Posts Tagged ‘Kuala Lumpur’
Written by admin on 24 November 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 24 – Malaysia’s education ministry is open to the idea of parents or guardians of misbehaving students to cane them.
The proposal has come from a non-government organisation (NGO) that does believe in the old adage – spare the rod and spoil the child.
Deputy Education Minister Mohammed Puad Zarkashi said he felt this recent proposal by a NGO would be ‘a good way of disciplining students’.
‘There are several advantages for parents and teachers if such a system was in place. It will also make the punishment that could be carried out privately, more effective in disciplining students.
‘This is because misbehaving students are more scared of their parents finding out about their discipline problems, compared with their teachers,’ the New Straits Times quoted the minister as saying.
He said parents could also see for themselves how their children were behaving at school.
‘This will make the parents more responsible for the development of their children instead of leaving it to the teachers. Parents also cannot accuse teachers of unfair treatment of their children.’
The proposal was made by National Parent Teacher Togetherness Council president Mohamad Ali Hassan.
The minister said if parents agreed, the ministry could implement the proposal which could help check the rising discipline problems among students.
‘(The) psychological pressure of parents constantly finding fault, including accusing teachers of mishandling their children, can cause teachers to become laid back.
‘The ministry does not want this laid-back culture to become a predominant feature among our teachers considering their vital role in nation building.’
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Written by admin on 23 November 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 23 – Malaysia’s Penang state government will send a dietician and counsellor to visit obese Nurhaniza Ahmad, weighing 170 kg, to offer her help.
Penang State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the dietician would help Nurhaniza follow a healthy diet plan.
‘The dietician can guide her to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner without having to take medication or undergo surgery.
‘If she is unable to go to hospital, we will try to bring the dietician and counsellor to her,’ he was quoted by The Star newspaper Monday as saying.
Nurhaniza, who has been housebound for the past two years because of her weight, said last week that she was dependent on Nurbayti Mihammed Dali, 11, her only daughter, to bathe and cook for the family.
She has to drag herself around the house because her knees fail her when she tries to stand up.
Nurhaniza was divorced seven years ago and two years later, she married Abu Bakar Hashim, 50, who had lost a leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 16.
The report comes after efforts by the Terrengganu state government offering tips to couples to spice up their sex lives to stem the rising divorce rate.
Earlier this month, Terengganu state, backed by its Muslim clergy, took upon itself the task of spicing up sex lives of couples by advising bathing together, avoid body odour and replace ‘boring pajamas’ with sexy lingerie for women.
The state government came up with innovative ways to improve sexual relations, especially among newly-weds.
It also plans to invite cosmetic firms to introduce exotic and sensuous fragrances that can arouse sexual desire.
State Religious and Information Committee deputy chairman Muhammad Ramli Nuh has supported these efforts saying that they can curb the divorce rates among young couples.
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Written by admin on 20 November 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 20 (DPA) A Malaysian woman, in a bid to become a man by removing her breasts, lost both her nipples after botched sex-change surgery, reports said Friday.
The 36-year-old woman, who wished to be known only as Sam, also suffered a serious infection and scarring due to the operation, the Star daily reported.
Sam said she went to a beauty salon in Selangor state in May for the procedure after she was promised a specialist from China.
She claimed she was instead treated by an inexperienced Malaysian at a clinic in Johor state, the report added.
The victim lodged a police report after allegedly receiving threats from the salon operator for demanding compensation.
Despite efforts by the Malaysian government to monitor cosmetic surgery in the country, many potential patients are still attracted by the lower prices offered by shady beauty salons and private clinics.
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Written by admin on 17 November 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 17 – Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has singled out India as an Asian country that has ‘made the mistake of being too democratic’ and compared it unfavourably with China’s authoritarian regime.
Mahathir said: ‘India, of course, will grow, but more slowly than China. It has the numbers but is not making use of them well.’
He identified China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and, ‘to a lesser extent’, India as the countries which would lead the Asian charge, New Straits Times said Tuesday.
Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia for over two decades, told a seminar on Asia and 21st century that people ‘do not understand the limits of democracy’.
‘Democracy can be a hindrance to progress because you spend so much time politicking that you don’t have time to develop your country.
‘In China, there’s not much politics. So, they can spend more time developing their country.’
He blamed the West for making democracy and freedom the cornerstone of progress.
It is the West’s focus on democracy, civil rights and individual liberties – attributes flaunted by Western governments – that Mahathir identified as being the reason behind ‘its economic flaccidity’.
‘The British believe a lot in so-called freedom. Their workers must be allowed to go on strike all the time. So, they have the problem of being a very unproductive population.
‘They must be free of everything. When you do that, productivity will drop. When productivity drops, you cannot compete.’
Talking about Asia, Mahathir ruled out a role for ‘strife-torn’ West Asia.
‘They are not going to make much progress, unfortunately. They are not going to contribute to the Asia of the 21st century. But it doesn’t matter because Asia is such a big place,’ Mahathir said.
East Asia’s emerging economic dominance over the West is due to its productivity and strong work ethic, he said.
However, the former premier warned of the increasing trend among young Asians to ape Western culture.
‘Today, there are places in Tokyo where you see young people with multi-coloured hair. They look like Red Indians. These are the young Japanese who have adopted Western values,’ said the octogenarian who continues to draw crowds six years after he quit office.
‘They want to be free and be able to change the place they work, hop from one place to another and take marijuana. This is what the Europeans do. This is progress for those young people.’
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Written by admin on 16 November 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 16 – A Malaysian Indian youth, who killed his mother, was found dead in his prison cell. His family has cast doubts on the police version that he committed suicide.
J. Saravanan, 22, charged with killing his mother and stuffing her in a bag under the sink, was found dead in his Ayer Molek prison cell Sunday, the police said.
He was found hanging from a rope made from a pillow cover tied to a bar of his cell door, Star Online, web site of The Star newspaper reported Monday.
His body has been sent to hospital for post-mortem examination.
Family members claimed they were informed of his death at about 11.30 p.m. Sunday and have demanded an explanation from the authorities.
The incident took place in Johor state.
Johor deputy police chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said that the police had received a report that Saravanan was found dead and that he had allegedly hung himself.
Saravanan was charged with murdering K. Malilla, 47, using an iron rod at their home in Kampung MIC in Ulu Tiram.
He had also allegedly stuffed his mother’s body inside a travel bag after the incident between 9.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. Oct 5.
Saravanan’s uncle K. Chandran, 42, said that the family was not satisfied with the police explanation that Saravanan had committed suicide.
‘I was told that a prison warden, who was just beginning his shift, found him hanging in his cell and sent him to the hospital.
‘However, he was pronounced dead upon arrival,’ he said.
Johor state Human Rights Party chief Y. Mohan said that the Saravanan’s family would also hire their own doctor to conduct examination on the body.
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Written by admin on 12 November 2009
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 12 – With India and China among its main targets, Malaysian budget airline Air Asia’s campaign saw at least 300,000 seats being sold in less than 24 hours.
The company’s website registered 300 million hits in the first 11 hours of its Free Seats campaign.
The airline’s regional commercial head Kathleen Tan said that at least 300,000 seats were sold in less than 24 hours.
Air Asia’s server capacity had been doubled to cope with the congestion, she told The Star newspaper.
‘The rush for the free seats is a real testament that today’s consumers are online savvy and embracing the low-cost revolution happening in Asia.’
Besides India and China, the low-cost carrier is giving away till Sunday a million free seats to more than 70 destinations in Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand.
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