KUALA LUMPUR, 17 March 2009: The recruitment of foreign workers declined by 60,000 in the nine months between March to December last year, Dewan Rakyat was told today. Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the number of foreign workers that stood at 2.12mil in March declined to 2.06mil by December 2008. “With the […]
Archives for March 2009
Ex-IKBN director charged with cheating ministry
KUALA TERENGGANU, 17 March 2009: A former director of the Wakaf Tapai National Youth Vocational Institute (IKBN) near Marang pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to cheating the Youth and Sports Ministry using a fake document. Kamarozaman Hassan, 51, from Wakaf Bharu in Pasir Mas who now works at the ministry in […]
Tan Sri facing CBT charge no show in court
PETALING JAYA, 17 March 2009: A prominent businessman who is a Tan Sri failed to turn to up at the Sessions Court here today for the second time to face a criminal breach of trust (CBT) charge. His counsel, Datuk K Kumaraendran, said his client was admitted to a medical centre late yesterday morning after […]
EAIC hamstrung by lack of power
By Deborah LohPETALING JAYA, 17 March 2009: The proposed Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is a stronger body than the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), but could suffer from irrelevancy just like the latter. This is because it still lacks the independence that is necessary for its role as investigator of misconduct and abuse to be taken […]
MCA: Malaysia is a secular state
By Gan Ping SieuAS MCA Political Education Bureau head, I have reservations over the written reply given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh in the Dewan Rakyat on 12 March 2009 that “Malaysia is a ‘negara Islam’.” I welcome the prime minister’s statement that Malaysia is not […]
MIER sees GDP contracting 3.8% in 2009
By Racheal Lee Mei NyeeKUALA LUMPUR, 17 March 2009: The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) forecasts the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 3.8% this year, which is its worst-case scenario. MIER executive director Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem said on 16 March that MIER expected investments to shrink 4.6% and exports to contract 9.8%. Speaking […]
A nation divided
By Shanon Shah and Zedeck SiewPolice, media and the majority Malay Malaysian crowd during the GMP gathering on 7 March 2009 PERHAPS the easiest observation one could make about the Gerakan Mansuhkan PPSMI (GMP) gathering on 7 March 2009 is that it was mono-cultural. While there were representatives from Chinese-language education proponents in the thousands-strong crowd, these numbered in the […]
Uniting the Malays
Translation by Zedeck SiewBETWEEN 9 and 15 March 2009 — excellent Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results notwithstanding — the defence of the Malay race, disunity among Muslims, and economic troubles worried the opinion pages and editorials of the Malay-language press. Closing ranks Closing ranks, especially along racial lines, was a big theme in the past week. The editorial […]
Concern over financial matters
Translation by Leong Lai MingFOR the week of 9 to 15 March 2009, the Chinese press was concerned with issues related to money. In particular, the press focused on the announcement of the second stimulus package, and the declaration of executive councillors’ assets by the Selangor government. (sxc.hu) Kwong Wah Yit […]
Economic rumblings
Translation by Sharmila Valli NarayananFOR the week of 9 to 15 March 2009, the Tamil papers highlighted the economic difficulties faced by Indian Malaysians, celebrated the achievements of Indian Malaysian students in the SPM, and cheered Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan for winning the International Women of Courage 2009 Awards from the US. Restaurants up in arms The recent hike in […]
