Reducing crime at hot spots

TWELVE residential areas have been shortlisted to be part of a crime prevention pilot project.

The project is the initiative of the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF).The 12 identified areas are located within the four crime hot spot states of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang.“It is hoped that through supporting these 12 Residents' Associations for five years and fostering a support network of Residents Associations and Community based organisations, these will lead to more effective networks nationwide,” said Tan Sri Robert Phang,(left) exco member and chairman for MCPF Neighbourhood Initiative.

“In the long run, Malaysians will be equipped with preventive knowledge that will allow them to be more proactive rather then reactive towards the situation.It is also aimed at building self-esteem and long-term healthy relationships.Most importantly, the project works to empower adults to be effective protectors by advocating for protective mechanisms to be implemented in the communities,” he said.

The MCPF also received a boost, thanks to the Motorola Foundation, which donated US$56,000 (RM175,447.994) to help MCPF spearhead its programme “Prevention Will Save the Day”.MCPF is hoping the programme will be the starting point for other business organisations which are interested in providing support to the community-based sector.


Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/15/nation/9862610&sec=nation

Nazri: Some ministers opposed the PKFZ project

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, that many members of the cabinet were against the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.

This happened during a meeting in 2002, he said, adding that although there was no notes on it in any documents or minutes of the meeting, he could still recall that many ministers opposed the project, but in the end agreed to it for fear of it becoming a big issue.

"At the meeting, when the matter (PKFZ project) came up, many said that the project might not succeed. At that time, we did not want to interfere because the land price was high. RM1 billion was a huge amount then (2002).

"Many knew the land was sold for RM25 per sq foot (psf), whoever sells will make huge profit," he said when cross-examined by lawyer Wong Kian Kheong, who represented former Transport Minister Ling Liong Sik, who is charged with cheating the Malaysian government.

Witness: Liong Sik support letter helped win AAA rating

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — A letter of support from former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik helped secure a top-tier rating for bonds raised for the construction of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and sold for RM40 million in profit, a witness told the High Court today.Mohd Izzuddin Yusof, 52, the eighteenth witness for the trial, was formerly with the Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) Berhad from August 1996 to July 2006. He was the chief operating officer when he left the company.

“In my opinion, without the letter of support, it is possible that the rating given by MARC is lower than AAA because the letter has high weightage in determining the rating of the bond,” he told the cheating trial of Dr Ling today.Putrajaya had earlier proposed that the Port Klang Authority issue bonds with a six per cent yield to pay for 1,000 acres of Pulau Indah land for the PKFZ.Dr Ling’s letter of support for bonds raised by the turnkey contractor through one of the SPVs — Special Port Vehicle Bhd (SPVB) — was publicised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the press in 2007.

Marina Mahathir: Why go after Ambiga, come after me if you dare!

Marina Mahathir, the high-profile daughter of ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad, has warned the authorities and troublemakers alike not to make Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan and other activists scapegoats for the Seksualiti Merdeka event slated for November 9 to 13.“For the struggle, ask me. I have been defending the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community’s rights for over 20 years now. In fact, I defend the rights of all who have been discriminated against, the poor and everyone else. So if there is any discrimination or violence against anyone, I will continue to defend their rights. That’s it. Do you understand?” a seething Marina told a press conference on Monday.

So far, Ambiga has been the especial target of the police and other Umno-led groups, which have been accused of stirring up a ruckus in a bid to make use of the country's homophobia to galvanize the conservative Muslims to their side.Indeed, it has been an eye-opener to watch rival Malay parties Umno and PAS trying to out-Islamize each other over the event until both sides unwittingly revealed their extremist selves. Some of their leaders even questioned the LGBT's right to call itself a community.

Court denies bid to forfeit property over PKFZ project

The High Court today dismissed an application by the government to forfeit property valued at more than RM32 million owned by two individuals and seven companies that had managed the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.Judge Ghazali Cha arrived at the decision after finding that the federal counsel representing the government failed to show proof that the property was linked to any illegal activity.Ghazali ordered that the freeze on the property, which is in the form of cash, cheques and land, be removed and the assets be returned to the respondents. The judge said the counsel had only depended on an affidavit without any supporting document to show that the property was obtained illegally, and that the affidavit was based on the probe by an investigating officer without any recording of statements from witnesses.

On Nov 23 last year, the government had applied to have the property of Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing and Law Ka Hing as well as Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), Transshipment Megahub Berhad, Coastal Skyline Sdn Bhd, Wijaya Baru Aviation Sdn Bhd, Wijaya Baru Sdn Bhd, Wijaya Baru Construction Sdn Bhd and the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) to be sealed and forfeited.Ghazali also dismissed an application of the federal counsel to defer his decision.

 

Source - Bernama

MCA headquarters splashed with red paint

The MCA headquarters in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, was found splashed with red paint this morning.
The wall and floor near the side entrance, which is beside a restaurant at the ground floor, was found splashed with paint.When contacted, Giam Say Khoon, the press secretary to the MCA president, said that a security guard found the area vandalised at around 7am today.He said that this is the first time that MCA headquarters has been splashed with paint.

According to Giam, police personnel came to inspect the scene after the paint was found.However, he was unable to say who was behind the incident and the motive behind it.Met at Serdang later, MCA president Chua Soi Lek said that he has instructed the party administration to lodge a police report.

While careful not to point fingers, he said that there is “speculation that this is because MCA is against PAS’ intentions to implement hudud”.“I am not saying this is related... this is the first time in MCA’s history that this has happened,” he said.

Chua, who has been vocal against the Islamic law, again urged DAP and PKR make public their stand on the hudud, especially the DAP which has “passionately supported PAS”.He said DAP should explain if the implementation of hudud impacts non-Muslims and if it has a negative effect on “the socioeconomics and political system”.“The rakyat would benefit from DAP’s explanation,” he said.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/180373

Reforming the A-G’s Office

By Zaid Ibrahim (a former law minister, in the president of Kita)

Abdul Gani Patail has been the Attorney General (A-G) for many years now. He assumed office at an early age, and it is his good fortune that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (who was prime minister at the time) liked him.During my short stint working with him, I found him cooperative and a hardworking civil servant.Abdul Gani will probably remain A-G for a while more, even though he has received a lot of flak and criticism. Some are justified, and some are not.The list of cases and complaints is too long for me to recite here but everyone knows that no one has been brought to book for the MAS scandal that caused losses of billions of ringgit.

Everyone knows that those responsible for the death of Teoh Beng Hock, and Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed have not been held accountable. Everyone remembers the “no further action” against those implicated in the judge-fixing (i.e., the Lingam Videotape) scandal.There are many other cases involving high-profile personalities who were acquitted or had their charges dropped without the public being given satisfactory explanation of why those cases were not successful.This happened in the 2007 prosecution of Tan Sri Eric Chia for criminal breach of trust. It happened again in the 2009 prosecution of former Land and Cooperative Development Minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam for corruption and cheating.