OneVoice Newspaper

King Of Pop Is DeadMichael Jackson, an

incomparable figure in music, dance and

culture whose ever-changing face graced the covers of albums that sold more than half a billion copies, died Thursday, shortly after going into cardiac arrest at his rented Holmby Hills mansion. He was 50. He spent much of his life as one of the most famous people on the planet, and to many, his untimely death felt both unthinkable and, oddly, inevitable. Para-medics found Jackson in cardiac arrest when they arrived at his home shortly before 12:30 p.m., three minutes and 17 seconds after receiving a 911 call. His personal physi-cian was already in the house perform-ing CPR. Jackson was not breathing, and it ap-pears he never regained con-sciousness. Paramedics treat-ed Jackson at the house for 42 minutes, and he was de-clared dead at 2:26 p.m. at UCLA Medical Center, about two miles from his home above Sunset Boulevard.“I got to kiss him and tell him goodbye,” said Frank DiLeo, Jackson’s manager and friend of 30 years, who was at the hospital. “I lost a very dear friend, someone who I ad-mired, someone who was the greatest talent I ever met or worked with.”Los Angeles police said de-tectives would launch a thorough investigation of the death. They cautioned, however, that they did not believe Jackson was the vic-tim of foul play and that the

investigation was standard after the death of a person with his level of fame. Au-thorities said they would ex-amine whether Jackson had been taking medications that contributed to his death; an autopsy is expected to be

performed today. Jackson’s death was confirmed outside the hospital by his brother Jermaine, who once per-formed alongside Michael as a member of the Jackson 5, a family act that began in the steel mill town of Gary, Ind., before making it big in the music industry. Jackson who most famously lived in Santa Barbara Coun-ty at his Neverland Ranch, named for the island where Peter Pan and the Lost Boys were in no danger of growing up had taken up residence in a seven-bedroom estate in Hol-mby Hills, which he was rent-ing for $100,000 a month. He had come to Los Angeles to rehearse for 50 sold-out con-certs at London’s O2 Arena, a run of shows that was sched-uled to kick off July 13 and

had been dubbed “This Is It.” The concerts were to have been the start of an ambi-tious career revival designed to begin wiping out Jackson’s staggering debt he owed at least $400 million and would have earned $1 million a night

and return the singer to cultural relevancy.Jackson’s backers en-visioned the London appearances as an au-dition of sorts for a re-boot that would go on to include a world tour, movies, a Graceland-like museum, new mu-sic and revues in Macau and Las Vegas. Those close to Jackson have said he had been work-

ing diligently to get in shape for his comeback. A year ago, he was gaunt and used a wheelchair, but re-cently he’d been

exercising with a trainer in addition to daylong rehears-als with dancers half his age.Kenny Ortega, the force be-hind “High School Musical” and “Dirty Dancing,” was brought on as the concerts’ director. Jackson was consumed with the project, Ortega said, personally approving every costume and every bit of choreography. Jackson was also thrilled by the notion of keeping the details of the tour secret.Rehearsals were to wrap up early next week. Ortega was leading one of the final re-hearsals Thursday afternoon when he received a phone call confirming Jackson’s death, which he then revealed to the tour performers. “People fell to their knees,” he said.

Johnny Caswell, a princi-pal at Centerstaging, the Burbank soundstage where Jackson had been rehears-ing, watched many of the run-throughs and said he was “absolutely shocked” by the performer’s death. Jackson, he said, was “very frail” but approached the rehearsals -- including one the night be-fore his death that witnesses at Staples Center called tri-umphant with boundless en-ergy. “He was working hard,” Cas-well said.In order for promot-ers to get insurance for the London shows, Jackson un-

derwent a four-hour physical with an independent doctor this spring. Randy Phillips, the chief executive of AEG Live, the promoter, said the medical screening uncovered “no issues whatsoever.”Word of Jackson’s death rico-cheted around the nation. In Gary, Ind., outside his modest childhood home, fans formed a prayer circle. In New York, fans moonwalked outside the legendary Apollo Theater, where Jackson per-formed when he was 9. According to the Associated Press, so many people tried to verify Jackson’s death that Google’s computers in-terpreted the simultaneous searches for “Michael Jack-son” as an automated attack.As the night wore on Thurs-day, authorties pleaded with fans and on-lookers to avoid UCLA Medical Center, to no avail. A large crowd, including some peo-ple wearing costumes simi-lar to Jackson’s performance outfits, gathered. Across the street, the Sigma Alpha Epsi-lon fraternity house blasted Jackson’s music. A large crowd, including some peo-ple wearing costumes simi-lar to Jackson’s performance outfits, gathered. Across the street, the Sigma Alpha Epsi-lon fraternity house blasted Jackson’s music.

“I got to kiss him and tell him goodbye,”

- Frank DiLeo

02 | FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2009 | O N E V O I C E | F R O N T PA G E

LOS ANGELES — A judge Wednesday finalized a co-guardianship agreement for the late Michael Jackson’s three children, with the singer’s mother Katherine and nephew TJ sharing the responsibilities.The decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitch-ell Beckloff finalizes a deal that was tentatively put in place earlier this month when Jackson, 82, was re-instated as the permanent guardian of the children — sons Prince, 15, and Blanket, 10, and daughter Paris, 14. But Los Angeles Superio Court Judge Mitchell Beck-loff also agreed to keep TJ Jackson, the 34-year-old son of one of Michael Jackson’s brothers, Tito, as a tempo-rary guardian.TJ Jackson was named tem-porary guardian last month during an extended absence by Katherine Jackson, who was at a spa in Arizona. Her absence, combined with the children’s inability to contact her, led to a highly publicized family squabble and a series of angry Twittr

messages by Paris Jackson, who insinuated some of her relatives were conspiring to keep her grandmother away. Once Katherine Jackson re-turned to the Southland, all parties returned to court Aug. 2 with an agreement to have her and TJ Jackson share guardianship duties. Beckloff agreed, pending to-day’s hearing to finalize the arrangement. TJ Jackson was named temporary guardian by Katherine Jackson, who was at a spa in Arizon.The decision by Los Angeles Su-perior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff finalizes a deal that was tentatively put in place earlier this month when Jackson, 82, was reinstated as the permanent guard-ian of the children — sons Prince, 15, and Blanket, 10, and daughter Paris, 14. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beck-loff also agreed to keep TJ Jackson, the 34-year-old son of one of Michael Jackson’s brothers, Tito, as a tempo-rary guardian.TJ Jackson, the son’s brothers, Tito, as a temporary guardian. -

Jackson’s comeback, Mot-tola said, represented “a very important platform for him to bridge the old and new.” But Jackson also needed the comeback to reverse the dam-age done by years of exces-sive spending and little work. He has not toured since 1997 or released a new album since 2001, but he has continued to live like a megastar.“For the first time, he had a big financial base behind him,” said Tohme R. To-hme, an orthopedic surgeon-turned-businessman who was once Jackson’s spokesman and confidant.Mottola suggested that the demands of preparing for the tour might have been too much.Among the company’s priorities, he said, will be try-ing to find other acts to fill the O2, a 20,000-seat arena that does not rely on resident sports teams to fill its seats. Jackson’s concerts were scheduled to run through March.“They will be able to re-book some of those shows. But those in July, the building will probably be dark. You have an empty building, and that’s go-ing to have an impact on their London operations, certain-ly,” Bongiovanni said.Paramedics found Jack-son in cardiac arrest when they arrived at his home shortly before 12:30 p.m., three minutes and 17 sec-onds after receiving a 911 call. His personal physician was already in the house performing CPR. Jackson was not breathing, and it appears he never regained consciousness. Paramed-ics treated Jackson at the house for 42 minutes, and he was declared dead at 2:26 p.m. at UCLA Medi-cal Center, about two miles from his home above Sun-set Boulevard. “I got to kiss

him and tell him goodbye,” said Frank DiLeo, Jackson’s manager and friend of 30 yers, who was at the hos-pital. “I lost a very deaf-riend, someone who I ad-mired, someone who was the greatest talent I ever

met or worked with.”Los Angeles police said de-tectives would launch a thorough investigation of the death. They cautioned, however, that they did not believe Jackson was the victim of foul play and that the investigation was stan-dard after the death of a person with his level of fame. Authorities said they would examine whether Jackson had been taking medications that contrib-uted to his death; an au-topsy is expected to be

performed today.Jackson’s death was con-firmed outside the hospital by his brother Jermaine, who once performed along-side Michael as a member of the Jackson 5, a family act that began in the steel mill town of Gary, Ind., be-fore making it big in the music industry. Jackson who most famously lived in Santa Barbara Coun-ty at his Neverland Ranch, named for the island where Peter Pan and the Lost Boys were in no danger of grow-ing up -- had taken up resi-dence in a seven-bedroom estate in Holmby Hills, which he was renting for $100,000 a month.He had come to Los An-geles to rehearse for 50 sold-out concerts at Lon-don’s O2 Arena, a run of shows that was scheduled to kick off July 13 and had been dubbed “This Is It.” The concerts were to have been the start of an am-bitious career revival de-signed to begin wiping out Jackson’s staggering debt he owed at least $400 mil-lion and would have earned $1 million a night and re-turn the singer to cultural relevancy.Mottola suggested that the demands of preparing for the tour might have been too much.Among the company’s priorities, he said, will be try-ing to find other acts to fill the O2, a 20,000-seat arena that does not rely on resident sports teams to fill its seats. Jackson’s concerts were scheduled to run through March. Paramedics found Jackson in cardiac arrest when they arrived at his home shortly before 12:30 p.m.,

Judge Finalizes Co-Guardianship For Jackson Children.

F R O N T PA G E | O N E V O I C E | FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2009 | 03

Raising living standards for those without incomeKUALA LUMPUR: Students in higher education will soon enjoy a better quality of life with the launch of discount cards for several forms of ex-penditure. Kudos to the High-er Education and Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Con-sumerism Ministries for de-veloping this discount scheme together with Bank Rakyat. Concern over rising costs has warranted the discount card plan for young adults who have yet to earn an income. An important consideration before the card is launched in June is the scope or selection of goods and services to be covered. Obviously, these would not include wasteful or unsavoury items for youths. But just as important, the discounts should cover as wide an ar-ray as possible of necessary or useful items for students, such as books, meals and pub-lic transport.Similar discount systems have been practised in several oth-er countries for many years, but they have often been un-coordinated. A book discount scheme may not be related to public transport passes, which in turn may be differ-ent from a discount card for retail outlets. The advantage of the Govern-ment’s new scheme, in being designed from scratch, is the ability to integrate all the discounts and other entitlements for students within a single card. Let us hope that its imple-mentation will not experi-ence serious glitches. In the meantime, it would be in ev-eryone’s interests if more re-tailers joined the scheme by offering meaningful discounts to cardholders. The discount system would benefit not only

students but also businesses through higher turnovers. When students find a product or service beyond their means, they tend not to purchase it. But when a worthwhile dis-count is offered, they make the purchase and thereby add to consumer demand. The result is that market demand as a whole is stimu-lated, increasing overall pur-chases. The nation’s economy also benefits. Likewise, se-nior citizens should also be entitled to a similar discount scheme. They, too, will add to more business transactions when they would otherwise not have made some purchases. Retailers may find that they make less profit from some purchases because of the discounts, but overall they would register more sales and therefore make larger aggre-gate profits.Young adults and senior citizens.Young adults and senior citi-zens, both without full-time incomes, would benefit along with the business community. That would be an engaging win-win-win solution for rais-ing living standards. Similar discount systems have been practised in several other countries for many years, but they have often been unco-ordinated. A book discount scheme may not be related to public transport passes, which in turn may be differ-ent from a discount card for retail outlets. The advantage of the Govern-ment’s new scheme, in being designed from scratch, is the ability to integrate all the discounts and other entitle-ments for students within a single card. Let us hope that its implementation will not

experience serious glitches. In the meantime, it would be in everyone’s interests if more retailers joined the scheme by offering meaningful discounts to cardholders. The discount system would benefit not only tudents in higher educa-tion will soon enjoy a better quality of life with the launch of discount cards for several forms of expenditure. Kudos to the Higher Education and Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministries for developing this discount scheme together with Bank Rakyat. Concern over rising costs has warranted the discount card plan for young adults who have yet to earn an income. An important consideration before the card is launched in June is the scope or selec-tion of goods and services to be covered. Obviously, these would not include wasteful or unsavoury items for youths. But just as important, the dis-counts should cover as wide an array as possible of neces-sary or useful items for stu-dents, such as books, meals and public transport.Obviously, these would not include wasteful or unsavoury items for youths. But just as important, the discounts should cover as wide an ar-ray as possible of necessary or useful items for students, such as books, A book discount scheme may not be related to public. Similar discount sys-tems have been practised in several other countries for many years, but they have of-ten been uncoordinated. A book discount scheme may not be related to public trans-port passes, which in turn may be different from a discount card for retail outlets. -

State compiling BN’s land sale claims

Raising living standards for those without income

GEORGE TOWN: The state government wants to wait and compile every criticism made by the Barisan Na-sional (BN) Youth wing over the Penang Island Municipal Council’s (MPPP) land sales before responding to avoid making ad hoc replies.State local government and traffic management com-mittee chairman Chow Kon Yeow yesterday said he would let the BN Youth say everything they needed to say about the council’s land sale as well as those belong-ing to the state, Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and Penang Devel-opment Corporation before commenting on them.“I don’t want to waste time responding to each and ev-ery allegation because I have other things to do. We cannot be responding (to BN) everyday. After they are done, we would come up with a full explanation,” he said. Having engaged a simi-lar method when the state was earlier slammed over hillslope development above

250 feet, he said there was no point responding each time BN made an allegation. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Penang had acquired more land than the previous state govern-ment since 2008.“I don’t have the statistics with me now but I can tell you that we have more land now belonging to PDCboth the local councils and the state than BN did then because we know how to manage our land properly,” he said.“We also know how to do proper financial manage-ment than them. So, this is another lie by BN. We may have sold some land but we have also acquired some.You sell land you do not need. This is what you call unlocking value and maxi-mising assets. This is smart management.”The nation’s economy also benefits. Likewise, senior citizens should also be en-titled to a similar discount scheme. -

N-Day cash rewards prove 1 Malaysia’s failure, says Kit SiangKUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya’s use of cash rewards to draw a bigger crowd to its Na-tional Day events next week proves that Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia policy has failed to unite Malaysians, Lim Kit Siang said today.The DAP adviser scoffed at what he labelled as a “rent-a-crowd” for the two events on the eve of National Day, saying it was a typical prac-tice of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to fork out money just to create mas-sive attendance at its func-tions.The Ipoh Timor MP said that the need to pay participants to attend the functions was also a clear reflection of how the prime minister’s attempt at nation building had failed

to unite Malaysians, despite his “1 Malaysia, People First, Performance Now” concept.He said the often-promoted “1 Malaysia” platform was supposed to inspire Malay-sians of all races and reli-gions to come together, par-ticularly for functions like National Day, which should spark a sense of patriotism in them.“This in itself is a sad reflec-tion of the failure of 1 Ma-laysia to aspire Malaysians to come together as one, espe-cially during national events like these,” he said.The DAP adviser scoffed at what he labelled as a “rent-a-crowd” for the two events on the eve of National Day, saying it was a typical prac-tice attendance.-

04 | FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2009 | O N E V O I C E | N AT I O N

N AT I O N | O N E V O I C E | FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2009 | 05

Gabungan Janji, Jalan Sultan group press on with N-Day eve gatherings

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih-linked activists and the Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee (PJSC) will proceed with their respective assemblies this Merdeka eve and pledged to maintain public order then, in keeping with advice received today from the police.Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah and PJSC chairman Stanley Yong today told reporters that their respective gatherings on August 30 “ought to be very harmonious, peaceful and a joyous one”.The two made this statement today after a joint dialogue with authorities at the Dang Wangi district police station

here, where they were briefed on the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.It is understood that the po-lice had not formally barred the gatherings and only held a dialogue with them to discuss their plans for the events that will be held prior to National Day.“The police didn’t say they approved it, but gave us brief-ing and procedures we have to follow,” Maria Chin told reporters after the dialogue today.“It will be a peaceful gather-ing celebrating Merdeka. We appeal to authorities to allow these two events to happen and provide security,” she

added.Yong, who described the dis-cussion as “friendly, jovial, and overall very good”, gave his assurance that his commit-tee will organise its gathering in an orderly manner.“Throughout the conversa-tion, the police stressed on the safety of the participants and we have assured them from whatever celebration in the past, we have organised it in an orderly manner,” he said.“The police have even offered to provide traffic control for us, and we welcome that very much.”PJSC’s “Merdeka March for Jalan Sultan” will convence in front of Gospel Hall in Jalan Hang Jebat at 8.30pm and march through Jalan Sultan to the old Klang Bus Station.The committee hopes the march will garner support from the public towards the preservation of heritage buildings around the country.“Gabungan Janji”, organised by 49 non-governmental or-ganisations, will gather at Dataran Merdeka while clad in yellow on the eve of Malay-sia’s national day.

Proton styling head and team find inspiration in Turin stintKUALA LUMPUR: Designers draw inspiration from the most unexpected places, and Azlan Othman is no differ-ent - Italian food is one of his muses.As Proton’s styling head, he is responsible for the look and feel of its cars including its newest addition, the P3-21A.He and several team mem-bers collaborated with Italian design house Giugiaroin Turin, Italy, to conceptualise and fi-nalise the design, and lived there for almost a year.“Italian food is fantastic and healthy. I like to experience local cuisine when I travel. It inspires me to try different things and experience differ-ent cultures.“I believe you need inspira-tion and emotions when it comes to design. Nobody likes to drive in a square box with

four wheels,” he said at the Proton Power of 1 mega show-case at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.Azlan described their year with the Italians as an excit-ing one as they got to trade creative ideas and learn from one another.

“Europeans are very particu-lar about car design. They have been brought up to ap-preciate beauty and are real-ly passionate about it, which translates into their designs,”

he said, expressing pride at the soon-to-be unveiled P3-21A.He said Malaysians could soon look forward to a car that rep-resented a shift in the look of Proton cars.Calling the P3-21A a “moving sculpture”, he said they had employed a timeless design for the model, which could grace any road in the world.“The P3-21A is more than just a global car. It signifies Pro-ton’s move forward and a big jump from current models,” he said.He said the national car mak-er was now moving towards achieving a distinctive form that makes cars such as Volk-swagen and Mercedes easily distinguishable. They got to trade creative ideas and learn from one another. -

06 | FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2009 | O N E V O I C E | N AT I O N

Yes, I’m married to Raja Bahrin, says singer Noryn AzizKUALA LUMPUR: SINGER No-ryn Aziz said her marriage to well-known architect Raja Kamarul Bahrin is no more a secret.They have been married for two years although she had chosen to keep silent about it, she told Kosmo! on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old, whose real name is Norazmahwati Abdul Aziz, said: “My marriage is no longer hot news. Most people seem to know about my sta-tus.”She said they married at a private function in Tereng-ganu on Jan 22, 2010, ending her 12 years of being a single woman after her first failed marriage.Raja Bahrin made interna-tional headlines in the early 1990s when he went to Aus-tralia and snatched his two children from his former wife, Jacqueline Pascarl-Gillespie.The father and his two boys returned home to Terengganu by sea.Noryn said she and Raja Bah-rin have a common love for music and religion; topics they often discuss together.“I need such a man to guide my life,” added the singer,

who now sports a new image with a tudung.A mother in Bachok, Kelan-tan, is praying for her daugh-ter who has been in a coma for 13 years to wake up and spend Hari Raya with her, Ha-rian Metro reported.Maziah Jusoh, 48, who had been taking care of Siti Su-zaini Jailani since she fell into the coma when she was seven, said it saddens her to see the girl now 20 mov-ing just her eyelids while the family around her observed Aidilfitri.Siti Suzaini, the eldest of three siblings and fondly re-ferred to as Along, went into a coma after being hit by a car while walking to her Quran tuition class. She was hospi-talised for three months.“Wake up Along, mum is yearning to celebrate with you,” she told her daughter,

while being interviewed by the paper. Siti Suzaini, the eldest of three siblings and fondly referred to as Along, went into a coma. The 36-year-old, whose real name is Norazmahwati Abdul Aziz, said: “My marriage is no lon-ger hot news. Most people seem to know about my sta-tus.”She said they married at a private function in Tereng-ganu on Jan 22, 2010, ending her 12 years of being a single woman after her first failed marriage.Raja Bahrin made interna-tional headlines in the early 1990s when he went to Aus-tralia and snatched his two children from his former wife, Jacqueline Pascarl-Gillespie.The father and his two boys returned home to Terengganu by sea.

KUALA LUMPUR: Private sec-tor companies will get a 100% tax rebate on expenses to hold their 1Malaysia Family Day celebrations in conjunc-tion with the national-level event in November, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Na-jib Tun Razak.Najib, who assumed the re-sponsibility of the Women, Family and Community De-velopment Ministry in April, told Members of Parliament this during Question Time, while stating that this was part of the ministry’s move to further strengthen the family

institution.“I am glad to announce that November has been fixed for the national-level 1Malaysia Family Day celebrations this year.“Private companies that hold events to mark the celebra-tions would be given 100% rebate on expenses incurred to organise their respective events,” he said when an-swering a question raised by Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR – Ampang).He said the move was in line with the National Family Pol-icy and the 1Malaysia Family

First programme launched in June to strengthen the family institution.He said companies offering flexible working arrange-ments for professional wom-en to return to work would be given multiple tax breaks if they were involved in re-training the women.“Incentives in the form of multiple tax breaks will be given on retraining expenses by the companies concerned beginning 2013,” he said.He added that the incen-tives were in relation to the “mirco-site” database to be

launched by Talent Corp next month to match professional women with companies offer-ing flexible working arrange-ments.Later when opening the Ulama-Umara Secretariat (UMUM) meeting at the Pu-tra World Trade Centre, Na-jib said Malaysia aimed to be a developed modern Islamic nation by 2020.He said it was part of a great-er jihad to thrust the Islamic world onto the international arena. -

Hold 1Malaysia Family Day celebrations in November, private firms urged

Thieves break into ATM with blowtorchKUALA LUMPUR: The Oxy gang has struck again, this time carting away several thousands ringgit of cash by breaking into an ATM at a bank branch here.The incident is believed to have occurred between 2.30am and 4am at the bank branch at Jalan Wan Kadir in Taman Tun Dr Ismail Sunday.Kuala Lumpur CID Chief Se-nior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said members of public spotted the bank was on fire and they alerted the Fire and Rescue Department.

After the department put out the fire, they realised that the ATM was broken into.Ku said the thieves used a blowtorch to open one of the three ATMS in the branch but failed to open the other two.“There are five CCTV in the bank, three of them were vandalised by the suspects by spraying black paint over them, he said when contact-ed.The total loss yet to be de-termined by the bank, he added.The Oxy gang got its name because of their modus

operandi using oxy-fuel (com-monly called oxyacetylene or oxy welding torches), which uses fuel gases and oxygen, to cut through the ATMs.The incident is believed to have occurred between 2.30am and 4am at the bank branch at Jalan Wan Kadir in Taman Tun Dr Ismail Sunday.Kuala Lumpur CID Chief Se-nior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said members of public spotted the bank was on fire and they alerted the Fire and Rescue Department.

SEREMBAN: A teacher was killed and a friend was in-jured when hit by shot-gun pellets fired by his brother-in-law while hunting with two others in a forest area at Kampung Pondoi, Tampin near here, Wednesday.Amir Ain, 40, who was hit on the abdomen, died on the way to a hospital in the 11pm incident.His friend, in his 50s, was hit on the buttock and sent to Malacca Hospital for treat-ment. Tampin district police chief Supt Wooi Kooi Cheang,

when contacted, said the five men had entered the forest area about 9pm to hunt for deer.He said the brother-in-law, in his 50s, had fired a shot at an object which he thought was a deer. However, when the brother-in-law approached it, he was shocked to see the two victims in a pool of blood and with the help of the oth-er two friends, sent the vic-tims to the hospital, but one of them died on the way, he added.

Teacher fatally shot while hunting

N AT I O N | O N E V O I C E | FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2009 | 07

PM: Malaysians control recently-listed Felda GlobalKUALA LUMPUR: The Depart-

ment of Environ-ment (DOE), together with several other agencies, is intensifying a programme for prevention of peat soil fires as an early preparation to confront the hot and dry weather.The areas prone to peat soil fires were Pahang, Johor, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sa-bah,“The programme includes the construction of check dams and water wells to control the water level in peat soil areas and also a watchtower for continuous monitoring of open burning,” he said yes-terday. The Meteorological Department expected the El Nino phenomenon to return to neutral from the end of April, causing the weather to return to normal or become drier in several areas.The Department of Environ-

ment (DOE), together with several other agencies, is intensifying a programme for prevention of peat soil fires as an early preparation to confront the hot and dry weather.

The areas prone to peat soil fires were Pahang, Johor, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sa-bah,“The programme includes the construction of check dams

and water wells to control the water level in peat soil areas and also a watchtower for continuous monitoring of open burning,” he said yes-terday.The Meteorological Depart-ment expected the El Nino phenomenon to return to neutral from the end of April, causing the weather to return to normal or become drier in several areas.The Department of Environ-ment (DOE), together with several other agencies, is intensifying a programme for prevention of peat soil fires as an early preparation to confront the hot and dry weather.The Meteorological Depart-ment expected the El Nino phenomenon to return to neutral from the end of April, several areas.-

JERANTUT: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Friday that the ma-jority of the Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) shares are owned by Ma-laysian citizens.He said most of the shares were given to Felda set-tlers and trust funds in the country.“We gave the majority of the shares to the settlers and certain trust funds such as the Pilgrims Fund Board (Tabung Haji), Em-ployees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Pemodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB),” he said after launching the ‘Kasih Felda’ programme in Padang Piol, near here.As such, the profits made

by the FGVH would defi-nitely benefit the people of Malaysia, Najib said.He said the federal govern-ment had also distributed the FGVH shares to the state government, with Pahang receiving funds amounting RM250mil and Sabah, with RM200mil.“We are giving priority to the states that can provide land to the government (for Felda land development programme),” he said. First programme launched in June to strengthen the family institution.He said most of the shares were given to Felda set-tlers and trust funds in the country.-

JOHOR BARU: Thousands of excited and curious visitors have been visiting Legoland Malaysia to take photographs and admire the exterior al-though the park is only sched-uled to open on Sept 15.Some visitors were there to collect annual passes but the majority were only there to get a first glimpse of the much-talked-about theme park.Engineer Jesper Bruhn, 40, from Denmark, said he was pleasantly surprised to find that the theme park was very similar to the one in his home country.

“It feels familiar, which is something I did not expect,” he said, adding that he had travelled to the theme park with his family to redeem their yearly passes and catch a glimpse of its interior.Bruhn added that he had to queue for about 90 minutes for the passes but it was worth the wait.“I cannot wait for the park to officially open,” he said.Singaporean Tan Yan Fen, 24, said she made a special trip with five of her friends to get a closer look at the theme park.“I am not a major fan of Lego but this theme park is quite interesting,” said the public relations executive.

Tan said it was ex-citing just to look at the exterior of the park.“This is different from Universal Stu-dios Singapore,” she said.Civil servant Roha-ya Amir, 36, was on her way to Nusajaya

with her family when she noticed a large crowd of people turning into Legoland.“We were curi-ous and decided to stop over,” she said, adding that the park was

beautiful. Rohaya said the queue for purchasing tickets was too long and she would return on another day to buy the passes Legoland Malaysia general manager Siegfried Boerst said park officials did not expect so many people to turn up before the official opening.“Word got around that we were allowing people to en-ter. Suddenly, thousands of people started coming over to have a look,” had been opened for about a week now today.“I am not a major fan of Lego but this theme park is quite interesting,” said the public relations executive.-

Thousands visit Legoland Malaysia

DOE prepares to face hot and dry weather

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KUALA LUMPUR: Two teams from Xiamen, China, flew to Malaysia to take part in the first National English Debate

for Chinese Independent Sec-ondary Schools.Although they did not win the competition, Xiamen Univer-sity English Department vice-chairman Prof Jing Chen said it was an amazing experience for the students.“The students are from the two middle schools affiliated to our university,” she said,

adding that they decided to send the teams because it was a “good opportunity for them to think and debate

critically”.“Training for this competition has im-proved their English a lot. Their speaking style has changed so much in the last two months.”The final debate saw Foon Yew High School, Johor, and

Tsun Jin High School, Kuala Lumpur, battling it out over the motion “The house will ban professional athletes from competing in the Olym-pics”, with the latter school bagging the top spot.HELP University president and vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Paul Chan said the institution or-ganised the debate competi-

tion.“We believe fluency in English will benefit the overall devel-opment and success of stu-dents attending Chinese inde-pendent secondary schools,” he said.Dr Chan believed that be-ing proficient in the English language will open doors for the students and they may be considered by top universi-ties such as Oxford and Cam-bridge.HELP University Chinese Edu-cation and Culture director Lai Sin Siang said they hoped to organise this competition on an annual basis.Dr Chan believed that be-ing proficient in the English language will open doors for the students and they may be considered by top universi-ties such as Oxford and Cam-bridge.-

RM 3.4 billion in PTPTN loan paid up

To KL from China, to practise speaking in English

TEMERLOH: Students who borrowed from the Nation-al Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) are starting to pay up, with RM3.43bil collected by the end of July.The loans were recovered from 772,200 borrowers, which make up 70.63% of those who had taken loans from the fund, said corpora-tion chairman Datuk Ismail Mohamed Said.Ismail said there were more than 1.12 million borrow-ers who took loans of over RM7.33bil.The increase in loan recov-ery showed that the students were aware of their respon-sibility to return the money they had borrowed, he told a Hari Raya gathering at Ker-dau near here yesterday.He added that those who had achieved excellent re-sults in their studies could be exempted from repaying their loans.He said that up to July 31, some 13,011 borrowers who obtained first class degrees or its equivalent had been exempted from paying back

their dues, amounting to more than RM370mil.Ismail said campaigns by the PTPTN had produced positive results, adding that opening of branches in Pahang, Pen-ang, Malacca, Kelantan and Negri Sembilan had helped.Two more branches are due to open soon in Sabah and Sarawak.“The money paid back to us will be used for the benefit of future students who need loans,” he said, adding there should not be any more dis-putes on the PTPTN loans.“There should be no more argument on this matter as we have been kind and co-operative by allowing them (the students) to repay as little as RM50 per month.“If they are are still jobless, we can discuss a mode of payment or a delayed pay-ment,” he said.Ismail said that since bor-rowers had benefited from the loans given to them, they should give others a chance to enjoy the same benefits.IRM7.33bil.-

WWF: Eat farmed fish insteadKOTA KINABALU: With marine life dying and fish from the sea becoming acutely scarce, a conservation group is pushing for farmed fish-ing.“Fish species, such as the leopard coral trout (locally known as sunoh) and the hump-head wrasse (mameng) are decreasing. Yet, people do not seem to care,” said World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malay-sia conservation director Dr Sundari Ramakrishna.“There would be no more fish in the sea if people don’t start protecting ma-rine life and fishermen do not change the way they catch fish,” she said during a reef fish campaign here to encourage consumers to eat farmed fish.

“Fish by using sustainable methods and make it a habit to choose farmed fish in-stead of endangered species of marine life,” she added.Tengku Zainal, the WWF Ma-laysia past chairman, urged fishermen to catch only “mature” fish and let the smaller ones go.“Let us all start to conserve the environment,” said Dr Sundari.Chefs from hotels and res-taurants here came togeth-er to cook farmed fish at the event to show they were just as good as those caught in the sea.-

Discounts of up to 48% on MAS AirlinesPETALING JAYA: For a limited time only, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is offering discounts of up to 48% for travel on its 66 domestic and international routes, in conjunction with the KL MATTA Fair.All-inclusive return domestic fares for economy class be-gin at RM268 for travel within peninsular Malaysia, RM368 between peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak and is priced at a flat rate of RM268 for travel within Sabah and Sarawak.For international routes, re-turn rates for economy class start from RM359 for Kuala Lumpur to Medan, RM509 to Bangkok, RM859 to Manila, RM1,119 to Colombo, RM1,156 to Chennai, RM1,599 to Mum-bai, RM1,639 to Bangalore, RM1,909 to Tokyo, RM2,379 to

Sydney and RM3,399 to Lon-don.All-inclusive return domestic fares for economy class begin at RM268 for travel within peninsular Ma-laysia, RM368 between pen-insular Malay-sia and Sabah and Sarawak and is priced at a flat rate of RM268 for travel within Sabah and Sara-wak.Meanwhile, MAS Holidays is offering 55 holiday packages, including a four-day/three-night stay in Beijing priced at RM1,785, specially for Mus-lims.MAS regional senior vice-pres-ident for Malaysia and Asean

region Muzammil Mohamad urged those interested to make their bookings as soon as possible.

He added that customers can also purchase tickets by call-ing MAS’ 24-hour Global Call Centre at 1300-88-3000, or by logging onto www.malay-siaairlines.com or www.holi-day.malaysiaairlines.com.-

Dealing drugs for statusKUALA LUMPUR: Students are gettting involved in “drug distribution” and competing with each other to earn the title of taiko, Selayang 4B Youth Movement chairman Dr Roslan Basaruddin.Previously, he said the public had been concerned that stu-dents might be exploited for such purposes, but now the students themselves sought to be involved in crime.“There have been cases where students said they wanted

to be the best among their friends.“They were prepared to be involved as they covet the idea of being called ‘gangster head’.“When a student holds the title, he has money. This en-ables him to bear the cost of entertaining friends and con-trolling them,” he said.Roslan said the initiative “To-wards a Zero Drug Nation Anti-Drug Campaign 2015” by the Malaysian 4B Movement,

Secretariat of Social Care, Gombak Youth Council with the cooperation of the police was part of efforts to check such activity among youths including students.Roslan, who is also Secretar-iat of Social Care chief, said by stressing on the concept “We Love, We Assist and We Guide”, the campaign, which started on June 21, focused on approaching youths be-cause they were a high-risk group.-

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Neelofa seeks open apology

PETALING JAYA: The saga of feuding artistes Noor Neelofa Noor and Anzalna Nasir has taken a new twist with one of them saying she is prepared to accept an open apology.However, Neelofa, 23, wants

Anzalna to sign a letter agree-ing to several conditions.The actress said she had sent a letter through Malaysian Artistes Association (Seni-man) president Zed Zaidi ask-ing Anzalna, 24, to meet the

required conditions.“I am prepared to accept an open apology from Anzalna.“But she has to first sign the letter agreeing to the condi-tions I have set,” said Neelo-fa.The conflict between the two artistes started after Neelo-fa alleged that Anzalna had slandered her in an article titled Anzalna Bidas Neelofa (Anzalna criticises Neelofa) in the June 10 edition of Ber-ita Minggu.Subsequently, Neelofa sent a legal notice through her law-yers demanding that Anzalna provide the evidence to back her allegations within seven days.Neelofa said her conditions

were a form of guarantee to ensure Anzalna’s apology was sincere.She would not divulge details of the letter but one of the conditions stipulates that An-zalna is not allowed to men-tion her name in any media interview after this.The saga of feuding artistes Noor Neelofa Noor and An-zalna Nasir has taken a new twist with one of them saying she is prepared to accept an open apology.However, Neelofa, 23, wants Anzalna to sign a letter agree-ing to several conditions.The actress said she had sent a letter through Malaysian Artistes Association (Seni-man) president Zed Zaidi ask-

ing Anzalna, 24, to meet the required conditions.“I am prepared to accept an open apology from Anzalna.“But she has to first sign the letter agreeing to the condi-tions I have set,” said Neelo-fa.The conflict between the two artistes started after Neelo-fa alleged that Anzalna had slandered her in an article titled Anzalna Bidas Neelofa (Anzalna criticises Neelofa) in the June 10 edition of Ber-ita Minggu.Subsequently, Neelofa sent a legal notice through her law-yers demanding that Anzalna provide the evidence to back her allegations within seven days.-

MyDistress app gets an upgradeSHAH ALAM: An upgraded version of the national crime alert mobile application, My-Distress, is now available.The initial version was in-troduced in August last year and featured a simple press HELP button, which would alert rescue teams while im-

mediately detecting a user’s location.The application is supported by the smartphone’s Global Positioning System (GPS) which enables the police to immediately identify the vic-tim’s location.The new version comes with

additional voice and visual recording capabilities when the emergency button is ac-tivated by the user. “The visuals and audio re-corded at the crime scene will be sent to the police and is similar to the emergency call.“Previously, users would only be able to send a distress signal to the police, but now after pressing the emergency button, the recording will be automatically relayed to the police and will enable the victims to get help,” said Se-langor police chief Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah.This new feature would also assist the public in record-ing the registration number

of the vehicle at the scene of a crime or accident.He added that the service was free for all smartphone users and can be downloaded from their respective app stores or the MyDis-tress site www.my-distress.net.The service is also very use-ful for the hearing and speak-ing impaired as all that is re-quired would be the touch of a button.Further upgrades to the My-Distress application will fea-ture an Emergency Contact button, which will allow the police to contact a victim’s

next-of-kin in case of an emergency, an information blast function which will give the public access to new in-formation released by PDRM on a regular basis and also a message function which will support up to four languages English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil.-

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No illegal organ tradeKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is not a country that harvests organs illegally.All harvesting and trans-plants are carried out in a transparent manner, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.The procedures also required the approval from a special committee, he added,“The claims are baseless and have been refuted by the police.“We will continue to monitor the situation and carry out organ transfers in a trans-parent manner,” he said yes-terday after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between his ministry and Novartis Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd to strengthen their healthcare partnership.Novartis, based in Basel, Switzerland, is a multina-tional company with a diver-sified healthcare portfolio including pharmaceutical. It achieved a net sales of US$58.6bil (RM186.8bil) last year.Liow was confirming police findings that organs were not being illegally harvested from foreigners as previously claimed by some.On the MoU, Liow said it would focus on four main ar-eas, namely:

> Promoting clinical research and trial> Facilitating access to inno-vative medicines and quality generic products and> Possible support of health-care start-up companies via the Novartis Venture Fund.“This is the first time the ministry has entered into a partnership with a multina-tional private company to build various healthcare ca-pabilities.“It will help us as we embark on our health transforma-tion programme and serve as a landmark for future col-laboration with other par-ties,” he said, adding that the partnership was in line with the National Key Eco-nomic Areas (NKEAs).On clinical research, Liow said the ministry had con-ducted 321 trials last year, surpassing its target of 260.Novartis, he said, had con-tributed to 56 trials.The healthcare NKEA targets a growth of RM42.2bil and 260,000 high-income jobs by 2020.“We are working hard to give the best to the people. Those who play politics in the paper every day do not do their work and people can see through them,” he said.-

Bring on the MB, Chua insistsLABIS: Datuk Chua Tee Yong has reiterated that he wants to debate only with Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on the controversial RM1bil in deals involving Ta-lam Corporation Bhd.The MCA Young Profession-als Bureau chairman said he wanted to debate only with Khalid as he was the person who knew from “A to Z” on the Talam debt restructuring deal.He said this in response to the invitation by DAP’s PJ Utara MP Tony Pua to a one-to-one debate on Talam here this Sunday.Banners have been hung up in Labis town recently pro-claim at Yong Hock Kiong temple.Chua said his challenge to Khalid for the debate re-mained open.“I’m still waiting for the

mentri besar, who is the head of the state, who knows the Talam debt restructuring deal to debate with me.“I’m only keen to debate with him (Khalid) as he has all the information on Ta-lam,” he told reporters af-ter attending a meet-the-people session and health examination camp organised by the Labis district council at Taman Sri Emas here yes-terday.Chua said Khalid’s political secretary Faekah Husin ad-mitted that Pua would have to meet the mentri besar to obtain information on Ta-lam-gate.“So, who knows the deal better? Who is Tony Pua if I’m willing to challenge the mentri besar for debate?” Chua said.The RM676mil is part of the RM1bil in controversial

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