NST Online: Topnews
NST Online: Topnews |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2011 10:27 AM PDT Petronas paid govt RM594.6bKUALA LUMPUR: Petronas has paid RM594.6 billion to the federal and state governments in the form of dividend, tax, export duty and petroleum receipts since its inception, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday. Of the total, RM65.7 billion was payment for the financial year ended March 31 this year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Till June this year, Petronas' total contribution to the National Trust Fund was RM3 billion and the money had been invested in several financial instruments.
Nurul Izzah had wanted to know Petronas' total contribution to the National Trust Fund and whether the government was prepared to allocate 30 per cent of the national oil corporation's annual profit in a national education fund for scholarships. Najib said the National Trust Fund was established to ensure optimum utilisation of the country's depleting natural resources for a continuous and stable source of revenue for the benefit of future generations.
The fund is administered by a panel of financial professionals, he said. Najib said the government had no plan to set up a new education fund as the award of scholarships and study loans was subject to certain terms and conditions.
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| 300 US scholars to teach English Posted: 29 Jun 2011 10:27 AM PDT SOME 300 Fulbright scholars from the United States will be in Malaysia from next year to help improve English proficiency among schoolchildren in urban and rural areas, including Sabah and Sarawak. Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the education initiative, under the Fulbright English Teaching Assistance programme for fun learning, had been agreed upon by the Federal Government and the United States. "We hope to bring the level of proficiency in the language among our students to new heights through this programme," said Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister.
"Following this, I held many discussions, both at the ministry level and with US embassy officials and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Kuala Lumpur and the US. We agreed that the programme be continued, not under the Peace Corps-style concept but through the Fulbright programme," he told Malay-sian journalists after meeting the Asean-US Business Council delegation here yesterday. Muhyiddin, who is in the US capital for a four-day working visit, is accompanied by his wife, Puan Seri Norainee Abdul Rahman, Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof and other senior government officials.
The volunteer teachers programme came about at the second Asean-US meeting last year that was attended by eight Asean heads of government, including Najib. Obama also attended. Under the programme, Muhyiddin said the American scholars would assist in the teaching of the language on a volunteer basis.
"Instead, they will teach English-related programmes or activities during certain school hours which will be determined later. Therefore, the students' timetable will not be affected." Muhyiddin said this was unlike the master teachers' programme between Malaysia and the United Kingdom where master teachers guide Malaysian teachers who teach English-related subjects. "These master teachers will work closely with the school authorities on how best to improve the language, like the method of teaching. They go to a school, say, for a week or so, and assist teachers in areas where improvement needs to be done." Under the Fulbright programme, Muhyiddin said both Kuala Lumpur and the US would design fun programmes to encourage students to speak in English. He said Malaysia would pay for part of the costs, like accommodation and transport for the volunteers, and has set aside a RM1.4 million allocation for this. Under the first phase, Muhyiddin said 50 scholars would start by early next year. Muhyiddin said the Terengganu state government had embarked on a similar programme on its own initiative and it had proved successful. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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