Floods disrupt transportation

PETALING JAYA: Floods in the northern states have disrupted all bus, train and air services.

Buses scheduled to run from Sungai Petani and Alor Setar to areas in the north such as Changloon, Jitra, Kodiang, Arau, Kuala Perlis and Kangar were cancelled yesterday.

“We can only go as far as Simpang Empat, Simpang Kuala Perlis, which is 4km away from Kangar, and from there on, passengers will have to find their own way,” said Kenderaan Langkasuka supervisor Ahmad Rejap.

Ahmad said the bus services along these routes had yet to be rescheduled.

Buses have been unable to go into those areas since Monday when water started rising.

“We have had to also cancel services to Universiti Utara Malaysia in Sintok and many were unable to make it for the convocation on Tuesday,” he added.

Transnasional, the leading express bus service in the country, has also cancelled its services from Kuala Lumpur to Kangar.

“Passengers would have to get off at Seriap and find alternative means of transport to their final destinations.

“We are doing all that we can,” said Transnasional acting head of operations Muhammad Saiful.

More Details: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/11/4/nation/7358351&sec=nation

Buyers to pay more after second house

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians have to fork out more money from today to buy more than two houses after Bank Negara slammed the brakes on property speculation.

The central bank announced with immediate effect the implementation of a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 70% for people buying their third or more house, meaning those wanting their third property onwards have to come out with their own cash amounting to 30% of the value of the house.

“Financing facilities for purchase of the first and second homes are not affected and borrowers will continue to be able to obtain financing for these purchases at the present prevailing LTV level applied by individual banks based on their internal credit policies,” Bank Negara said in a statement yesterday.

The central bank said at the national level, property prices had increased steadily and remained manageable compared with the historical trends but for certain hot locations, particularly around the urban areas, faster growth in prices and transactions had been seen.

“This is further supported by an increase in financing provided for multiple unit purchases by a single borrower, suggesting increasing investment activity that is of a speculative nature,” it said.

Source : The Star

KL-Singapore high-speed link proposal to be made soon

PETALING JAYA: A proposal for a high-speed train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore using the magnetic levitation (maglev) technology will soon be submitted to the Government, industry sources said.

The sources also said the Government would soon appoint an international consulting firm to study the various proposals for the high-speed rail link to Singapore.

The maglev is the train system that links Shanghai’s Pudong airport with its financial district and was the first installation of its kind in the world.

The journey of 30km takes about seven minutes. The maglev train in Shanghai can reach speeds of up to 350km per hour in two minutes, although new generation trains being developed on this technology can go even faster, it is understood.

More Details : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/25/business/7290933&sec=business

Cops seize 320kg of Eramin 5 pills

SEREMBAN: Police made their biggest Eramin 5 bust this year when they seized 320kg of the drug worth RM20mil from a shoplot at the Oakland Commercial Park in Seremban 2 near here.

Two men aged 23 and 40, who were busy packing the drugs into plastic bags, were arrested.

It is understood that one of them has a diploma in mechanical engineering.

More Details : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/25/nation/7290330&sec=nation

Shareholders of Maxis may be offered big premium

KUALA LUMPUR: Shareholders of Maxis Communications Bhd, which has received notification for a voluntary general offer (VGO) from major shareholder Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd, will likely get the details of the offer today.

Sources said the premium offered for the remaining shares not owned by Usaha Tegas, which is controlled by T. Ananda Krishnan, could be pretty substantial. To make it attractive for minorities, it could range from 15% to 20%.

Reports have said that the move to privatise Maxis comes at a time when capital expenditure for the company's foray into India is expected to be substantial. By taking Maxis private, analysts say, Ananda will have greater flexibility and possibly quicker lead time to manage his capex requirements.

It is believed that ABN Amro and CIMB Investment Bank have been mandated to arrange the financing to take Maxis private.

Ananda directly and indirectly and/or via Usaha Tegas owns 47.05% of Maxis. The company launched its initial public offering at RM4.36 a share in 2002. Trading in the shares was suspended at RM13 on Monday.

Even at RM13 a share, the proposed exercise would cost RM17.47bil.

The Singapore Straits Times reported on Tuesday, quoting financial executives, that Maxis was pursuing the privatisation because of the potential adverse impact a huge expansion plan could have on its stock.

Maxis, which is facing a price war and a maturing market at home, plans to spend US$3bil as capex over the next three years for its expansion in India and Indonesia.

"That massive expansion plan will lead to interest charges on loans and, generally, result in downward pressure on its stock price over the next three years," the report said.

At the same time, the controlling shareholders of Maxis do not want to reduce their control of the company, the report said.

Quoting a senior KL source close to the deal, the report said: "Staying public would mean that the controlling shareholders will get diluted through the issue of new shares to raise funds.

"But for the owners, the question is: At what point does controlling a reduced interest in a bigger company make sense?"

The report said the move by Ananda to take Maxis private underscored the privatisation bug that had bitten the Malaysian market, which many analysts said was undervalued.

Student caught recording Spider-Man 3

PENANG: A 16-year-old student was caught recording Spider-Man 3 during its first screening here.

Spidey swarm: Moviegoers queueing up yesterday to watch Spider-Man 3 at GSC MidValley Megamall. The film was released on Tuesday
Cinema workers caught him recording the movie using his cellphone at GSC Gurney Plaza at 3pm on Tuesday.

His phone was seized and he was escorted out of the cinema. He was later handed over to the police.

It was learnt that the cinema workers were conducting routine checks on patrons via closed-circuit television (CCTV) when they spotted the student recording the movie.

The workers then requested the student to step out of the cinema and upon checking found that he had recorded the movie for more than an hour using his phone.

The cinema management has lodged a police report.

A spokesman for the cinema said the movie-theatre was installed with CCTVs to keep an eye on “pirates” recording movies, especially blockbusters.

He said pirates would usually film the movies during the first screening either during the late night or early morning show.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid advised patrons not to record movies, warning them that they would face stern action if they did so.

TM leads push for new undersea cable

PUTRAJAYA: TM Bhd and 16 other telecommunications carriers, mostly based in South-East Asia, have signed an agreement to build a US$500mil (RM1.75bil) undersea fibre-optic cable linking the region to the United States.

The 20,000km long Asia-America Gateway, scheduled for completion by the end of next year, will avoid the most earthquake-prone undersea cable routes passing through North Asia.

As one of the lead members of the consortium, TM contributed US$50mil (RM175mil) to the total cost, according to TM chief executive for Malaysia business Zamzamzairani Mohamad Isa. The other consortium members include AT&T, Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT), Bharti Airtel of India, British Telecom Global Network Services, CAT Telecom of Thailand, Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc, and Indosat of Indonesia.

Undersea cables have traditionally passed through the northern Pacific, because they carry traffic from north Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. But this has meant that they pass through the most seismically active parts of the Pacific Ocean floor.

The disadvantage of this route was demonstrated late last year, when an earthquake off the southern coast of Taiwan damaged several undersea cable systems, disrupting for several weeks telephone and Internet links between the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world.

The AAG cable's western terminus will be in Mersing. It will run from there through major landing points in Lantau in Hong Kong, Currimao in the Philippines, and Hawaii to its eastern terminus in San Luis Obispo, California.

There would also be secondary landing points in Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and Vietnam.

The cable route will avoid the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," seismically and volcanically active regions along tectonic plate boundaries, but will pass less active tectonic plate boundaries in South-East Asia, Zamzamzairani said.

In addition, a cable passing through a different part of the Pacific Ocean floor would reduce the likelihood of major disruptions similar to that caused by last year's Taiwanese earthquake as it would be unlikely for an earthquake to happen in two different regions at the same time.

The AAG cable's initial capacity will be 480 gigabits per second (Gbps)in total, but this could go up to as much as 1.92 terabits per second if the electronics were upgraded in the future.

Zamzamzairani said the cable would increase add TM's data capacity by 60Gbps from the current 75Gbps. The additional capacity could be used to improve the Internet experience for TM Net customers, or distributed to TM subsidiary companies in the region, he said.

The AAG will increase both the capacity and diversity of Internet links between Asia and the United States, according to TM group chief executive Datuk Abdul Wahid Omar.

"It will also serve as a direct link between major Asian regional centres with the United States. This will make it more viable for more foreign investments to pour into these fast growing economies and subsequently, open up new business opportunities for all," Abdul Wahid added.

Energy Communications and Water Minister Datuk Dr Lim Keng Yaik, who witnessed the signing ceremony, praised TM for its foresight in coming up with a long term solution that would prevent a recurrence of the telecommunications and Internet disruption caused by the Taiwan earthquake.

He called on other local companies to emulate TM in coming up with similar solutions that aided the country and the region.

Health authorities taking steps to combat thalassaemia

KUNDASANG (Sabah): Health authorities are taking drastic measures to combat thalassaemia by urging couples who carry the faulty gene either not to marry, or at the very least, not to have children.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that battling the hereditary disease on all fronts began with discouraging couples who are both thalassaemia gene carriers from getting married, as there was a high risk of their children contracting the gene.

“Love is blind, (but) sometimes we cannot be blind to the risks involved, so it is important that such couples are properly counselled,” he said when launching the national-level International Thalassaemia Day.

Dr Chua said that if such couples decided to go ahead with the marriage, then the authorities would advise them to avoid having children.

In cases where a child is conceived, the authorities would recommend abortion, although a final decision lay with the couple themselves, taking into consideration their religious practices, he added.

Malaysia is currently staring 800,000 to 1.2 million thalassaemia carriers nationwide in the face.

Dr Chua said that his ministry was also targeting secondary schoolchildren for thalassaemia screening, as well as helping identified carriers not to be discriminated against.

Dr Chua handed over the Malaysian flag to a group of thalassaemia patients who would be climbing Mount Kinabalu on Nov 19.

Thalassaemia is a genetic disorder which destroys red blood cells. While some are only carriers of the gene, those affected by the disease known as “thalassaemia major” have to undergo regular blood transfusions to replace damaged red blood cells at least once a month.

But the blood transfusion, Dr Chua said, causes high levels of “iron” deposits to build up in their heart and kidneys, which could lead to system failure within 10 years.

He said that a gelatine agent was introduced through an infusion pump to remove the iron deposits in the body.

“The patients will go through a normal life but there is a lot of suffering,” he said, adding that Singapore and Cyprus had brought down the number of thalassaemia cases through blood screening and public awareness.

The Government was currently sponsoring the pump that costs about RM2,000 and the gelatine agent that costs about RM1,000 per patient.

“This year alone we have allocated RM40mil to help thalassaemia patients, he said, adding that there were about 3,115 thalassaemia major patients undergoing treatment nationwide, with Sabah recording 1,200, the highest in the country.

Dr Chua later launched the MyTalasenia Vortal that will allow patients to access their relevant health data via the internet or mobile phones, while the public could visit www.mythalassaemia.net.my.

Congestion both on the road and online

PETALING JAYA: As expected, taxpayers waited till the last hour to flock to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) offices nationwide to file their returns.

At the Kelana Jaya IRB office here, there were taxpayers who still came at midnight, although the deadline was 10pm.

Earlier in the day, there was congestion at the customer service counters where people had to wait for almost two hours to e-File their returns.

Out on the road, cars were parked haphazardly.

Another taxpayer said that the IRB should extend its deadline until August as she received her statement only three weeks ago.

To help ease the lines at the counters, the IRB made available about 50 computers and laptops.

“The process is fairly simple, secure and fast and the whole process takes about 10 to 15 minutes,” said Kelana Jaya branch director Rozina Shaik Osman Merican, who added that so far, more than 606,691 people had e-Filed nationwide as of 10.30pm.

High-tech solution: IRB officers helping taxpayers to e-File their tax returns at some of the about 50 computers set up at the board’s Kelana Jaya branch yesterday.
She said a family turned up at the branch just before midnight to submit their returns via e-Filing.

"They managed to do it. They thanked us repeatedly,'' she added.

IRB deputy director-general (corporate affairs) Shahmin Ta Abdullah, when met at the Kelana Jaya office last night, said he could not understand why taxpayers left it till the last minute to file their returns.

"We have reminded them to do so many times, via the media,'' he added.

Among the late comers were S. Pachimah Sunthari, 35, who was received applause when she quipped: "I filed in late as I was too busy, but it is better late than never as I want to be a responsible citizen."

Some of those filing their returns online were upset with the congestion and the long wait.

A taxpayer wrote to The Star stating that the IRB ought to improve its services by conducting annual post-mortems as it took him six hours to file online due to congestion.

“It’s about time IRB gets its act together and not spend taxpayers' money on anobsolete and outdated computer system,” he said.

A similar congestion occurred in Johor Baru where state IRB staff had to deal with thousands of taxpayers who waited till the last minute to file their tax returns.

State IRB assistant director Nor’azam Sulaiman said despite the huge crowd, he had noticed a definite decrease in the number of people coming to manually submit their tax returns compared to two years ago as more people took advantage of e-Filing.

I bought Guthrie shares at market price, says Khalid

PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said his acquisition of shares in Guthrie Bhd was a commercial transaction.

“The idea of obtaining the share options was first suggested to me by the late Tun Ismail Ali in 1994 and it was agreed by the chairman of Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra (the holding company of PNB), then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I acquired them at market price and it was a commercial transaction, not free or discounted shares. This matter remains in court and any further discussion should happen during the court proceedings,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

Khalid, also a former Permodalan Nasional Bhd chief executive officer, was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s claim on Wednesday that Khalid’s animosity for Barisan Nasional was because he had failed to acquire a 20% stake in Guthrie.

Khalid said he planned to sue Najib and those who had made false and unfounded statements about him.

“I have instructed my lawyers to prepare a lawsuit against Najib and all others who have been making false and unfounded statements. It is my intention to be transparent and straightforward in all my dealings.”

In a separate statement, Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was instructed by Dr Mahathir in 1994 to write a letter to allow Khalid to purchase Guthrie shares at market price.

“I have known Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for many years. During my time as Finance Minister, he approached me on many occasions for many issues, but never once had he ever asked for shares or allocation for his own benefit.

“I was and still am very impressed by Khalid’s honesty, integrity and his concern for the common people by introducing the Amanah Saham Nasional and Amanah Saham Bumiputra schemes in the country,” Anwar said.

Pensioners slam EPF move to cut contribution

KUALA LUMPUR: Civil service pensioners who join the private sector after retiring at the age of 55 should also enjoy the employers’ contribution of 12% to the EPF because they are experienced professionals, said the Malaysian Pensioners Association.

Commenting on proposed changes under the EPF (Amendment) Act 2007, which includes a 6% contribution by employers for workers aged above 55, association president Tan Sri Abdullah Ayob said: “We do not understand the rationale behind such a proposal and we have to study why such a low percentage was proposed.”

On Wednesday, EPF’s deputy chief executive officer Rusma Ibrahim said that once the Bill was approved, employers must contribute a mandatory 6% of salaries for workers aged 55 and above while these workers would contribute 5.5%.

Presently, those below 55 contribute 11% while their employers pay 12%.

Rusma said that under the existing rules, it was not compulsory for employers to make any contributions for staff aged 55, although many employers did so at their own discretion.

MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohd urged legislators to be fair and humane when drafting Bills that affect older people.

“We cannot understand why there should be any kind of discrimination in so far as the contribution for the older people is concerned.

“This is against our proposal to the Government to increase the retirement age to 60 years,” he said.

Under the proposed amendments, contributors would also be able to top up the EPF savings for their spouses or parents with at least a RM50 monthly contribution from their salaries.

It would be compulsory for working members to contribute until they reach 75 but after that they would not receive dividends.

More flexible EPF withdrawals

KUALA LUMPUR: Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors can withdraw their savings in any amount and at any time after reaching 55 years of age once the Employees Provident Fund (Amendment) Act 2007 is approved.

Under the amendments, those aged 55 can opt to either withdraw in a lump sum, in monthly instalments or any amount at any time or a combination of both.

“About 1% of contributors who withdraw their savings in a lump sum, end up finishing it within three years,” said Rusma Ibrahim, the deputy chief executive officer for EPF’s organisational development body, while briefing MPs at Parliament here yesterday.

Also present at the briefing was Finance Ministry’s parliamentary secretary Datuk Dr Hilmy Yahya.

Rusma said that more perks were also in store for the 11 million contributors including having a basic savings “safety net”, allowing them to use part of their money for investment and topping up their spouses or parents’ account.

EPF is also cutting the red tape on administration matters to make it easier for members, said Rusma.

Once the Bill is approved, employers must contribute a mandatory 6% of salaries of workers aged 55 and above while these workers will contribute 5.5%.

Presently, workers those below 55 contribute 11% while their employers pay 12%.

Rusma said under the existing rules, it was not compulsory for employers to contribute 12% of salaries drawn by staff aged 55 although many employers did so at their own discretion.

On the RM5 optional employer’s contribution for foreign workers, Rusma said it was not new and had been implemented before in 1998.

1.1 million cheap tickets up for grabs

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians can now look forward to more cheap air fares as the country’s two rival airlines are offering some 1.1 million cut-price seats to domestic and international destinations.

Prices as low as RM1 for domestic AirAsia flights and RM19 for domestic Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flights will make passengers spoilt for choice.

AirAsia is also offering low-price seats for international destinations with one-way flights to Macau from RM61 and Chiang Mai from RM41. Flights to holiday destinations like Phuket will cost RM21 or to Hanoi from RM51.

MAS’ cheapest flight is for a one-way ticket to Penang, Johor Baru or Kuantan whereas the most expensive tickets are at RM139 to Labuan and Kota Kinabalu.

Watch TV on the Internet

KUALA LUMPUR: A new service that offers television via an Internet connection has been switched on.

Subscribers will be able to watch programmes from Indonesia and China, as well as local channels.

Viewers will need to log onto the worldip.tv website with a broadband-enabled personal computer or a 3G (third-generation) cellphone in order to get the live streaming and video-on-demand programmes.

The IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) service is being offered by Broadway Digital Media (BDM) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of music company Broadway Entertainment (M) Sdn Bhd.

Local channels available are TV3, ntv7, 8TV and TV9 while the foreign channels are Indonesia’s Metro TV and China’s Dragon TV.

The service is free until June, after which BDM would charge local customers RM10 a month while overseas subscribers will have to pay US$5 (RM17), BDM chairman Aziz Bakar said.

“With this service, you’ll never have to rush home to catch Bulletin Utama (or any other favourite TV show). You have the next 24 hours to watch it on our service,” he added.

Besides professionals who are always on the move, BDM is also targeting Malaysian students and expatriates.

“CNN would not normally show you news of floods (in the country). So if you are overseas, you can watch it on our portal. You can also get news about your hometown, from wherever you are,” said BDM chief executive officer Boon Tan.

BDM hopes to sign up Indonesian and Chinese expatriates and students who are in the country.

“There are 40,000 Indonesian students here, for example. They would want to stay abreast of events back home,” said Aziz, who is also a co-founder of budget airline AirAsia Bhd.

According to him, BDM would be adding more foreign channels to its services over the next few months.

“We are targeting 50,000 subscribers in the first year (of operation) and a 40% to 50% growth rate each year to hit at least 250,000 by our fifth year,” he added.

This is not the first IPTV service to be offered in the country.

Two years ago, MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd launched a similar service with 50 channels, which required a set-top box connected to a TV.

Health Minister: Every hour, 6 M'sians suffer stroke

PETALING JAYA: Every hour six people in Malaysia suffer a stroke.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said stroke is a killer and the causes were hypertension, high cholesterol level, diabetes, smoking and obesity.

“It is surprising that a total of about 52,000 Malaysians get a stroke in a year when it is the most preventable of all life-threatening health problems.

“Most of the risk factors for stroke can controlled if people change their lifestyle to doing more exercise,” he said after launching National Stroke Association of Malaysia’s (Nasam) book on Understanding Stroke.

The book, published in Bahasa, Chinese and English, will be widely distributed to educate the public on stroke prevention and what to do in the event of a stroke. He commended NASAM for the publication of Understanding Stroke and educating the public on how to reduce their risk of stroke.

Dr Chua said one of the Ministry’s counter attack strategies on health related diseases like stroke is to organise health promotion activities.