MPH sale starts tomorrow

DISCOUNTS up to 70% off normal prices will be offered at the MPH Stock Clearance from tomorrow till March 22.

You can find prices as low as RM2 for selected books, with choices ranging from bestsellers, fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, to business and children’s books.

The sale will be held at Mayang Plaza (the building formerly occupied by LimKokWing Institute of Creative Technology College), Jalan SS26/2, Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya, Selangor (daily 9.30am to 7pm).

Throughout the sale, there will be announcements at the venue of special offers of the day. For more details, call % 016-607 3733.

MPH Bookstores have promotions lined up throughout the year. E-mail mrc@mph.com.my or go to www.mphonline.com for details.

Meanwhile, MPH is offering 10 books for free each day exclusively to 10 readers of The Star every day during the MPH Stock Clearance period.

This offer is valid for the first 10 customers of the day with a minimum purchase of RM50. The reader has to present this page (original copy only) at the venue to redeem his or her free book. Each customer is entitled to one copy only on a first-come-first-served basis.

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Three postal clerks charged with road tax rebate fraud

Three Pos Malaysia Bhd clerks were charged in the Sessions Court here on Friday with criminal breach of trust involving RM6,875 in cash rebates for 11 road tax renewals.

Mohamad Amirul Helmi Shafie, 20, from Jalan Raja Nong, claimed trial to two charges.

He was alleged to have approved false claims for six cars amounting to RM3,750 at the Klang Selatan Pos office on Oct 31, last year.

He was also accused of committing a similar offence involving three cars amounting to RM1,875 at the Rantau Panjang Pos office on Nov 14, last year.

Mohamad Amirul also faces another charge with Shafful Sraffiq Shawar, 28, from Taman Anika, for approving a false claim worth RM625 at the Klang Selatan Pos office on Oct 31, last year.

The two claimed trail to the charge. Meanwhile Mohd Fikri Mohpot, from Taman Masnah, pleaded guilty to a similar offence involving one car at the Klang Selatan Pos office on Nov 5, last year.

Each offence carries a jail term of up to 20 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.

Prosecuting officer ASP Nasula Ibrahim proposed a RM10,000 bail for each offence citing that the cases involved public interest and it had tarnished the image of Pos Malaysia.

Judge Mazilah Manap set bail at RM6,000 on one surety for each charge.

She also fixed May 5 for mention and March 23 for sentencing.

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Perak’s "Democracy Tree" vandalised

Vandals have broken the edges and damaged the plaque marking the “Democracy Tree” under which a historic Perak assembly was held on March 3.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders including former Perak Mentri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and former state executive council member Nga Kor Ming took an oath beneath the tree.

They swore that they would continue to defend the people’s democratic rights and believe they could solve the political crisis in the state through the dissolution of the state assembly.

Nizar told reporters that this was the work of the people who did not want to see democracy in the country.

“We feel that this was done to deny the rakyat their rights to choose their own government,” he said, adding that they were still undecided on lodging a police report on the damaged plaque.

Nga said Pakatan will start a fund to collect money to rebuild a bigger and stronger plaque which would have four languages - Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil, English, and Chinese.

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Six charged for insulting Perak Sultan on the web

In the first conviction of its kind, lab assistant Azrin Md Zain, 33, was fined RM10,000 or, in default, five months jail, at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for posting comments insulting the Sultan of Perak on the Internet on Feb 12.

He became the first ever person to be convicted under the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 and was among the six charged Friday in courts nationwide for similar offences.

Azrin admitted to have sent his comments to the guests book at http://books.dreambook.com/duli/duli.html which has linked to the Sultan’s official website with intention to annoy other person.

The father of one has committed the offence using his personal Internet protocol account at his house in Taman Tun Dr Ismail here at 9.12pm on Feb 12.

According to the facts of the case, information technology officer Noorhaliza Masri, from Perak secretariat office, lodged a complaint at Multimedia Communications Commission on Feb 16 upon detecting the posting which insulted the Sultan.

The Telekom Malaysia had confirmed that Azrin had used TM Net Streamyx on that day.

The commission had obtained a search warrant from Kajang magistrate’s court on Feb 19 to check at his house and seized a laptop, a modem and a telephone bill dated Dec 28 last year registered under his name.

On Friday, Azrin told Sessions Court judge Rozana Ali Yusoff that it was his own mistake for committing the offence.

“I was not in the right state of mind. I was in the midst of doing online forex trading to New York. My profits were negative. So I just clicked to the website. I posted the comments without thinking.

“I will not touch the website anymore because the Malaysians are actually sensitive,” he promised.

The diploma holder repeatedly expressed his regrets to the judge.

In mitigating further, Azrin said he was not a member of any political party.

“I have also clicked on a website which praised Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” said Azrin who stood near the witness stand and promised to be a law abiding citizen if he got a lenient sentence.

DPP Nahra Dolah however pressed for deterrent sentence saying that the case involved public interest and the court had to send a strong message to Internet users about the gravity of the offence.

At the same court, self-employed Muslim Ahmad, 54, claimed trial to three counts of posting offensive remarks against the Sultan in February.

In the Butterworth Sessions Court, Chan Hon Keong, 27, pleaded not guilty while Khoo Hui Shuang was absent and was summoned for mention of the case on April 15.

The two were accused of posting and distributing comments containing obscenities and offensive comments on a website linked to the Sultan of Perak’s website.

At the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court, land surveyor Nor Hisham Osman, 36, claimed trial to defaming the Sultan of Perak.

Judge Balqis Ainin Mohd fixed bail at RM4,000 with one surety and fixed next hearing on Apr 14.

Meanwhile, in Kota Kinabalu, Bernama reported that a mobile phone salesman pleaded not guilty to spreading a comment which insulted the Sultan of Perak through a website.

Rutinin Suhaimin, 36, was charged with committing the offence on Feb 13 and linking the offensive remarks to the website http://books.dreambooks.com/duliduli.html with link to a website on the Sultan Perak, www.sultanperak.gov.my.

If found guilty, Rutinin can be jailed for up to a year or fined up to RM50,000, or both.

Sessions Court judge Ummu Kalthom Abdul Samad fixed May 25 and 26 for trial and allowed bail of RM10,000 with a deposit RM5,000 and two sureties.

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Australian judge jails Malaysian cocaine trafficker

A judge sentenced a Malaysian woman Friday to eight years in prison for smuggling cocaine from Brazil into Australia.

Customs officers arrested Ramia Binti Jimson, 46, at Brisbane International Airport a year ago after finding more than four pounds (almost two kilograms) of cocaine hidden beneath a false bottom of her suitcase.

Prosecutor Glen Rice told the Queensland state Supreme Court on Friday that Jimson had been selected for a random bag search on arrival from Brazil.

Defense lawyer Dennis Lynch said Jimson, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, was offered $2,000 to smuggle the drugs, which police estimate had a street value of more than $1.3 million.

Jimson planned to use the money to improve her poverty-stricken life outside Kuala Lumpur, Lynch told the court.

Judge Peter Lyons sentenced a tearful Jimson to eight years in prison without the possibility of parole for four years and six months.

She had faced a potential life sentence.

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Retired policeman shoots Ah Long

Three loan sharks met their match in a retired policeman, who shot one of them in the buttocks.

In the 4.30pm incident on Wednesday, the Ah Long had gone to the former cop’s house in Taman Shatin here looking for his son.

Armed with sticks, the loan sharks, in their 20s, created a ruckus at the 70-year-old man’s house, following which he fired his rifle at them in self-defence, hitting one of suspects.

The suspect was later sent to a private hospital here for treatment while a remand order was obtained for the other two suspects.

When contacted, state CID chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Mohd Dzuraidi Ibrahim confirmed the incident.

“We are still investigating what led to the shooting,” he said.

Asked whether it was normal for a retired policeman to own a rifle, SAC Mohd Dzuraidi said: “They can apply for it.”

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Doc held for selling cough mixture to addicts

A 53-year-old doctor is among five people arrested for the illegal manufacture and sale of cough mixture to drug dependants this week.

About RM500,00 worth of medical preparations and designer drugs have also been seized.

The group’s activities were uncovered when police arrested a man and a woman in Subang Jaya on Tuesday after finding 10 bottles of cough mixture and 400 Eramine 5 pills in the car they were in.

Selangor deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm I Datuk Jamshah Mustapha said police raided a private clinic in Klang the same day and arrested the doctor and his two assistants.

Police seized various medical preparations and food colouring from the clinic.

Initial investigations indicated that the clinic was used as a lab to make and sell cough mixture.

“Later, the doctor led us to his house in Klang where we recovered more medical preparations and RM58,000 cash,” SAC Jamshah told a press conference yesterday.

The cough mixture and drugs were sold throughout the Klang Valley.

The doctor and the four others, in their 20s, have been remanded until March 19 to facilitate investigations.

In an unrelated incident, police arrested a 28-year-old masseur and seized RM65,000 worth of ketamine and Eramine 5 pills in his house at Cheras on Thursday.

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Mat Rempit Strikes Again!

Just the other day, 2 guys were attacked by 50 Mat Rempits. Now, a lady waiting at a bus stop was robbed by the same menace to society. What's next?

When will the Home Ministry solve this menace and disgrace? This problem has been terrorising us for God knows how long. They are nothing but robbers on motorcycles or should I label them with harsher words... terrorists on our roads!

One of my unfortunate friends was attacked by Mat Rempits 2 years back. The incident left him with a bloodied face and damages to his car of almost RM15,000.

If the police cannot handle these Rempits, perhaps the Ministry of Defence should step in? Send in the armoured cars, helicopters, army or what have you and STOP these terrorists.

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Why don’t ants have traffic jams?

Why don’t ants have traffic jams?GOOD question. Or is it a stupid one?

“They never get stuck in traffic,” Audrey Dussutour, an entomologist in the University of Sydney, says in
‘Taking Traffic Control Lessons From Ants’ in Wired Science.

“We should use their rules. I’ve been working with ants for eight years, and have never seen a traffic jam...”

If humans could learn from ants, they might spend less time in traffic jams, the story says. “When opposing
streams of leaf-cutter ants share a narrow path, they instinctively alternate flows in the most efficient way
possible. Studying how ants manage this could provide the basis for a system of driverless cars running on ant traffic algorithms.”

The operative word above is “driverless cars”. That is the reason ants don't have traffic jams. They are not
greedy nor selfish and, most importantly, not stupid. (I am, of course, talking about other people – we are
not like that, are we? Tut, tut. The way some people drive!)


Audrey Dussutour is only 30 years old but as a scientist, the quality of her work is already well recognised.
Her questions are simple. Why don’t ants get into traffic jams? Why don’t they bump into each other in
tight spaces? How do ants and social caterpillars make group decisions?

What factors govern decisions about whether or not ants will climb over or around walls? And so on.

In the February issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, Dussutour’s team found that ants leaving
the colony automatically gave right of- way to those returning with food.

Right. Try telling our motorist that they are better off trailing that overloaded smoke-belching truck than
trying to overtake it. Like any other red-blooded egocentric human, I hate following that 30-vehicle-long
queue behind a truck.

But I also know that it would be futile, not to mention life threatening, to try to overtake it on a single-lane road, particularly with another massively over-laden under-powered truck also trying to pass it.

So, logically, the best thing to do would be to stop by a nice roadside warung for a drink, to stretch cramped legs and to buy some fruits, and then when one gets back on the road 15 minutes later, the queue would be nowhere to be seen.

Some readers are probably familiar with the work of Dr Richard Dawkins of Harvard. The Selfish
Gene, with its singularly persuasive argument that natural selection acts at the level of the gene and
only the gene, gave rise to the rather politically incorrect contention that evolution only favoured men (and
women) of quality, those who were brave, strong, innovative and smart.

He contended that there is no such thing as true altruism, that it is only selfishness in disguise.

Looking around us, it is understandable how easy it is to buy into that argument. One can’t help asking
the question if charitable organisations are genuinely charitable or are they merely vehicles for yet another
ego trip for some of its members?

Be honest; that thought has occurred in many of our heads.

Another scientist working with ants, some 14,000 species of them, is Dr Edward O Wilson, also of Harvard who, based on studies on the genetics of ant colonies, believes that natural selection operates at many levels, including at the level of a social group, that often evolution takes place for the benefit of the group at the expense of the individual.

In humans, these take the form of generosity, morality, ethics, and even religion. (Dawkins coined the term
“meme” to account for the evolution of culture – a software evolution as opposed to the hard-wired one as it were.)

Still, people have long been fascinated with the organisational ability of ants and scientists are now converting ant traffic flows into algorithms that can be applied to data transmission and vehicular traffic.

For ants, common good is more important than individual good. This is hard-wired into them. Humans
preach the same thing (because it is politically correct, and makes them look good to do so) but their actions are often the opposite.

As for driving, Marcus Randall, a Bond University software mathematician says, “We essentially would
have to hand over control of the vehicle to a collectively intelligent system that would move all vehicles
from their source to destination (and) accidents would be virtually non-existent and travel would become
much more efficient.” University of Zoln traffic flow theorist Andreas Schadschneider says, “One dominating factor in human traffic is egoism.” We can’t argue with that, but no one is about to be persuaded to give up driving – it is too much an extension of our ego.

But as a compromise, he says, improved communication between drivers and cars would help.

“This has already been achieved by new devices which transmit information about abrupt velocity decreases to the following cars, which then start to brake automatically, before the driver even realises the
need to brake.” Cool. Better than self-parking.

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Getting to know George Town

TO be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the site in question must posses “outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity”.

A lofty definition to fill indeed but in July 2008 George Town, Penang, was awarded World Heritage Status, along with Malacca.

Enter iGeorgeTown Penang (iGP) (www.igeorgetownpenang.com), a portal created with the aim of telling people more about Penang and its capital.

For the team behind this venture, in addition to its recognition as a site of cultural and historical

importance, its preservation and awareness within the consciousness of the people is most crucial
to its survival.

“Even in its present neglected form, George Town offers a lot surprises to visitors. There is much
to discover in the city which has a history of over 200 years,” writes iGP assistant manager for projects, Sheetal Sharda.

“A lot of people from all over the world have made their mark there. Apart from various groups of Malays, Chinese and Indians, there were (and, in some cases, are) Armenians, Acehnese, Burmese,
British, Eurasians, Germans, Japanese, Jews, Portuguese and Thais with sizeable communities there at one time or another,” she says.

So for the uninitiated and the curious, head over to iGP for an introduction or refresher on a vibrant
and enduring piece of this nation's historical roots.

How and when did iGeorge-Town Penang start?

We started in December 2008, when we launched the project in conjunction with the first Penang
Cultural Fest.

What were the reasons?

Culture and heritage are two invaluable assets of Penang. However, there is a lack of integrated and
comprehensive information about them. So we thought we would try and do that. The site is still in its infancy and we will constantly develop it to include more facets to further benefit its intended audience. We welcome suggestions and comment.

What would the site really like to achieve through Cyberspace communication?

New media is the way to go in publishing. We are embarking on a new adventure in communications that is multi-channelled. iGeorge-Town has done print, website and audio-visuals. We intend to go into mobile too.

Any regrets?

No. It has only been four months. It is hoped that the site it will help make George Town and Penang more accessible to people in terms of information.

We are happy with the response so far and would like now to build a bigger readership.

Therefore we appeal to all Penang lovers out there to register with us so that they can get a bimonthly e-newsletter called iGT Connect.

The “Blogosphere”. What does it mean?

A medium that gives even the most common person a voice, from expressing the most mundane everyday story to reporting news-altering events. It has also created a “public sphere”, where views, opinions and beliefs are openly aired.

Absolute favourite blogger?

As a team, we read all blogs related to George Town and Penang.

Some Penang food blogs are really great and we link our readers to them. There is even a podcast
that is dedicated solely to speaking Penang Hokkien (penanghokkien.com).

Foremost feature of cyberspace?

Two things irritate/disgust us: Lies and the cyber-assassination of people and organisations by
ruthless people. With freedom comes responsibility, but many people on the Net are utterly irresponsible.

If there were someone who should take up blogging, who would it be?

The many living heritage keepers of Penang should blog more, start websites for various places
of interest, get themselves interviewed by newspapers, TV stations, websites, etc, so that content
on the State can be enriched further.

Otherwise, it would start disappearing. For example, there are many octogenarians who played a
big part in Penang’s development.

Can you imagine the stories that they would have for us? If only... Any memorable incidents?

We had to work very hard (almost round-the-clock) to launch on Dec 4, 2008, at the E&O Hotel
in Penang. Apart from the site, we produced a booklet called “George Town World Heritage Site”, a video called “We are our heritage”, which is available on YouTube via our site, and a sideshow on a plasma screen. And, yes, we would do it all over again if we had to. It was a great rush.

Additional thoughts?

Two things. Firstly that iGeorgeTown is privately-funded and privately-driven so we need all the support we can get from advertisers, sponsors and our audience.

Secondly, we have a Facebook cause, “Why George Town, Penang, needs our attention”. So
please join and take part. George Town needs all the proper attention it deserves.

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Azalina's Office raided by MACC

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers raided the office of Tourism Minister Datuk Azalina Othman in relation to a probe on vote-buying for the Umno party elections.

Azalina was not present during the raid.

MACC officers spent three hours in her office and inspected documents in relation to the award of contracts by the ministry.

The officers also took away with them a number of files and other documents.

Today’s raid follows the detention last week of Azalina’s political secretary who was caught by MACC officers with RM75,000 in cash in his car.

The arrest of Azalina’s political secretary and the raid on her office today will have a significant impact on the minister’s fortunes in Umno and continued employment in the incoming Najib administration.

The minister is competing for a position on the party’s supreme council.

So far no senior Umno politician has been charged with corruption in relation to vote-buying in the Umno elections though there has been a trail of claims saying that money has been exchanging like never before for Election 2009.

Azalina is the highest profile politician to be under investigation in the current probe on vote-buying in Umno.

In a statement issued after the MACC raid, her office said they noted press reports about the probe into her political secretary’s affairs.

They also pledged to give their full cooperation to MACC officers.

It is understood the investigations are centred on whether the Tourism Ministry had awarded contracts to Umno delegates ahead of the party polls.

Investigators are also looking into the affairs of Pempena, a subsidiary of the Tourism Ministry,
which had shed its investments in five companies after suffering a loss of RM20 million.

This was out of an RM54.4 million total outlay on 24 companies as stated in a summary report of a “high level business review” of the Pempena Group released to the ministry on Nov
6.

In their probe into vote-buying activities for the Umno polls, the MACC has so far picked up 12 party divisional officers.

They were allegedly working to help Datuk Norza Zakaria defend his supreme council seat.

The men are being investigated for distributing between RM300 and RM500 to some of the 2,000 delegates who will be attending the general assembly-cum-elections.

Norza has also been questioned by the MACC but has denied any involvement in money politics, saying that he was a victim of a scheme to discredit him.

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Malaysia's First Submarine To Arrive In July

The country's first submarine is expected to arrive as scheduled in July, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

He said the preparation for the arrival of the French-made Scorpene-class KD Abdul Rahman was progressing well.

"I am told that the Sepanggar Naval Base will also be completed on schedule in July," he told reporters after visiting the 190ha naval base project in Sepanggar, near here.

Abdullah, who is Defence Minister, said he was satisfied with the facility at the RM636 million base, which will house the submarine.

Also present was Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

The second submarine, KD Tun Abdul Razak, is expected to arrive at the end of the year.

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Wait and see, KL

A REPORT on the flash floods that occurred in the city last Tuesday is being compiled by the Drainage and Irrigation Department’s Hydrology Division.

The report, which is expected to be out “soon”, will cover the intensi ty of the rainfall , the areas affected and the depth of the flooding. “It will give a detailed look into what happened that day and hopefully stop people from speculating or laying blame on others,” said a DID spokesman yesterday.

He said that one of the contributing factors that caused the massive floods that brought the city to its knees was the delay in the completion of the Kuala Lumpur Flood Mitigation project.

The project comes in two main par t s : The Smart Tunnel or Package A, which was completed two years ago; and Package B, which consists of the Batu and the Jinjang ponds.

The primary function of these ponds is to store excess water and release them gradually into the Gombak and Keroh rivers to prevent flooding. The other smaller elements that make up the entire system have either
been completed or are in various stages of construction.

The Batu pond was completed in the middle of last year, and is bigger than the Jinjang pond. The Jinjang pond, which should have been constructed together with the Batu pond, is now 95 per cent completed.
However, the spokesman could not say for certain floods would be a thing of the past once the ponds are fully operational.

“While we can’t guarantee that, we are confident that it should not happen.” The spokesman added that the
company tasked with the job had been given four extensions since last year. “We are not giving the company any more extensions. Work should have been completed last December,” he said.

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Bossing Mourinho

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Alex Ferguson is paying little heed to the somewhat extraordinary fact that, in all his years of tussling with Inter Milan counterpart Jose Mourinho, the Scot has managed only one win against a side managed by the colourful but egoistic Portuguese.

The two managers match up once again at Old Trafford for the last 16 second leg of their Champions League tomorrow (3.45am), now on a knife-edge after a goalless first leg in Milan.
And Ferguson feels that his personal record against Mourinho is barely relevant to the game.

“I look at this football club and I have every right to be proud of it and what it has achieved in the time I have been here. That is more important to me.”

Ferguson’s only win against Mourinho came in 2005, when a Darren Fletcher header saw the Red Devils to a victory over Chelsea. And the fact that United, despite dominating the game for long periods, didn’t manage to score in Milan, could leave Ferguson wondering whether perhaps there is a ‘jinx’ when he faces the controversial and colourful Mourinho.

That goalless first leg also leaves United open to the threat of an Inter away goal — a fact Ferguson also acknowledged.

“You can never be overconfident in this position simply because an away goal can be a severe setback,” he said.

“That was the situation when we played Barcelona. What we required that night was magnificent concentration and really good focus in our game. We managed to get through because of both those two factors.”

Should United win tomorrow though, Ferguson is unlikely to dash down the touchline in joyous celebration, the way Mourinho chose to acknowledge his Porto side’s goal at Old Trafford five years ago.

“Look at the ages. There is a difference,” the 67-year-old concluded wryly.

Ferguson has all the quality players who can steer United to a place in the last eight — like Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo - to frustrate Mourinho and his players.

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Everything BOLEH!!! - Malaysia BOLEH!!!

THERE are so many reasons why Malaysia is often referred to as “Bolehland”.

Feel like grabbing a bite to eat at 3am? Boleh. Want to dump trash wherever you feel like it?

Boleh. Don’t feel like wearing your motorcycle helmet?

Boleh. Want to double-or-triple park your car during peak hours?

Boleh. Overload your lorry with wooden planks that are not fastened securely and make drivers following behind on the Kesas Highway fear for their lives?

Just look at the picture. Boleh!

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Nine out of ten answered in English

Nine out of 10 candidates candidates who sat for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination last year opted to answer the Science and Mathematics papers in English.

Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC) chairman Tan Sri Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said a total of 49,722 or 92.7% of the 53,638 candidates answered in English, an increase of 0.8% compared to 2007.
5A students: (From left) Cheh Ghoon Hoong, Mark Wong Siang Kai, Neo Jia Hui, Nicholas and Foo Jong Yi looking at their certificates yesterday.

5A students: (From left) Cheh Ghoon Hoong, Mark Wong Siang Kai, Neo Jia Hui, Nicholas and Foo Jong Yi looking at their certificates yesterday.

“Candidates don’t take risks in examinations. If they had not been comfortable, they would not have answered in English,” he said when announcing the STPM 2008 results here.

Since 2004, candidates have been given the choice of answering the Science and Mathematics papers – Mathematics S, Mathematics T, Further Mathematics T, Computing, Physics, Chemistry and Biology – in English or Bahasa Malaysia, or both languages.

MEC chief executive Omar Abu Bakar said candidates were not penalised if they answered a question in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.

He added that there was no data to show the breakdown of candidates who answered the Science and Mathematics papers in both languages, or solely in Bahasa Malaysia.

In terms of candidates’ overall performance in urban and rural areas, Prof Dzulkifli said there was still an obvious difference.

“Urban candidates performed better than their rural counterparts, with 10.39% obtaining three to five As compared with 6.77% in rural areas,” he said.

But, he added that for the first time, candidates in the science stream from rural areas did better than those in the urban areas.

“About 14.18% of rural candidates obtained three to five As compared with about 12.99% of those in urban areas.”

Prof Dzulkifli, who is also Universiti Sains Malaysia vice-chancellor, said that although candidates were allowed to take five subjects, the majority took four in 2008, as the Higher Education Ministry’s requirement for entry into public universities was four subjects, including the General Paper.

He said 13 candidates obtained As in all the five subjects they took, compared with 25 in 2007.

“This includes five candidates from the science stream who obtained all As in the papers they took, which are General Paper, Mathematics T, Physics, Chemistry and Biology,” he said.

Thirty-one candidates who sat for five subjects obtained four As, while 223 who took four subjects obtained four As.

Prof Dzulkifli said 259 candidates obtained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.0, compared with 437 in 2007.

There was a decrease in the number of STPM candidates last year – 53,638 compared with 66,048 in 2007.

The results for eight subjects, namely Usuluddin, Geography, Economics, Commerce, Further Mathematics T, Computing, Sports Science and Visual Arts, showed an improvement. No subject showed a decline of more than 3%.

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Gangsters held over fatal assault and arson

Nine members of the Ang Kim Lan gang were arrested after they killed a senior citizen and set fire to two cars in an apparent turf war.

State CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Amer Awal said police rounded up the gang members, aged between 20 and 30, in Seri Alam and Masai, here, early Monday morning.

“Initial investigations revealed that they had been involved in gang fights and drug trafficking since early this year,” he said, adding that police were hunting for the remaining 10 members of the gang.

On Sunday night, the gang attacked a 68-year-old man and his son-in-law with parangs outside their home in Bandar Seri Alam.

The man died at the Sultan Ismail Hospital while the son-in-law, 27, is still being treated at the Johor Specialist Hospital for his injuries.


The gang is also believed to have torched a Proton Perdana V6 and a Perodua Kelisa of another victim in Taman Rinting in Masai on Monday.

Police urged those with information to contact its hotline at 07-2212999.

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600 conned by syndicate promising ‘high paying’ jobs

At least 600 people are believed to have been conned by a syndicate promising high-paying jobs of up to S$8,000 (RM19,200) a month on board a cargo ship in Singapore.

The victims, who were retrenched workers or who had quit their jobs, said they have paid S$100 (RM240) or RM250 to an “agent” who was known only as Ah Kwang.

They found out that they were cheated when their “employer” failed to meet them in Johor Jaya on Sunday.

One of the victims, who only wanted to be known as Lee, 21, said that he had quit his job in Singapore as a deliveryman. “I resigned from my job of four years on Friday to start the new job on Sunday but now I am jobless.

“I do not know what to do now,” he said adding that he had to settle his monthly car loan repayments.

Another victim, Jazz Lim, 26, she had lost a few hundred ringgit by paying commission fees to the “agent” on behalf of her relatives.

Lim, who sought help from the Johor Jaya assemblymen Tan Cher Puk, said she learned about the jobs from Ah Kwang. “He told me about the high paying jobs and I told my friends and relatives about it.

“Some of them were looking for a job, some were retrenched while others thought it was a good idea to quit their jobs for higher income,” she said adding that she felt miserable over the incident.

When contacted, Ah Kwang said he too had been conned by someone who claimed to be a bank manager who told him that he could earn up to S$10,000 (RM24,000) in commission if he could get people to work on the ship.

He said he had found about 200 to 300 people who were interested but he did not receive his commission.

Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Yaakob confirmed that several police reports had been lodged. He said police are still investigating the case and urged those with information to call the police hotline at 07-221 2999.

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Vacant houses can be broken into to fog against dengue

Vacant houses suspected of being mosquito breeding grounds will be broken into by local authorities for fogging purposes.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said local authorities had such right under the Vector Control Act if house owners failed to react to notices served to them within 14 days.

“We are also considering shortening the notification from 14 days to three to five days as part of the effort by the Government to tackle this problem,” he told a press conference here on Wednesday.

He said it was the ministry’s aim to reduce dengue cases throughout the country by 10,000 cases this year and the number of deaths caused by such cases from 0.22% to 0.2%.

Until March 7 this year, he said, the number of dengue cases was 10,916 cases with 31 deaths, which was 35% higher than the same period last year.

“A total of 52% cases and 71% deaths reported happened in Selangor while cases in Penang, Perak and Kedah have also increased,” he said.

Last year, there were 7,134 cases with 12 deaths. Liow said 53% of the death could be saved if patients were treated early.

“All these cases could be avoided if patients received treatment as soon as they showed symptoms of such disease,” he said.

He said the ministry would also conduct fogging work in a wider area of 400 metre radius, compared to the previous 200 metre radius in epidemic area.

“Local authorities must also ensure that 85% of the epidemic area is under control within two weeks.

“We will also cut the response time for fogging to 24 to 48 hours once a dengue case is reported to control the spreading of such cases,” he said.

He said 1,000 additional staff would be employed to tackle the problem and operation centres would also be set up in all states throughout the country to monitor such epidemic.

Liow said the ministry had issued 18,469 compounds last year and 59,518 compounds this year to owners who failed to ensure that their premises were clean and mosquito free.

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Five dead in suspected arson

Five people, including four family members, were killed when the cabin they were living in Jalan Sungai Buloh was razed in a suspected arson attack.

The victims were identified as Poritish Kumar, 32, Tounsari Das, 28, their two children two-year-old Prema and eight-month-old Shilpa. All of them are Bangladeshis.

Also killed in the incident was a local man identified only as 50-year-old Ah Yong. He was living in a partition in the cabin.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said all five were asleep when the fire hit them about 5am on Wednesday.

He said the local man and Poritosh are believed to be working in a second-hand car dealer located in front of the cabin.

However police are still investigating the background of the victims and how long Paritosh and his family had been in the country.

“We could not find any of their documents at the scene. The documents must have been destroyed in the blaze,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The case has been classified under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder according to evidence found at the scene.

ACP Arjunaidi said police believe the fire was a pre-planned incident by someone known to the victims or the owner of the car dealer.

Police have contacted the employer of the victims and were in the midst of recording his statement.

Initial investigation also revealed that the cabin door was locked outside with a wire.

Paritosh was believed have tried to escape the fire as his body was found near the locked door.

The Fire and Rescue Department from Sungai Buloh sent two fire engines and 12 men to the scene at about 5.30am after receiving a distress call 15 minutes earlier and took them 20 minutes to put out the fire.

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