NST Online: Topnews

Posted: 08 Jun 2011 11:03 AM PDT

2011/06/09
By Roy See Wei Zhi and Aisyah Sulaiman
news@nst.com.my

PSD scholars who break bonds without paying risk court action

KUALA LUMPUR: Scholarship recipients who owe the Public Service Department (PSD) more than RM30,000 as principal sum payable for breaching their contracts will be issued bankruptcy notices. The notice can also be issued to the defaulter's guarantors, which in cases like these were usually the student's parents or relatives.

For those who owe less than RM30,000, a judgment debtor summons will be issued.

These defaulters will have to pay the amount either in lump sums or instalments, depending on the court's order If the defaulter fails to obey the court order, the person may be sent to prison.

Attorney-General's Chambers civil division, execution and enforcement unit head Mohammad Al-Saifi Hashim said they were currently processing 195 such cases.

He said scholarship holders were contractually bonded with the PSD to perform certain duties, such as serving in a certain institution upon completing their sponsored studies.

"When we receive a case from the PSD where a student has breached the contract, we will bring the defaulter and or their guarantors to court to obtain a judgment." Al-Saifi said from there, those owing more than RM30,000 would be issued bankruptcy notices. "Once the defaulter is declared bankrupt, the case will be forwarded to the Insolvency Department," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Al-Saifi said a person who has been declared bankrupt would have many restrictions imposed on him. "For example, a bankrupt person cannot take further loans or go overseas without the permission of the depar tment's director-general or the court.

"The director-general also has the power to sell off a bankrupt person's property in order to settle their debts. " Al-Saifi said those who failed to service their judgment debtor summons would be brought to a committal proceeding.

He said a committal proceeding might result in the defaulter being sent to prison.

Al-Saifi said so far no one had been sent to jail for breaching scholarship contracts or for defaulting on study loans.

He said, however, that the laws were already in place and enforcement would be exercised if the need arose.

Around 500 scholars had not fulfilled their contract with PSD since 2000 until last year.

PSD issued 4,000 scholarships this year, including 1,500 for overseas degree programmes.

Itwas reported earlier that most of those who were reluctant to return to uphold their end of the contract had studied in universities in Europe and the United States.

The scholarships for students studying there ranged from RM400,000 to RM1.2 million each.

The government over the past several years had allocated about RM1.2 billion for 1,500 overseas scholarships.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Agents to help register, legalise foreign workers

Posted: 08 Jun 2011 10:25 AM PDT

2011/06/08
By Masami Mustaza and Aisyah Sulaiman
news@nst.com.my

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein with Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar and ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam at the second General Police Special Equipment Exhibition and Convention Asia 2011 at the Putrajaya Maritime Centre yesterday.

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry will recruit agents to help facilitate in registering and legalising the illegal immigrants in the country.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said under the new programme, the immigrants would be registered using the biometric fingerprint scanning system before being re-assigned to the sectors which needed the foreign labour.

"Their biometric details will be taken and they must return to their home countries when their stay expires," he said after officiating the sponsorship presentation of the second General Police Special Equipment Exhibition and Convention (GPEC) Asia 2011 at the Putrajaya Maritime Centre yesterday.

Hishammuddin urged companies, associations and bodies keen to become agents to apply online on the ministry's official website but warned that strict vetting would be carried out to ensure only genuine agents were appointed.

"The companies should not act as outsourcing companies as their role is to help the government reach out to the illegal immigrants. We wish to avoid similar problems faced in the past when we outsourced these tasks.

"Enough of taking advantage of innocent people, regardless of whether they are foreign or local,"Hishammuddin said.

Also present at the event were ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar.

The biometric fingerprint scanning system, which was implemented on June 1, requires foreigners entering and leaving the country to have both index fingers scanned at entry and exit points, instead of just having their passports stamped. It is now implemented at 96 entry points in the country.

Yesterday, the Home Ministry's immigration affairs department issued a statement on a "total solution programme for illegal immigrants", where companies, associations and bodies were invited to become agents in facilitating the registration process of illegal immigrants.

The programme which include registering and providing amnesty, is aimed collecting statistics on the illegal immigrant population in the country and to allow them to go home without being penalised.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 8 Jun 2011

NST Online: Topnews

NST Online: Topnews

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan