GROUP TO EXPOSE WHO ANWAR REALLY IS


KUALA LUMPUR: A former Parti Keadilan Rakyat top leader and once a close associate of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has formed a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to expose to the public who Anwar really is and to counter his slander against the government.

Former PKR Youth deputy chief Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, who is heading the "Tolak Individu Bernama Anwar Ibrahim" (Reject Individual Named Anwar Ibrahim), or Tibai, said it would organise campaigns to get the people to reject Anwar and his associates in the coming general election.

"We will go down to the constituencies won by PKR and to be contested by the party in carrying out our agenda to make people realise who Anwar really is," he said at the formation of Tibai at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, here, yesterday.

Zahid said Tibai would use various means, including ceramah and peaceful assemblies, to expose the real Anwar to the public.

"Since PKR's establishment, 28 of its of top leaders have left the party, thus I can conclude that something is not right in PKR," said Zahid, hoping that people would not be influenced by slanders hurled at the government by Anwar and his friends in the opposition group.

"We've seen in his ceramah that Anwar has run out of ideas and his speeches lacked substance, except running down the government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak."

Zahid said Tibai would be launched at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru by Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali on Sunday.

Tibai is also a northern Malay colloquial word for hit, beat or smash. 


-Bernama

PTPTN: SCHEME HAS BENEFITED THOUSANDS

A letter by: B.J. Fernandez, Shah Alam

IT cannot be denied that the Higher Education Loan Fund (PTPTN) is a scheme that has benefited thousands of graduates.

It has been reported that more than RM48 billion has been disbursed. More than 220,000 students benefited from the loans last year alone.

I can attest to the fact that if not for PTPTN, two of my colleagues would not have obtained a tertiary education.

However, PTPTN has been more a boon to independent private educational institutes that have sprouted all over the country since its launch and a bane to students, burdened with loan repayments.

While it is compulsory for most reputable colleges or universities to require minimum five Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or 0-Level credits with equivalent two to four Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia passes or equivalent A-Levels as entry requirements, it is the norm for independent colleges to admit students after they have passed foundation courses. They have thereby bypassed this basic requirement.

Furthermore, most of the degrees awarded are in-house. Lecturers are requested to be lenient in their marking so that students progress to the next year and duly pay their fees.

A case in point is unemployed nurses accorded in-house diplomas who later have to sit for the Nursing Board Exam.

The basis for this process is nothing but profiteering.

The first question asked by these private institutions of parents is how much money they have in the Employees Provident Fund and second, to recommend the virtues of PTPTN.

If you were to glance through advertisements in local media, you will notice almost every ad having a starburst that promotes the EPF and PTPTN schemes.

I have had graduates coming for interviews with a basic degree in business administration.

When asked why they opted for this course, the inevitable answer was, "Well, all my friends were taking this course and I heard it was easy to pass".

What about your parents? "Well, it was the cheapest course, so they were happy about it."

This illustrates parents who seem happy to abdicate their duties by passing the responsibility of undertaking their share of educating their children back to their children.

The first step would be to look at colleges that offer in-house diplomas and degrees and use foundation courses for entry. We have enough reputable public universities that can and should set the minimum standards to which these programmes must adhere.

A re-look is needed based on where the jobs are and to give priority to those seeking loans for such courses.

PTPTN has also received flak for the manner in which it is managed. Perhaps, it would be better for EPF to be assigned the role of sole disbursement and collection agency.

Loan defaults should be factored to banks, which have more avenues to go after defaulters.

Instead of using PTPTN as political fodder, it would be better to re-look objectives and realign PTPTN to be more effective, in line with national objectives.

Read more on PTPTN: Scheme has benefited thousands - Letters to the Editor - New Straits Times 

CLEAR THE AIR, TWO MUMS TOLD

Shamsidar Tahrin (left) and Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail have been asked to hold a joint press conference to explain matters.

KUALA LUMPUR: FORMER Parti Keadilan Rakyat Penang Wanita chief Aminah Abdullah has called for an explanation regarding the relationship between PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and Farah Afifah Azmin as it is understood under hukum syarak (syariah law).

In her statement yesterday, Aminah said the women's mothers, PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Shamsidar Tahrin, wife of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, should hold a joint press conference to explain the matter.

"This will help clear the question persistently playing on the minds of many people," she said.

Aminah was referring to allegations made by Senator Datuk S. Nallakaruppan that Shamsidar once had an affair with opposition leader and Nurul Izzah's father, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Aminah said the matter needed to be answered as many people were now of the view "that PKR is a party of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals and free sex".

She said many within PKR were talking about this but were too scared to voice their opinion for fear of being sacked.

She added that PKR's political struggle was only a mask as its real struggle was over the sexual lust among its leaders.

Aminah said PKR was only promoting seksualiti merdeka (sexual independence).

Dr Wan Azizah and Azmin could not be reached for comment.

PM: SOLUTION IS TO REDUCE PETROL DEPENDENCY

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the inevitable long-term solution to the escalating price of petrol was to reduce dependency on petrol.

He said that the government was working hard to improve the public transport system to provide a better alternative to private vehicle users.

"Transportation costs make up a considerable proportion of the rakyat's daily expenses, particularly for the urbanites.

"Therefore, the onus is on the government to slow down and manage the ever escalating fuel cost, without jeopardising other budgeted expenditures on development," he said in his blog www.1malaysia.com.my yesterday.

Read more: PM: Solution is to reduce petrol dependency - General - New Straits Times 

TSUNAMI: ALERTS WORKED, BUT WE CAN DO BETTER

By Fauziah Ismail | fauziah@nst.com.my


The second floor of Anjung Liku, Balai Berita, shook a little when an 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck northern Sumatra, Indonesia, on Wednesday afternoon last week.

Both CNN and BBC had the earthquake that day as "breaking news", with the tsunami alert activated by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC).

Both news channels were equally quick to disseminate information. We immediately issued an SMS alert to our subscribers on the situation.

We updated our website and Facebook page based on information obtained from the centre and the US Geological Survey, a scientific agency under the United States government, which gives updates on what it terms as "significant" earthquakes all over the world.

We closely followed the updates by Mari Ramos, the Nicaraguan American weather anchor for CNN International in Atlanta, which we found helpful in understanding the situation.

The warning systems and emergency responses have come a long way since the 2008 tsunami, triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake near Banda Acheh in Indonesia, which killed nearly 230,000 people in the region.

Tsunami warning sirens blared on Wednesday in parts of the republic, which suffered the biggest loss with almost 130,700 deaths, 37,000 missing and more than 500,000 people displaced during the last disaster. Evacuations were also undertaken in parts of the country.

Other countries in the region also reacted quickly to Wednesday's tsunami threat.

Thailand issued an evacuation order along the Andaman coast. In the Maldives, some resorts were evacuated as a precaution.

Ramos reported on the buoys in the ocean that measured the water level changes. A tsunami did occur but it was minimal.

It was a few hours later that the PTWC lifted the tsunami watch for the entire Indian Ocean, indicating the threat had passed.

While the warning systems and emergency responses worked, there is still work that needs to be done.

Ramos reported, for example, that more measuring devices are needed in the Indian Ocean.

On the local front, we tried to access the website of our own Meteorological Department for local updates when the earthquake happened but to no avail.

We, however, managed to get the head of the geophysical and tsunami division, Dr Rosaidi Mat Abas, to speak to us.

That was when we sent out a second SMS alert warning those in the northern states to stay away from the coastal areas. But that alert reached only our subscribers.

There must be a way for such alerts to reach everyone because it does not affect those in the northern states alone. The entire country reported tremors following the earthquake.

Our reporters received phone calls and SMSes from their family members and friends asking for updates. We, too, received Facebook messages on the matter.

When we finally managed to access the Meteorological Department's website, we checked on its information dissemination mechanism.

It said it had several components such as SMS, direct line (hotline), Internet, telephone and telefax for the dissemination of earthquake and tsunami warnings within 15 minutes of occurrence to the media and disaster management agencies.

It also has what is called a Siren Network, installed at several strategic locations in populated coastal areas and beaches to provide notification of an emergency warning or tsunami threat at any time.

There is also a fixed line alert system, jointly developed with Telekom Malaysia, which enables voice message dissemination of earthquake/tsunami warnings to the public in affected areas through fixed telephone lines.

And there is an SMS service and a hotline number -- but how many of us are aware that the department can push earthquake information through the mobile phone or that you can get tsunami/earthquake information through Telekom Malaysia's fixed line by dialling a hotline number?

Real-time information will enable the public to take the necessary action without having to wait for any official advisory or warning, which could come too late.

In fact, most of the 1,000 residents from five villages in Kota Kuala Muda, Kedah, vacated their homes on their own accord and assembled at the nearby multi-purpose hall when they felt the tremors.

Among the 68 people killed in the 2004 tsunami, 12 were from the fishing settlement. An SMS alert, pushed through their mobile phones, could put their worries at bay.

On our part, we have subscribed to the department's earthquake alert service and also to a free tsunami alert service on the Internet.

We now have to wait for the next earthquake and tsunami to see if the service is in effect.

Read more on Alerts worked, but we can do better - Columnist - New Straits Times

'MORE BENEFITS IN MINIMUM WAGE'

PUTRAJAYA: A minimum wage will encourage employers to hire Malaysians, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

This is because employers need not pay levies and agency fees.

While agency fees can cost more than RM5,000 per worker, the levy varies according to sector.

The annual levy for workers in the agricultural sector is RM410, while the amount for those working in restaurants is RM1,850.

"Why not pay a local more than RM1,000 instead of hiring a foreigner, who comes with added cost?

"So, yes, the minimum wage will reduce the dependency on foreign workers in the long term," said Dr Subramaniam.

He also said the offer of better incentives would encourage employees to perform and increase productivity.

He hoped a minimum wage would change the perception of some Malaysians towards certain jobs such as in the construction sector.

In an immediate response, Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said paying minimum wage to get employers to hire locals could work in theory.

However, he added, employment of foreign workers in country was not a matter of choice.

"There are certain sectors in the economy where no matter how much we pay, the locals are not keen," he said, adding that plantation and construction could be lucrative sectors, depending on one's productivity.

He suggested that the government look into re-branding jobs if they wanted to reduce dependency on foreign workers.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak may announce a national minimum wage, which is likely to be between RM800 and RM1,000, on Workers Day.

Read more: 'More benefits in minimum wage' - General - New Straits Times 


KD: Let's we think again about the wage..

‘ANTI-PTPTN STUDENTS SHOULD RETURN LOANS’ – TUN DR. M

KUALA LUMPUR: Students who want the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) to be abolished should return their loans or refrain from taking them, rather than demonstrate against the fund, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said those who had suggested to the government to do away with PTPTN should look into ways of supporting these students financially.

Dr Mahathir said abolishing PTPTN would have an impact not only on the cost of education but also in distributing benefits.

Read more: ‘Anti-PTPTN students should return loans’ - Top News - New Straits Times