority of those retrenched at the beginning of the year came from this sector, followed by those in the textile and garment manufacturing sector.

“But now, we believe there may be new orders coming in for the electrical and electronics sector by June. This is a good indication that our exports are getting better.

“We will give bosses our assistance in looking for new workers. For a start, we have provided them with the profiles of 12,000 workers who were recently retrenched,” he said in an interview here yesterday.

Ismail said the department had 27,000 job vacancies on record while those retrenched in the country now numbered some 23,000.

“We have managed to place 7,000 retrenched workers in these jobs. I urge those who have yet to find jobs to register with us.

“Hopefully, the current swine flu outbreak in Mexico and certain places in the United States won’t affect the recovery,” he said.

Ismail said the department would also ask companies and factories to stop depending on third-party contractors to supply them with foreign workers as one way of saving job opportunities for local workers.

In recent statistics posted on the Human Resources Ministry website, 16,744 local and 7,145 foreign workers were retrenched between Oct 1, 2008, and April 27.

Of the 8,242 workers given voluntary separation schemes in the same period, 7,342 were locals.

Similarly, local workers formed the majority of those temporarily laid off or given pay cuts – 30,907 compared with 10,772 foreigners.

Ismail reminded employers that according to the law, they must retrench their foreign workers first.

“Bosses are required to inform us every time they retrench their workers. This is so we can check if they have followed the law and first retrenched their foreign workers,” he added.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama asked Congress on Tuesday for an additional $1.5 billion to fight swine flu as the confirmed U.S. caseload jumped to 65 people in six states in what doctors fear may become a full pandemic.


U.S. President Barack Obama walks back to the Oval Office after attending the 2009 National Teacher of the Year ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, April 28, 2009. (REUTERS/Jim Young)
Lawmakers convened an emergency hearing in Washington on the government's ability to respond to a more severe outbreak.

"With a new infectious agent you don't sit back and wait and hope for the best. You take bold steps, and then you pull back if you need to," Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control, told reporters.

The CDC total included 10 cases in California, 2 in Kansas, 45 in New York, one in Ohio and 6 in Texas. An additional case was reported by Indiana state authorities.

While the new flu strain has killed up to 159 people in Mexico, cases seen in the United States and elsewhere have been mild. CDC officials said only five U.S. cases have required hospitalization, two of them in California, but they have said they expect more serious cases -- and possibly deaths -- as surveillance expands.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency over the outbreak, enabling deployment of funds and personnel to fight the disease. Federal officials declared a national public health emergency on Sunday.

Obama, in a letter to Congress, said the $1.5 billion would give the government "maximum flexibility" as it fights the disease, supplementing antiviral stockpiles, adding medical equipment and starting preparations for a vaccine.

As public health headlines gripped the country, former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as U.S. health secretary in an Oval Office ceremony Obama attended just hours after the Senate confirmed her nomination.

"We wanted to swear her in right away because we've got a significant public health challenge that requires her immediate attention, and that is the H1N1 flu outbreak," Obama told reporters.

Republican critics had delayed confirming Sebelius because of her stance on abortion.

Analysts said the addition of Sebelius and the filling of other senior health vacancies would help Obama, who hopes to appear in control while trying not to generate panic.

"You're almost always going to basically deal with the possibility that there will be some other crisis that emerges just as you're juggling other balls. Obama seems ready to do that compared to other presidents," said Norm Ornstein, a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

CRUCIAL FUNDING

On Capitol Hill, health officials told an emergency hearing the funding would be crucial if the flu virus spreads.

"In the face of these cutbacks and layoffs and vacancies, we don't even have the workforce we had two years ago," said Dr. Paul Jarris, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

In California, Texas and New York City, authorities have ordered schools shut where students have tested positive for the swine flu virus.

Los Angeles County coroner's officials investigated the deaths of two men for links to the disease, but later ruled out one. Local health officials said they expected infections in Los Angeles and were already investigating two possible "flu clusters" at schools in the suburb of Santa Clarita.

In New York, most confirmed cases of infection were at a Queens private school where the virus has sickened 28 students.

Officials had said earlier as many as 100 students might have been ill, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Tuesday officials have stopped testing more people because the symptoms are mild, with only two people going to the hospital.

"This is following the pattern of normal, seasonal influenza," Bloomberg told reporters at City Hall. "So far, nothing about the spread of swine flu has surprised us."

A University of Notre Dame student was the first confirmed flu case in Indiana, according to state and school officials.

There were few signs of panic across the country, although sales of flu medication and items like face masks were up in areas close to where cases have been confirmed. Some stores reported a run on disinfectants.

Schools stepped up cleaning efforts and posted fliers urging students to wash their hands and cover their mouths and noses when they coughed.

"Everyone's a little leery of anyone coughing. Even though the news makes it seem really, really bad, it doesn't seem like it's actually that much of a concern," said Aaron Armelin, 33, a telecommunications technician in Los Angeles.

Despite advice that no pigs have been affected by the virus, Ecuador joined a long list of countries putting bans on imports of some U.S. pigs and pork products, further worrying pork producers.

(Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Holland, Matt Bigg, Emily Chasen, Jason Szep, Dan Trotta, Toby Zakaria)

Ching Ah Tee, 70, now spends his time taking care of his son, Hwa Luong, 40, who was struck down by the deadly virus epidemic almost a decade ago.

PORT DICKSON: As panic over the deadly swine flu sweeps the world, residents of Kampung Baru Sungai Nipah, a small village in Lukut, remember the devastation and tragedy they suffered when an equally deadly virus struck 10 years ago.

One hundred and five people lost their lives in the outbreak in Bukit Pelandok, at that time the largest pig-farming area in Southeast Asia with a swine population of about 1,000,000.

The virus first surfaced there in late 1998 and within weeks brought the more than 3,000 residents there to their knees.

Pigs were culled while experts at Universiti Hospital fought against time to find a cure.

Authorities said it was an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis.
There are no pig farms left in Bukit Pelandok but residents fear they may have to relive their nightmare as pigs are still slaughtered and transported through Sepang, near their village.

Ching Hwa Luong, 40, is a living reminder to the villagers of the human toll exacted by the virus.

"After he was infected, he suffered brain damage and was also paralysed," said Hwa Luong's father, Ah Tee, 70.

"Although we (villagers) don't rear pigs here any more, we are still worried. It was a nightmare for us (during the outbreak).

"Each day, someone would die and the thought of something similar happening again is sending shivers down our spine.

"We hope the authorities will ensure the swine flu does not reach our shores... I doubt we can survive another similar ordeal."

The village is now almost deserted as most residents have left in search of new livelihoods.

Today, Bukit Pelandok is a sad shadow of its past self, when posh bungalows were plentiful.

Mat Adib Ralib, 59, who runs a coffee shop, said the latest swine flu was the talk of the villagers, with many looking back to the horror period.

"Reading about the swine flu brings back memories but we can only pray that the virus does not hit our shores.

"We are haunted by memories... those who survived are forever scarred.

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has confirmed that no case of “influenza-like” illness with symptoms of swine flu infection has been found in Malaysia.

However, the Government is not taking chances with the outbreak that is already spreading across Mexico to other countries.


Taking precautions: Perlis Tourism and Health Committee chairman Ahmad Bakri Ali (right) discussing a point with a tourist who arrived via the Padang Besar train station yesterday. — Bernama
The ministry has already expanded its screening of passengers arriving at international entry points like KL International Airport, which it started on Monday, to the ground.

In Rantau Panjang, which borders Thailand, the health department began randomly screening those coming into Malaysia on foot.

“We are doing it as a precaution,” a doctor on site said. He set up an informal unit with five of his subordinates.

The ministry has taken measures to set up hotlines for the public to call for inquiries in Putrajaya and also started a 24-hour monitoring of the situation. The public can call 03-8881-0200/300 for enquiries.

Police personnel at Malaysia’s borders are on high alert to check any signs of the swine flu outbreak sneaking into the country.


A teacher demonstrating to children how to wash their hands as a precautionary measure against swine flu infection at a kindergarten in Hubei in the Anhui province of China. - Reuters
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said policemen would assist all border-control agencies to monitor for any signs of the disease at all entry points including airports.

“We are working closely with the Health Ministry to monitor the situation and assist in the screening process,” he told reporters after a visit to Hospital Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the 202nd Police Day yesterday.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Ismaiil Merican confirmed yesterday that no case of influenza-like illness with symptoms of swine flu virus had been reported in Malaysia. He said that based on surveillance of influenza-like illness, there had been no reported case.

He added that health officers at KLIA screened 428 passengers and airline crew flying in from areas with cases of swine flu for signs of the infection. Passengers and airline crew, he said, were also been given health alert cards and health declaration forms to fill.

“The screening at all international entry points continued yesterday. A technical committee meeting involving several agencies will also be held today to discuss other preventive measures and an integrated approach for the control of any infection,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Ismail said that in view of the World Health Organisation’s decision to raise the swine flu alert to Phase 4 from Phase 3, which made the current situation just two levels away from a full pandemic, the ministry would continue to advise Malaysians to stay away from affected regions.

“This is particularly when the travel is unnecessary and they are not feeling well. Those who fall sick during their travel should seek medical treatment,” he warned.

In Kuala Lumpur, Bernama reports that the Foreign Ministry had asked all Malaysian missions abroad to continuously monitor and update the ministry on the swine flu outbreak in relation to Malaysians residing or travelling overseas.

“The 60 registered Malaysians residing in Mexico where the swine flu outbreak was first detected and another five in the accredited Central American countries are reported to be safe and free from the virus,” the ministry said in a statement.

The public is advised to report to the Consular Divison of the Foreign Ministry at 03-8887-4000 if they are aware or informed of any cases by their friends, relatives or colleagues currently overseas.

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim filed a defamation suit against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief for making false and scurrilous allegations against him over the issue of his car and cows.

Khalid filed the suit yesterday afternoon at the High Court registry through counsel Sankara N. Nair.

Khalid named MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, the commission and the government as defendants.

Khalid claimed that on or about Feb 21, Ahmad Said had made a statement which was published on the front page of the New Straits Times, "Khalid in hot water over car and cows", and on page two of the paper titled "There is evidence Khalid misused powers".

He said the statement was also published in other newspapers and their online services.


Khalid claimed that Ahmad Said and the MACC had acted in bad faith in that it instigated public hatred against him, lowered his esteem in the eyes of the public and exposed him to ridicule and contempt.



Khalid, through his lawyer, had sent two letters to Ahmad Said, on Feb 26 and on March 19, to seek an explanation but to date, the MACC had not responded.

SYDNEY:The swine flu outbreak is more worrying than bird flu because it is spread much more readily between humans, an infectious diseases expert said yesterday.

Australian National University epidemiology specialist Prof Paul Kelly said swine flu had a lower mortality rate than bird flu but warned this was a mixed blessing because it would help the virus spread more quickly.

He said bird flu had remained relatively contained because human-to-human transmission was difficult, while swine flu was highly infectious.

"Bird flu has been limited -- to an extent that it happened in Indonesia and other places, but it's never been on the sort of scale as this.

"This is actually more worrying."
He told ABC radio that swine flu appeared to be a form of the virus that epidemiologists had feared for years -- a combination of strains from various animals that was easily transmitted between humans.

Prof John Mackenzie, a biosecurity expert from Perth's Curtin University, said the latest flu threat appeared to be a combination of at least two types of swine virus and an avian virus gene.

He said the next few days would be crucial in determining whether the world was facing a pandemic.

"I guess we're at that 'grey' stage where we don't know if it is going to be a pandemic strain or not."

KLANG: The police must get tough with the Mat Rempit, Women, Fa mily and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shah rizat Abdul Jalil said.

She said the authorities had in the past taken the soft approach to help these youths by carrying out studies to understand them.


Fun time: Shahrizat playing with children of Tadika Perpaduan Taman Sri Menegun in Klang yesterday after attending a community function. — Bernama
Now the kid gloves must come off when and the Mat Rempit menace duly dealt with, Shahrizat said.

“There should not be any compromise in dealing with them. They say they become Mat Rempit because they are bored. Why break the law just because you are bored?” she said.

A government-instituted research revealed that 48% of the youths polled said they became Mat Rempit out of boredom.

Shahrizat also questioned the role of the youths’ family members in ensuring that their children did not resort to becoming Mat Rempit.

“Where are their parents? Parents should not wash their hands of the children and hope the authorities would deal with them,” she said.

Shahrizat, who slammed the violent actions of the Mat Rempit youths, said parents must play a pivotal role in making sure their children did resort to anti-social and unlawful activities.

“Do not take the law in your hands,” Shahrizat told a press conference after attending a community programme at Taman Sri Menegun here yesterday.

She added the Mat Rempit menace had evolved into a serious social ill as they were now involved in crimes such as robbery, rape and molestation.

They have even taken to harassing disabled people, said a visibly angry Shahrizat, referring to the case of a deaf-mute woman who was assaulted and robbed by Mat Rempit last week. The matter was highlighted in The Star yesterday.

In the incident, a group of Mat Rempit had surrounded the 23-year-old at a petrol kiosk and had slapped and kicked the victim before robbing her of her handbag. The presence of other patrons and kiosk employees did not deter the Mat Rempit.

On another matter, Shahrizat said her ministry was seriously re-examining the methods of dispensing aid to the needy.

She said some did not have bank accounts while there were also those who were not able to collect the money on their own and did not have anyone to help them.

THE move to liberalise the 27 services sub-sectors and the plan to do likewise for the financial services industry are set to boost the ringgit, possibly helping it to test the 3.56 level against the US dollar next week.

For the week just ended, the ringgit touched the 3.5800/5850 level against the US dollar from 3.6140/6190 last Friday, showing an increase of 1.6 per cent.

Dealers said that if the local currency managed to hit the 3.56 level, it may be able to hold the strong momentum in the near term.

"The good news boosted the market and spurred commercial demand, with expectation of more inflow funds coming into the country," a dealer said, adding that local bourse strong performance would continue to provide support.

The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was higher by 1.44 per cent, or 14.04 points, to close the day at 992.68 on Friday. In the morning the key index had opened 3.45 points higher at 982.09.

"The ringgit will continue to move in tandem with the Bursa Malaysia performance, which is expected to open higher next week," another dealer said.

During the week, the ringgit was mostly lower against the US dollar as the local unit came under pressure from the inflation data for March 2009 released on Wednesday which showed a rise of 3.5 per cent year-on-year.

The ringgit strengthened against the Singapore dollar at 2.4004/4060 from last Friday's 2.4055/4112 but was weaker against the Japanese yen at 3.6900/6963 from 3.6406/6467 previously.

The local currency moved up against the British pound at 5.2365/2449 from 5.3476/3568 last Friday but declined against the euro at 4.7424/7505 from 4.7253/7329 previously.

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry is fully prepared to deal with any spread of the swine flu and has placed its officers at all travel entry points in Malaysia to screen travellers suspected of the illness.

“Our machinery is ready to handle this outbreak,” said its minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

The officers, he said, would be at airports, sea ports and land entry points.

“Since the virus spreads from human to human, we are placed on high alert.”

Even if there was no direct flight from Mexico, passengers originating from there would also be screened, he said.

The ministry’s operations room in Putrajaya has started a 24-hour monitoring of the situation. The public can call 03-8881 0200/300 for enquiries.

He urged doctors to be on alert and has made it compulsory for them to notify the ministry of all influenza cases.

Liow said pork in the country was safe to be consumed, explaining that Malaysia did not import the meat from Mexico.

On Thursday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported 854 cases of severe atypical pneumonia that resulted in 59 deaths in Mexico.

The situation is now considered a public health emergency of international concern.

In the United States, at least 10 people have tested positive for the virus which causes symptoms such as fever, cough, body aches and breathing difficulties.

Since the SARS outbreak in 2003, the ministry had come up with strategic plans to battle any similar outbreak.

“We also keep in constant contact with WHO to find out the latest update,” Liow said.

According to WHO, there are now currently no directives on health, travel and trade sanctions that countries have to adhere to.



Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said those returning from Latin American countries and found to have flu-like symptoms would be quarantined.

“So far, no cases have been reported to the ministry and there is no cause for panic,” he said.

“The public will be informed from time to time on updates about the outbreak,” he said.

Dr Ismail also said that he would discuss with the Veterinary Services Department today on precautionary measures that needed to be taken.

In KOTA KINABALU, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin said that health authorities would keep a close watch on visitors arriving from Latin American countries.

Both immigration and customs officers at entry points would assist the ministry, she said, adding that her ministry would also advise Malaysians not to travel to the affected countries.

MEXICO CITY: Governments around the world rushed yesterday to check the spread of a new type of swine flu that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico and infected around a dozen in the United States.

Mexicans huddled inside their homes while US hospitals tracked patients with flu symptoms and other countries imposed health checks at airports as the World Health Organisation warned the virus had the potential to become a pandemic.

Announced on Friday, the outbreak has snowballed into a monster headache for the country, already grappling with a violent drug war and economic slowdown, and has quickly become one of the biggest global health scares in years.

In New Zealand, 10 pupils from an Auckland school that had just returned from Mexico were being treated for influenza symptoms in what health authorities said was a likely case of swine flu.

"We are monitoring minute by minute the evolution of this problem across the whole country," President Felipe Calderon said as health officials counted suspected infections in six states from the tropical south to the northern border.
The flu is spreading in the United States. Eleven cases were confirmed in California, Kansas and Texas, and eight schoolchildren in New York City caught a type A influenza virus that health officials say is likely to be the swine flu.

The new flu strain, a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu surfaced in 1997, killing several hundred people.

A 1968 "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about one million people globally.

New flu strains can spread quickly because no one has natural immunity and a vaccine takes months to develop.

Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the swine flu had killed at least 20 and possibly as many as 81 people in Mexico, and more than 1,300 people were being tested for suspected infection.

Most of the dead were aged 25 to 45, a worrying sign because a hallmark of past pandemics has been high fatalities among healthy young adults.

In the crowded capital of 20 million people, museums were closed and public events scrapped, from concerts to a running race.

People hoarded bottled water and canned food, churchgoers were told to stay home and follow Sunday services on television and bewildered tourists were made to wear surgical face masks.

Trendy districts were quiet on Saturday night as authorities closed 70 per cent of nightclubs, along with stadiums and movie theatres. At least one open bar stationed medics at its doors to check clients' throats and take their temperatures.

All schools in the city, Mexico State and San Luis Potosi are to be closed until May 6 and some companies planned to have employees work from home.

LONDON Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Friday over allegations that he spat at a member of Hull's coaching staff following an FA Cup match.

The 21-year-old Fabregas was not playing in his team's 2-1 win on March 17 but faces two charges, one for walking onto the field of play and the other for spitting at or toward assistant manager Brian Horton.

Hull manager Phil Brown was also charged for comments he made to the media after the match concerning referee Mike Riley.

Fabregas, who could be banned or fined, has denied he spat at anybody.

He was handed Arsenal's captaincy this season after William Gallas was stripped of the armband for comments made about teammates.

The pair have until May 12 to respond to the charges

Sergeant Abdullah Ibrahim with a marine police patrol boat used for operations in Sandakan.

He had been the scourge in the waters off the east coast of Sabah, the Philippines and Indonesia until he had a run-in with Sergeant Abdullah Ibrahim, writes FADHAL A. GHANI.

MOLOY Hijang was as ruthless as they come and this pirate had successfully evaded the marine police of Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia for more than a decade.

Ironically, it was small pickings on that day in Oct 7, 1996, that ended his reign of terror.

Fishermen Ibrahim Albani, 31, and Aripuddin Bachok, 38, were checking their fish traps at Pulau Tobanka, off Sandakan, about 8.30pm when Moloy, also known as Moloy Uwah, and three other pirates came in two speedboats.

The fishermen did not have any valuables on them but Moloy was not to be denied. The pirates unhitched the fishermen's outboard engine and made off with it.
A police report was lodged in Sandakan and the marine police informed of the pirates' last location.

The marine police patrol boat, with corporal Abdullah Ahmad in command and Abdullah Ibrahim, then a corporal, and four constables set out early the next morning.

It was not long before Moloy and his men were spotted in the waters off Segama at 7am.

The marine police boat came up close and Abdullah Ibrahim, using a megaphone, ordered the pirates to surrender.

However, the pirates opened fire. Luckily, none of the marine police officers were injured.

"The bullets whizzed past me. It was a close shave," said Abdullah Ibrahim who joined the force on Aug 15, 1981.

Meanwhile, the pirates headed towards the Philippines at full throttle with the marine police patrol boat giving chase.

"Before this, I had been involved in two sea battles with pirates and I put all this experience to use to apprehend Moloy and his men," said Abdullah Ibrahim.

"I was not only in charge of the patrol boat but I also doubled up as the engineer and I had to back up my men with a machine gun."

The four marine police officers were armed with M-16s.

The sea was rough, the waves were heavy and visibility was poor during the high-speed chase.

"We had to circle their boats to prevent them from escaping. In the one kilometre or so, we managed to circle them several times.

"Each time we circled them, a gun battle erupted and in the end, we shot dead Moloy and another pirate."

The other boat managed to escape into Philippines waters.

Marine police recovered an assortment of explosive devices, an M-16 rifle equipped with a grenade launcher, a Browning pistol, ski masks, binoculars and the outboard engine they had stolen.

For bringing down the fearful pirate, the Batu Pahat-born Abdullah Ibrahim was awarded the police Bravery Medal on May 1, 1998.

Abdullah Ibrahim, who has been with Sandakan marine police since Jan 1, 1983, is married with five children between the ages of 4 and 17.

Today, the 47-year-old Abdullah Ibrahim heads the Engineering Maintenance Department at the Sandakan base.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Umno su preme council has decided to leave the decision on whether to contest the Penanti by-election to its political bureau.

Party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who heads the bureau, however, declined to say when it would decide on the matter.

“We know when we are meeting. Do I have to tell you?” he told reporters after chairing his first supreme council meeting since the party elections on March 26.

The Penanti by-election has to be held following the resignation of its assemblyman Mohd Fairus Khairud din on April 16.

Barisan leaders have expressed support for Najib’s previous statement that the coalition might not field a candidate as it would “a sheer waste” of funds.

Najib said an elected representative should not resign for frivolous reasons after a year of being elected.

“The principle is that we must adhere to our aku janji (pledge) to the voters who elected us.

“We cannot use our position to resign when we have stood for election with the pledge to serve the people for a term,” he said.

Najib also announced the setting-up of a special committee to handle proposed amendments to the party constitution for tabling at a special assembly in October.

The proposed amendments were aimed at making the party’s election process more open, transparent and democratic, he said.

During the meeting, Najib ex plained the reasons for the abolition of the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry and the liberalisation of the 27 services sub-sectors.

On the liberalisation of the sub-sectors, Najib said it was done after two years of thorough study by the International Trade and Industry Ministry then headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“We found that it was good and acceptable to all parties, including the bumiputras involved in the sub-sectors.

“It is also in line with changes undertaken by Asean member countries. We were the last one to open up the services sector,” he added.

KUALA LUMPUR: If you spot a man stopping traffic with “Stop! Tapir is crossing the road” in Bukit Bintang or KLCC, do not be alarmed.

Rest assured, no tapir will be crossing the road; the man is a volunteer who will be at the nearest zebra crossing distributing flyers with information on the endangered species during a four-day campaign organised by Zoo Negara and KL Hop On Hop Off.

The volunteers will also be at Menara Hap Seng, Central Market, Chinatown and KL Sentral.

The campaign, which started yesterday, is in conjunction with World Tapir Day celebrated worldwide on April 27.


Environmental cause: Activists promoting public awareness on tapirs in Kuala Lumpur yesterday ahead of World Tapir Day next Monday.
According to Malaysian Zoological Society director Dr Mohamad Ngah, there are four species of tapir left on the planet, including local species tapirus indicus or its common name Malayan Tapir.

“The tapir is often overlooked because of its more ‘high-profile’ peers like the orang utan or the tiger, yet all these animals are equally important,” he said at the launch of the campaign at Zoo Negara yesterday.

Other “attractions” by volunteers include tapir mascots and a man sporting a sandwich board with relevant information on the species.

One flyer will entitle an individual to a RM2 discount for a Zoo Negara entrance ticket if the ticket is bought on KL Hop On Hop Off buses on Sunday.

The ticket enables the person to take the bus at the Bintang Walk bus stop next to the Lot 10 Shopping Complex at 11am on the same day. The buses will then ferry the passengers to the zoo for a World Tapir Day celebration.

Dr Mohamad said tapir-related activities have been lined up for visitors on the day including art exhibitions, a puppet show and “Tapir & You” 3D photography.

KL Hop On Hop Off managing director Syed Azhar Syed Nazir said that beginning April 18 until May 18, a ringgit off each bus ticket sold would be donated to the Zoo Negara Tapir Fund.

GEORGE TOWN: A 13-year old girl who was allegedly turned into a sex slave by her father and molested by her brothers for the past five years finally plucked up the courage to lodge a report on Wednesday.

The Form One pupil confided in her teachers the trauma she had been subjected to at her home since she was 9 years old.

Following the report, police arrested her 47-year-old father and her older brothers aged 15 and 17.

The father, an odd job labourer allegedly raped her on several occasions, while her brothers took turns to molest her.

The girl told police that the first time her father raped her was when she was 9 years old.
She said she had gone with her father to collect banana leaves when he raped her.

After that incident, she was paid between RM1 and RM2 by her father each time he sexually abused her.

The girl did not disclose this to her mother, who is a housewife, as she was afraid.

But on Wednesday, she decided to reveal all to her teacher, as she was afraid that her younger sisters, aged 7 and 9, would suffer the same fate. The victim has seven siblings.

Her teacher then took her to the Bukit Mertajam police station where a report was lodged.

State Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC II Wan Abdullah Tuanku Said said the girl was also raped in her house and in a secondary forest in Berapit.

He said all three suspects were picked up from their homes on Wednesday, adding that the case was classified as rape and molest.

In an unrelated development, Wan Abdullah said said police have also arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly raping his 22-year-old girlfriend.

He said the suspect took advantage of the victim after taking her to a hotel room in George Town last March.

Wan Abdullah said the victim lodged a report on Wednesday and the police detained the suspect shortly after.

PEKAN: A 16-year-old schoolgirl was groped when she encountered an amorous bus conductor on a two-hour ride from Bandar Muadzam Shah to Lepar on Monday morning.

The girl, a Form Four student of SM Muadzam Shah, was travelling to a secondary school in Lepar when the 40-year-old conductor sat next to her and struck up a conversation.

When the man's attention turned, after innocently brushing her arms, to pawing and groping her breasts, the girl became frightened and got down with other passenger in Paloh Inai here.

A passenger, who had noticed her distress and teary face, helped call her family in Bandar Tun Razak.

They took her to a police station to lodge a report.
Pahang deputy criminal investigation chief Superintendent Nordin Mustapha said the bus conductor, who is married and from Kuantan, was detained at his workplace for allegedly outraging the girl's modesty.

"The girl was lucky because there were passengers on the bus. We hope others who suffer a similar experience will speak out or seek help from other passengers instead of suffering in silence."

In another incident, he said a motorcyclist molested a 21-year-old female motorcyclist on the road in Sungai Jerik, Felda Jengka, Maran, on Monday afternoon.

Nordin said the victim was riding alone along the lonely road when the man approached from behind.

When they were riding alongside each other, the man reached over to grope her breast.

"The woman slowed down. Luckily for her, an approaching car scared off the molester. She sped off to Bandar Jengka police station to lodge a report."

Police are looking for the man, believed to be in his 20s.

Some of the suspects who were ordered to be remanded by the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court on Wednesday. (Inset) Paremsvaran Ramu @ Veera who is sought by the police.

KUALA LUMPUR: A 7-year-old kidnap victim was released after his family paid a ransom of RM1 million last week.



(Inset) Paremsvaran Ramu @ Veera who is sought by the police.
However, within days of the boy's release, police arrested 14 suspects and recovered part of the ransom.

Investigations revealed that the kidnap was carried by a large gang which was broken up into four groups. Each group had specific roles to play and they were scattered across three states.

The boy was kidnapped early on April 10 when his mother was about to drop him off at school near his house in Bandar Utama.

Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin said a Proton Satria with four dark-skinned men stopped next to the mother's car.
The mother was pushed to the ground and the kidnappers, armed with sharp weapons, grabbed the boy before driving away with him.

Bakri said the mother tried to fight back but was injured. The kidnappers drove past the security post and were believed to have pointed the weapons at the guards who tried to stop the car.

The boy was believed to have been held in a condominium in Kepong for four days while the kidnappers negotiated with his businessman father over the ransom.

On April 14, the boy was released near the security post leading to his home in Bandar Utama some 30 minutes after the ransom of RM1 million was dropped off in front of a bank in Kepong Baru.

Acting on a tip-off, police began their first wave of arrests on April 21 where nine men and four women, between the ages of 19 and 70, were arrested at several undisclosed locations in Selangor.

Bakri said RM319,700 of the ransom was also recovered from this group. In follow-up operations, police picked up three other suspects in Bukit Fraser, Pahang, Juasseh, Negri Sembilan and Serdang, Selangor. Bakri said 14 of the suspects have been remanded while two others were released. Three of the suspects also have criminal records.

Initial investigations revealed that most of the suspects were car repossessors and security guards while the women in the gang were housewives.

Police believe that the oldest member of the gang, said to be a 70-year-old man, masterminded the kidnapping.

It was also learnt that police are probing the possibility that the suspects were linked to the security guards in the housing estate or were employees of the victim's father.

Bakri said they were looking for several other suspects. He said the boy was still traumatised but was safe with his parents.

Meanwhile, police are looking for Paremsvaran Ramu @ Veera (IC 830625-05-5259) to assist in the investigations.

Paremsvaran's last known address was at 587/18A, Jalan Waterfall, Taman Hijau, Rawang, Selangor. Those with information on his whereabouts can contact Assistant Superintendent Mohd Hasreeq Yunus at 03-79662222 or the nearest police station.

KUALA LUMPUR: Being located in the heart of the capital city did not give extra advantage to some schools.

This is true in the case of two schools which Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin visited yesterday.

He was upset to see how rundown SJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil was and the less than satisfactory state of SMK Setapak Indah.

The moment he arrived at the schools, Muhyiddin rolled up his sleeves and got down to work.

“I can observe for myself what the headmasters and principals have mentioned in their reports and at the same time look at the schools, too,” he said.


Face to face: Muhyiddin speaking to students of SMK Setapak Indah during his visit to the school Thursday.
After spending almost two hours at SJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil, Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said he was sad to see the condition of the school.

“Although the Government has provided aid, the school infrastructure is not very good. It is also hot and uncomfortable for the pupils and teachers,” he said.

At the end of his visit, Muhyiddin announced that the school would be relocated to another piece of land nearby.

“Work to construct the new school building on the 0.4ha land will start once the tender has been awarded,” he said.

The school, which was presently partially aided, he added, would become fully aided once it was constructed on government land.

The work was expected to take 18 months, he said, adding that teachers and pupils should be able to start the new school year there in 2011.

The allocation for the project was almost RM2mil and more than RM1mil had already been approved, he added.

SJK (T) Ladang Bukit Jalil headmistress Tamilselvi Suppiah said the 75-year-old school was originally built on estate land, and had six classrooms for 92 pupils from Years One to Six, and 14 teachers.

“Our enrolment figures started to drop after the school was affected by floods 13 times in the last two years,” she said.

At SMK Setapak Indah, Muhyiddin said the building was structurally safe despite cracks and some subsiding of the soil.

Work to repair these would be carried out immediately, he said, adding that the Public Works Department would also conduct a detailed study on the matter.

Former Penang deputy chief minister 1 Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin says he is not power crazy

PUTRAJAYA: Embattled Penang politician Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin is having second thoughts about quitting as state assemblyman, creating a huge poser as to whether the anticipated Penanti by-election will proceed.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat representative said he might stay on, now that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has said it did not have enough grounds to charge him with corruption.

Fairus resigned as Penang deputy chief minister 1 and Penanti assemblyman last week amid allegations over illegal quarrying operations.

He expressed confidence that the Pakatan Rakyat leadership would reassess his position.

"I'm sure the leadership will hear out what the people of Penanti have to say," he told the New Straits Times in a telephone interview.
If Fairus plans to return as Penanti assemblyman, he has until Monday to get the Penang speaker to notify the Election Commission on the resignation retraction, as the EC has to announce the vacancy in 10 days after being given the notice of vacancy.

If he misses the date, even if he is keen to stay on, he will not be able to do so as the law prohibits elected representatives who have resigned to contest for the next five years.

If the EC is notified of his retraction before the deadline, there will be no by-election in Penanti.

"He has every right to change his mind and remain as assemblyman, as he was rightfully chosen by the voters in Penanti," said EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.

Fairus, who sounded visibly relieved, asked that the MACC statement which absolved him of the allegations be read to him.

"I thank God for bringing out the truth. Truth always prevails. I am just a leader for my voters, not one who is power crazy or out to enrich myself."

Fairus had said he wanted to resign to further his studies.

Yesterday, he conceded that he was also pressured to let go of his positions following the probes initiated against him.

"True, that was one of the reasons. When the baseless allegations were levelled against me, I felt that I needed to be given space for the issue to be cleared.

"It was not that I was afraid to face the consequences of the chalked-up claims, but rather to reflect the traits of a genuine leader," he said.

The MACC said the decision to clear Fairus was reached after all statements in the investigation reports were studied and the investigation papers referred to the commission's legal and prosecution unit, which subsequently found that the statements offered no grounds for prosecution.

The attorney-general, who was informed of the findings, agreed with the decision not to prosecute Fairus.

MACC Investigations Department director Deputy Commissioner Datuk Shukri Abdull said investigations revealed that Fairus' scope of duties and responsibilities under his portfolio had no direct link to the Penang quarry industry.

(Apart from chairing the state Religious Affairs Committee, Fairus was also chairman of the Entrepreneur Development, Cooperatives, Information and Community Relations Committee.)

Shukri said probes showed that Fairus was merely tasked with handling investigations into a case that involved the alienation of land at Lot 954 and 955 in Mukim 20 of the Seberang Prai Tengah district.

Shukri also said the commission would send a team to Penang to conduct studies in promoting transparency and accountability as well as on the procedures and ethics in accepting contributions and donations.

He said the commission would propose that the findings of this study be implemented by all states and ministries.

PETALING JAYA: The ongoing leadership crisis in Terengganu took another twist with the arrest of a clerk- cum-blogger in Bangi on Monday, believed to be involved in sending out threatening SMSes to three of 10 Barisan Nasional assemblymen last week.

The 31-year-old man is believed to be linked to the group of 10 assemblymen who boycotted the assembly sitting last week after receiving death threats via SMS.

The group had claimed that the SMS had originated from a senior official in the Mentri Besar’s office.

Terengganu police chief Senior Asst Comm (I) Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan, who confirmed the arrest, said the man was being investigated for involvement in a plot to discredit Ahmad.

“We are hoping to make another arrest soon. We have already identified the individual but so far we have not been able to establish his whereabouts.

“This person that we are looking for is someone who is involved with the group, but he is not a state assemblymen,” he told The Star.

The suspect being sought is believed to be an aide of one of the 10 assemblymen.

SAC Shukri said investigations thus far proved that the threatening SMS did not originate from the MB’s office.

.Last Tuesday, the 10 assemblymen stayed away from the second day of the sitting of the assembly, claiming that they feared for their safety after three of them said they had received death threats via SMS.

However, there were also suggestions that they were staging a boycott in protest against the leadership of Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said.

The assemblymen involved are State Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Rosol Wahid, former mentri besar and Kerteh assemblyman Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, Paka assemblyman Zakaria Ariffin, Permaisuri assemblyman Halim Jusoh, Tepoh assemblyman Muhammad Ramli Noh, Mohd Zawawi Ismail (Kuala Berang), Datuk Din Adam (Bukit Besi), Alias Abdullah (Alor Limbat), Ramlan Ali (Jabi) and Mohd Pehimi Yusof (Kota Putera).

In Kuala Terengganu, state CID chief Asst Comm Mohd Fauzi Abduri said the clerk-cum-blogger was arrested after several days of surveillance by a unit formed specifically to track the sender of the SMS.

ACP Mohd Fauzi said the suspect was taken to his home in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, where his computers and related hardware were confiscated.

The suspect had been remanded for four days and would be brought to Kuala Terengganu to facilitate investigations.

In an immediate response, Ahmad said he was relieved to know that his office was not linked in the sending of the SMSes.

“The truth has prevailed at last and we thank police for their prompt action.

PENANG: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng considers the problem between him and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim resolved after he received an apology from the Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser. Lim yesterday confirmed that Anwar had apologised to him for failing to inform him of the resignation of former deputy chief minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin as the assemblyman for Penanti. "I don't want the matter to go on," he said here

PETALING JAYA: The Sessions Court here issued a warrant of arrest against Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin on Thursday after he failed to turn up for his sedition trial.

His lawyer J. Chandra informed judge Rozina Ayob that his client did not turn up in court on the grounds he is on a self-imposed exile from the state for “reasons that are well known.”

“You know these ‘well known reasons,’ so please highlight them to the court,” Rozina said.

“The accused is posting his reasons on his website this morning,” said Chandra.

“You expect the court to go through that, is it?” the judge said.

Chandra then went out to explain that for over a month now, Raja Petra, 58, has posted articles or comments on issues in relation to the Selangor royal house that have angered some members of his own family who have demanded an apology.

On Malaysia Today, explaining why he did not attend court Thursday,Raja Petra wrote, “My family then gave me an ultimatum. I was to either make that public apology or else my family would insert an advertisement in the mainstream newspapers practically distancing itself from me, which could be interpreted as disowning me ....

“I went into exile outside Selangor ... . It has to be noted that this has always been the punishment for any member of the Selangor Royal Family who is considered durhaka (traitorous) since the beginning of the Selangor Sultanate more than 250 years ago.”

He also wrote that another reason why he did not attend court was the he did not expect to get a fair trial.

In court on Thursday, his lawyer Chandra added, “You have to bear in mind that he is a member of royalty and this self-imposed exile is a punishment he has handed out to himself.”

His wife Marina Lee, who is also his bailor, was also absent.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Shahidani Aziz asked for a warrant of arrest to be issued against Raja Petra and a notice of showcause for his wife and bailor Marina. The judge granted both and set May 22 for mention.

Raja Petra, a former Internal Security Act detainee, had on May 6 2008 claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on his Malaysia Today news portal on April 25 of that same year.

He is accused of publishing the article Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell on the website www.malaysia-today.net.

The charge under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or three years' jail or both upon conviction.

Anuar Manan (centre) celebrates after winning the Jelajah Malaysia fourth stage from Pasir Mas to Kuala Terengganu yesterday. — Pic: YUSNI ARIFFIN

KUALA LUMPUR: The words "disabled, Astro" and "aid" cannot occur in the same sentence, as far as the Welfare Department is concerned.

The department bars the disabled from getting welfare aid if they have Astro or a television set at home.

The rule applies even if one lives in someone else's house, temporarily or otherwise.

S. Karupanan, 73, found this out the hard way three months ago when the department cut the RM200 aid to him as he was temporarily staying in a house which "had Astro service".

The department had paid for surgery on one knee and promised to underwrite the cost of the operation on the other knee.
But while awaiting the second surgery, he moved into his daughter's house and his troubles began.

Welfare officers who came to visit him saw red when they chanced upon the Astro connection and immediately withdrew the aid.

For K. Shanmugam, 51, who applied for welfare assistance in 2005 on becoming paralysed, it has been a string of "no's" from the department for aid.

His mistake, he believes, was his honest reply when asked if he had a television set and Astro at home.

"That's the first question they asked. When I said I had both, they immediately said that I was not eligible for assistance as there were others poorer than me." 

The former crane driver, who was earning RM2,000 in Singapore when a motorcycle accident four years ago left him paralysed, was baffled by the department's decision.

He said that the bills of the family of six were paid by relatives who realised that he only had Astro to keep him company when the children were out of the house.

"I cannot work. The only pleasure in my life now is the Astro service," he said.

Another extreme case is that of a a disabled 40-year-old, paralysed from the neck downwards, who lives with her partly-paralysed mother.

The disabled woman, who declined to be identified, decided against applying for an Astro connection after being warned by a welfare officer that they would cut aid to them if she did so.

What she cannot understand is why they would do so as Astro was the "only" company she and her mother could have at home.

"We cannot leave our house and we live on donations and welfare aid. What's wrong if some people who sympathise want to get us an Astro connection?"

Welfare director-general Datuk Meme Zainal Rashid could not be reached for comment.

KUALA LUMPUR: The stepped-up offensive against crime, which began here a week ago, has been extended to four more states.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan wants more of his men and women in blue to hit the streets and get tough with the bad hats in a blitz to keep the country safe.

The IGP has directed police chiefs in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Johor to follow the Kuala Lumpur police lead by increasing patrols and be in public places day and night to arrest criminals or deter those planning to commit crimes.

“The order is out for all police stations in the four states and the Federal Territory to go on the offensive and to screen as many people as possible. We have identified areas where the crime rate is high or where there are many complaints of criminal activities.

“We are seeking the cooperation of other agencies including the Road Transport and the Immigration departments to assist us in tackling Mat Rempits and illegal immigrants. We will zoom in on other criminals,” he said.

Musa will be in constant communication with his counterparts in neighbouring countries to cooperate to nab criminals who are trying to seek refuge or go into hiding in other countries.

Musa said the police have had some measure of success lately following the integrated effort among the CID, narcotics, general duty and Special Branch.

More than 1,000 people and vehicles have been screened and inspected on a daily basis by city police and the results have been very encouraging as a number of wanted persons have been arrested and weapons including firearms, knives and Samurai swords confiscated.

Although this massive clampdown on criminals may cause some inconvenience to the people, Musa urged the public to bear with them and to cooperate to keep the crime rate down.

The additional manpower from the latest intake of policemen would be of help to beef up the force in certain crime-prone areas.

“The police are doing their best but they cannot be at all the places at any one time.

“Our officers and men be will moving from place to place to flush out the law-breakers besides increasing patrols and roadblocks,” Musa said.

All state CID chiefs have been directed to release daily crime statistics as well as the number of arrests made to the mass media so that the public would be kept informed of the police operations.

“The public should not be unduly worried with the perceived high crime figures. If possible, they should help the police by providing information and by calling the nearest police station or the police control centre.”

To a question, Musa said the integrated policing operations were part of the police force’s five-year strategic action plan to keep a lid on the crime rate.

BABY ALERT...A one-year old boy, Kee Hao Kit has gone missing from his home and his parents are on a frantic search for the toddler. His mother, Tan Lay Khiaw (left) and her husband Kee Bak Siang are worried their only child may have been smuggled out of the country as there was no ransom demand. Their gardener, has since gone missing. For more...READ HERE

Tengku Azizan is perhaps the longest-serving employee in Proton, having been with it since even before the company’s first car rolled out. Over the years, he has been involved in testing prototypes in Malaysia and overseas and today heads the team that does homologation and testing of products. For many years now, I’ve told him that I would love to do a story on his career because it must be an exciting and very interesting job testing prototypes of models which won’t be in showrooms until some years later. But being the good corporate man, he’s always suggested that I 'talk to the PR department first and get their approval’ before he could agree to an interview. I’ve tried on and off but never really gotten down to that interview yet.

So it was a surprise to get a message from him inviting me to a 'TT’ (teh tarik session)  - and also mention of driving 'the MPV’ to Temerloh the next day. The invitation really was a surprise, not that he had seemingly agreed to chat with me but that he was telling me that the MPV – which was obviously the Exora – was to be present. I was so puzzled that I even SMS back whether I would get to sit with him in the MPV because it was hard to believe I could be allowed to do so! We’ve always talked about his prototype testing and how his team has to sneak out late at night to avoid being caught by spy photographers and though I have tested prototypes of other companies in Malaysia and other countries, I never asked him to allow me because I believed he would not be able to agree due to strict company policy. In fact, he told me they really work hard not to be spotted when they are on the road and if pictures start to appear, then there will be 'problems with the bosses’.

The invitation was the day before, as I said, and I had another appointment but I felt this was such a rare opportunity that I postponed it. Actually, I did not realize that the session was specially organized for me as I had assumed it was one of their many test runs, now safe to be conducted in broad daylight since the launch was only a month away, and I was just being offered a chance to tag along. When I told Tengku Azizan that I actually had an appointment, he kindly offered me another chance 'next week’ but I felt that the offer was so good that I would be silly to postpone it because the following week, things may be different.

So I turned up at the Proton carpark early in the morning very excited about the drive and Tengku Azizan told me there would be two Exoras available, a manual and an automatic. Because I had to be back in town by 2 pm, we would not go as far as Temerloh and I could decide where I wanted to go. He also had a number of his team members come along because he knew that one of the things which would need to be assessed was the performance of the MPV with a full load of seven on board. It was very thoughtful of him and knowing that his guys are very busy, I have also to thank them for coming along for the ride. I didn’t expect to be allowed to take pictures and didn’t try and in any case, the Proton people requested that I use only those pictures which have already appeared in the Exora ads and none at all from the drive session if I needed to illustrate my report. They trusted me enough not to make me sign a million ringgit indemnity form if I didn’t follow their request and I see no reason why I should make them feel their trust was unjustified.

I had a go in the manual first and when I settled into the driver’s seat, the first thing I checked out was the driving position. In the Waja and models on the same platform, the driving position never seemed right – somehow the relationship between the steering wheel, its angle and the seat were awkward and it seemed like the people who chose such a relationship were thinking of a sporty driving position. That’s fine if you are doing a Lotus but not if you are doing a sedan for everyday commuting and certainly not for a MPV.

In the Exora, which has a brand new platform, the constraint of that driving position is not there and they have had a chance to get it right and this time, they have. It’s a very comfortable position and being a MPV, the seating height is higher which gives a commanding view forward. Women drivers especially will appreciate this as it promotes confidence.

Having had experience with the Campro CPS already, I expected the same character but discovered that the one in the Exora had a different feel. It felt stronger at the low end with more linear power delivery than what I remembered. I was told that they had done some tuning to match the engine to the increased weight (a figure of 1,400 kgs was mentioned) and driving style expected. More significantly, the gear ratio has been changed which does help in the take-off. However, I noticed that the engine speed at 100 km/h was 2900 rpm which is somewhat high by today’s standards (the Toyota Vios 1.5-litre engine spins at 2600 rpm at the same speed) and can have implications on fuel economy (more on this later).

There’s not much to assess a manual transmission really and the only thing I found was that the shifting was a bit notchy. This could have been an adjustment issue since the unit was a prototype and production versions may not have the same notchiness.

Steering feel was very good, precise and correctly weighted. On the smooth Karak highway, I didn’t notice it but over rough surfaces and ripples, I felt that the feedback was on the high side. This could be a consequence of making the steering feel precise and most people will probably be okay with it. However, in places like East Malaysia and rural areas where roads are rough, the vibrations coming through the steering wheel during long periods of driving could contribute to fatigue, not to mention being irritating.

At the BHP station along the Karak highway, I switched to the automatic since there was not much else to discover about the manual. Tengku Azizan said that the automatic would probably sell in larger numbers so I thought I should give it more attention.

Like the manual, the engine in the automatic also felt more lively, more eager at the low end. What I liked though was the gated shifter. For those who are not familiar, a gated shifter (you can see it in the picture) has a shift lever slot that is not straight. Mercedes-Benz was the first to introduce this concept in the 1970s and the various positions have more defined 'slots’ to allow more positive selection. It is not like the tiptronic transmission which is an automatic transmission with manual shift (sequential) capability but it is just an automatic transmission with a specially-shaped slot and you can select lower gears manually. Personally, I like a gated shifter more than a tiptronic because the feel is more like that of a manual transmission whereas a tiptronic transmission in manual mode only executes shifts with a very short movement up or down (or left or right). Paddle shifts on the steering wheel are, of course, a different matter.

The shifts in the automatic were pretty smooth though not seamless and in some conditions, kickdown was a bit too abrupt. But what was important was that there was no 'hunting’ of gears, suggesting that the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) has been well programmed and properly matched to the engine characteristics. In some other cars I’ve driven with poor matching, the transmission would keep trying to find the right gear and downshift even on a slight incline. That’s very annoying and I am pleased to say that the Exora has none of that behaviour.

Also very surprising to me was the smoothness of the engine at cruising speeds. Above 110 km/h, the Campro CPS engine ran so smoothly and quietly and it was not entirely due to sound insulation.

Now comes the part where I answer one of the Big Questions about the Exora’s performance: can it go up the Genting road? Well, I didn’t use the road to Genting Highlands because it’s usually crowded and I prefer the Bukit Tinggi road. I’m more familiar with that road so if there was any comparison to be made, that would have been a better road for me and I used it for the Exora. The question about whether the Exora or any car can go up a hilly road is, to me, unnecessary. Any car and lorry can go up a hill and what people really want to know is how fast it can go and that depends on expectations. A familyman who cares about safety for himself and his family isn’t going to expect to drive to the top of Bukit Tinggi like that guy in InitialD, right? He will want to be able to drive at a decent speed without the engine having to roar at 6000 rpm, both of which the Exora – with 7 guys aboard – can easily do.

The Campro CPS engine in the Exora has adequate power and torque to meet such a requirement satisfactorily and I believe that 90% of people would have no complaints. The other 10% who may feel it is 'under-powered’ would be those who expect performance levels like a Waja or Persona and they are probably not the target buyers for a MPV anyway.

I won’t talk about the fuel consumption since the driving I did was rather fast and hard, not how a real owner would  be driving. As I said, the high rpm at cruising speeds does suggest that consumption might be affected but until I actually do a run using our own route and procedure, I can’t say for sure and it would not be fair to make a judgement at this time.

Another thing which I noticed driving around was that in many MPVs, there were usually a number of children which means that the load is not as great as 7 adults. And the occasions when there are likely to be 7 adults would probably be in town when office colleagues go for lunch in one vehicle. In such a situation, it’s unlikely that there will be any issues about performance.

That’s one major question answered so I’ll move on to ride and handling. This area gets top marks and I was really impressed. Of course, Protons since the Satria GTI have had above-average handling thanks to Lotus technology and experience. It’s the one area no one has ever criticized and with the MPV, it is clear that the engineers have done wonders with their skills. I would rate it as the best in its class – not the best among all MPVs in the world – and the closest rival in this department would be the Naza Citra II Rondo which has a rather European feel about it. When I mentioned this comparison to Tengku Azizan, he found it interesting and suspected that the Kia people (the Rondo is adapted from a Kia Carens) may have had Lotus Engineering do some chassis tuning work too!

Getting the Exora to handle so impressively might have meant sacrificing ride comfort, something which could not be allowed in a family-type vehicle. Surprisingly, the ride comfort was also very good. Not soft like a French MPV but firm like a European one. Even on broken roads and bumps, the Exora maintained it poise and body roll was negligible. Most MPVs in this class tend to roll a bit when you push them hard through corners but the Exora cornered like a car! No kidding!

I would also add that the brakes worked very well and the feel was excellent. This is not what I would say of other Proton models and certainly not for the Satria Neo CPS which I drove recently and was surprised that the brakes were spongy. But with the Exora, I felt confident even braking hard late in corners to see how much the nose dipped (very little).

Strength of body structure of the Exora has been given a lot of attention, especially at the front. Its rigidity also makes the ride and handling very impressive

I would have suggested to Proton an advertising tagline like 'a 2-seater with space for 7’ but Honda already describes their Stream like that! And talking of the Stream, I would say that the Honda MPV along with the Mazda5 and Toyota Wish should not be considered rivals to the Exora. They are a notch higher and I doubt very much if someone who has eyes on any of them would consider the Exora. The more obvious rivals would be the Nissan Grand Livina, Toyota Avanza and Naza Citra, all of which are selling very well but will definitely lose sales to the Exora when it becomes available. What about the Toyota Innova? Some people considering an Innova might look at the Exora but the Toyota has a larger engine (and a higher price as well).
 
Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) were commendably low even though the unit was not a mass production one. In the rear seat, road noise could be heard but this is not unexpected because of the open space at the back. What was telling about the sound insulation was during the storm that we had to drive through. With low-priced models, roof insulation is often kept to a minimum for cost reasons but I don’t think this is the case with the Exora because there was no intrusive sound from the roof even with raindrops hammering down on it.

Now that we’ve moved inside, let’s talk about the packaging and accommodation. The cabin width felt generous and the large size of the front seat would also suggest this. I sat in the middle row briefly and didn’t take too much note but Paul Tan (who had his session a week after me) commented that the middle row gets much more legroom than it needs to have. As for the third row, I made sure I checked it out and sat there all the way from the Genting tunnel to Shah Alam. The space was fine for me and about the same as what is in a Grand Livina (and I also sat in its third row for a very long period during a test-drive in Bali).

From the first sighting of the bodyshell during the Proton Technology Week a while back, I wondered about the third side window. It seemed like a rather small opening and I felt that it could mean the people in the third row would have something like a small window like on an aircraft, which is not particularly pleasant. However, when I sat inside and looked out, the amount of glass area is actually quite large and kids will have a nice view of the world passing by.

Comfort-wise, the seats are well structured but I felt that the cushion thickness might be on the thin side. I’m not sure if this is because the interior designers wanted to get as much headroom as possible but if it is thin, then fatigue could set in on long distances. This only applies to the second and third rows as the front two seats are fine.

As the pictures show, the second and third row can fold down completely flat which is very good. However, the folding operation for the second seat didn’t seem so good though owners may eventually get used to it. It is not a straightforward operation and salesmen had better practice doing it so they do not struggle in front of potential customers! Incidentally, the head restraints are low-profile types which do not have to be removed when the seats are flat.

Looking around the cabin, I was impressed by the innovative thinking the interior designers had and I suspect a large portion of the R&D budget went to creating an interior that is among the best in this class of MPVs. At a workshop with Proton’s interior designers a couple of years ago, I had emphasized this as being very important because it is something that is related to perceived quality. Earlier models didn’t have the right textures and panels appeared cheap and plasticky. Some of the trim in the Exora was untextured because it was a prototype but I feel sure that the texture will be the right type in the production units because the latest Waja CPS is very well done. Maybe the interior designers did feel I had a point and have worked hard at it.

One teh tarik hook is under the front head restraint and the other is on the dashboard

The Proton designers know that the one thing I have always asked about is a little thing called a teh tarikhook. I am sure you know what it is and many vehicles have it as standard. It’s a simple feature but very useful because our culture is such that we do have a lot of plastic bags of teh tarik,nasi lemak and so on. In the past, people would hang these on the door handles; okay but not the best way. So, to me, it has been odd that Proton being a Malaysian product did not have such a feature from the start and yet it is standard in a Kia, Honda, Toyota and other foreign makes (even the Land Rover Discovery!). I was told that this feature was a 'must-have’ for the Exora because they did not want me bringing it up again!

Actually, even though the Proton people associate me with the teh tarik hook,  I must explain that it was really the late Dato’ Gurcharan Singh, the first GM of EON, who brought it up. During the media launch of the Saga 1.5I in 1987 or 1988, he complained that there was no 'char kuey teow’ hook for him to hang the packet of noodles and he felt that was something a Malaysian Car should have as standard.

The cupholders and bottle holders get high marks. You may think that these are all the same but a good cupholder is deep so that the cup does not topple over when you corner. The ones in the Exora (there are ten) are very well designed, perhaps the best I have seen. Those right at the back, along the sides below the third windows, have a slot for magazines or comics, something which is also thoughtful.

Stowage pockets for seatbelt buckles are a plus point

Other nice things are the neat storage of the seatbelts on the second and third rows (not all manufacturers think of this) and this will also make sure that there are no customers asking why the seatbelts are missing. In quite a number of cases I have heard, customers are puzzled to find their rear seatbelts missing. Actually the seatbelts are underneath and during installation of the seat, the people are too lazy to pull them up and just leave them on the floor and drop the seat on top.

The most expensive version will have a DVD player mounted on the ceiling somewhere above the gap between the front seats. It’s a standalone unit rather than integrated with the audio head unit. I think it also takes SD card media.

As for the dashboard, the design is clean and contemporary. There are some carryover parts from other models but it did surprise me to see quite a lot of new parts which means a higher initial cost of production. Perhaps this also suggests that there are new suppliers and Proton has finally been able to get rid of those that caused its reputation to go downhill by supplying parts with sub-standard quality.

You should be able to answer calls using the integrated Bluetooth connection by pressing a button on the steering wheel

The instrument panel has a nice presentation and the only thing I would have an issue with is reflections at the top (inside the shroud) because the surface is too shiny and smooth. Tengku Azizan said that it was not the final trim and the 'ghosting’ I noticed would not be present in the production model.

The Honda-like steering wheel has a nice feel and has some buttons for operating the radio and handsfree connection via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth facility is welcome and will help in motoring safety. The only thing about these Bluetooth facilities in cars is that the standards keep evolving and some manufacturers like to be right up to date. This can mean that some older handphones have problems connecting because their Bluetooth version is older. I mentioned this to Tengku Azizan and he said that they would try to test as many different phones as possible and see if any had problems and then get the supplier to make the necessary adjustments.

One thing which you won’t see even in the showroom vehicles but which is also innovative is a Body Control Module. This is something which can control multiple functions in a vehicle and some of the features which I was told about were things like activation of the hazard warning lights during emergency braking and disabling of the central locking system (in unlocked position) if a child operated it more than 30 times in 30 seconds.

With a Proton, there is always the final question – what about build quality? I can’t answer that since the units I drove were prototypes and I accept that they had parts which would not be in the production models. But I feel sure the quality will be high going by what we’ve seen of the New Saga. It would be a real shame if all the fantastic efforts of the engineers and interior designers in developing one of the best MPVs in its class had poor quality.

So that’s about as much as I can tell you about the experience of driving the first truly Malaysian MPV. If you think that my positive views are enough and you do not need further convincing and you want to be among the first to own an Exora, then go and book one now (you only need RM1,000 to do so). And if you can't decide on the colour choices, the two new ones - Pyrite Brown and Gaia Blue – look very suitable for the Exora.

Footnote: As I mentioned in the opening part of this report, it was a real surprise to be offered a test-drive well before the launch of the Exora. I have had such opportunities with other companies before (and on some occasions, I had to go to Africa for the drive!) but I never expected it from Proton. After all, this is the company which – under the former management – was so paranoid about the public seeing a new model before launch that it selectively picked on one journalist to threaten with a legal suit for having pictures of the Gen2 on his website and when that didn’t do the trick, they asked the police to have the matter investigated as a commercial crime so as to intimidate the journalist into submission, maybe even hoping that he would still refuse to cooperate and be thrown in jail for being a 'threat to national security'!. Fortunately, such discrimination and childish attitudes do not exist in the present management and there is certainly none of the arrogance and boastfulness either. That today's Proton MD gave permission for such a test-drive to be done and did not have his legal department prepare a 10-page indemnity form to sign shows just how different things are. Thanks for the privilege, Proton.

On another note, I am obliged to refute the suggestion on another website that there was 'pressure on the management to allow other journalists to have a test-drive’ because it was alleged that we had learnt that a certain journalist on that website had been given the chance. From the way I described how I was invited to take part, it is very clear that the allegation is total rubbish, perhaps made to justify breaking of the embargo we had all agreed on. The rest of us had no idea that Proton was going to have such an activity so how could we even have 'pressured the management’? Doesn’t make sense at all, does it?