Indian NGOs not convinced over Interlok withdrawal

Representatives of the Federation of Indian NGOs are “not convinced” the dispute over the problematic Form 5 literature textbook Interlok is over, just yet.The novel, which was introduced into the syllabus early this year, was withdrawn last week after almost a year of discontent from various quarters, particularly the Indian community.

The group’s president, Victor Suppiah, said today that it is not certain that is the case until Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin “makes the announcement and provides a detailed reasoning to why it was withdrawn” a year after it was introduced into the education system.  Suppiah said that he is “not convinced” the novel has been withdrawn and replaced with Konserto Terakhir as announced by Education director-general Abd Ghafar Mahmud.

PKR: Shahrizat's family owns RM10mil S'pore condo

In a new twist to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) saga, PKR today exposed that the family of cabinet minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil owns a luxury condominium in downtown Singapore worth about RM10 million.In a press conference, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution today revealed documents showing that the minister’s family owns a unit at the award-winning Orchard Scotts condominium on Anthony Road since Jan 27, 2010.

“The condominium was bought for S$4.1 million and has a floor size of 2,282 square feet, which is one of the largest units in the luxury condominium in downtown Singapore, according to the Singapore Redevelopment Authority’s records,” said the Machang MP.

An official search at the Singapore Land Authority, provided to the press today, found that the condominium was registered to Shahrizat’s husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail and their children Wan Shahinur Izran Mohamad Salleh and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah Mohamad Salleh. It is unclear if the unit is rented out or occupied for personal use.

The women, family and community development minister is under fire after the auditor-general flagged the feedlot project run by her family and costing the government RM250 million in soft loans, as a “mess”.

Interlok to be scrapped next year?

PETALING JAYA: The government is expected to pull out Interlok, the Form Five Malay literature textbook which ignited a firestorm of controversy, from schools altogether.FMT understands that Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be making an announcement to that effect soon.It was learnt that MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam had raised the matter at the last cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Subramaniam said: "I requested the deputy prime minister to ensure that the novel is not used as a textbook in schools next year."He responded favourably and was quite positive about it. I hope this would quell the unhappy feeling still felt in the Indian community," said Subramaniam when contacted today.

Call to include Tamil announcements at KLIA

KUALA LUMPUR: A former deputy minister has called on the government to reconsider its decision not to introduce announcements in Tamil at the KL International Airport in Sepang for the benefit of passengers from India.T Murugiah, former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said there is a need to include Tamil in the airport announcements for the benefit of the large number of Tamil-speaking tourists who visit the country.

Having announcements in Tamil will also be considered as a sign of respect for the visitors from India who are mostly business entrepreneurs and industrialists as well as tourists, he told Bernama today.
Murugiah was responding to the statement by the Transport Ministry yesterday that the government has no plans to make announcements in Tamil at the KLIA as passengers from India speak diverse dialects.
Currently, the announcements are made in Malay, English and Mandarin while announcements in Arabic and Japanese are made seasonally.

Brickfields accident: RapidKL driver suspended

The bus driver involved in an accident on Jalan Tun Sambanthan, which left two pedestrians seriously injured, has been suspended pending an internal inquiry after being accused of "speeding".In statement today Syarikat Prasarana Bhd said despite the accident, which was blamed on the introduction of the contra-flow lane on Jalan Tun Sambanthan on Saturday, its RapidKL buses would operate as usual.

The accident on the new bus and taxi lane in Brickfields, also known as Kuala Lumpur's Little India, could have been "avoided with close cooperation and deep understanding from all parties", Prasarana group director (bus division) Zohari Sulaiman said.

Zohari indicated that the injured pedestrians did not take notice of the recently restructured traffic flow, from a one-way traffic to a two-way traffic.

Bollywood actor Dev Anand dies at 88

MUMBAI: Bollywood romantic hero and fashion icon Dev Anand has died aged 88, prompting a flood of tributes today from across India's Hindi-language cinema industry.The Press Trust of India news agency said in a report from London that Anand, who with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar reigned supreme in the golden age of Bollywood, died of a heart attack in the British capital yesterday.

He had been in the city for a medical check-up and had been in poor health for the last few days, the agency said, quoting anonymous family sources.Often compared to the US actor Gregory Peck because of his matinee idol looks, "Debonair Dev" was best known for his boundless energy and passion for film. He starred in more than 100 movies.

He made his debut in "Hum Ek Hain" (We Are One) alongside his friend Guru Dutt in 1946, and was still working well into old age, starring in "Chargesheet" – made by his own production company – this year.
"I cannot live without my films, my cinema and my work," he told bollywoodhungama.com in 2007.
"For me, until I die, movie-making and acting will always be my first and last love."

M'sia slides further down TI corruption index

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking for Malaysia has dipped from 56th place last year to 60th this year, the worst in 10 years,according to Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M).

Speaking during the release of the findings in Subang Jaya this morning, TI-M deputy president Mohamad Ali Hasan said Malaysia's score of 4.3 has also suffered its third consecutive fall since 2009.

While the dip in the score has been marginal, at 0.1 points each year, Mohamad Ali said this was still a cause for concern because the government has embarked on several anti-corruption efforts.

"Why should it drop? The government has held several (anti-corruption) programmes. The perception is that these actions are not effective," he said.

 

In 2003, Malaysia was ranked 37 in the survey covering146 countries. For 2010, the survey involved 178 countries.

 

The CPI ranking is a gauge of perceived corruption in the public sector, determined by business leaders, expert assessments and opinion surveys.

PKR: NFC bought Putrajaya land, Merc

After the 'cows and condos' fiasco, PKR today dropped another bombshell on the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), claiming that it had squandered a portion of the RM250 million government loan on land, luxury cars and overseas trips.

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli (right) today said the company's financial documents had showed that NFC had transferred RM3,363,507 to its sister company National Meat and Livestock Corporation (NMLC) to purchase two plots of land in Putrajaya in December 2009.

"It is highly unlikely that the land bought in Putrajaya are intended for raring cows," quipped Rafizi, in reference to the two plots which are identified as PT1886 and PT1887.

The purchase through NMLC, Rafizi adds, is the same modus operandi adopted in the purchase of two luxury condominiums in Bangsar at RM6.9 million each and the company, unlike NFC, is wholly owned by Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family.