SYRIA Conflict Exhibition

SHAH ALAM: Students from subject of International Relations has set up special exhibition for Syria, in the courtyard of Unisel, this morning.

The exhibition was held for public to be aware what exactly happened and was going on in Syria.

A special talk was presented by Mr. Naim Bin Jusri, a chairman of Selamatkan Syria, one of the NGO organization in Malaysia/

Mr. Naim in his talk also shared his experience going to Syria to giving the help for Syrian people last Ramadhan.

"It was the great experience to be in the two different groups in war between the Syrian army and the leader Bashar as-sad," Naim said.

Mr. Ismail Bin Hashim, lectured of the subject for International Relation was the one launched the exhibition. It start from 8.00 am until 5.00 pm. 

Sultan Johor umum Jumaat cuti umum mulai Januari 2104

MUAR: Sultan Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar menitahkan bahawa cuti hujung minggu bagi negeri Johor ditukar kepada Jumaat dan Sabtu.

Baginda bertitah, pertukaran itu berkuatkuasa mulai 1 Januari tahun depan bagi memudahkan rakyat negeri ini beribadat dengan tenang.

Titah itu telah dibuat bersempena dengan Hari Keputeraan Baginda yang ke-55. 

Sebelum ini, negeri Johor pernah bercuti umum pada hari Jumaat dan Sabtu iaitu pada Tahun 1994 dahulu. Tetapi cuti itu ditukar kepada hari Sabtu dan Ahad apabila Johor Bahru diisytihar menjadi Pusat Bandaraya.

Semporna kidnap: Taiwan legislator says abducted woman is ill and negotiations are ongoing

PETALING JAYA: Taiwan’s legislator Tsai Cheng-yuan said he had been in touch with the abductors of Chang An Wei and that she had fallen ill in captivity.

Taiwanese press quoted him as saying this in Taiwan on Wednesday, several hours after Minister of Interior Lee Hong-Yuan’s disclosed that the Taiwanese government had received a phone call from the Philippines demanding a possible ransom.

Tsai said, however, he was unable to say how ill Chang was.

He revealed that the group of abductors who shot dead Chang’s husband Hsu Li Min before taking away Chang at the Pom Pom Island resort in Sabahlast Friday, were not the Abu Sayyaf group.

Following the incident, Tsai has been telling the press that he was gathering information on Chang’s whereabouts through various channels and the Taiwanese authorities were negotiating with the abductors.

He also said he was making arrangements to meet Sabah government leaders and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over the safety of the abducted Chang.

At a press conference, Tsai repeated what he had told the abductors during his conversation with them.

“Your Highness, thank you for your mercy in providing help to the lady who is ill.

“Please give her more help in this critical time. Your contribution and help will be highly appreciated by all Taiwanese people. Thank you so much,” Tsai said he had said.

He said he would fly to Malaysia to see what he could do to get Chang back safely.

Dr Subramaniam suffers minor neck injury during car accident

MALACCA: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam sustained a minor injury in the neck when the car he was travelling in skidded on the North-South Expressway near Pedas-Linggi Wednesday night.

State MIC chairman Datuk M.S. Mahadevan said the incident occurred about 8.30pm when Dr Subramaniam was on his way to Malacca to attend a meeting to discuss the organisation of the MIC General Assembly, which will be held on Nov 30 here.

He said Dr Subramaniam, who is also the MIC deputy president, was currently being treated at the Alor Gajah Hospital and was in stable condition.

"He is fine. He only sustained a minor injury on the neck and is being treated. If there is anything serious we will take him for follow-up treatment at the Malacca General Hospital," he said. - Bernama

PAS willing to work with Umno on matters of Malay unity, but no further, says Mat Sabu

PETALING JAYA: PAS has not closed its doors to Umno on matters of Malay unity, said the Islamist party's deputy president Mohamad Sabu, but would not join forces with them.

He said they were willing to talk on matters of common interest, but that is as far as they would go.

"They (Umno leaders) are winking and waving at us. They can wink, but we are not winking back.

"If they extend their hands, we will slap their hands away," he said in his speech at the opening of the 54th PAS Youth Muktamar at Dewan Sivik MBPJ here Wednesday night.

Mohamad claimed that Umno was trying hard to win over PAS because they had been weakened.

"When they are strong, they will smash us," he said.

Mohamad said PAS had not closed its doors on any party, but he cautioned that it would be wary of any unity move as it had bad experience with Umno in the past.

Mohamed also called on party members not to wash their dirty linen in public, adding that it would demoralise the party.

In Shah Alam, party vice-president Datuk Husam Musa said there had been concerns among PAS members that it would become the weakest link in Pakatan Rakyat if Umno lost its powers.

The former senior Kelantan state exco member said this was because the majority of Umno elected representatives would choose to join DAP and PKR instead of PAS.

"This is the worrying bisikan (whispers) that have been spreading among the PAS members," he said in his opening speech at the PAS Muslimat (women's wing) 53rd muktamar here Wednesday night.

He said PAS needed to get assurances from DAP and PKR that its position in Pakatan Rakyat was secure.

"If this is our concern, we should strike a deal with our colleagues in Pakatan that every seat allocated to PAS in  past general elections would remain ours, even if Pakatan won the Federal Government," he said.

He added this 'deal' was in addition to the seats that PAS had already won in past elections.

Earlier, Husam said that there would be "weaknesses" in any political cooperation, but stressed that any shortcomings could be improved through good governance.

"Even a marriage has its ups and downs, let alone a political cooperation," he said.

Family members in tears upon seeing Hsu’s body

TAWAU: The pain was too much for the family of the Taiwanese couple at the Pom Pom Island Resort as they wept inconsolably upon seeing the body of Hsu Li Min.

Richard Chang, brother of the abducted 58-year-old Chang An Wei, was in tears after seeing the body of his brother-in-law, 57-year-old Hsu at the Tawau mortuary yesterday.

Richard had flown in from Taipei with Hsu’s brother, Li Ren, and their two nephews.

All of them looked solemn and were dressed in black suits and their eyes welled with tears upon reaching the mortuary.

Later at a hotel lobby, Richard who had his hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing sunglasses, said he still had not received any information on the whereabouts of his sister.

However, he was hopeful that he would see her again.

“We believe she’s still alive. Most of the information we have is from the media. We were not officially updated on this case,” he said calmly.

Richard said they did not want to say too much as they did not want to jeopardise her safety.

Sombre atmosphere: Li Ren (with yellow vest) and other family members at the Tawau Hospital mortuary. -NORMIMIE DIUN/The Star

“I don’t want to be misinterpreted,” he explained.

Hsu was shot dead by Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen who abducted Chang from the resort on Friday.

Richard also said his sister was suffering from some health problems including diabetes.

He also thanked all the parties who had helped him so far.

Accompanied by Taiwanese Foreign Ministry officials and the police, they arrived in Kota Kinabalu International Airport from Taipei at 11.30am.

A Buddhist monk also accompanied the family to perform religious rites.

Hordes of Taiwanese journalists and broadcasters from Taiwan were also on the same flight.

They then took a flight to Tawau Airport and arrived at about 3.15pm.

“We are nervous and sad,” Richard told the hordes of waiting reporters at the airport.

The family members were brought to the hospital from the airport by the Pom Pom resort vans escorted by the police.

A post-mortem will be conducted before Hsu’s cremation today.

At 8pm yesterday, the family held prayers for the deceased at the Fo Guang Shan temple in Tawau, attended by about 30 people.

Meanwhile, the Sabah government has extended its condolences to Hsu’s family.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment assistant minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming extended condolences to the four family members at the Kota Kinabalu Inter-national Airport.

When contacted, Pang said he assured family members that steps were being taken by various authori­ties to help in Chang’s return.

Throngs of visitors not spooked by Villa Nabila

Popular haunt: Groups of curious visitors walking through the ruins of Villa Nabila.

JOHOR BARU: Even after it was found that the 16-year-old teenager who allegedly went missing after entering Villa Nabila was actually sleeping elsewhere, nosey visitors and supernatural enthusiasts continued to throng its crumbled ruins.

Rahimah Ahmad, 43, from Pasir Gudang, who was there with her husband and five children, aged between three and nine, said that she was excited when she heard about the “mysterious disappearance” of the teenager and wanted to have a look herself.

“My husband and I went earlier to survey the place and once we were convinced that it was safe, we brought our children with us,” she said.

Rahimah said that even after learning that the teenager was found, she was still convinced that there was something weird about the place.

“I definitely felt something, especially when I stepped into the kitchen area of the main house,” she said.

Filmmaking student Mohd Luqmanul Hakim, 19, who recently injured his arm in an accident, joined his parent in touring the ruins.

“I was thrilled when the news first broke out and wanted to have a closer look,” he said, adding that the villa would be a great place to shoot a movie for his final exam project.

Telephone operator Anim Zumi Salam, 26, said she felt goose bumps while passing by the house in her car.

“I decided to stop by because so many people have been talking about the villa,” she said.

Rows of cars and motorbikes were parkedoutside the villa, and crowds were seen at the abandoned structure.

Several people were also seen climbing a steep slope to gain access to another part of the villa.

Most of the visitors took pictures and recorded videos while others were heard sharing their experiences with each other.

Among the crowd was an ice-cream seller doing brisk business.

Meanwhile, a source at the Johor Baru City Council said that the land on which the ruins stood was owned by a Singaporean.

“The lot was bought in 2008,” he said adding that the area measured more than 23,040sq metres (248,000sq ft) and that the owner was paying more than RM18,000 in quit rent for the place.

Indonesian woman charged with trafficking drugs in Penang

     Siti Norhidaya being escorted to court by the police.
BALIK PULAU: An Indonesian woman is charged in a Sessions Court on Wednesday with trafficking methamphetamine on Nov 6.

Siti Norhidaya, 39, is alleged to have committed the offence at the Penang International Airport at 8pm.

The offence under Section 39 (B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Insp Mohd Yusuf Mohamad Kasim prosecuted while Siti Norhidaya was unrepresented.

Sessions court judge Caroline Bee Mejanil fixed Jan 22 next year for mention pending chemist report.

Motorist trapped after body lands on car roof

Onlookers gathering to look at the damaged car at a flat along Macallum Street Ghaut in George Town.

   

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GEORGE TOWN: A motorist was on his way home after work when a body suddenly fell on the roof of his car, trapping him inside for at least 30 minutes.

The impact crushed the roof of the Proton Waja, shattering all its windows and the windscreen.

Firemen managed to extricate the driver at about 6.30pm yesterday and he was rushed to Penang Hospital.

The man who landed on the car was identified as Liew Kam Ming, 49, from the Klang Valley.

He is believed to have fallen from the 24th floor of a flat at Macallum Street Ghaut here.

Several flat residents said they had never seen Liew before.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng confirmed the case.

Those with problems can call Befrienders at 04-2815 161 or 04-281 1108, 05-547 7933 or 05-547 7955 and 03-7956 8144 or 03-7956 8145.

In an unrelated incident, a semi-decomposed body was discovered at a flat in Kampung Melayu, Air Itam here.

Some residents earlier broke into the unit on the second floor when they could no longer bear the stench. They then contacted the police upon discovering the body.

The deceased was identified as Ibrahim Abdullah, 50, an odd-job worker. Also found in the unit were a medical card and medicine from a mental clinic.

ACP Gan said the man was believed to have been dead for at least a month.

“No foul play has been established at this juncture,” he added.

PAS not ready for non-Muslims as full members

BY RAHMAH GHAZALI

   

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KUALA LUMPUR: Despite pressing calls for PAS to make its non-Muslim PAS Supporters Congress (DHPP) a full-fledged wing, congress chairman Hu Pang Chow believes the Islamist party still is not ready for the move.

In an interview with The Star Online, Hu said it was still early for the party to do so as the congress was set up just three years ago.

"Meanwhile, PAS was formed in 1951 on a basis that all its members must be Muslims. This was the first time that it had opened its doors to non-Muslims, which is already a big move," he said.

Hu, who leads the congress which consists of more than 20,000 members nationwide, said PAS was still adapting to a different culture brought by the congress members.

"Muslims have these things called haram and halal, what they can't eat or drink. For the non-Muslims, there's no such thing as that. So it takes time to adapt to this new culture," he said.

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh had recently said that the Islamist party should allow non-Muslims to become full-fledged party members, where they will have the right to vote in party elections.

He said the party should show its sincerity by opening its doors to the DHPP as full-fledged members, as such a move will bring PAS into the fold of multiracial political parties in the country.

"But we can't expect change to happen in three years. I think it is already a huge achievement for the Islamist party to have the support of the non-Muslims. This is something even Umno can't do," Hu said.

Hu was one of the non-Muslim candidates fielded by PAS in the May 5 general election in Ayer Hitam parliamentary constituency, a first time in the party's history. However, he lost to the incumbent from Barisan Nasional, Datuk Wee Ka Siong, by a 7,310-vote majority.

Hu called it a "bold decision" to bring non-Muslims onboard as support from them has been on the rise since 2008.

"It (the strategy) works and I think now Umno is worried why the non-Muslims and non-Malays can support PAS but not Umno, although both parties were set up for Malays and Muslims," he said.

Hu, a 58-year-old former teacher who was born in Alor Setar, Kedah, has spent almost 40 years in Kelantan teaching in a Chinese primary school.

In an hour-long interview, Hu also talked about his attempts to bring back the Malay support to the Opposition by zooming in the Malay heartland of Johor.

How is your life now, after the general election?

Remains normal. For me, whether you win or lose, it is all part of your life. If you win, that means you have to bear a new responsibility. If you lose, you need to find out what your weaknesses are. There are no regrets.

Do you have any programmes lined up for the non-Muslim supporters congress?

As of now, I am busy with Johor PAS. Soon, we will have a fundraising dinner organised by Johor PAS Youth and we aim to raise about RM100,000 to run three programmes that will be carried out within three years. The first programme is recreation and welfare, the second programme is training and courses, and the third programme is about economy.

Why Johor?

Johor is an Umno stronghold. The problem is now, PAS and Pakatan Rakyat are not well organised in Johor and the way they mobilise information to the public is not working.

In Chinese, there’s a proverb that says, '100 times you go to war, 100 times you have to win'. That means, in order for you to win a war, you have to know your strengths and the weaknesses and you must know yourself. If your rival is so strong, find out what their weaknesses are.

Therefore, I am bringing this concept to Pas. This a war strategy on how to win the general election and how to convince the Malay community. If these programmes I mentioned to you just now manage to take off, we are looking to implement it from 2014 until 2016.

We will get all the PAS division members to mobilise 2,000 Malay Johoreans, regardless their political preference, to DAP-led Penang within these three-year programmes. The activities will include a face-to-face meeting with the Penang Islamic Council to be briefed on what the council has been doing for the Muslims in Penang since DAP took over the state.

Secondly, we will bring them to the state mosque in Penang to prove to them there is no ban on azan (the call to prayers) as claimed by many quarters.

Thirdly, we will arrange a meeting with the Chief Minister and the participants will get to ask him questions, such as how the Penang government is upholding Islam in the state and how they are helping and preserving the rights of the Malay community.

After three years, if the result is positive, these 2,000 Malays from Johor will become our campaign materials for future general elections.

WITH GRIT... #SPM'13

Pix by Aswadi Alias

A handicapped student, Noor Ismawati Abdul Aziz, 17, answers #SPM2013 questions using both legs at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Besar, Kuala Terengganu.

For those take #SPM2013, Good Luck everyone!

PERJUANGAN SPM BERMULA

Seramai 470 395 calon pelajar menduduki peperiksaan SPM 2013 di 3616 pusat peperiksaan di seluruh negara bermula semalam (6 November) hingga 5 Disember ini.

Mata pelajaran pembuka adalah Bahasa Melayu dan Pendidikan Seni Visual.

Menurut Lembaga Peperiksaan Kementerian Pendidikan (KPM), seramai 415509 calon sekolah kerajaan, bantuan kerajaan dan Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan.

Petugas peperiksaan yang bertugas selaku pengawas pula seramai 30863 telah dilantik bagi memastikan peperiksaan berjalan lancar. 

Bermula tahun ini, subjek Sejarah telah ditambah menjadi 3 kertas dan ia merupakan subjek wajib lulus SPM.

Cops detain two acquaintances of 'security guard robber'

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have detained two men in Shah Alam and Sentul to assist investigations on the case where a security guard robbed the jewellery outlet he was stationed at the KL Festival City shopping complex, Setapak here.

Kuala Lumpur CID deputy chief (operations and intelligence) ACP Khairi Ahrasa said they were detained at their homes.

In the first raid, a 26-year-old man, believed to be the suspect's friend, was detained at 9pm last Thursday.

He said in a follow-up operation, police arrested another man, aged 51, believed to be the supervisor of the security guard.

"We believe the detention of the two men can help police detect the main suspect," he said, adding the two men were remanded one-week from Saturday.

In the incident, the security guard was reported to have escaped with 100 gold chains after threatening four workers of the jewellery shop at gunpoint. - Bernama

MASwings aircraft crashed

KUDAT: At least three people were injured when a light aircraft 'Twin Otter' owned MasWings derailed and crashed into a house while landing at the airport in northern Kudat Sabah. 

The incident occurred at about 2:55 pm today.

It is understood the pilot and two others were in serious condition while other passengers suffered only minor injuries. 

There were 16 passengers on the plane, including the pilot. 

All passengers were rushed to Hospital Kudat for urgent treatment.

Local product available in South Korea

SEOUL: Good news for local people who now lives in South Korea either work, nor for students who are pursuing higher education, do not have to worry anymore to enjoy the local products from Malaysia.

Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (Ministry) will open up more opportunities for entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to penetrate overseas markets, especially through the Taste Of Malaysia program that saw 121 successful products marketed in the Tesco Home Plus Korea.

Th minister Datuk Hasan Malek said, other than South Korea, local products also penetrated to the market of Singapore, Jakarta, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Dubai, Istanbul, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai.

He added, currently more than 1,300 products are already in international hypermarket through the program and we are committed to increase the amount available in the future.

Among the brands that made ​​it into the Korean market is Noraini Cookies, Kart Food, RICO, Flavor, Smart, Lee, Jacker, Lot100, Alicafé and D Haiz.

HASAN (left) with Fischer (second from right) and Sunghwan Do (right) 

shows the Malaysian products in the Korean market. 

"Korea is a global trading nation the 17th largest for Malaysia's exports to Korea by the number as much as RM23.87 billion of last year and we believe the most strategic central Seoul to expand Malaysian products to the market throughout the country," he said.

No TPPA Demo

KUALA LUMPUR : Citizens are informed to not holding any demonstration over the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) when US President Obama visits next month. 

President Obama's visit to Malaysia has nothing to do with the TPPA and he is not coming to ink the agreement as claimed by certain quarters.

There is no reason for public to hold a protest as the agreement does not come to an end yet.

Besides, Malaysia would not succumb to any pressure and will not sign the agreement if it tarnishes national interest.

Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamad, the Minister of International Trade and Industry said the agreement will only be signed on Malaysia's terms and not as alleged by few parties.

Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamad

"The government has not made much progress in negotiations on the matter due to lots of outstanding issues," he explained.

He added that national interest is the most vital in the accepting of the agreement.

The latest negotiations in Washington which ended on September 21 could not resolve the issues raised during previous negotiations in Brunei.

Some of the issues are government procurement, investors' state dispute settlements, environmental matters and intellectual property rights.

Mustapha assured that the government will not sign if it disturbed Bumiputera rights.

Apart from that, he stated that TPPA is under his responsibility and he oversees the main matters such as internal and domestic investments, and trade policies.

"The TPPA is under my purview. But there are people comprising experts from relevant ministries who are tasked with the negotiations based on the mandate given by the Cabinet," Mustapha said.

According to him, the leaders will find ways of solving the outstanding issues.

Malaysia hopes to trash it out from the last round of discussion at the next meeting in Bali next month.

The TPPA involves Malaysia and 11 other countries like Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

source:  wearefuturejournalists.blogspot.com