Wed 7th Nov 2007 - Sabah duo a real gem for Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU: Two young Sabah shuttlers were a real gem for Malaysia in the Kosan Chiangmai-Bangkok Open 2007 held at the Chiangmai Gymnasium from Oct 18-25.

Rising stars Calvin Ong of Kota Kinabalu and Dede Ryan of Keningau emerged champions after disposing of Thai opponents 21-9 and 21-16 in the boy’s under-13 doubles final.

Calvin/Dede stamped their mettle by defeating much higher-ranked opponents in the earlier rounds en route to the finals.

Calvin also played in the boy’s singles but crashed out in the fourth round.

The other medal contributor for Malaysia was Gabriel Fong who took the bronze medal in the boy’s under-13 singles competition.

The other Sabahan was Marcel Simon of Kota Kinabalu who entered the boy’s quarter-final stages.

All four Sabah aces are currently studying at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), which they joined in January 2007, according to Sabah Badminton Association (SBA) yesterday.

Calvin was once under the guidance of Steven Joker under the SBA Development Project Squad.

Steven is currently the Sabah chief coach for High Performance Core Sports.

Calvin had won numerous titles along with Gabriel including winning the National Schools (MSSM) doubles title.

The duo were selected for the BJSS after the BA of Malaysia (BAM) were impressed with their performance at the National Grand Prix 2006.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - Parents and children invited for drawing, colouring contest

KOTA KINABALU: Children, youth and parents are invited to take part in a drawing and colouring contest to be held at City Mall on Nov 18.

The first ever contest organised by Sabah Global Art and Creative (GAC) art centre will feature five categories - Group A for children aged 4-6; Group B (7-9); Group C (10-12); Group D (13-18); and Group E (parents).

The top participant for Group A to D will receive a trophy, hamper, certificate and a mystery prize while those from second to fourth placings will win trophy, hamper and certificate.

Apart from that; five prizes will be given for the Champion of Champions event and another 10 consolation prizes of trophy and certificate.

For the parents category, cash prizes RM200, RM15O, RM100 and RM5O will be given to the top four finishers.

Organising chairman Sam Yong Choon Em said prizes will also be given to schools with the most participants; schools that win the most prizes; and GAC group that have the most entries.

According to him, the theme of the competition will only be announced on contest day and participants are free to use their chosen drawing or colouring tools.

“We welcome the participation of all,” he said, adding the entry fee is RM 10 and the closing date is on Nov 10.

For further information contact Sam Yong at 012-8188812, 016-8268812.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - Mount Trus Madi to be new tourist spot

TAMBUNAN: The Sabah Government is drawing up strategies to develop and aggressively promote Mount Trus Madi, the second tallest mountain in Malaysia after Mount Kinabalu, as a new tourist destination in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan said yesterday that Mount Trus Madi, with a height of 2,900m, had potential to lure tourists to this remote district which not only had a cool climate but was also rich in biodiversity.

“I want to see the remote areas, especially Tambunan, developed for tourism and I think that Mount Trus Madi can be an alternative to Mount Kinabalu for tourists who love hiking and adventure,” said Pairin, who had climbed the mountaintan and enjoyed the breathtaking view from the top.


He said that many tourists had already hiked up Mount Trus Madi and it was now time to further popularize the mountain in line with the state’s aim to emphasize the tourism sector.

Gunung Trus Madi is located in the Trusmadi Tambunan Forest Reserve, 25km from Tambunan town.

Pairin said the Government would spend RM1 million to provide the basic infrastructure for tourism in the area, including building a road to the foot of the mountain. The Tambunan district now has several tourist attractions including the Mahua waterfall which is a favourite among foreign tourists.

Pairin said the government also proposed to hold a Ginger Fair in Tambunan district which is the biggest exporter of ginger in Sabah.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - 3,000 in Nabawan to be checked for eye disease

KOTA KINABALU: The Rotary Club of Likas Bay will hold an Avoidable Blindness Outreach (ABO)programme this weekend.

It is held in collaboration with Rotary Club of Lu Chou, Taipei; the Ophthalmology Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu; Keningau District Hospital; Medical and Health Service Department; Dr Peter Kong’s Specialist Eye Centre; Malaysian Diabetics Association (Sabah Branch); Sabah Pharmaceutical Society and Sabah Optical Association.

The club has projected to screen about 3,000 rural folks. The Avoidable Blindness Outreach (ABO) volunteers from the Malaysian Diabetic Association will initially check patients for diabetics. Those with eye or vision problems will be identified during the ABO by the medical team comprising ophthalmologists, medical officers, nurses and opticians.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - 63 Sabah shuttlers for World Chinese tournament in China

KOTA KINABALU: Sixty-three players from Sabah are among the China-bound Malaysian badminton squad fighting for a total of 76 gold medals up for grabs in the 14th World Chinese Badminton Championship in China.



The tournament for players from 25 to 80 years of age will be held at ZhongShan, QuangDong from November 9-11.

The Sabah contingent, comprising 37 women and 36 men, are the biggest group ever from the State, Sabah coach cum assistant team manager Anthony C. Linggian said yesterday following a courtesy call to Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Liew Yun Fah in his office at Wisma Muis in Sembulan on Monday.

Liew handed over the Sabah Flag to team coach Anthony and wished the players every success.

The Minister also expressed surprise at the large number of participants which augers well for Sabah have a great pool of potential players.

Although China have shown their supremacy in the 13 World Championship held in Malaysia last their last year, Liew hoped that Sabah would be able to bring home more medals from this year’s championship.

China were last year’s overall champions with 19 gold medals while Malaysia came in second with 15 golds.

Anthony said having gone through their last phase practice on Monday night, majority of the players would from be leaving this evening for China and the remaining players will depart tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Liew thanked the main sponsor Mr Ben Wong from Ararat Sports, for being so generous in sponsoring sports attire for all the Sabah players.

Last year, Sabah players achieved success in the following events:-

One gold from Helen Lee/Catherine Lee in the women’s doubles for 50 years, four silvers from women’ singles Kho Chu Eng (30 years), men’s doubles Johnny Yong/John Wong (55 years), men’s singles John Ho (60 years), men’s doubles Jimmy Ko, Michael Chin (65 years); four bronzes from Au Yeang/Catherine Lee mixed doubles (50 years), Steve Lee, Josephine Lee mixed doubles (4C years), men’s singles Jack Lim (5( years) and VicentLim/DesmondJon men’s doubles (45 years).

The 76 events for players ranging from 25 to 80 years of age are a follows:- women’s & men’s singles and doubles from 25 to 80 years husband & wife age group, mixed doubles from 25 to 80 years & combined age from 100 to 150 years women & men combined age doubles from 100 to 150 years. The tournament entered the Guinness Book of Record for having the most number of 76 events in one tournament, with 32 courts playing simultaneously in 2006.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - Power sharing issue expected to liven up PBS congress on Sunday

KOTA KINABALU: The Barisan Nasional’s (BN) power sharing concept in Sabah is expected to be p1aced under the microscope by delegates during Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) 22nd Congress this Sunday.

PBS information chief Johnny Mositun said yesterday debates on the subject were expected to be lively, especially with the sentiments of delegates fueled by speculations of an imminent general election.“It has always been a favourite subject among the delegates as they feel that a truly balanced power sharing among the BN component parties in Sabah is yet to be achieved either in terms of Government or political appointments,” he said in a statement here.


Other topics most likely to be raised are the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants, status of the so-called Filipino refugees holding the IMM13 documents, land and native issues such as the status of mixed-parentage children as well as equal distribution of the economic cake in the State.



Mositun said more than 600 delegates were expected to attend he congress at Hongkod Koisaan, KDCA, in Penampang to be opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.


For the first time, he said the party’s 60 divisions in Sabah together with its Labuan division and the Youth and Wanita wings would be divided into zones.

Another first is that the congress would only be held for one day with the last order of the day, the winding-up speech by the president, expected to be completed by 10pm. Previous congresses were normally spread over two days.

The Youth, and Wanita movements, which have been tasked to move and second the motion on several resolutions, held their annual congress on Oct 30.

The party would hold its traditional Malam Bersatu (Unity Night) dinner at the Atlantis Seafood Restaurant in Jalan Bundusan on the eve, he said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said the BN Government will continue the practice of power-sharing and attend to the needs of all1aces fairly and equitably.

He said the BN Government would ensure that no single community or ethnic group would be left behind in the mainstream off development.

“As such, it is my hope that Parti Bersatu Sabah will continue to progress for the sake of strengthening the Barisan Nasional strug1e,” he said in his message in conjunction with the 22nd PBS Annual General Assembly.

Abdullah, who is also the BN chairman, said Malaysians were most fortunate as they could enjoy progress and development in a peaceful and stable environment.

Through consensus, tolerance and cooperation between the people of various races and religions, we have built Malaysia into a united and developed nation. So, we must use the diversity as a strength to take the country to greater heights,” he said.

Abdullah said the Government had laid the foundation for future growth particularly through the National Mission and the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

He hoped the people of Sabah would enjoy the economic transformation once the Sabah Development Corridor was launched by year end.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - MASSIVE power outage hits KK areas and other parts of Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) said the State Capital and several other areas across the State were hit by a massive power outage for several hours yesterday.

Its Managing Director Baharin Din said the major power disruptions were caused by a trip at one of the generator sets in the West Coast.


He said the power outage took place at around 4.39 am on Tuesday and power supply was fully restored by 8.23am.

A large number of areas across the State were struck by power outages except for Labuan and the districts of Telupid, Keningau, Tenom, Ranau, Beaufort, Sipitang, Kuala Penyu and Papar, said Baharin.

“ A power generator set in the West Coast tripped as a result of a flash over at one of the voltage transformers from the Karamunsing main feeder transformer (PMU) to the PMU at Tg Lipat,” he explained.

Nevertheless, Baharin said SESB workers acted immediately and managed to restore the power supply in the affected districts in stages from 5.35am onwards.

“By 6.25am power supply was restored to 95 per cent of the affected areas and it returned to normal at 8.23am after the repairs were fully completed,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Kudat, police here have arrested a family of six men suspected to be involved in several theft cases involving SESB transformers in the district and Kota Marudu.

All six suspects aged 16-49 were arrested in two separate raids at a house at Kampung Indrason on Oct 31 and Nov 1.

Police also arrested two other men including an Indonesian who had bought the stolen items from the suspects.

Chief District Police DSP Razaruddin Hussien said the suspects were believed to have carted away transformers causing a total loss of about RM600,000 to SESB.

“Police raided the house around 2pm and arrested two teenagers aged 15 and 19. Police also confiscated a Perodua Rusa Van suspected to be used in the crime,” said Razaruddin.

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - DEEPAVALI—THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

The Festival Of Light

This week the live-day religious festival of Deepavali is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains everywhere
The festival, which has many manifestations throughout the different regions of India,
means as much to Hindus as Christmas does to Christians

Day 1 — Dhanteras
Set aside to worship
Lakshmi. In Indian culture, wealth is not viewed as a corruptive power. A wealthy person is considered to have
been rewarded for good deeds in a past life

‘Diyas’ (lights) are lit to ward off evil spirits

Day 2— Kali Chaudas

The goddess Kali is
worshipped, with the
focus on abolishing laziness and evil. It is customary to take an oil bath before sunrise to prepare for Diwali Day

Kali is the goddess of
strength

Day 3— Diwali Day
On the last day of the Hindu year, lamps shine brightly in every home, symbolising knowledge and encouraging reflection upon the purpose of each day in the festival

Day 4—New Year’s Day
Old business accounts are settled and new books opened. The books are worshipped in a ceremony and participants are urged to remove anger, hate, and jealousy from their lives


Fireworks herald the new year

Day 5—Brother’s Day

Reflects on the special bond between brothers and sisters. Differences are set aside and families make a special effort to get together and enjoy each others company

The Hindu symbol Om,
representing everything

Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and lustre is welcomed into the home and praised

Wed 7th Nov 2007 - Absent Parks staff spoils holiday of mother, son

West M’sians unable to fulfil dream to reach peak of Mount Kinabalu

KOTA KINABALU: A mother and her son from Peninsular Malaysia had an unforgettable holiday in Sabah for a wrong reason.

Wong Lap King and her 13-year-old son had wanted to climb Mount Kinabalu and stand on the peak of the highest mountain in South East asia.

However, their dream was destroyed yesterday morning just because of an absent Sabah Parks staff who holds the key to the gate at Sayat Sayat.

“We waited for about an hour in the dark and cold for the gate to be be opened but it was all in vain,” said Wong when contacted by telephone yesterday evening.

According to her, she and her son started trekking up Mount Kinabalu on Monday and after seven hours, arrived at the Laban Rata rest house where they stayed the night.

“At about 2.30am, we, accompanied by our guide Francis, started the final ascent to the summit. However when we reached Sayat Sayat, we were surprised to see a large group of fellow climbers waiting for the gate there to be opened,” she said.

Wong said there were about 100 of them just waiting around in the cold and dark for something to happen. One of the climbers was heard asking a guide if the staff had been contacted and was told yes, she said.

“But later, we were told that no contact had been done and our guide said he did not want to get involved with the park’s rules and regulations,” she said and added that about 3.45am, some of the climbers managed to go through the gate and proceeded with the ascent to the summit while the rest, under the advice of their mountain guides, headed back to the resthouse.

“I decided to heed my guide’s advice and we also went back to the resthouse only to find that the restaurant was still closed. Unable to have breakfast, my son and I decided to go back to sleep,” she said.

Wong pointed out that if the gate was closed for safety reasons, it would not have been so disappointing and frustrating for those who headed back to the resthouse.

“The couple who shared the room with us at the resthouse were among those who took the risk and climbed to the summit. They showed us pictures of how beautiful the view was and the weather was just fine. So it could not have been a safety hazard that resulted in the locked gate,” she said.

According to Wong, she later found out that the staff with the key to the gate was sick and that was why he was absent.

”This is not a valid reason as the park management must have a contingency plan for any emergencies. There should at least have been a spare key kept at the resthouse and a staff who could be contacted to make decisions in instances, like this,” she stressed.

There must also be some sort of communication system between the resthouse and the headquarters, Wong said.

“My son and I have trained hard for this trip. As we live in an apartment building, we took to walking up and down nine flights of stairs in preparation for this climb, so you can imagine just how frustrated and disappointed we are to be so close and yet so far to the summit of Mount Kinabalu,” she said.

Wong also disclosed that she and her son had intended to buy souvenir T-shirts with the phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered” which they saw at the handicraft stalls at Pekan Nabalu

“But now it doesn’t mean a thing. Coming here to climb Mount Kinabalu is not something you can just get up and do. We have to train hard to get ourselves in shape for the climb and we have to fly over from Peninsular Malaysia,” she said.

According to her, while they were waiting at Sayat Sayat, many of the climbers, especially the foreigners, were asking for the reason of the delay and the situation was not helped by the fact that most of the mountain guides can hardly speak English.

Wong said she found out that the gate was finally unlocked after 4am but no one came to inform them of the new development.

When asked if she would have turned back and ascend to the summit, Wong replied, “It would depend on the advice of my guide. If he said it was safe to go, we would but if he said it was unadvisable to do so, we would abandon our attempt.”

Efforts to contact the Kinabalu Park was futile as it was later learnt that the telephone system there was down.

A spokesman for Sabah Parks when contacted about the problem, said an investigation will be conducted to find out what had happened.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - NPC to hold 60 courses in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The National Productivity Corporation (NPC) Sabah will be organising 60
Productivity and Quality (P&Q) Enhancement training courses in the State next year.
Its Director Datuk Nik Zainiah Nik Abdul Rahman said several new courses would be introduced in 2008 such as HACCP Implementation, Security, Taxation, Lead Auditor For ISO 9001:2000 EMS 14000 and the GMP & Halal Certification.

Until October this year, she said, the NPC had organised 73 similar training courses involving 1,506 people. Nik Zainiah was speaking to reporters during the NPC Hari Raya open house here yesterday.

In 2006, she said, the NPC conducted 77 training courses which benefited 1,095 people.

Nik Zainiah also said that the NPC is planning to implement P&Q programme for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) during the current Ninth Malaysia Plan.

“This is in line with the Government’s efforts of developing the SME sector as one of the main contributors to the country’s economy,” she added.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - Seminar on uses of radio identification technology

KOTA KINABALU: A half-day seminar on the uses and benefits of deploying radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for public and private sectors will be held at the Beverly Hotel here on November 20. Entitled “RFID Technology for Business: Potential Uses, Benefits and Opportunities”, the seminar is organised by IDS Infotech Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the Institute for Development Studies (Sabah).

IDS Infotech Managing Director Datuk Dr Mohd Yaakub Haji Johari in a statement said RFID is gaining growing interest, awareness and importance today.

“It is increasingly being deployed for many applications worldwide because of its immense benefits of being able to identify, track and manage goods seamlessly and effectively, in particular in supply chain management,” he said.

Mohd Yaakub said the use of RFID technology in a supply chain allows effective tracking and tracing of goods and products of different forms and sizes.


“Thus, the technology is being deployed in many areas such as in inventory/asset control and monitoring, access and security management, retail line management, health care, food traceability, and customer service.”

Mohd Yaakub noted that Malaysia was among the leading RFID user countries in the world. RFID technology, he said, was first in introduced in Malaysia in 1997 in the Touch ‘n’ Go System - Malaysia electronic toll payment system. Subsequently, in the following year, Immigration Department Malaysia used RFID for passport issuance, he said, adding, “In fact, Malaysia is the first country to implement electronic passport (e-passport),” he added. He said the adoption of REID technology in the country has increased ever since and it is also used by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs in evidence management.


Mohd Yaakub said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was also reportedly contemplating to use RFID technology to address the problem of timber theft in certain states.

“Furthermore, an RFID system that will improve the management of blood banks is undergoing testing by local medical institutions,” he added.

Mohd Yaakub said the upcoming seminar will be conducted by two RFID specialists from Peninsular Malaysia who have substantial expertise and experience in RFID business including business development, project management, RFID centre operations, training and consulting.
The RFID industry in Malaysia was given a further boost with the launching of the Malaysia Microchip (MM) by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Identification (RFID) microchip with a built-in antenna, which took two years to develop under the Malaysia Microchip(MM)Project.

“With the availability of the multi-band MM chip locally, it adoption is expected to increase further,” said Mohd Yaakub.

He said participants will learn, among other things, how RFID can benefit retailers, manufacturers, distributors, suppliers logistics and service providers. As part of the seminar, a display cum demonstration of RFID equipment will be held. The seminar is particularly useful for IT managers and executives, systems engineers, software/applications engineers, systems integrators, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, logistics/operation/transport managers, and those who are interested in the emerging RFID technology. For further information about the seminar and registration, please contact Ms Ooi or Ms Veronica at telephone number 246166 or 246167.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - Govt agencies need complaints mechanism

KOTA KINABALU: There is a need for the Government to establish a mechanism for its agencies to bring forward their problems for evaluation and correction, said Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) vice chancellor Tan Sri Dr Nordin Kardi.

He said there are certain situations where the level of service offered by an agency would depend on support and assistance from other agencies.

“At the moment there is no avenue for Government agencies to make complaints against other agencies. The Government needs to create a mechanism where problems faced by an agency can be raised with a mediator agency,” he said.

Nordin said this in his speech at the launch of the 5th Workshop on Financial Management for Statutory Bodies, officiated by Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai on behalf of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at the Promenade Hotel here, yesterday.

He noted that civil servants must at the same time strive to improve their performance and commitment in line with various changes implemented in the structure, system and procedures to improve the service delivery of Government departments.

“While there are various new efforts that have been introduced, there is still room to improve the performance and commitment of civil servants so they become enablers and not disablers in the achievements of Government development programmes,” he said. Nordin proposed for formal and informal training to be made compulsory for civil servants, as commonly practiced by professional bodies.

He said this would make it the staff’s responsibility to achieve the required number of CPD hours for a post unlike the current situation where the employer is left with the responsibility of planning courses for their staff to attend.

Meanwhile, Musa, in his speech delivered by Yee, said that financial management is an important aspect as it is tied in with the Government’s strategy to spur the country’s economic development.

“Government agencies need planning to ensure all projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) can be implemented according to plan and the cash flow for the implementation of these projects will speed up economic development,” he said.

Musa also urged Government agencies to improve themselves in view of the recently-announced Audit Rating System (ARAS), which will rank agencies after audit on an accountability index.

“We hope this will encourage each department and agency to pay more serious attention to the financial management and an organised, neat-and updated administration,” he said.

The twice-yearly workshop is organised by UUM’s treasury department and supported by the State Government.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - ICT a new challenge for civil servants: State Sec

KOTA KINABALU: The various changes that have come with the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) have become a new challenge for the civil servants in providing efficient services to the public, said State Secretary Datuk Sukarti Wakiman.

As such, he said, civil servants, the senior officers in particular, need to constantly enhance their ICT knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of not only the local people but the global community.

Sukarti made the call when opening the ICT Sabah 2007 seminar which was organised by the INTAN Sabah Branch.

Also present were INTAN Saban chief Muhammad Mentek, State Computer Services Department Director Dr Minggu Haji Jumaan: and State IT Development Unit Director Bruno Vun.

Sukarti also advised civil servants to be responsive to the ever increasing needs and expectations of the public for efficient and quality services.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Mentek said various efforts would be taken in increasing the access of ICT in the country.

He said the usage and application of ICT has been encouraged among the people in their daily life.

The theme of the seminar was “Enhancing the ICT Competency Towards Excellence Delivery System”.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - West Coast are overall champions

KOTA KINABALU: West Coast were crowned the overall champions in the State-level Community Sports League 2007 competition held in Likas from Nov 3-4.

Four sports - badminton, sepak takraw, volleyball and futsal – were held in the Malaysia Youth and Sports Ministry-organised event in association with the State Youth and Sports Ministry and Sabah Federal Youth and Sports Department. The teams were representing Tawau, Sandakan, Keningau, Kudat and West Coast which sent their A and B squads.

West Coast A, who were represented by the Pantai Manis State Constituency won the badminton event while the other title was won by the West Coast team represented by Api-Api Constituency in futsal event.

Sulabayan Constituency, representing Tawau, won the volleyball competition while Sekong Constituency of Sandakan took the honour in the sepak takraw event.

Sabah Federal Youth and Sports Department Director Haji Hashim Sintol said during the closing ceremony that the programme attracted participation from all 60 State constituencies.

Among the objectives of the Community Sports League, which was launched by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Aug 6, 2006, is to promote sports culture among the community apart from unearthing talents.

The champions in the respective categories walked home with RM1,000, followed by RM700, RM500 and RM300 for the second to third-placed teams. The teams also won trophies and medals.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - Judgment-writing course for Sabah, S’wak judges

KOTA KINABALU: Judges from Sabah and Sarawak are going back to school for two days from yesterday to learn how to write judgments that all parties can understand.

James C Raymond, Prof Emeritus of the University of Alabama, who is conducting the course, said judges all over the world had problem writing judgments because it was not taught in law school.

“Law schools are only to groom would-be lawyers, not judges. Therefore, judges present their judgments using jargon that only those familiar with the law could understand.

“What the course is trying to do here is to help judges write judgments using words and phrases that would be easy for people to understand the judges’ reasonings in court hearings,” Raymond told reporters after the first session of the course organised by the Judicial and Legal Training Institute. Raymond said court hearings had a complex audience which included members of the press and people who either knew or knew nothing about the case. Therefore, it was crucial that judgments avoid ambiguity of the legal language and be presented using the simplest of words, he said.

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum said it was difficult to determine the quality of judgments as each judge had his own way of writing judgments.

‘Judgment-writing is an art whereby judges determine how to present their reasonings. However, continuous training is needed so that judges can better serve the people and uphold justice,” he said.

Seventeen high court and sessions court judges are attending the course, the first of its kind in Malaysia.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - 100 KKIP factory workers protest non-payment of wages

KOTA KINABALU: More than 100 workers of a plastic bag factory in Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, near here, yesterday held a demonstration over unpaid salaries.

The workers gathered outside the factory to show their anger and disappointment with a banner reading ‘Kami mau gaji kami!’ (We want our salaries!), claiming that their employer had failed to pay their last month’s wages.

They said the factory’s management had also forced them to take a two-month unpaid leave following some financial problems late last month.

“We were told to stop working on Oct 24 after the electricity supply to the factory was disconnected. No proper explanation was given to us. We were just told to take unpaid leave and that there was no money to pay our wages,” said one of the workers, Lilitia.

The 26-year-old woman said she had just started working for the factory early last month and has not even received her first salary.

“This is not fair. They cannot simply refuse to pay our salaries and force us to take unpaid leave. We are from poor families and we have to support ourselves,” said the young mother who joined the protest with her five-year-old daughter.

Another employee who introduced herself as Ayang, 46, said the employer should be more responsible and considerate towards the workers.

“If they are facing problems and about to close down, they should pay us some sort of compensation or retrenchment benefit,” she said.

Ayang, who has been working at the factory since early this year, said they usually received their salary on the fifth day of every month and as usual they went to the administration office to claim their pay yesterday.

However, they were shocked when the management told them that there was no money for them this time, she said.

An officer from the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted that the were facing problems paying operational expenses and the electricity was cut off last month after the board of directors stopped approving cheque for the purpose.

The officer said the company, which is a joint-venture with a Government-linked company and financed by Taiwanese investors, has four directors, one of whom oversaw the operation of the factory.

“Any payment of more than RM1,000 required the joint approval of the other three directors. But for some reason, they have stopped signing cheque for us. So we don’ have money to pay the electricity as well as the salaries,” said the officer.

He said the director at the factory has limited power and has yet to decide on any mitigation measure or whether to continue operation.

“The board of directors will be meeting soon. We certainly hope this can be resolved as soon as possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the factory is operated by Kinabalu Polybag Sdn Bhd (KPB), which is jointly owned by Perkasa Trading Sdn Bhd (PTSB),a Government-owned trading company that holds a 49 per cent stake, a Taiwanese investor Mr Yang Kai Hsiung (46 per cent) and a woman who has a five per cent stake.

According to Yang, PTSB is also the sole marketing agent of the poly-bags produced by the KPB, and the supplier of the main raw material, resin, to KPB.

Apart from him, he said, the three other directors of KPB are Penampang Member of Parliament Donald Peter Mojuntin, who is Chairman of Perkasa Trading Sdn Bhd; Maisuri Bin Besri, who is also the Group General Manager of Sabah Economic Development Corporation and Joseph Wong Chen Hee, General Manager of Perkasa Trading Sdn Bhd.

The managing directors of KPB are Donald, Maisuri and Joseph, he said yesterday, adding that he could sign cheque for up to RM1,000 only.

According to Yang, disputes arose concerning payment of sales tax between the shareholders as a result of which, the three managing directors refused to sign any cheques of KPB.

He said this had somewhat resulted in non-payment of electricity bills and disconnection of electricity supply to the factory, which was forced to cease operation on Oct 25.

The managing directors also refused to sign any cheque for payment of salaries to more than 100 employees.

Yesterday, when the employees pressed him for payment of their salaries, Yang said that Joseph Wong was on leave for a week and Maisuri was on outstation duties for a week, while Donald could not be reached.

The workers have contacted Assistant Industrial Development Minister Jainab Ahmad, who is also the Karambunai Assemblywoman, for help, later in the evening, he added.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - Fishing boat crew held for bid to smuggle eight illegals

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency detained a fishing boat skipper and two other crew along with eight illegal immigrants they were suspected of trying to smuggle into the country.

The Agency Operation Director for Sabah and Labuan, Captain Mohd Amir Hamzah yesterday said the illegal immigrants are Filipinos, who include a 10 months old girl.

All the suspects would be charged under the Immigration Act in the court after investigations
have been completed, he said.

Mohd Amir said the boat skipper is a 28-year-old local man, while the two crew are Filipinos,
aged 25 and 22.

He said the three men were arrested together with their eight passengers on board the boat in the waters near Usukan Island, off Kota Belud two days ago.

The foreigners were found hiding in the cargo hold of the boat, said Mohd Amir, adding that
they did not hold any valid travel document.

He said the fishing boat was heading towards the main land when it was intercepted by the Agency’s patrol boat skippered by Lt Mohd Zulfadi Nayan. There were eight fellow personnel on board.

Tuesday 6th Nov 2007 - 100 AIDS deaths in Sabah

Over 700 HIV, 238 AIDS cases reported in two decades since 1986: Director
PENAMPANG: More than 700 HIV and 238 AIDS cases, including 100 deaths, were reported in Sabah as at July this year, State Health Director Datuk Dr Rahimah Mohd Said said.

Speaking at the launch of state-level “World AIDS Day” here yesterday, Rahimah said the cases were recorded from 1986 when the first HIV/AIDS case was reported.

According to her, there were 42 HIV cases and seven AIDS cases reported in Penampang district until September this year, including five fatalities.

Rahimah said 85.4 percent of those infected with HIV/AIDS in Sabah got it through heterosexual relationships while only two percent were from homosexual relationships.

She said four percent of those infected were drug addicts who had shared needles, while the rest got it through other means.

“The statistics showed that Sabahans are more exposed to HIV/AIDS infection via heterosexual relationships,” she said.

Nationwide, Rahimah said, a total of 78,784 HIV cases and 13,121 AIDS cases were reported from 1986 to June this year, and these included 9,586 deaths.

“In the two decades since the first case was reported, the increasing, number of cases is alarming and the ‘Government, in realizing the threat and risk the country faces, has implemented several programmes to curb the number of new cases,” she said.

Among the programmes were tests on expectant mothers since 1998, the Anonymous Voluntary Test since 2003 as well as making it compulsory since 1998 for those diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and tuberculosis (TB) to undergo HIV tests.

The Health Department is also continuing its educational and awareness programmes with the hope that more people will realize the dangers of HIV/AIDS and take the necessary steps to avoid being infected.

Meanwhile, Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Khoo, who officiated at the launching ceremony, stressed the need for the community to disseminate information about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

“Parents have an important role to play in not only educating their children about the threat but also making them understand that HIV/AIDS can lead to death,” he said.

“They must make sure their children know well enough to stay away from HIV/AIDS related risks.

“I am sure that if we work closely and support each other, we can keep a check on the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state and country,” he said.

Monday 5th Nov 2007 - Vote for your favourite dogs

KOTA KINABALU: Customers of Asia City Complex will be able to vote for their favourite dogs in the Dog Model Competition 2007 which was held at the shopping centre here yesterday.

According to the organiser, Song Chi Peng of GF Puppy House, the competition was divided info three categories, which were best grooming, best fashion and funny look.

GF Puppy House, which will be opening soon at Asia City Complex, will sell various kinds of pet accessories and food.

The event was fully sponsored by Nutri Source.





According to Song, the pictures of the dogs would be put up at the Asia City Complex for the public to judge through votes.

“Anyone can vote for the dogs. Those who want to do so must purchase an item at Asia City Complex. They can redeem the purchase receipts for voting coupons,” he said, adding the results of the contest would be based on the public votes.

“The results will be released on December 23 and the winner will get an attractive price from us. Voters also have the opportunity to win lucky draws,” he added.

Song hoped the event would be held continuously so that the pet lovers could exchange ideas on how to care for their animals.