NST Online: Topnews

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 09:04 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar Council's proposal to allow non-governmental organisations (NGO) to sit on the Election Commission (EC) has been shot down by several quarters.

They feel that the EC must be free from political influence as, in the present situation, it was difficult to gauge whether an NGO was neutral or had any agenda.

Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) International and Political Studies lecturer Md Shukri Shuib said the system employed by the EC could be improved, but the presence of representatives with vested interests would only create chaos.

"Improvement does not mean adding on members to the EC, but improving the procedures or giving fresh ideas.

"If the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) is chosen as a panel member, what about the rights of the other NGOs in Malaysia?" he said when contacted by Bernama.

Md Shukri said the Bar Council itself needed to be improved so that it was more transparent and fair in its decisions on any matter.

"The Bar Council needs to rectify itself first as it is already eligible for registration as a political party. We see that it has strayed from its original objective of looking after the interests of its members," he said.

Assistant Professor Dr Shamrahayu Abd Aziz of the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws of the International Islamic University of Malaysia was of the opinion that although the matter might seem positive, it would be worrying if NGO representatives could not separate themselves from politics.

"The irony is that NGOs have political influence. We cannot avoid it because everyone has their own political agenda. These representatives have voting rights and cannot be fence-sitters," she said.

Dr Shamrahayu also said that having NGOs on the EC might result in disagreements between the committee members and lead to disorder in the EC administrative system.

Selangor Youth Council deputy president Badrul Hisham Badrudin said he felt that the EC was experienced and continuously improving itself in the implementation of information technology systems and new voter registration.

"The commission needs to be free of political parties and NGOs as their presence can invite disputes and allegations by irresponsible quarters.

"NGO representatives need not be appointed to be part of the EC, but they should be given the chance to have discussions at forums or seminars," he said.
-- BERNAMA

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Cyber scams 'fuelled by greed'

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 11:25 AM PDT

2011/07/20
By Sharanpal Singh Randhawa
news@nst.com.my

Mohamad Asrul Fadzli Abdul Rahman, who won the best overall trainee award, being congratulated by his parents at the end of the first series of the 2011 training programme for male constables at the Langkawi police training centre yesterday. — NST picture by Eizairi Shamsudin

LANGKAWI: Ignorance and greed are the main reasons why many Malaysians fall victim to cyber crime syndicates.

Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said yesterday despite numerous warnings, many were still falling prey to cyber crime syndicates with figures showing an increase of 160 per cent in such cases in the past six years.

Syed Ismail said the increase showed that Malaysians were easily duped as they were driven by greed.

"It's amazing how people continue to be conned when all the signs indicate that it's an obvious scam."

Syed Ismail said cyber crimes come in various forms.

"It can be in the form of an email stating that a computer manufacturer is giving away free laptops as part of its brand promotion. To get a free laptop, all one has to do is to forward the email to a number of people.

"It sounds innocent enough but any message that claims that you can get free products or money just by forwarding an email is bound to be a hoax."

Syed Ismail said this after the closing ceremony of the 2011 training programme for male constables at the Langkawi police training centre here yesterday.

He said another scheme making its rounds is a phone call from a 'bank' regarding unsettled credit card bills or fraudulent purchases. Cardholders would usually be asked to contact Bank Negara Malaysia at a given number to sort out the problem. When they call the number, cardholders would be asked to provide their credit card information.

"They will only realise that they have been conned when their credit cards are later used by the syndicate.

"If the public is more alert, it will lower the chances of them being duped."

Another was the "parcel scam" where the victims are mostly lonely women who were not only left heartbroken but also, thousands of ringgit poorer.

Police records revealed that more than 600 women suffered losses amounting to RM19 million through this scam in recent years.

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 20 Julai 2011

NST Online: Topnews

NST Online: Topnews

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