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Singing grasshoppers to attract tourists

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 10:57 PM PDT

KOTA BAHARU -- Grasshopper singing competitions which locals here have long been enjoying can be turned into a major tourist attraction, Kelantan Information Department director Ramly Yusof said.

He said the singing giant grasshoppers, locally known as "belalang kerrek", had a unique "voice" which was pleasing to the ear.

Ramly was speaking to reporters after a singing competition among 53 "kerrek" grasshoppers in Kampung Peringat here last night. Three were announced as winners.

He said that grasshopper singing competitions in Kelantan were usually held at night, with judges to rate the "voice."

Ramly did not see any problem organising such competitions for foreign audiences. -- Bernama

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Anwar loses bid to remove judge

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 09:44 PM PDT

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim failed again today in his third bid to remove the trial judge in his drawn-out sodomy case.

The 63-year-old is on trial over allegations that he sodomised a 25-year-old former aide at an upmarket apartment in June 2008. He says the accusations are politically motivated.

"I find that the application by the defence to be without any merit and therefore I hereby reject the application," High Court judge Zabidin Mohamed Diah told a packed courtroom, dealing a further setback to Anwar.

In seeking the judge's removal, Anwar's counsel Karpal Singh told the court that Zabidin was biased and had effectively convicted Anwar before the opposition leader had given his defence.

Karpal said the prosecution was also delaying the trial by allowing Anwar's lawyers to interview only five of the 25 witnesses it had promised, including Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife.

They met Mohamad Saiful Bukhari, the man allegedly sodomised by father-of-six Anwar, after the purported incident.

But government prosecutor Mohamad Yusof Zainal Abiden argued that there had been "no prejudgement and there is no bias" because the judge had done his job in evaluating the evidence and concluded the evidence was strong enough to establish a case against Anwar.

Anwar's lawyers said they will appeal the ruling and the trial will resume on July 13.

Last month, the High Court ruled that Anwar had a case to answer after finding the prosecution's main witness — the accuser — "credible". Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, whether or not it is between consenting adults.

Anwar says the accusations are part of a long-running government plot to derail his political career, but authorities have denied any conspiracy.

He was sacked as deputy premier by then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and found guilty of corruption and sodomy, but was released from jail in 2004 after a separate sodomy conviction was overturned.

He has since become an electoral threat to the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power for half a century.

Anwar could face up to 20 years in jail if convicted. The marathon trial began in January last year but has been punctuated by delays and legal arguments. - AFP

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‘Make it total recall’

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 10:56 AM PDT

2011/06/06
By Linh Poh Lean
iplean@nst.com.my

Consumer associations express worry over Taiwan food products

KUALA LUMPUR: The Taiwanese food scare has the public worrying about their safety. They want the government to order a recall of all Taiwanese food products in the wake of the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration's advisory that more products were carcinogenic.

Consumer associations nationwide also want the government to publish the full list of products that have been tested and ordered off the shelves.

The New Straits Times was deluged with calls yesterday from readers who expressed their fears and worries, claiming that some of the products were still sold in some supermarkets and retail outlets.

They said more notices should be published in newspapers as many people were unaware of the tainted products and the fact they had been recalled.

Stressing that the public needed to know more about the matter, Malaysian Association of Standards Users chief executive officer Ratna Devi Nadarajan said the Health Ministry should do more to ensure the public's safety.

"This is not the first food scare we've had involving imported food products that are tainted. This involves the people's health." Ratna, who is also Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) deputy secretary-general, said the ministry should devise a method to enable customers to identify food products that were safe for consumption.

"In China and Taiwan, food products are tagged 'free from DEHP'.

This way, the people are aware that the food is safe to eat.

"How are we to identify the safe products if we don't even know what the harmful ones are?" she said, adding that PVC (polyvinyl chloride) food packaging and containers from Taiwan should also be tested.

The New Sunday Times reported that the latest products ordered off the shelves were Black Tea by Good Young Co Ltd; Lemon Juice Power A by Kakawa Enterprise Co Ltd; and several products by Triko Foods Co — Fruit Jelly/Assorted (210g, 525g and 1,260g), Bear Fruit Jelly Brown (580g), Bear Fruity Jelly Pink (580g), Fruity Jelly N.C. (9.08kg) and Fruity Jelly Bear (9.08kg).

They have been found to contain di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). DEHP and diisononyl phthalate (DINP) are chemical agents used in plastic manufacturing to give it flexibility and it can be transferred to food during manufacturing, packaging and storage.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris has advised the public to stop buying Taiwanese food products for the time being.

"Until we are sure they (food products) are safe, it is better to stay away." When contacted, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said there was no need to recall all Taiwanese food products as this would cause panic among consumers, especially those who had bought the products before the announcement was made.

He assured that the public had nothing to worry as the government was monitoring the situation.

"We should not overreact. The tainted products have been recalled from the market. We are targeting the problem specifically. Not all Taiwan food products are tainted, so to recall them would be unfair." Liow, however, said the full list of tested and banned food products would be published soon. "We are updating the list that is on the ministry's website." Consumers can also call the ministry's Safety and Food Quality Division at 03-88833652 or 03-88833653 or visit moh.gov.my or fsq.moh.gov.my for more information.

A check at major supermarkets and hypermarkets in the city found that the tainted food products have been removed.

Since Wednesday, 20 types of food products from Taiwan have been recalled.

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'Islamic way guides BN govt'

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 10:05 AM PDT

2011/06/05
By V. Shankar Ganesh, Masami Mustaza and Rozanna Latiff
news@nst.com.my

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin greeting a young supporter while having breakfast with residents at the Batu Umno division headquarters yesterday. — NST picture by Yazit Razali

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been taking an Islamic approach to help the weak and the poor through subsidies, free education and the healthcare system.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government frequently consulted religious bodies on various programmes.

He said accusations by Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang that Barisan Nasional and Umno were responsible for social problems in the country, were baseless.

"He also accused the nation's leadership for the problems, saying our weaknesses in incorporating religious values contributed to the failure.

"It's as though we don't know what Islam is. I believe his speech at the Pas muktamar was purely political and not based on facts. It doesn't touch on our country's achievements and progress as a model Islamic nation.

"Pas keeps talking about a welfare state but we are beyond that. We don't follow the Western concept of welfare. Instead, we use the Islamic approach by helping the poor and weak. So, they can't say we are unIslamic," he said after opening an Islamic symposium at Pusat Islam here yesterday during a series of walkabouts in the various parts of the capital.

Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin reminded ulama and mosque and surau officials to set aside their differences for the nation's unity.

"They shoulder the huge responsibility of realising the unity of the ummah, more so when unity is a religious obligation."

Throughout the day, Muhyiddin was accompanied by his wife, Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman, Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin and Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

His walkabout started at Taman Billion Mewah, where he braved heavy rain to meet more than 2,000 residents and members of non-governmental organisations, before presenting RM159,000 to four representatives of the Malay, Chinese, Indian and Sikh communities to benefit 225 NGOs in the area.

He also met with taxi drivers at Kampung Pindah and Kampung Baru and had lunch with 30 of them at Mahathir Restaurant in Kampung Baru.

Muhyiddin also announced a RM300,000 allocation to appoint Kumpulan Ikram Sdn Bhd to study the cause of a metre-deep sinkhole in Jalan Syed Mahadi, which appeared during heavy rain on April 14, forcing the evacuation of 40 families to Wisma Belia.

At the Jalan Tun Razak flats in Kampung Baru, he said RM500,000 had been approved for road repair works, while RM450,000 had been allocated to repaint seven blocks of the flats.

In the afternoon, Muhyiddin attended Zohor prayers at the National Mosque before visiting the Dang Wangi district police headquarters where he was welcomed by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar and senior police officers.

Later, at the Lembah Pantai Community Centre, Muhyiddin announced the approval of two school projects. The first is to upgrade a secondary school in Bukit Kerinchi under the second rolling plan of the 10th Malaysia Plan, while the second is to build a primary school and a secondary school in Pantai Dalam on a land swap basis with the area's developer.

The allocation for the schools will come from the Economic Planning Unit while the discussions with the developer to build the school will be carried out by the Public Private Partnership Unit.

Muhyiddin also handed out RM2,500 each to four residents who are registered under the "Skim Prihatin 1Wilayah Persekutuan".

Under the scheme, residents who are registered with Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan will receive RM2,500 in aid when there is a death or tragedy in the family.

Later, Muhyiddin also presented a letter of commitment from Kuala Lumpur City Hall to single mothers of the city to help them obtain trading licences.

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RM1.1m for clean water in Kelantan

Posted: 15 Mar 2011 01:24 AM PDT

RM1.1m for clean water in Kelantan

2010/11/01
By NST team in Gua Musang, Kelantan
news@nst.com.my

GUA MUSANG: The health ministry has allocated RM1.1 million to the Kelantan state government to implement rural water development projects to ensure people living in rural areas receive clean and adequate water supply.

Deputy health minister Datuk Rosnah Abd Shirlin said the projects consist of
controlled wells, feed gravity system as well as piped connection from Syarikat
Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB).

"The allocation is channelled to state health department to implement the projects," she said after attending the handing-over of the projects to Sungai

Terah residents here.

She said to date, Kelantan received 84.7 per cent of clean water supply
encompassing 223,115 households.

Only 40,212 households have yet to have clean water supplied by the ministry or
by AKSB. She expressed hopes that Gua Musang will receive 100 per cent water supply as soon as possible. To ensure the water is safe for consumption, she adviced residents to follow a few simple rules, namely:

Boil water before drinking;
The wells and feed gravity system need to be chlorinated periodically to kill off bacteria and reduce contamination risk; and
Trees or plants near water catchment areas should not be cut down to prevent the water source from drying up.

She also said this year, Kelantan has recorded six cholera, 28 typhoid and 2,168

food poisoning cases to date.

"These diseases still pose a risk to rural folk," she said.

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MCA praises PM

Posted: 10 Mar 2011 02:44 PM PST

MCA praises PM

2010/11/15
By Chong Chee Seong

MUAR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's achievements since taking over the mantle of the country last April had received praise from MCA.

In commending Najib for his hard work, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said Barisan Nasional's victories in the Nov 4 Galas and Batu Sapi by-elections were due to the people's acceptance of Najib's 1Malaysia concept.

Dr Chua said the Chinese were pragmatic people who will support the Prime Minister for doing what is good for the country.

"MCA is confident the results (of two by-elections) will serve as momentum to regain support of the community for the next general election," he said after opening a RM500,000 building and a hall in the SJKC Chung Hwa 3 last Thursday.

The speech was made on Dr Chua's behalf by Johor MCA secretary Tay Puay Chuan, who is also MCA Muar division chief.

Dr Chua said Najib's assurance that BN pledges in Galas and Batu Sapi would be fulfilled was a positive step to win the trust and confidence of the people.

He said by making continuous changes, BN would become a party that will received strong support.

"The victory of the two by-elections is an indication that BN's is ready and will do well in the next general election."

Dr Chua also said the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) was a clear-cut strategy and a roadmap towards making Malaysia a high-income economy.

Earlier, deputy youth and sports minister Datuk Razali Ibrahim, who is also the Muar MP, said investment in education was not measured by ringgit and sen but by quality.

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Calculated risk, rewarded

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:28 PM PDT

2011/06/06
By Ajitpal Singh

From left: T.Neesha, R. Archnaah, Alyssa Boey, Adelle Boey and S.Theiviya with their medal afster beating Pahang 2-0. Picture by — Osman Adnan

SELANGOR took a risk by fielding their young players in the women's team final at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Kuala Lumpur ye s t e r d ay.

But it turned out to be the right decision as Selangor retained their gold medal with ease by thrashing Pahang 2-0.

Federal Territories and Perlis, who finished runners-up in Group X and Y respectively, were the bronze medallists.

Coach S. Selvarajoo made a calculative move by resting United States-based T. Neesha in order to play his daughter Theiviya in
the first singles and Alyssa Boey, a finalist at

last year's National Hardcourt Championships,
in the second individual match.

Both did not disappoint as they impressed with Theiviya beating Ti Jia Wei 6-3, 6-0 while 15-year-old Alyssa outplayed 1 4 - ye ar - o l d
Delizavernne Kaur 6-0, 6-2.

"I rested Neesha because she had problems with the humidity in previous matches. I did not want to risk fielding her in the final," said
Selvarajoo yesterday.

"Sometimes a coach has to make difficult decisions. Neesha is our best player but I had to leave her out today (yesterday). I amhappy that my other players did well in her absence.

I am sure she will be happy with the team's s u c c e s s. "

Selvarajoo also confirmed that Neesha will not represent the team in the women's individual competitions which starts today.

Theiviya will team up with Adelle Boey in the women's doubles and also partner Juan Antonio Los Santos in the mixed doubles while Alyssa and 15-year-old R. Archnaah will play s i n g l e s.

Los Santos and Colin Wong, who both received first round byes, will start their men's singles campaign today while Hanifah Rahizam-Zaki Pauzi will play doubles.

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Pint-size Marangina powers to victory

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:24 PM PDT

2011/06/06
By Jugjet Singh

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Malaysia Games opening ceremony at the Cheras Stadium yesterday. Also present was NSC director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek. — Picture by Osman Adnan

MARANGINA Karani is only 139cm tall and weighs 35kg, but the petite 16-year-old packed enough power in her scrawny arms to whip M. Santhiyaa of Kuala Lumpur for Sabah's second silambam gold medal.

Sabah, fielding the only non-Indian contingent in the Malaysia Games silambam competition, have two gold medals to show after Nizam Jamal won the 38-43kg category on S at u r d ay.

Fighting with a stick more than twice her height, the Sabah lass showed class and her deft attempts took a taller Santhiyaa by surprise in the 30-35kg combat event.

"I am so excited to win the gold medal for Sabah, as in the last Malaysia Games in Malacca (where silambam made its debut) I could only win a bronze medal," said Marangina who looks more like a 12-year-old.

She trained hard for the past three months, and it paid off handsomely. "I love this sport, which was introduced to me when I was in primary school and even though the training is tough, I have never regretted taking it up," said Marang ina.

She was hoisted by her teammates after winning the gold, and there was wild celebrations as Sabah broke the dominance of more illustrious states like Negri Sembilan and Selangor.

Yesterday, Sabah also took silver through Fevian Dean in the men's 61-65kg and bronze in the men's 66-75kg courtesy of Zaidi Lintung to bring their total to two gold, two silver and three bronze after three days of competition.

In the last Games, Sabah only managed one silver and five bronze medals.

Sabah coach Marcel Micheal, 21, said his charges are disciplined and dedicated which makes his task much easier.

"I picked up the sport when studying at SML Keningau and now part my knowledge to students who are interested in it. My exponents are mostly from SMK Tabuan in Tenam," said Micheal.

Today is the last day of competition, and Thanithiramai (Individual event) will be contested.

RESULTS (All Finals) — Men: 56-60kg: 1 S.

Mohan (Negri), 2 Micheal Nelson (Pg), 3 Denesh Kumar and Logan Kumar.

61-65kg: 1 R. Ravinkumar (Sel), 2 Fevian Dean (Sab), 3 M. Muthukumaran (Negri) and Sharven Raj (Pg).

66-75kg: 1 S. Ravi (Joh), 2 R. Harwieenraj (Sel), 3 Zaidi Lintung (Sab) and Bernard Francis (Neg r i).

Women: 30-35kg: 1 Marangina Karani (Sab), 2 M. Santhiyaa (KL), 3 Gurpreet Kaur (Negri) and K.

Kausalya (Sel).

36-40kg:1 M. Silambarasi (Negri), 2 S. Yogarathi (Pah), 3 S. Gayathree (Pk) and S. Anchanah (Pg).

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Oil, gas production costs to hit 'new high'

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:07 PM PDT

Crude oil and natural gas exploration and production costs will reach "new high" this year, Petroliam Nasional Bhd Chief Executive Officer Shamsul Azhar Abbas said at the Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Malaysia has a significant amount of resources that remain untapped, said Shamsul Azhar Abbas.

About 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the nation are yet to be produced, he said.

Shamsul also said that more could be done to improve oilfield recovery. -- Bloomberg

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MAS to review ties with KLM

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 06:02 PM PDT

Malaysian Airlines Systems Bhd said it will review its long-standing relationship with KLM after agreeing to join the Oneworld alliance.

KLM, a brand of Air France-KLM, is part of the rival SkyTeam alliance of carriers.

Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Officer Tengku Azmil Zahruddin spoke to reporters in Singapore today. -- Bloomberg

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Ahad, 5 Jun 2011