A NEW POWER IS RISING IN MALAYSIA.

Oh! Malaysia, what has the radical Islamic thinking done to you! They have desecrated the spirit of your constitution. They have robbed the soul of this multi religious nation. They are now at your gates assaulting your body of multi racialism.


On the 2nd week of December, they tore down the Kuala Masai orang laut church and the Permas assemblyman from MIC defended the move.

On the 3rd week of December, their unseen hands disregarded the views of Muslim women. They pressured and passed the Islamic Family law reducing Muslim women to second class status. Elements within the government of the day enforced the passing of this law.

On the 4th week of December, they ensured that the high court ruled that "it had no authority, let alone overrule, a sharia court decision that a dead man who practised Hinduism up until his final illness, visited a Hindu temple, ate pork and drank alcohol should be buried according to Islamic rites............"


........ and as the worldwide spread of extreme Shari'a law creeps on to our shores and establishes their toe hold within our country, let us be wary that a powerful shadow "Shari'a government may come to power not by the will of the people, but through the Machiavellian machinations of small groups".
This multi religious democratic goverment that we have endorsed with our votes must uphold the religious rights of all Malaysians. They must ensure that the original principles of the constitution are not subverted from within nor negated by un-elected religious authorities. A new power is rising, the challenge must not go unanswered.

TRAITORS, BIGOTS AND TURNING A BLIND EYE

Should we accept the National Registration Department's apology for the mistakes made in our MyKard ? To mis-quote W Chuchill, "Never in the field of data entry was so much owed by so few to so many". The NECF has pointed to a 25% error rate in their sampling and even if the error is drawn down to 10%, 5% or even 2.5% something is still very wrong within the NRD.
If international pollsters generally allow a +/- 3 point sampling error on issues of non national interest then the Malaysian government cannot and should not consider the error of even 1% made in the MyCard to be an honest mistake.
Can we with our national interest in heart close yet another chapter of "honest mistake" and move on? The government must identify those who in it's ranks, seek to skew the truth, then act accordingly and not to turn a blind eye. The last national census was in 2000, can we be faulted if we question it's integrity ?

Easy step to amend religion in MyKad

Link : TheStar - BY M.KRISHNAMOORTHY

PETALING JAYA: The controversy over errors in the status of religion of MyKad holders has been resolved. “Those faced with the predicament need only fill up one form (Form A) to rectify the mistake,” NRD director-general Datuk Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad told The Star yesterday.
”There is no need for a statutory declaration before the Commissioner of Oaths or a baptism certificate from a church or a letter from a temple priest, or any other documents,” he said about the hassle-free step by the NRD for those wanting to rectify the mistake, and have the correct religion stated on their MyKad. In recent months, there had been complaints from many MyKad holders claiming that their religion had been wrongly registered in the cards.
The complaints were about having to produce a statutory declaration, baptism certificate or letters to prove their religion. Some said they had to pay for the mistakes made by the NRD. The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia (NECF) had urged the Home Affairs Ministry to rectify the situation.
Its secretary-general Rev Wong Kim Kong had said the situation was serious, as he had recorded a 25% error rate in the samplings he had carried out on church members around the country. ”The problem does not lie with the people but with the officers recording the information inaccurately,” he said.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho together with Home Affairs secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat worked to solve the problem.
NRD public relations officer Jainisah Mohd Noor apologised on behalf of the department for any inconvenience caused to the public. “The NRD apologises for the problems encountered by all those affected,” she said. Abdul Halim said those 18 years and above could submit Form A individually. However, those below 18 must get the forms endorsed by their parents.
Asked about complaints as to why the new simplified procedures were not put up on the department's website, Abdul Halim said that he would direct the officer-in-charge to make the changes.

BETHLEHEM

As the Christian community celebrates Christmas tomorrow, let us not only remember and be thankful for the wonderful message that this little town of Bethlehem brought to us 2,000 years ago, we should also remember the ordinary Palestinians in Bethlehem who are still living there in this uncertain political and economic time.
This narration of the first Christmas has been translated in 2,377 languages either in it's entirety or in parts. Here are 4 versions of it - English, Arabic, Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesia.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Luke 2:11-20 (New International Version)

¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

20-ﺎﻗﻮﻟ 2:11- (Arabic Life Application Bible)

¹¹ فَقَدْ وُلِدَ لَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي مَدِينَةِ دَاوُدَ مُخَلِّصٌ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ الرَّبُّ.

¹² وَهَذِهِ هِيَ الْعَلاَمَةُ لَكُمْ. تَجِدُونَ طِفْلاً مَلْفُوفاً بِقِمَاطٍ وَنَائِماً فِي مِذْوَدٍ».

¹³ وَفَجْأَةً ظَهَرَ مَعَ الْمَلاَكِ جُمْهُورٌ مِنَ الْجُنْدِ السَّمَاوِيِّ، يُسَبِّحُونَ اللهَ قَائِلِينَ:

¹⁴ «الْمَجْدُ لِلهِ فِي الأَعَالِي، وَعَلَى الأَرْضِ السَّلامُ؛ وَبِالنَّاسِ الْمَسَرَّةُ! »

¹⁵ وَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ عَنِ الرُّعَاةِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ، قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ: «لِنَذْهَبْ إِذَنْ إِلَى بَيْتِ لَحْمٍ، وَنَنْظُرْ هَذَا الأَمْرَ الَّذِي حَدَثَ وَقَدْ أَعْلَمَنَا بِهِ الرَّبُّ!»

¹⁶ وَجَاءُوا مُسْرِعِينَ، فَوَجَدُوا مَرْيَمَ وَيُوسُفَ، وَالطِّفْلَ نَائِماً فِي الْمِذْوَدِ.

¹⁷ فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا ذلِكَ، أَخَذُوا يُخْبِرُونَ بِمَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ بِخُصُوصِ هَذَا الطِّفْلِ.

¹⁸ وَجَمِيعُ الَّذِينَ سَمِعُوا بِذلِكَ دُهِشُوا مِمَّا قَالَهُ لَهُمُ الرُّعَاةُ.

¹⁹ وَأَمَّا مَرْيَمُ، فَكَانَتْ تَحْفَظُ هَذِهِ الأُمُورَ جَمِيعاً، وَتَتَأَمَّلُهَا فِي قَلْبِهَا.

²⁰ ثُمَّ رَجَعَ الرُّعَاةُ يُمَجِّدُونَ اللهَ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ عَلَى كُلِّ مَا سَمِعُوهُ وَرَأَوْهُ كَمَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ.

路 加 福 音 2:11-20 (Chinese Union Version (Simplified)

¹¹ 因 今 天 在 大 卫 的 城 里 ， 为 你 们 生 了 救 主 ， 就 是 主 基 督 。

¹² 你 们 要 看 见 一 个 婴 孩 ， 包 着 布 ， 卧 在 马 槽 里 ， 那 就 是 记 号 了 。

¹³ 忽 然 ， 有 一 大 队 天 兵 同 那 天 使 赞 美 神 说 ：

¹⁴ 在 至 高 之 处 荣 耀 归 与 神 ！ 在 地 上 平 安 归 与 他 所 喜 悦 的 人 （ 有 古 卷 作 ： 喜 悦 归 与 人 ） ！

¹⁵ 众 天 使 离 开 他 们 ， 升 天 去 了 。 牧 羊 的 人 彼 此 说 ： 我 们 往 伯 利 恒 去 ， 看 看 所 成 的 事 ， 就 是 主 所 指 示 我 们 的 。

¹⁶ 他 们 急 忙 去 了 ， 就 寻 见 马 利 亚 和 约 瑟 ， 又 有 那 婴 孩 卧 在 马 槽 里 ；

¹⁷ 既 然 看 见 ， 就 把 天 使 论 这 孩 子 的 话 传 开 了 。

¹⁸ 凡 听 见 的 ， 就 诧 异 牧 羊 之 人 对 他 们 所 说 的 话 。

¹⁹ 马 利 亚 却 把 这 一 切 的 事 存 在 心 里 ， 反 复 思 想 。

²⁰ 牧 羊 的 人 回 去 了 ， 因 所 听 见 所 看 见 的 一 切 事 ， 正 如 天 使 向 他 们 所 说 的 ， 就 归 荣 耀 与 神 ， 赞 美 他

Lukas 2:11-20 Parokinet

11

Hari ini telah lahir bagimu Juruselamat, yaitu Kristus, Tuhan, di kota Daud.

12

Dan inilah tandanya bagimu: Kamu akan menjumpai seorang bayi dibungkus dengan lampin dan terbaring di dalam palungan."

13

Dab tiba-tiba tampaklah bersama-sama balatentara sorga yang memuji Allah, katanya:

14

"Kemuliaan bagi Allah di tempat yang mahatinggi dan damai sejahtera di bumi di antara manusia yang berkenan kepadaNya."

15

Setelah malaikat-malaikat itu meninggalkan mereka dan kembali ke sorga, gembala-gembala itu berkata seorang kepada yang lain: "Marilah kita pergi ke Betlehem untuk melihat apa yang terjadi di sana, seperti yang diberitahukan Tuhan kepada kita."

16

Lalu mereka cepat-cepat berangkat dan menjumpai Maria dan Yusuf dan bayi itu, yang sedang berbaring di dalam palungan. Luk 2:17 Dan ketika mereka melihatNya, mereka memberitahukan apa yang telah dikatakan kepada mereka tentang Anak itu.

18

Dan semua orang yang mendengarnya heran tentang apa yang dikatakan gembala-gembala itu kepada mereka.

19

Tetapi Maria menyimpan segala perkara itu di dalam hatinya dan merenungkannya.

20

Maka kembalilah gembala-gembala itu sambil memuji dan memuliakan Allah karena segala sesuatu yang mereka dengan dan mereka lihat, semuanya sesuai dengan apa yang telah dikatakan kepada mereka.

KICK THE RIGHT BUTT.

At the warong kopi where I frequent, some smiled politely, some laughed but almost everyone agreed that what our irrepressible ex PM expounded in his hour long speech at the inaugural Perdana Global Peace Forum is something worth considering. Vote out those whom you do not agree, be it about war or even on the manner of freedom you would want. This is of course in line with democratic norms and will work out well with countries that subscribe to the Athenian democratic ideals.
However, there are dozens of countries under the crushing heels of dictators who will never be allowed to have their free open vote to vote out these despots. So how will the oppressed free themselves? The global community has imposed economic and political sanctions on some of these evil regimes and whilst the free world have the luxury of time to wait for whatever little effect it may have, the suffering of the people in these countries, continues and grows.
In the comfort of our setting and with a glass of non alcoholic drink in our hand we clink and toast, we rail against just wars that set the oppresed free. We choose to walk the easy road of false peace, to placate the strong oppressors and to continue to ignore the rapes, the beatings, the starvations and the fears of the oppressed weak. So whilst many seek to glorify themselves on their humanness in the international arena, let's remember whilst the UN sat and debated it was just military intervention that stopped the genocide of the Tutsi and moderate Hutus in Rawanda, the Muslims of Bosnia and the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds of Iraq.
Let's kick the right butts, the butts of the those who line up to uphold the rights of dictators who take away...the freedom of choice from the weak.


Vote out war loving leaders: Dr M
Link : Sun2Surf R. Manirajan

KUALA LUMPUR: Vote out war-loving leaders and their policy of violence - this is the battlecry for an international movement which former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad set in motion yesterday.
"What I have suggested are all do-able. We must stop this madness, these killings, this idea that the ones able to kill the most are the victors, are right, are the ones who should rule the world," he said.
"What kind of a civilisation would we have with mass murderers as world leaders?"
Suggesting the promotion of peace as the premier agenda for democratic elections worldwide, Mahathir recommended the setting up of an international pro-peace anti-war non-governmental organisation (NGO) to network global lobbying.....
Mahathir said peace should be promoted as a creed for everyone and made an issue for the security of states, the regions and the world, and no country should resort to war and the destruction of the security of others to promote its own security.
"We need to define acts of war and terror and we need to provide proper punishment for people who commit mass killings of the innocent," he said.
"The idea that only the victors have the right to prosecute the losers is neither just nor right."
It may not be possible to bring the guilty party or leaders of the powerful before the court but such people may be tried in absentia.
"If found guilty, this should be widely published and rogue gallery pictures distributed. The rest of the world should shun such people and treat them as pariahs," he said.
At the end of his hour-long opening address, themed "Peace Dividends, War Profits", Mahathir received a standing ovation from the 2,000 speakers and guests at the two-day forum in Putra World Trade Centre.
The former premier also said the press must also be an active partner in the worldwide struggle for peace and the internet used extensively so that alternative media would be available to publish and expose lies, be downloaded and distributed.
The United Nations, he added, must also be democratised and the veto of the permanent five must be modified "so that no single one of them can frustrate the whole organisation"......

MALAYSIA'S 1941 PEARL HARBOR ?

I was laid low for most part of the past week by flu whilst I was in KL and in true Penang style, gasped when I was billed by a GP in Jalan SS2/66 -RM62 for a small bottle of cough syrup (?) and some pills meant for flu. Even as I continue to feel the effects of a bad flu, I reflected on the impending avian flu pandemic. Almost two months past, it was the hottest topic within each relevant government agencies. Today hardly a flutter, unfortunately unlike birds, the agencies apparently shifted into stealth mode and probably hibernated.
In its effort to combat the avian flu, the Malaysian Health Ministry (MOH) has currently set aside 21 hospitals for containment of the avian flu. This was the core strategy in its fight against SARS. It worked but with H5N1 where transmission will be basically airborne such strategy may not be effective enough. In the US, one of the major platform in this fight is vaccines and anti viral drugs - a request for US7.1 billion has been put through. In Malaysia for this life and death fight, an additional budget of RM60 million (US16 million) has been allocated and presently there are enough stocks for only 60,000 people. This is far short of the initial MOH September promise in ensuring that 10.4 million Malaysian will be covered.
Education of the public, a key in controlling the spread of H5N1 has also failed to take off. Strike a conversation with Joe-public and the best case feedback is "bolih mati-lah". Public servants dealing with health issues are not much better informed.
As the avian flu fire rages even more closer and fiercer, let this not be Malaysia's "1941 Pearl Harbor" where almost everthing was known but nothing much was done.

Previous Blogs
WHEN BIG BAD BIRD PAYS US A VISIT. - July 8th
FROM SARS TO AVIAN FLU - August 28th
CATEGORY 5 "HURRICANE AMESELES" SIGHTED -Sepetember 24th

US Officials Practice Bird Flu Response

Link : Washington Post By Charles Babington

Readiness for a possible avian flu pandemic requires not only government action but also preparations by families, businesses, schools and churches, White House officials said yesterday after conducting a drill on the topic.
"We all must be prepared, and we all have a role to play in the nation's preparation," Frances Frago Townsend, White House homeland security adviser, told reporters after the four-hour drill, which involved some Cabinet members, military officers and others. The "tabletop exercise" was meant to gauge government responses to a major U.S. outbreak of bird flu, which has killed at least 69 people in Asia since late 2003.
Townsend declined to give details about the drill or its results. "It's meant to push federal resources to the breaking point and to ensure that we're prepared, that we identify gaps and then we plan to fill them," she said. "We accomplished that this morning."
In such drills, she said, participants are presented with a scenario, identify options and ask whether each of the federal agencies has a plan to fill gaps that have been identified. "And, quite frankly, I think we did quite well.".....
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the federal government alone cannot handle a major flu outbreak. "State and local governments, state and local communities, schools need to have a plan, businesses need to have a plan, faith organizations need to have a plan," he said. "The public health community understands a pandemic. . . . It's now time to engage a broader community so that we have a true nationwide response effort that's not only planned, but exercised and ready."
Neither he nor Townsend offered specifics for possible plans, but each urged Americans to seek information from the Web site http://pandemicflu.gov/ . Leavitt plans to visit health officials in every state to discuss strategies.
He and Townsend said vaccines and antiviral drugs will be central to combating a major flu outbreak, and they urged Congress to fund Bush's request for $7.1 billion to speed production of such drugs..
Leavitt said: "We need to have a domestic surveillance system. When it happens in the United States, having the capacity to know what's occurring within the health care system is of vital importance."
Townsend said: "We currently have no evidence that a pandemic flu in this country is imminent. That said, we are fairly warned, and the time to prepare for that pandemic is now."

...AND THE WOUND CONTINUES TO FESTER?

In a move to do damage control on a possible minor fallout with Russia over the benzene spill and more importantly, to apportion responsibility due to the lapse of credible information between Harbins 3.5 million and the state Chinese Communist Party, the totalitarian goverment fired the chief of the State Environmental Protection Agency.
In Malaysia, with the setting up of the “The Commission of Inquiry (COI)” for the nude ear squat incident, the "warong kopi" expects clear explanantion as to how widespread this practice is and how this culture of tolerance for such humilating nude ear squat search could have come into official acceptance. COI's responsibilty should also be extended to probe other police misdeeds like the deaths of detainees during lock up and specifically the 2am home raid on the 3 Chinese nationals.
To add salt to the "nude ear squat" wound, the Malaysian goverment has also been humiliated internationally even from within their own ranks with loose lips rattling. It is time to take stock of the situation, perform immediate damage control and be seen to make those responsible suffer the consequence. There should not be any back pedalling and going painfully forward would only be for the greater common good for the future of the police force and the country.

China environment chief resigns over toxic spill
Link : Reuters - By Brian Rhoads

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's environment chief resigned on Friday following a two-week crisis over a toxic spill that polluted a northeast China river, forced the shutdown of tapwater supplies to millions of Chinese and raised alarm bells in Russia.
Xie Zhenhua, chief of the State Environmental Protection Agency since 1993, resigned and was replaced by the former forestry director Zhou Shengxian, Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement by the country's cabinet.
State television said Xie had resigned due the administration's failure to address the crisis. The State Council, or cabinet, and Communist Party had approved it.
The administration "as the main body for environmental protection did not pay enough attention and fell short of the evaluation about the possibly severe results out of the incident. Thus, it holds the responsibility for the losses," China Central Television said......

The move is also in line with a campaign by President Hu Jintao to instill official accountability in the highest levels of government, dating back to the sacking of the health minister and Beijing mayor after a cover-up of the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003.
"A reckless pursuit of economic growth and a lack of emergency response mechanisms have seen China experiencing a high rate of environmental disasters," Administration vice Minister Wang Yuqing was quoted as saying.......

The toxic slick forced officials in Harbin, a city of 9 million people downstream from Jilin in Heilongjiang province, to shut off its water for five days. The slick passed the city on Sunday and is making its way through Heilongjiang toward the Russian border.

The environment director, Xie, had "contended that the toxic chemicals were gradually diluted as they were carried down the river, so 'it was not to late' to inform the Russians then," Caijing Magazine said."In the realm of foreign relations, however, such an explanation does not go over too well," it said......

Regional governments were giving tacit consent to discharges of pollutants into rivers and some had approved polluting businesses that the central government had banned, Wang said......

CHINA'S 55-39-20 AND 36-24-36

Malaysians should start to get really worried when our Immigration Department (JIM) seems to be unable to keep a count of our vistors statistics. This led our PM on to a merry dance when basing on their feedback, issued an order to track down the missing 50,000 Chinese nationals. The Star reported today that the JIM list involves 250 nationalities with approximately 13,132,449 Singaporeans (!*!) missing in Malaysia. Australians -207,775, Japanese -747,668, Chinese -553,920 and the list goes on.
So, why the sudden focus on the purported 50,00o wayward Chinese nationals. Could it be that Singaporeans or Indonesians are a lesser security risk? Maybe just maybe, they were returning a favour to our men in blue by giving them a much needed reason for the harassment of our 4 guest from China ?
Statistically, this month has turned turned out to be a real pain to JIM and PDRM . The former paid too little attention as to how our visitors statistics were handled whilst the latter at the PJ police station paid, far too much attention to it.

Missing ‘tourists

Saturday - 26th Novemeber
LInk : Star - Data could be wrong
by M. KRISHNAMOORTHY AND TEOH TEIK HOONG

PETALING JAYA: Have 50,000 Chinese nationals actually gone missing in the country?
The accuracy of this figure has come under question following admissions by the authorities that statistics on arriving and departing travellers do not tally because of flaws in the system.
Figures posted on the Immigration Department website show that more than 16.7 million tourists had gone missing from 2000 to 2003.
Singaporeans make up the largest number, totalling 13 million, followed by Japanese (747,000) and Bruneians (703,075).
The list involving 250 nationalities is found on the website and there is a big difference between the arrival and departure figures of almost every nationality.
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said the figures on the website (http://www.imi.gov.my/ENG/Statistik/im_Statistik.asp) did not accurately reflect the total number of people leaving the country because some came in as tourists and stayed on as expatriates or foreign workers......
Immigration director-general Datuk Jamal Kamdi concurred that the figures on arrivals and departures did not reflect the actual numbers that had left the country.

“Some of the reasons are breakdowns of the computers and when there is heavy traffic of Singaporeans exiting at the Causeway; the staff do not have the time to record their departures,” he said. He said there were also times when there was a delay in the transfer of data to the head office in Putrajaya.
“The data is sometimes entered at a later date when the officers are free and for this reason the figures on the website do not reflect the number of those who have overstayed,” he added.
Asked about the report on the 50,000 Chinese nationals who had not left the country, Jamal said the figure would not be accurate because of the constant movement of people....Tourists have also reported that at times during departure at airports, immigration officers have failed to stamp and collect the exit slips.

BLIND, DEAF AND DUMB DOCTORS

My father who passed away this year had a fall two years back and was taken to a private hospital. He was warded for 7 days.They tested his blood and did more tests but could not find the reason for the pain in his hip. A couple of my friends who worked in the General Hospital arranged for him to be transfered there. He was immediately X-rayed and was told that he had fractured his hip. The physician from the private hospital who treated him was probably blind.
My mother had her cataract operation in the General Hospital this year. It did not turn out too well and she had to see an ophthalmologist in a private hospital. Last week, she asked some questions on her progress and as usual was virtually ignored. She was given a bottle of eyedrop and a plastic bag of pills. She used the eyedrop before she slept. The following morning, her face became swollen and her eyes "went aflame" and exceedingly blood shot-red. She called up the specialist, who was at that time in the Operating Theater. He did not call back. The ophthalmologist was probably deaf the day earlier and dumb the following day.
Specialist care does not come cheap and if patients become "unreasonable", could it be because of Blind, Deaf and Dumb doctors ?

Complaints about docs who keep mum
LINK : THE STAR -- BY M. KRISHNAMOORTHY

PETALING JAYA: Doctors who do not take the trouble to explain to patients about their illness and the medicines they are prescribing has led to complaints of poor service in the profession. .The Malaysian Medical Association said other reasons for the complaints could be that patients “expect the unreasonable from their doctors”.
There were also complaints from unhappy patients who went to different doctors and ended up misinterpreting the different opinions of their ailments.
“Patients must play their role by not doctor-hopping while doctors should improve on their communication skills,” said MMA president Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin, adding that these could stop people from having a negative view of the profession.
He was responding to complaints on the deteriorating standard of service at clinics.
Dr Teoh said that the cornerstone of medicine was in a strong doctor-patient relationship.
He said doctors had been advised to inform their patients about the type of medicines that they were prescribing.
“Some doctors are apprehensive that patients will self-medicate if they know the names of the medicines.
“However, the policy of the MMA is to have doctors label their medicines.” ..........

HEY, THERE YOU....ERRR.........PROSTITUTE!

Post 9/11 has seen many changes in the world. One of the most obvious change is the search and detention of a person when he or she fits into the description of a "case probable". IF (and that's a big IF) profiling is indeed able to prevent criminal acts or to preempt heinous acts of terrorism then it should be accepted. Unfortunately, almost all worldwide profiling , has taken on the ominous version of racial, political and religious bigotry. Can we truly say that, most of our (in this case) immigration officers are immuned to such perceptive bigotry when they do not have a clear understanding of the tourist's culture and language? This decade is the decade of the Renmimbi tourist, the next decade may possibly be well the Rupee. Will we be proactive today or merely reactive in a decade from today? More importantly, will it be a continuation of junk science or bigotry?

Azmi defends Immigration men
Link : NST - Hamidah Atan

PUTRAJAYA, Fri

---

Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid has come out in defence of Immigration officers at airports who are alleged to have grilled female tourists from China. He said it was their job to interview arriving tourists, regardless of their home country....
Azmi said statistics compiled by ministry officials revealed that a majority of tourists, especially female Chinese visitors, refused to return home.... Azmi was commenting on a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who said yesterday that female tourists from China were often subjected to lengthy questioning by immigration officers.
Nazri, who is also the Human Rights Parliamentary Caucus chairman, said Chinese nationals should be allowed entry if their documents were complete as they had the right to visit Malaysia without conditions....He said the Government welcomed tourists from China and there should be no restrictions on them entering the country nor any form of profiling.
Meanwhile, Azmi said it was inappropriate and unfair to blame immigration officers just because one or two of them may have gone overboard.
He said immigration officers had to use their discretion to facilitate entry of tourists into the country. He, however, said that pro-active efforts were being taken to address the problem.
"Among others, we are now fast-tracking an exercise to recruit immigration officers who are well-versed in Mandarin and other foreign languages. They will be based at all airports.
"With them around, tourists will be handled in a more professional and friendly manner. They will feel more at home."
Azmi also said the Cabinet had agreed in principle to recruit more enforcement officers.

INTELLIGENCE COMPROMISED OR FAILURE?

Something is possibly very rotten with the state of our anti-terrorism intelligence service team. They may have the ability to identify the location of any blogger within 10 minutes upon publishing their blogs but were unable to track down Azahari even though he had been keeping in contact with his first wife and family in Malaysia for the past 4.5 years. Whilst the anti-terrorism intelligence service had performed admirably during the Emergency of 1948~1960 and the Confrontation of 1962~1966, its road map and energy may have been redirected and now is a mere shadow of what it is meant to be - fighting terrorism. In the wake of our failure in keeping tabs on known and suspected terrorist contacts, the question is - Has our anti terrorist intelligence team been compromised from within or is it just an oxymoron - intelligence failure?


Azahari in touch with family while on the run
Ridwan Max Sijabat and Indra Harsaputra,
Link : The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya

Malaysian terrorist Azahari bin Husin, who was responsible for a series of bomb attacks that killed hundreds of innocent people in Indonesia, appeared to have kept in touch with his family during his years as a fugitive.
Personal documents found by police in the house where he was killed in a gunfight last Wednesday revealed that Azahari had communicated with his family and siblings by letter and telephone.
The police discovered dozens of international phone cards, letters and a diary belonging to Azahari, along with guns and explosives, among the rubble of his hide-out in Batu district in the East Java regency of Malang. The building was severely damaged in what police believe was a suicide bombing by Azahari and his operative Arman.
In his last letter to his wife, Azahari asked her to pray for his efforts to wage a jihad so that he could die as a martyr. The letter, which was found inside the diary, never reached his wife in Malaysia.
"To die in such a way will assure me of a place in heaven and enable me to bring 70 members of our extended family. Remember me to our son and take care of him," the letter, written in Malay, reads...
Police also found a letter from Azahari's wife Wan Noraini Jusoh, expressing her fears that he could be killed at anytime. Noraini and their son also advised Azahari to take care of himself and she said their son frequently uttered the word "grave" in his sleep.....Azahari's 45-year-old sister, Suraya, cherished the good side of his childhood and adulthood saying he loved the outdoors and once hitchhiked on a lorry from the premier Malay College Kuala Kangsar, where he studied, to his home in Jasin as a teenager.
She said her brother was intelligent, competitive at school and liked adventure. Azahari studied at the English-medium SK Inggeris and SM Inggeris in Jasin and moved to MCKK when he was in Form Three. He then studied in Australia and took a PhD in mathematics in Britain.

ISMAIL KHATIB SHAMES ALL POLITICIANS

Tired of reading about the political and religious dimension of the Arab -Israeli conflict? Disgusted with our talking, talk-talk politicians from both sides of the "Barisan" when they champion the Middle East issues for their own political benefit? Despite, the acts of fanaticism and terrorism that we hear everyday, there are still islands of real kindness and goodness. These are the real towering citizens of the world and are often common folks with a clear understanding of what is right and wrong. For what they lack on rhetoric they have abudance of will and the moral strength to do what is right.
Ismail Khatib shames all politicians.

In Peace Overture, Family Donates Organs to Israeli Patients.

Link : Washington Post - by Scott Wilson

JENIN, West Bank -- A photo of a slightly smiling Ahmed Khatib has joined the martyr posters on the walls of the refugee camp here. But the 12-year-old boy is shown cradling a guitar instead of the assault rifles brandished in the grim tributes around him. A large red question mark appears at the bottom.
"Why the Palestinian children are killed?" it asks in stilted English. Ismail Khatib and his wife, Abla, have offered a response that has drawn praise from Israeli leaders and challenged Palestinians in this cramped refugee camp, a focal point of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years. Ahmed, the couple's son, was shot twice last week by Israeli soldiers in what the military said was a mistake made during the heat of street fighting near their house. The boy had been holding a toy gun. He died two days later in an Israeli hospital, and the Khatibs made the surprising choice of allowing his organs to be harvested for transplant to Israelis. Six people, including five Israeli Jews, have received the boy's heart, lungs, liver and kidneys since then. The recipients range from a 58-year-old woman to a 7-month-old girl, who died two days ago after failing to recover from surgery that gave her half of Ahmed's liver. The rest are recovering.....The donation, which the mechanic and his wife have described as a peace overture that others should emulate, has at least momentarily transformed a persistent conflict between two peoples into a shared drama of ordinary people looking beyond a war that Israeli human rights groups say has killed 672 Palestinian and 118 Israeli minors in the last five years.
Israel's finance minister, Ehud Olmert, called quickly to apologize for Ahmed's death and to thank the family for its decision. Members of the Israeli parliament, particularly the Arab bloc, have praised the gesture. Ismail Khatib was summoned Wednesday to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who he said told him, "What you have done serves our cause." Even the guerrillas here say the family's sacrifice has proved more potent than their armed operations.
The Israelis who received Ahmed's organs are still recovering in intensive-care units in Israeli hospitals, including an 8-year-old boy whose ultra-Orthodox parents say they intend to visit the Khatibs here as soon as possible. Fewer than half of families in Israel agree to organ donations, many because of religious convictions.... Riyad Ghadban is watching his 12-year-old daughter, Samah, gradually recover with Ahmed's heart beating inside her frail chest."It's like she has changed her whole body," Ghadban, 55, said from his daughter's bedside at the Schneider Children's Medical Center in the Israeli city of Petah Tiqwa....Ghadban is an Arab Druze from the northern Israeli village of Pekiin....
To the youths of Ahmed's neighborhood, the gunmen staring from the posters or swaggering around the streets were heroes. Ahmed collected the martyrs' posters, bringing them home only to have his mother tear them up. He threw rocks at army Jeeps.... Abla said. "Whatever the older guys did, he liked to do as well."....The boy was taken to an Israeli hospital in Haifa. But doctors there were unable to detect any brain function, and it was only a matter of time before he succumbed. In the meantime, Ismail asked his wife if she would "mind someone touching her son" to allow his organs to be harvested. Moved by the children suffering in the same hospital ward, Abla agreed to the donation after Ismail called the mufti of Jenin and the Muslim cleric gave his blessing.
..... Ismail's motives were personal. As a boy, he watched his brother, Shawqat, die after a 15-year battle with kidney disease....Abla, her soft, round face framed by a pale-blue head scarf, also wants the choice she made about her son to stand as a political statement. This is a message from us to them: that we are the ones who want peace and they break their promises," she said. Later, she said, "In our nature, we do not like the Jewish people because they are the occupiers."
On the streets of the Jenin refugee camp, Ahmed's friends appear uncertain about the family's decision.
"I say it's forbidden to donate your organs to Jews," said Imad Bitawi, 13. "Tomorrow they will kill us. If it were Arabs, it would be easier."
Ahmad Tawfiq, 11, was standing three feet away when the bullets struck Ahmed that day. He said Ahmed held a toy gun shaped like an Uzi and that the boys stood among five Palestinian fighters exchanging gunfire with Israeli soldiers in Jeeps.
"The organs were given to the enemy that killed him," Tawfiq said. But he added that Jewish children deserved Ahmed's organs.
"The children, like us, have nothing to do with this," Tawfiq said.

"LOOK PETER, LOOK JANE SEE THEM GO"

I drive from Penang to Kuala Lumpur averaging twice a month. The drive can be rather pleasant although you will need to slow down near Taiping and Tapah as big brother will be playing with their radar guns. If you cruise at the maximium permissible limit of 110km/hr you will notice that this has unofficially been raise to 120~130km/hr for police vehicles in convoys and for coppers on testosterone fueled bikes, it's - "Look Peter, Look Jane see them go, see them weave".
Get these "over age" children off the highway if they are not able to behave .

ROAD MENACE

BY MARC LOURDES - Link - The Star
160,000 unlicensed motorists endangering people's lives

KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 160,000 unlicensed motorists – potentially a menace to themselves and other road users – were caught by police in the last 11 months.
And the authorities believe that the actual number could be a whole lot bigger.
Although the police do not have figures on the number of accidents caused by unlicensed motorists, 13 of those killed in accidents during the recent festive period were motorcyclists without licences.
Greatly concerned over the matter, the Road Safety Department is seeking stiffer punishment for such offenders to reduce their number.
During the recent Ops Sikap IX, he said, more than 10% of the motorcyclists killed were found to be “kiddie” riders without licences.
“For example, parents should not allow their children to drive cars or ride motorcycles if they don’t have a licence.”
“The 13 unlicensed motorcyclists who died during the festive period represented a significant percentage of the total fatalities.
“The existing penalties are not stringent enough and we have to take a look at them again,” he said, adding that the department would be conducting awareness campaigns on the matter.
Echoing SAC II Gingkoi, he said: “We will also be talking to parents, because these under-aged children should not be on the roads.”

THE TRUTH IS IN THE STREETS.

During each festive season, mammoth multi-cultural gathering allows our media to show case to local and international audiences the "All is well-Malaysia is Asia" story. This year Hari Raya open house at the PWTC is no different, drawing record crowds. The primary attraction is the presence of the Prime Minister, to an extent the cabinet and the free food. Take away the glitter of the festivity, it is individual Malaysian civil servant serving the "Malaysian street" who will ultimately affect the real state of racial and religious harmony.
Let the education to promote real racial harmony begin there.

195,000 at Hari Raya open house.
Link : The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a day of thousands of salam and handshakes when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Muslim Cabinet ministers spent the first day of Hari Raya greeting visitors who flocked to their joint open house at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

The Prime Minister and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stood for hours to shake hands with well-wishers.

Abdullah was his usual friendly self. He even requested the security staff to usher a partially disabled man into the dining area.

At one point, he comforted Gan Neng Sim, who cried after conveying her condolence on the passing of Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood on Oct 20.

Abdullah later told reporters that Gan used to work with Endon at the Public Services Department.

“I am very pleased with the good turnout. There was an estimated 195,000 people of all races,” he said.

Businessman Mohammed Idris, 48, and his wife Halijah Ibrahim, 43, brought their eight children aged between three and 18, to meet Abdullah and the ministers.

“We hope our PM faces this challenge with all the strength he can muster,” said Mohammed.

Student Lee Kah Lin, 20, said she went because she wanted to meet the Prime Minister.

“He is a great man to be able to face the public and resume his duties so quickly after his wife’s death,” she said.

Amir Ihsan, 35, his wife Sharifah Intan, 32, and their children Adli Amir, aged one, and Adilah Amir, five, came all the way from their hometown in Kota Baru.

“I want my children to meet our PM, and we want to show our appreciation for his fantastic leadership,” said Amir.

Many people were regulars at the open house, turning up every year.

One such person was Nageshrao Buddatisannacy, a 41-year-old driver.

Nageshrao said he had been attending the open house for more than seven years now.

“I come every year to make sure my children get to meet the Prime Minister and all the ministers,” he said, adding that his 12-year-old son could identify all the ministers.

SELLING VIRGINS IN INDONESIA.

Move over sunshine and all things blue, more dirty hazy days may be on the way. This time the haze will not be from land raped Sumatra but from the Indonesia side of Borneo. After pillaging and polluting their land, growing economic power and enviroment polluter China will finance the "action" to cultivate 5 million acres of oil palm trees in the midst of pristine jungle. Well connected Indonesian businessmen in the lumber industry, amply greased goverment officers from both sides (of the border?) and China will benefit. Malaysian will be left wearing surgical masks and staring at grey skies, an a added bonus for East Malaysians, silted brown rivers.
The Malaysian goverment will still be talking about good neighbourly relationship with saudara Indonesia and to the global community an irreverisible and immesurable loss of biodiversity.
Way, to go Indonesia! selling their million year old virgin's.

Shaking Money From Borneo's Trees
By Washington Post

BETUNG KERIHUN NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia -- A river the color of pale toffee coursed through a valley, carrying several types of rare fish. A young orangutan, a member of a threatened species, dangled merrily by one leg from a tree.
In the heart of Borneo, home to one of the world's last remaining expanses of intact rain forest, Hermas Rintik Maring, an avid conservationist who is native to the area, marveled at the life within the vast canopies of jungle green that for centuries have made this tropical island vital to the health of the region.
At the same time, he said, he fears this pristine forest could fall to the whine of chainsaws and the rumble of bulldozers clearing land for what has been billed as the world's largest palm oil plantation.
The project, brokered by the Indonesian government in Jakarta, could affect as many as 5 million acres of Borneo's forest -- an area slightly... (inserted **slightly bigger than the state of Johor)-- near Indonesia's 1,250-mile-long border with Malaysia. Officials hope China will finance the project on the island, which is divided between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Indonesian officials claim the plantation could bring the area a half a million jobs directly related to the industry and 500,000 more in spin-off jobs in schools, health care and other services. It could produce more than 10 million tons of crude palm oil a year, they said, worth about $4.6 billion...
Earlier this year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ... spoke to President Hu Jintao about helping to develop the border area. "So far, the feedback has been positive," Yudhoyono said...
The Chinese said that though their government is generally keen to invest in Indonesia... agricultural projects such as palm oil plantations require careful study...
The area that environmentalists call the heart of Borneo is home to 14 of the island's 16 major rivers. Six miles downstream from Betung Kerihun is Danau Sentarum, a 325,000-acre necklace of lakes that nurture several species found only on Borneo, including the bekantan monkey and arwana fish. Indigenous peoples live and fish on the lakes. Logging the forests will start a chain reaction of erosion and silt buildup that will destroy the area's water ecosystem, environmentalists say.
At least one plan, drawn up by a consortium of state-owned palm oil plantations and obtained by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, shows plantations being built in three national parks near the border, including Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum...
The environmentalists are concerned that under the guise of planting oil palms, companies will raze the forests, removing billions of dollars' worth of timber, and then abandon the land. Too often over the last decade in Indonesia, that scenario has played out. According to the Forestry Ministry, 5.75 million acres of forest in Indonesian Borneo alone have been cleared for palm oil plantations that never materialized. Most of that land is at a lower altitude.
If the government wants to promote oil palm plantations, "Why not use that land?" asked Hermas, the conservationist...
A decade ago, an estimated 100,000 orangutans frolicked in Borneo's forests; today there are only 55,000. Palm oil plantations are the main reason for the decline, according to Friends of the Earth, an international environmental group. The industry could drive the ape to extinction within 12 years, the group warned.......

SEND THEM TO BANGLADESH!

Remember the comments after the 2006 budget where some of the civil servants complained that they were not appreciated for their "hard work" (think National Registration Department and the Road Transport Department)They were given $50~$150 COLA, those earning less than $1,000 - 1.5 months bonus and the rest 1 month bonus subject to a minimium sum of $1,500. They should be thanking their lucky stars that they do not have to cari their "rezeki" in Bangladesh. Maybe a foreign exchange program for some of them may probably wake them up from their perpetual slumber and ingratitude.


No salary for 28 months.

Link : The Daily Star

Seventeen teachers and staff of the Bandarban Shishu Poribar Kendra under Social Welfare Department are not getting salary for 28 months.The project work was started in 1998. Its tenure expired on June 30 last year but the project was not included in the revenue budget.

Sources at the Kendra said the teachers and staff were recruited in May 2003. They are not getting salary since July 2003 as fund allocation was stopped following an allegation of corruption against its authorities.

The 100 boys housed at the Kendra are now being fed with voluntary food supplies from Bandarban Hill District Council, the sources said.

Social Welfare Minister Ali Ahsan Muhammad Muzahid during his visits to the Shishu Paribar last year and this year assured that either the project would be included in the revenue budget or funds for their salary would be disbursed, the sources claimed. But nothing has been done, they added.
Shafiqul Islam, Deputy Supervisor of the Shishu Paribar said letters were sent to higher authorities several times for sanctioning funds, but to no reply yet.

"BUT....."

Malaysians should be terribly upset with the explanation given by Dr Hashim Yacob that we did “very well” in 3 out of the 5 categories in the survey done by THES. The plunge in overall ranking from 89 to 169 seems to be a non-issue to him when he uses the conjunction “but”. So again another issue of note is waved away with ..."but"... the cracks on package 11 of MRR2 can be repaired but at the cost of $20 million...Bank Islam loses $480 million but "we are on the mend and cleaning problem areas". We would have rewarded Nicol David but.......

UM among top 100 in three sectors
Link : The Star --- BY LEANNE GOH AND KAREN CHAPMAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Malaya's overall position in the World Universities Rankings 2005 may have dropped significantly but its performance in three categories and its improved marks are achievements to be proud of, said its Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Hashim Yaacob. He expressed “great happiness” that UM was placed among the top 100 universities in three out of five categories – Arts and Humanities (45th place), Biomedicine (82nd) and Social Science (83rd). The other two categories are Science and Technology. “Last year, we did not make it to the top 100 in any of the five categories, but this year we made it to …Prof Hashim said that “at first glance,” it looked like UM had done badly in this year's ranking but a more thorough study would show that its performance had improved…“Last year, our overall score was 16.6% only, but this year it was 23.5%,” he said.
However, he could not explain why UM had dropped so much in the overall rankings when it seemed to have improved in some areas.
The vice-chancellor noted that there were more than 30,000 universities worldwide and UM still managed to be in the top 200. “I want to share my happiness with you that although there are so many universities in the world, we are number 169,” he said, citing other top universities which had dropped by many notches. Seventy universities from last year's list are not in this year's.

AN IRRATIONAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The man who praised the 2002 Bali bombers to be God’s fighters will receive yet another reduction (probably a month) in his jail sentence this October. In a short period of 3 months he has been given a total of 5.5 months remission in in his 30 months sentence.Makes you wonder why the Indonesian goverment takes the effort to have this spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah convicted for conspiracy for the 2002 Bali bombing, sentenced him for only 30 months, further insults the memory of the 202 victims by letting this cleric off on "good behaviour" and calls it justice served.

Indonesia's to grant reprieve to 2002 Bali bombing conspirator Abu Bakar Bashir
Link : Todayonline

Indonesia's government plans to grant reprieves to convicted militants including 2002 Bali bombing conspirator Abu Bakar Bashir to mark an important Muslim festival, a report said…The 67-year-old cleric was sentenced in March for a criminal conspiracy leading to the bombings. He is accused by some foreign governments of being the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah Islamic militant group which has been blamed for both Bali bombings and a string of other attacks..
"As long as the regulations have not been revised, all prisoners will be given a sentence cut in line with their rights under prevailing laws and regulations," Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin was quoted by the Pikiran Rakyat newspaper as saying….He said that according to the regulations, all prisoners who behaved well had the right to a cut in their sentence.
On August 17 Bashir's 30-month sentence was cut by more than four months to mark Indonesian independence day…A Jakarta prison official has said Bashir may be among thousands of prisoners to receive sentence cuts to mark the main Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr later this week.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda earlier this month said the government was reviewing the presidential decree on remissions particularly concerning serious crimes, including terrorism, but he gave no more details or timeframe.
Bashir on Tuesday condemned the latest Bali attacks, saying that bombings in non-combat zones would only claim innocent victims. — AFP

ON THE 22ND DAY OF RAMADAN........

Will the Islamic world allow Iran to hijack the name of Islam in declaring aloud to all that Israel must cease to exist in order for the Middle East to have peace? Will the Chair of the 57-member OIC speak up and in no uncertain terms condemn the hate language that goes against the norm of civilisation more so during this holy month to all Muslims?. Such thuggish talk from a former member of the hard line revolutionary guards now known as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?) will only serve to energise and inflame passions of both terrorism and suicide bombing not only in the Middle East but also in South East Asia. Will Malaysia being a leading moderate Muslim country break the mould and take this opportunity to lead the way in rejecting and condemning terrorism even verbal ones? I doubt so and I would love to be proven wrong.

Iran's President Calls His Anti-Israel Comment `Right and Just'

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, cheered by thousands of supporters, signalled on Friday he stood by his call for Israel to be wiped off the map, while Iran's foreign ministry sought to defuse a diplomatic storm.

Israel said it would request an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council over the comments, which have drawn the condemnation of the West and Tehran's ally Russia.

Iranians chanting "death to Israel" and "death to America", converged from nine points in the Iranian capital for a rally attended by most of Iran's top officials. Some protesters set fire to or trampled on Israeli and U.S. flags.

Ahmadinejad took a short walk in the crowd, rallying in support of his comments that the Islamic world could not tolerate the Jewish state in its heartland. He said Western criticism carried no weight.

"My words are the Iranian nation's words," he told the official IRNA news agency, when asked if he had a message for the world.

"Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid."………

Link : Reuter.co.uk

A REALLY FRIENDLY LOCAL COUNCIL.

Now that the federal and state government plans to allow “restauranteur” to occupy parking lots from 7pm~2am, they should also allow tires and car accessories shops to stake claims to their own front parking lot(s) sans payment from 8am ~ 7pm. After all, they might as well legalize what some of these “mafioso characters” has been doing and while pursuing that option they should also consider allowing motorised and non motorised hawkers to park wherever they fancy.

CAP: Restaurants may not follow open-air dining rules
Link : The Star

PETALING JAYA: Having guidelines on outdoor dining will not guarantee that restaurant owners will not place chairs and tables along five-foot ways, said the Consumers Association of Penang.

“Can we guarantee that the restaurant owners will follow the rules?

“Do we have enough enforcement to keep checking on them to ensure that they do not flout the rules?” asked its president S.M. Mohamed Idris.

“Placing chairs and tables outside restaurants will expose customers to an unhealthy environment including carbon monoxide from cars,” he said, adding that it would also take up parking lots and block traffic.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Government was lifting a ban on open-air dining outside restaurants.

However, he said, restaurateurs who wanted to place chairs and tables outside their premises must obtain permission from the local authorities.

It was also reported that the Selangor Government planned to issue outdoor dining rules including allowing restaurants to place chairs and tables at parking lots in front of their shops but not along five-foot ways between 7pm and 2am.

Federation of Consumer Associations of Malaysia secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said any guidelines on outdoor dining must get the support of residents and nearby businesses.

“Restaurants should not be allowed to have outdoor dining if there's objection from the residents,” he said.

MY NEIGHBOUR, THE WOULD BE MURDERER

Glossing over or covering up negative reports for the sake of economic and political expediency is a norm in many parts of the world. Indonesia, our closest neighbor seems to have developed this into an art and has deluded themselves for the past 2 years into thinking bird flu is only just a sneeze. Well, this sneeze may have already reached the shores of Malaysia and a time bomb may be ticking quietly away. Hari Raya will commence in less than 12 days and with the rising of consumption of chicken and chicken related products, how safe is safe? There may be instances of chickens and migratory birds dying right now. This may have been left unreported so as to avoid damping the coming celebration. In our rush to celebrate, the health and veterinary department must increase their vigilance but has this been worked out in detail ? They are our first line of defense not Tamiflu or Relenza (as proposed by the Australian Government) or I shudder to think our local council.
Again, let us not forget the flow of Indonesians coming back to Malaysia after Hari Raya, they may be carrying more than their usual share of health related issues.


Indonesia Neglected Bird Flu Until Too Late, Experts Say
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Foreign ServiceThursday, October 20, 2005

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 19 -- Indonesian officials covered up and then neglected a spreading bird flu epidemic for two years until it began to sicken humans this summer, posing a grave threat to people well beyond the country's borders, according to Indonesian and international health experts.
Unlike Southeast Asian countries that began to see human cases almost as soon as avian influenza was identified in their poultry, Indonesia had a generous head start to prevent an outbreak among people. Influenza specialists agree that the actual number of human cases is higher and expect it to rise with the approach of the rainy season…. At each step, the Indonesian government failed to take measures that could have broken the chain, while discouraging research into the outbreak.As a result, specialists are concerned that the cases in Indonesia pose a worldwide threat if the bird flu virus changes and becomes contagious among humans……..
….Indonesia, in particular, is a worry to U.N. and other international experts, partly because it has Southeast Asia's largest population of both people and poultry…..In an interview with The Washington Post this spring, Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, Indonesia's national director of animal health, first disclosed that officials had known chickens were dying from bird flu since the middle of 2003 but kept this secret until last year because of lobbying by the poultry industry. She also revealed that the government had not set aside any money this year to vaccinate poultry against the virus though officials had trumpeted this as the centerpiece of their strategy to contain the disease.
….A day after the article was published, the Agriculture Ministry fired her."They could not see the potential threat until there was an actual threat," she said in an interview with The Post last week. "I talked to the minister about it many times. He said a disease outbreak is not a national emergency, not a disaster."….
…..owners of major poultry companies, who have personal ties to senior Agriculture Ministry officials, insisted that any containment efforts be done secretly, Naipospos recalled. These eight farming conglomerates, which handle 60 percent of the country's poultry, feared that publicity would harm sales of chicken and eggs. Offering new details in her interview last week, Naipospos said owners even lobbied Indonesia's president at the time, Megawati Sukarnoputri…..
….Through this summer, avian flu continued to spread, often unreported, and containment efforts remained unfunded. Responding to public anxiety, Apriyantono went on television to oversee the culling of several dozen pigs and ducks on a farm 10 miles away. But when the cameras left, the campaign stalled. …..
Special correspondent Yayu Yuniar contributed to this report

PRIVATE HOSPITALS - "AH LONG" IN WHITE

Private hospitals are not places where one can find the compassion of Florence Nightingale without the lubrication of the mighty mammon, in this case the Ringgit. When you are paying $250 and above for a nite to recuperate it's as good a place to be in. Buzz the nurse the 3rd time and "pronto" she will appear with a smile. Try that in a $130 room and the 80/20 rule comes into play - 80% glare, 20% care.
I was hospitalized just last month and I discovered this unwritten golden rule of how private hospitals ensures their own health, monetary wise. You rush to an emergency room, whilst the doctor checks on you, the nurse comes in and tells you to cough up $2,200 before admission. Here I am with my pants half drawn to my knees and in pain, a most vulnerable and delicate position. Immediate reaction...Please swipe my credit card!. Two days latter and after one MRI scan, one ultra sound screening and a couple of times being zapped with the X ray machine, I am sitting on my bed at 10am in an "open back with nothing underneath operation gown" waiting for my stomach endoscopy. A nurse appears, smiles and request a top up of $2,500. "Oh sure, no problem" I reply "but only after the endoscopy is done". 2 hours and 45 minutes passes by and I have been on "puasa nil by mouth " for almost 15 hours. The same nurse reappears the 4th time with the same request "$2,500". Smelling conspiracy, I surrender my credit card. A coincidence or what! 15 minutes latter I am in the endoscope room - the last patient for the morning and almost an hour latter, I am back in my bed.
If you should be unfortunate enough to be taken to these private pirates in an emergency where no one knows your name,you would probably end up like this bloke who kicked the bucket while the hospital waits for payment before the treatment.

Have a heart for the poor, urges Koay
Link : The Star

PRIVATE hospitals should have compassion for the poor even in their pursuit to make profits from their operations.

Penang State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Datuk Koay Kar Huah said private hospitals should have a special programme for providing cheaper medical packages for the poor.

He commended the efforts being made by Gleneagles Medical Centre which have so far conducted 300 free heart operations on poor children.

The operations were made possible with the close co-operation among the hospital, the public and the state government.

“I’m inspired by the centre’s good deed,” he said in his speech during a visit to the hospital.

Koay was accompanying Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas who visited the hospital in conjunction with the recent Mer-deka celebration.

Also present were Toh Puan Majimor Sharif, chairman of Wong Keng Fei Children Medical Fund Datuk Michael Chong and the hospital’s consultant paediatrician and paediatric cardiologist Dr Sim Joo Seng.

LATUK, BOLIH TOLONG........ ?

Ah! This is the time of the year, when our traffic police seems to be increasing their surveillance activities not only along the major highways but more so along less well used road generally underneath "shady trees". Yesterday as I was driving along this major higway that links the East coast to the West coast, I observed that within a distance of 3 kilometers 2 patrol cars each with 2 officers were parked on the opposite side of the road. Both "datuks" were busily performing their sworn duty, on the left hand side of the road, a stern looking officer with his blue summons book in his hand was "pitching" questions to the ever smiling driver whilst further down on the right hand side of the road, in line with the recent courtesy campaign, the other smiling "datuk" obviously very satisified with what had transpired was waving goodbyes to the sullen driver that he had earlier stopped. What is with this Malaysian psyche --- changing our emotions ever so rapidly during such encounters ?

No discount for Ops Sikap summons
Hamidah Atan

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 5:

---

It’s the maximum for traffic offenders during Ops Sikap this Hari Raya season — a RM300 fine and there is no chance for appeal. The offences in this category are speeding, queue-jumping, breaking traffic light rules, using the emergency lane and overtaking on the double-line

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said during the integrated operations by the police and Road Transport Department from Oct 27 to Nov 10, enforcement officers would be deployed at tower controls and temporary traffic centres which would be set up along the North-South and East Coast highways.

Chan said this year’s road safety campaign to be held at least two weeks before Hari Raya Aidilfitri was expected to be launched by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The themes of the campaign is ‘Use of Public Transport Reduces Accidents’ and ‘Drive Safe, Ride Safe, Walk Safe.’

Chan added that commercial vehicles were banned from using the roads on Oct 29, 30, 31 and on Nov 5 and 6............ The high number of fatal accidents often marred Malaysian festive seasons. Last year, Chan said the number of deaths stood at more than 200, against 300 in 2003..........Over 1.5 million vehicles are expected to be on the road during the festive season.

Chan also called on motorists to take photographs of errant drivers using their camera phones or digital cameras. "I believe through this, they can help the authorities reduce accidents.

"Just forward the evidence to the ministry, the police or the RTD. We will act based on the photographs submitted."

A SEASON FOR REASONING

The celebration of Gongxi Raya (Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration falling within days of each other) in Malaysia has always been showcased to the world as a model where two different culture can coexist in harmony.
In a rare convergence of both Jewish and Muslim calendar, October 3rd at sundown is the start of the Jewish New Year 5766 and the beginning of a 10 day period of contemplation, self-examination, purification, celebration and fasting.
October 4th also at sundown will mark the beginning of the month of Ramadan, also a month of fasting, reflection and spiritual self evaluation for Muslims.
With this two Abrahamic faith observing their holy month in October, wouldn't it be a great gesture if the goverment of Malaysia can build the bridge of friendship by extending to the global Jewish communities their best wishes for a new year?

Incidentally, October 4th is also the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi the author of "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy"


Holidays begin for Jews, Muslims

By CAROL REEVES
Gazette-Times reporter

At sundown Monday night, Jews in Corvallis and around the world will begin to observe the High Holy Days, a 10-day period of reflection and repentance.

In a rare coincidence, Islam's observance of Ramadan also begins this week. The two world religions' sacred holidays don't often overlap, but Muslims are to begin their month-long fast with the sighting of the new moon on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Jewish High Holy Days

The Jewish High Holy Days begin with an Erev Rosh Hashanah service at 7:30 p.m. Monday and concludes with Yom Kippur celebrations in mid-October.

During this most holy time of year on the Jewish calendar, Jews take a personal inventory of their attitudes and actions in the past year and try to make restitution. After a day of prayer and fasting on Oct. 12, Yom Kippur brings an opportunity to ask God's forgiveness for sins and start the new year with a clean slate.

The final Yom Kippur service at 5 p.m. Oct. 13 ends with the traditional blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn, and then a "break-the-fast" meal is served for all.

"In most synagogues, including ours, anybody who has a shofar is asked to bring it," said Amy Buccola, vice-president of the local Jewish community. "During a few significant moments all of them are blown together, which creates a very powerful effect."

A TALE OF 2 MINDS.

Watching and waiting for some one to jump from a tall building has added a new dimension to the meaning of spectator sport in Shenyang, China. This desire for such sadistic event is not the domain of any country or culture but there is this general trend where the public seems to have developed a total insensitivity towards savegery and has become extremely callous about suffering. Furthermore, they have progress to a point where there is a need to titillate themselves to a higher and higher intensity of sadism in order to satisfy their desires.
As for the jumper, what could have made someone to change so dramatically, as to make suicide their final option? Suicidal people are (surprise!!) people just like you and me. "They are not weak in their mind nor are they crazy but are suffering from depression". WHO estimates, in the year 2000, approximately 873,000 people died from suicide, and 10 to 20 times more people attempted suicide worldwide. This represents one death every 40 seconds and one attempt every 3 seconds and that 450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioural problems at any time. Let us learn to watch for warning signs and who knows you may yet save a life of someone close to you.

Spectators Gather to Watch Woman's Suicide Attempt

TAIPEI - On Sept. 17, a woman attempted suicide by threatening to jump from a tall building in Shenyang. During her six hours of refusing the lifeguards' rescue efforts, more than a thousand people gathered on the street to watch the incident.
The report from the Shenyang Chinese Business Morning added that traffic was completely blocked. Drivers were slowing their cars to watch, bike riders hopped off their bikes and locked them on the sidewalk, and walkers came to a stop.
Someone was reportedly selling telescopes to allow the onlookers to zoom in on the scene far above their heads.
The report said that some people brought chairs from their homes to sit on the sidewalk more comfortably. At lunch hour, many skipped their meal in order to keep watching. As one lady in her 50s said, "I'd rather starve and suffer. If I go home, I am afraid I will miss her jumping from the building, and that would be a pity." Others rushed home to grab mineral water and biscuits, and then returned to the scene.
The woman was rescued by two firefighters six hours later. The surrounding crowds dispersed shortly thereafter, and street traffic resumed.

Chinese Link : Epoch Times –www.dajiyuan.com

CATEGORY 5 "HURRICANE AMESELES" SIGHTED

Lack of political will in Indonesia will see to the rapid spread of Bird Flu in this sprawling archipelago. When this happens, it will be only a matter of time when an infected illegal economic migrant slips through our net to visit one of his many "saudara" somewhere along the west coast.
The future will be "ain't what it used to be". We may have handled the Nipah and SARS virus rather well but again that is only a category 2 hurricanes. What is the government strategy in the containment of the "selesema burung"? How would the tracking of the already infected be done? How do we test and quarantine cluster infections? We may have started to stock up Tamiflu, it may be too little and too late. We cannot afford to continue to be in denial of the situation. There are so very many questions left unanswered by the relevant authorities.


Botched culls typify Jakarta's flu paralysis
Link : Sydney Morning Herald
September 24, 2005

The lure of free entertainment on a sunny Sunday afternoon drew hundreds to a field near the Javanese village of Babat to witness the first mass cull of pigs infected with the deadly bird flu virus.

Adults and children milled around, watching animals being slaughtered, thrown into a pit and burnt with no sign of public safety precautions. The Indonesian Agriculture Minister, Anton Apriantono, shouted frantically to department staff to find if it was saf
e to remove his white mask to answer questions.

"Don't blame me if you get bird flu because you don't wear a mask. This is very dangerous, you know, as the virus can be transmitted through the air," he warned reporters that July afternoon.
Mr Apriantono was soon struggling to explain why only 31 pigs and 40 ducks from Tangerang region, bordering Jakarta, were being culled, instead of the promised hundreds of infected pigs and thousands of chickens.

"We only culled the infected animals as we do not have the money to carry out a mass culling," he said.

Days earlier, an auditor who lived nearby, Iwan Rapei, and his two daughters died with symptoms of heavy pneumonia. Tests confirmed Mr Rapei carried the bird flu virus.
Yesterday the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency demanded Indonesia improve its virus control and immediately start culling in infected areas.

In April tests at pig farms uncovered bird flu infections, but no cull was ordered. This week it emerged several of the 17 Indonesians in hospital with bird flu in the latest outbreak came from Tangerang or areas close to Jakarta.
The botched cull raises concerns about Indonesia's ability to prevent a pandemic that could kill millions across the region.

The World Health Organisation's regional spokesman, Peter Cordingley, believes Indonesia is now the "hot spot" for bird flu, and the WHO's country representative, Georg Peterson, describes it as the "weak link" in global efforts to avert a pandemic.

Experts are seething. "They have spent a year saying they have it under control; this is bullshit," said one official working on the outbreak. "Indonesia hasn't got it under control and the longer they go on not culling the bigger the problem is going to be."

Mr Cordingley said the WHO has known "for some time the H5N1 virus is entrenched in Indonesian poultry populations".
"Each time a human being becomes infected, we worry because one of the scenarios for this pandemic to start is if one person has the avian influenza virus in his body at the same time as the normal flu virus, [then] there is the possibility of genetic exchange between the two viruses."

Although tests had shown more than half its exotic birds carried the bird flu virus, Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo was kept open on Sunday for thousands of visitors, including hundreds of expatriates on a charity fun run. Several of those since taken to hospital were zoo visitors.
The Health Minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, at first denied the possibility of human transmission, then stated it was inevitable and Indonesia was in the grip of an epidemic. She later reversed her position, saying the outbreak could possibly become an epidemic and called on the nation to increase "alertness" .

But Mrs Supari's extraordinary flu alert was attacked by other cabinet ministers on the grounds it could harm tourism and investment.
This week Mr Apriantono finally announced culls in "highly infected" areas. But he later said more than 20 per cent of stock had to be infected for a cull order to be issued - and that no such areas existed.
Mr Cordingley said the problem was a familiar one in Asia. "There is no incentive for somebody who raises chickens to report infected chickens if he is not going to be compensated for the day government authorities come in and kill all his chickens," he said.