Khamis, 2 Jun 2011

NST Online: Topnews

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Inquest into death of Customs man

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 11:36 AM PDT

2011/06/03
By Dharshini Balan and Farrah Naz Karim
news@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have recommended that an inquest be held to determine the circumstances leading to the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed.

The decision to file for an inquest was agreed to by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail after studying the investigation papers submitted by the Kuala Lumpur police.

"I have advised them (police) to file a case at the magistrate's court for an inquest.

"When the cause of death cannot be determined, an inquest or an open inquiry has to be held," Gani said.

The lawyer representing Ahmad Sarbaini's family, Ghazali Mohd Ramli, refused to comment on this latest development, saying he has yet to receive anything official from the police.

Ghazali said he only found out about the police recommendation on an online news portal.

Ahmad Sarbaini, 56, was found dead on the first floor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office in Jalan Cochrane here on April 6.

He was among 62 Customs officers detained earlier by the MACC in a graft probe involving losses of up to RM2.2 billion in under-declared taxes. The Customs officers were mainly investigated for graft and money laundering.

Ahmad Sarbaini was released on bail but returned to the MACC office on April 6 allegedly to meet the investigating officer in his case.

Hours after his body was found, MACC investigations director Datuk Mustafar Ali had said that Ahmad Sarbaini came on a motorcycle at 8.26am. He allegedly came of his own accord.

Mustafar had told reporters that Ahmad Sarbaini waited in the lobby for about an hour before an officer escorted him to the investigating officer's room on the third floor.

The officerwaited with him for almost an hour before he left Ahmad Sarbaini alone for a few minutes to look for the investigating officer. When he returned, the Customs officerwas missing.

He was later found sprawled on the badminton court on the first floor.

Police had classified the case as a sudden death as it was believed that he had jumped to his death.

Ahmad Sarbaini's family and friends, however, refused to believe he had committed suicide as he was said to be a religious man.

One of his colleagues even revealed that he played tennis with Ahmad Sarbaini the day before he died and that he had not shown any signs of being suicidal.

Last month, his family lawyers submitted new evidence to the police which they believed could clear Ahmad Sarbaini's name in the graft investigation and suspicions that he had committed suicide.

Lawyer Ghazali had denied that Ahmad Sarbani was involved in money laundering as per the allegations against him.

Earlier, the family had disclosed Ahmad Sarbaini's assets which revealed he had three cars — a Perodua Kancil, a second-hand Honda CRV and a Proton Persona — and a Modenas Kriss motorcycle. He also owned an apartment in Bukit Tinggi, Klang, worth RM65,872, an apartment in Puncak Alam costing RM68,988, a semi-detached cluster house in Saujana Impian in Sungai Buloh worth RM230,000 and RM35,000 in savings in Amanah Saham Bumiputra.

It was reported Ahmad Sarbaini bought the semi-detached house on a government loan and the savings were from his wife Maziah Manap's Employees Provident Fund account, which she had withdrawn when she turned 50.

Ahmad Sarbaini was survived by his wife and five children, between the ages of 12 and 27. The family was staying at the Customs quarters in Kelana Jaya.

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Targeting RM800b oil 'field'

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 11:05 AM PDT

2011/06/02
By Eileen Ng
news@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: A one-stop centre to coordinate and promote the country's oil field services and equipment (OFSE) industry, to be known as Malaysia Petroleum Resource Corporation, will be set up, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

This government body will look into creating an attractive business environment for industry players and investors.

"The government is in the midst of establishing the corporation to attract multinational companies by ensuring administrative ease as well as to promote Malaysian OFSE industry to overseas companies and investors," he said in his speech at the 13th Asian oil, gas and petrochemical engineering exhibition (OGA 2011) yesterday.

Touted as the largest oil and gas show in the region, the event attracted some 1,500 oil and gas companies from over 50 countries, with products worth more than RM100 billion on display.

Saying that the global OFSE market stood at RM800 billion and had undergone an annual growth rate of 25 per cent in recent years, Muhyiddin said the Asian market for oil field services alone had grown by 20 per cent per year over the past decade, primarily driven by the shift towards more technically challenging fields and increases in the price of crude oil.

Currently, there were gaps in the domestic OFSE industry, with Malaysian companies lacking capabilities and experience, limiting their ability to gain a strong share in the regional market, he said.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia's aspiration was to attract 10 to 20 major international companies to bring 10 per cent of their OFSE business operations to Malaysia.

"This could translate to around 40 per cent of their regional activities and would mean positioning Malaysia as a cost-competitive base for engineering, procurement and construction as well as a strategic base for installation activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

"As Malaysia is undertaking aggressive efforts and developing innovative solutions to drive the reserve growth and get more from existing fields, advanced technology and capability is crucial for us.

"International companies have the cutting edge technology and expertise to assist Malaysia in the deep water sector and exploration services. Our local oil and gas players can also grow their capabilities by working together with these international companies."

He said Malaysia was targeting five per cent annual growth for the energy sector from last year until 2020. "This target translates into an increase of RM131.4 billion in the period from 2010 to 2020.

"There are significant number of business opportunities in the oil, gas and energy sector. Malaysia's offshore producing fields are more mature than those of our Southeast Asian neighbours.

"There will be tremendous commercial opportunities for maintenance and replacement of assets in addition to development of new fields, which will continue to drive growth in this key sector."

Muhyiddin added that another growing business opportunity was the regional midstream logistics market for oil and oil product storage, with crude oil consumption expected to grow by 420,000 barrels per day annually from 2010 to 2015.

Malaysia, he said, was well-placed to complement Singapore and collectively operate a hub similar to Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp.

"This hub can complement each other in areas of refining capacity, independent storage and blending capacity as well as access to markets."

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NST Online: Latest

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Rival fan throws punch at Messi in Argentina

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 11:01 PM PDT

BUENOS AIRES - A rival fan threw a punch at Lionel Messi today as the Barcelona star was signing autographs and meeting with fans in his home town in Argentina, according to witnesses.

The star forward played down the incident, which took place in the town of Rosario some 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Buenos Aires, telling local media he didn't feel a thing and only found out about the punch later.

Witnesses said the assailant was among a group of young people who had gathered to get autographs and that he pulled a hood over his head and ran away after the attack.

Local residents said he was likely a fan of local club Rosario Central, the arch rivals of Newell's Old Boys, a team Messi, 23, once played for.

Fresh from guiding Barcelona to Champions League glory, Messi — widely regarded as the best player in the world — now has his sights firmly set on winning the July 1-24 Copa America with Argentina in his home country.

He was instrumental in Barca's 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final this year, scoring the second goal as the Catalan giants dominated the English champions at Wembley Stadium. - AFP

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MIC eyes 1 million Indian votes

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 09:44 PM PDT

KANGAR -- The MIC hopes to increase the number of Indian voters to one million in efforts to strengthen support for the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election.

MIC deputy president Datuk Dr S.Subramaniam said this could be achieved if all party members worked as a team.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 65th Perlis MIC Convention here last night, he said there were currently 850,000 registered Indian voters in the country, a large portion of whom were BN supporters.

Dr Subramaniam said that based on past general election records, in Perlis alone, about 90 per cent of the more than 2,000 Indian voters had voted for BN.
-- Bernama

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NST Online Business Times : latest

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M'sian Marine, UEM Land may join FBMKLCI

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:13 PM PDT

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd and UEM Land Holdings Bhd are the most likely candidates to be added to the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index when its mid-year review takes place on June 17, HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd analyst Goh Yin Foo wrote in a report.

Malaysia Marine had a market value of RM12.4 billion and UEM Land's was RM11.4 billion on May 31, said Goh. The index represents 30 of the Southeast Asian nation's largest listed companies that meet a range of criteria, including a free-float and liquidity test.

Malaysian Airline System Bhd is likely to get dropped, along with soon-to-be-delisted PLUS Expressways Holdings Bhd, according to the report. -- Bloomberg

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MMC a 'trading buy', stock climbs

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:10 PM PDT

MMC Corp, a Malaysian ports and power company, rose 1.5 per cent in Kuala Lumpur trading after OSK Research Sdn Bhd upgraded the stock to "trading buy" with a higher fair value of RM3.58.

Its shares climbed to RM2.79 at 9:05 a.m. local time, set for their biggest gain since May 26. -- Bloomberg

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NST Online: Sports

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Breaking in new faces

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 09:55 AM PDT

2011/06/02
Devinder Singh
devinder@nst.com.my

UP to six players could earn their first international cap today in Malaysia's friendly against Hong Kong as national coach K. Rajagobal assesses his options for the World Cup qualifiers later this month.

Rajagobal called up the new faces to fill the gaps left by eight players currently training with the national Olympic squad, who are preparing for their Asian zone second round qualifier against Lebanon.
While seeking to field his strongest side against Hong Kong at the Siu Sai Wan Stadium (kick-off: 8pm), several newcomers will make their debut in a bid to impress Rajagobal for places in the World Cup qualifier against Taiwan.
In the absence of Mahalli Jasuli and Sabre Mat Abu, the right-back position is a straight fight between two debutants in Kuala Lumpur captain Shahrom Abdul Kalam and Terengganu's Helmi Remeli while either Asraruddin Putra Omar or the returning Azmi Muslim should fill in at left-back.

Centreback Nasriq Baharom returns for his first international since last October although Rajagobal could deploy the Selangor defender on the right in which case Perak's Hisyamuddin Shaari will make his international debut in the centre alongside Aidil Zafuan Radzak.
Kedah winger Baddrol Bakhtiar is also expected to make his first appearance since October after missing the victorious AFF Cup campaign through injury while Amar Rohidan is set to reclaim his place in midfield and restore his partnership with skipper Safiq Rahim.
Aside from Baddrol, Rajagobal is spoilt for choice where wingers are concerned with S. Kunanlan, Amirulhadi Zainal, Ashaari Samsudin and S. Chanturu all battling for a starting position.

The national team's first-choice forward pair of Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Indonesia-based Safee Sali are likely to line up from the start although Terengganu's Super League top scorer Abdul Hadi Yahya should also feature at some point.
Malaysia defeated Hong Kong 2-0 in their last meeting in a friendly in Shah Alam in February but today's fixture represents the national team's best chance to end a four-year away victory drought, a run of 13 matches.
The last time Malaysia won away was 4-1 over Sri Lanka in a friendly in Colombo on March 24, 1997 although Malaysia did beat Laos twice on neutral ground in the last two AFF Cup tournaments.

PROBABLE XI — Sharbinee Allawee Ramli; Shahrom Kalam, Aidil Zafuan Radzak, Nasriq Baharom, Asraruddin Putra Omar; S. Kunanlan, Amar Rohidan, Safiq Rahim, Baddrol Bakhtiar; Safee Sali, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha.

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Li Na one win from history

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:27 AM PDT

CHINA'S Li Na shattered Maria Sharapova's dream of completing a set of Grand Slam titles by defeating the double-fault prone Russian 6-4, 7-5 in the French Open semi-finals yesterday.

In so doing, Li Na made it back-to back Grand Slam finals for her and she gets another crack at becoming the first player from China to win a major title after losing to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open at the start of the year.

For Maria it was a bitter pill to swallow as she had hoped to become just the 10th woman in the history of the sport to win all four Grand Slam titles, having won one apiece at Wimbledon and the Australian and US Opens.

But 10 double faults, five in each set, proved to be her undoing.

In tomorrow's final, the 29-year-old Li Na will go up against the winner of the other semi-final which opposes defending champion Francesa Schiavone of Italy and Marion Bartoli, who is aiming to become the first home winner at Roland Garros since Mary Pierce in 2000.

"I never believed I could be in the final of the French Open," said Li Na, better known for her play on hardcourts and grass.

"I hope I can do even better on Saturday. Both players are tough so I will watch them later and just enjoy the day and then get ready for Saturday."

Maria came into the semi-final on a 10-match winning streak on clay following her victory in Rome and with a self-professed new-found confidence on the surface on which she has always struggled.

But it was clear early on that of the two players, she was the one most troubled by the gusts of wind that whipped up the red dirt on the Philippe Chatrier centre court on a sunny, pleasant Paris afternoon.

Regularly waiting for calm conditions before launching into her high ball-tossing service action, the Russian was broken in the second game as the more consistent Li Na dominated.

Maria had two break points of her own in the next game but failed to take them as the 29-year-old Chinese player jumped out into a 4-1 lead.

Some booming groundstrokes from the tall Russian forced a break back to get to 4-3, but three double faults in the next game as the wind played havoc with her serve handed the advantage back to Li.

The seventh seed failed to serve out for the set, but once again had little difficulty breaking Maria's serve to 15 pocketing the first set in 50 minutes. -- AFP

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NST Online: StreetsJohor

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Villagers form Rela unit to fight crime

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 12:03 PM PDT

Major (rtd) Yusuf Salleh (seated, fourth from left) with members of the newly-formed Kampung Parit Sauh Rela unit. — Picture by Mustapha Ismail

THE rise in crime cases in Batu Pahat, including the rural areas, are forcing
residents there to adopt crime-preventive measures.

The residents in Kampung Parit Sauh, Parit Sulong, have formed a Rela (People's Volunteer Corps) unit to prevent criminal activities from occurring in their neighbourhoods.

Batu Pahat Rela officer, Major (rtd) Yusuf Salleh, said the setting up of the Rela unit in the village will ensure security and encourage discipline among the residents.

"Being involved as a residential or village security personnel alongside the police is a big responsibility.

It is all done for the sake of the country's safety," said Yusuf, after attending a Rela enrolment ceremony in Kampung Parit Sauh, Batu Pahat,
recently.

Yusuf added that theft and house break-ins are not the only crimes to prevent, but also illegal racing.

He hoped more youths would enrol as Rela members.

"Being a Rela member will sensitise the youths to crime
issues in each of their villages or residential areas," he said.

He urged platoon heads to
ensure their members remain constantly active in performing their security duties by establishing weekly meetings and marching sessions.

To date, the newly-established Rela unit at the village has
recruited 69 members.

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MINDING THEIR LANGUAGE

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 11:59 AM PDT

MINDING THEIR LANGUAGE

A religious school is engaging a training centre to provide additional English language coaching for students

HIDAYAH Islamic School started out in 1989 as Sekolah Rendah Islam Hidayah (SRIH), a primary school with only 12 students and four teachers.

Its secondary school, Sekolah Menengah Islam Hidayah (SMIH), was established in 1995 on the campus located along KM26, Jalan Johor Baru, Kg Sinaran Baru in Skudai, Johor.

This religious school is registered under the Education Ministry and Johor Islamic Council as a non-profit private learning institution with an emphasis on academic excellence, co-curriculum achievement and moral integrity in a supportive school and family environment.

It values holistic Islamic education and offers an integrated education that combines academic and religious subjects.

While Hidayah is a religious school, students are encouraged not only to pursue academic success but also to excel in extra-curricular activities.

Kamaliah Noordin, who was SMIH principal from 1995 to March 2011, put in place several initiatives to encourage students to move out of their comfort zone and compete with mainstream schools.

She wanted the public to change its mindset about this religious school as they witness how its students also excelled in extra-curricular activities like sports and debates.

With the slogan "Standing tall over the world", she motivated teachers and students to take pride in their skills and abilities to compete, often as underdogs, but with much success.

Students excel in sports like football, netball, table-tennis and archery at district and state levels. They have also won several national level competitions in debate and bridge model designing.

The school's debating teams in Malay, English and Arabic categories emerged as champions in inter-school, national and international debates.

Every year the school continues to achieve high academic performance in all the national examinations at primary and secondary levels.

In 2003, the Department of Private Education of the Ministry of Education recognised Hidayah Islamic School as the Best Private School in Johor and SRIH and SMIH were accorded the third and fourth places as top private schools in the country, respectively.

Today, SRIH has 1,047 pupils with a total of 30 classes and is supported by 67 teachers. SMIH has 645 students from Forms One to Five with 43 teaching staff.

While most of the students are from Peninsular Malaysia, there are a number of students from Sabah and Sarawak as well as some from Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.

In an effort to provide global perspective to the students through international experience, the school organised post-SPM programmes that involved them in community service activities in Sabah and Indonesia, including the disaster-hit areas in Aceh.

The school also received visits from international school
delegations from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Japan.

In April 2011, their English debating team participated in an Open Debate organised by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as the only secondary school from Malaysia among teams from universities and colleges.

It was an ambitious effort to pit Form Three and Form Five students against law undergrads, but a worthwhile outing for the team to earn some valuable experience and exposure.

The team's next challenge is at the Asian School Debate championship held in Seoul, South Korea.

School principal, Fauziah Abd Salam, realised that while many students have a good command of written English, there is still room for improvement in the area of verbal skills.

In line with the school's objectives, Hidayah Islamic School recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al-Ikhlas Cambridge Sdn Bhd, a language-training centre that will provide English language coaching to complement the students' formal learning in school.

Associate Prof Noraiza Che Awang, executive director and group principal, signed the MOU on behalf of Al-Ikhlas while

Professor Dr Azlan Ab Rahman and Ahmadon Bakri signed for the Hidayah Centre of Education.

Under this MoU, students will learn English under the Cambridge English system with a focus on grammar, the foundation of language and literacy skills of reading and writing.

The study approach will draw students into lively discussion on how to correct "broken English" and equip them with the skills to further access knowledge from materials that are available in English.

These skills are based on the unique Cambridge syllabus that focuses on all four language-learning skills involving reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Established in Shah Alam Section 13 Al-Ikhlas has grown to become a diversified language school with four centres in Shah Alam and one in Johor Baru. The latest centre is at Shah Alam City Centre Mall.

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Khamis, 2 Jun 2011