Sister of dead NS trainee sues

The family of national service trainee Mohd Rafi Ameer is suing the Cheneh Cemerlang camp commandant and the Government for RM10mil, claiming he had died as a result of consuming food tainted with animal faeces. 

His elder sister Jubaidah, 25, said in the suit that the Kemaman Hospital informed her on Aug 31, just hours before Mohd Rafi died, that he had “most probably eaten contaminated food”. 

Jubaidah is suing camp commandant Lt Kdr Mohd Najib Lotpy Mat Nor and the Government for negligence following the death of Mohd Rafi, 18, who is the fourth of six siblings.  

Source: The Star

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Najib says ONLY 14 died in National Service Programme

Defense Ministry bought MYR 6.75 billion of defective, non-delivered patrol boats

The opposition DAP Wednesday demanded an inquiry into a billion-dollar defence scandal involving the purchase of patrol boats that were either not delivered or proved defective.

It said the probe should determine whether the Cabinet was “misled into making a foolish decision” in approving the RM6.75 billion deal.

“The 6.75-billion-ringgit offshore patrol vessels scandal is the largest single case of misuse of funds in the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report,” DAP Sec-Gen Lim Guan Eng said in a statement.

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Lim earlier called on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also  Defence Minister, to investigate the deal.

He said the report had found the value of the contract should only have been RM4.9 billion. He added that only two of the six vessels had been delivered to date, and both were defective.

The order for the six boats was part of a RM24 billion deal signed in 1998 with the ship-builder, PSC-Naval Dockyard.

It was plagued by technical problems and delays, with PSC-Naval Dockyard seeking more money from the Government to complete the vessels.

In 2005 Malaysian conglomerate Boustead Holdings, which is controlled by the armed forces pension fund, bought a 30 per cent stake in the owner of PSC-Naval Dockyard.

Source: Daily Express

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Mismanagement of government funds

Malacca State Economic Development Corporation sold Air Keroh Country Resort, Tanjung Bidara Beach Resort at below market value

The Malacca State Economic Development Corporation (PKNM) approved the sale of two buildings without the Federal Government’s approval, according to the Auditor-General’s 2006 report. 

It sold the Air Keroh Country Resort to AMZ Resort (Melaka) Sdn Bhd in early 2001 and Tanjung Bidara Beach Resort to Brisdale Asset Sdn Bhd (then changed to IIUM Holdings Sdn Bhd) in mid-2002. 

The two were among seven buildings and two pieces of land mortgaged to the Federal Government for a RM76.75mil loan used to repay other loans taken by PKNM in 1999. 

The report said PKNM had applied to the Treasury for approval to sell the two buildings in 2001 and 2002 but none was given.

PKNM still sold the two buildings at a price lower than the market value, resulting in a loss of RM10.22mil.

The Ayer Keroh Country Resort was sold for RM6.7mil when it was valued at RM15.8mil, according to the report. 

The report says it was sold with a condition that the land status would be converted to Malacca Customary Land, but checks showed that an 80-year lease period was approved in 2004. 

According to the report, the Tanjung Bidara Resort was valued at RM7.12mil but was sold for RM6mil. 

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“This is against public interest and the PKNM chairman, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, himself should give an explanation,” he said.  

Source: The Star 

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Mismanagement of government funds

MCA unit: Drop race disclosure rule for listed firms

The MCA Youth Economic Bureau supports the statement made by Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee that corporate social responsibility in public-listed companies should not be based along racial lines as proposed in the recent Budget 2008. 

In a press statement issued here, the bureau chief Datuk Henry Wong Tat Chee said the business community was unhappy with the proposal that the companies disclose employment composition by race.

He said programmes undertaken to develop domestic and bumiputra vendors might result in a form of micro-restructuring that could result in loss of income and employment opportunities for non-bumiputras.

“If such a racially-based quota is imposed, it will affect growth opportunities for fully qualified and merit-based non-bumiputra job applicants or vendors, who will be sidelined in favour of bumiputra recruits and suppliers for (public-listed companies),” he added. 

Nai Chee had said the very idea of corporate social responsibility based along racial lines would run against the spirit and responsibility of contributing towards the betterment of society regardless of ethnicity.

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Two years ago, the Economic Planning Unit hired a foreign consultancy firm to audit all private companies about their racial composition and corporate plans to increase bumiputra composition in the employment and vendor programmes, he added. 

“The private corporations refused to cooperate in this exercise. This itself was a clear indication that the commercial entities were not in favour of such a practice,” said Tat Chee. 

“The private sector relies solely on its own resources to hire personnel who can work most efficiently and productively for the company. 

“This is opposed to the public sector that uses public funds, that should be distributed equally to all races especially for recruitment into the civil service and government procurement and tenders,” he said. 

Source: The Star

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Malaysian PM says all Malaysian policies approved by multi-ethnic Cabinet

Malaysian PM says all Malaysian policies approved by multi-ethnic Cabinet

Malaysia’s prime minister defended his country’s record on racial equality saying all policies, including one that favors the majority ethnic Malays, are approved by a multi-ethnic Cabinet.

Speaking Tuesday at the Forbes Global CEO conference in Singapore, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia does not discriminate against its minorities, noting that a power-sharing arrangement has kept a coalition of Malay, Chinese, Indian and other parties in power since 1957.

Source: International Herald Tribune

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MCA unit: Drop race disclosure rule for listed firms

JPJ defends e-Kesihatan

More private clinics can be appointed to conduct tests on commercial vehicle drivers under the eKesihatan programme, said Road Transport Department (JPJ) deputy director-general Solah Mat Hassan. 

“As long as the clinics comply with the legal requirements and have computers with Internet facilities they can be an eKesihatan panel clinic by paying a lifetime registration fee of RM100,” he said. 

Solah said Supremme Systems was one of four companies shortlisted by the Transport Ministry to be a systems provider for the Government’s eKesihatan initiative. 

“This is how we have implemented all our other initiatives like eKhidmat; eInsuran and ehakmilik,” he said. 

The routine screening of commercial vehicle drivers and conductors via eKesihatan clinics will go on as scheduled from Oct 1 despite strong objections from doctors. 

Solah said that the main objective of introducing the eKesihatan was to enable JPJ to retrieve medical records of all 700,000 commercial vehicle drivers and conductors via a secure online database system maintained by Supremme Systems. 

Meanwhile, Primary Care Doctors Organisation Malaysia (PCDOM) president Dr Molly Cheah said her organisation had earlier offered JPJ a similar online programme at no cost before Supremme Systems was appointed.

“So why are we having a third party? On what basis did JPJ pick Supremme Systems?

“Why should private clinics be registered with Supremme Systems? Our members are extremely upset with the Government for appointing a third party without even consulting the doctors’ groups,” said Dr Cheah. 

On Wednesday, the MMA questioned the selection of Supremme Systems as the gateway provider, and called on its members not to accept the appointment as panel clinics for the eKesihatan programme until further discussions with the JPJ.

Source: The Star

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Supremme System Sdn Bhd appointed as e-Kesihatan middleman

MMA and busmen question e-Kesihatan