OIC to revive Islamic news agency

The world's largest Islamic grouping will revive two Saudi Arabia-based news organizations to counter Western media's "skewered view'' of Islam, a Malaysian official said Wednesday.

The 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, will restart the International Islamic News Agency and the Islamic States Broadcasting Organization - both set up in the 1970s, Malaysia's deputy Information Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid said.

Malaysia is the current chairman of the OIC.

"We want to revive it,'' Zahid said, adding the Saudi information minister has asked Malaysia to head the task.

It wasn't clear how long or why the two organisations - which will provide text and video - have been dormant. Zahid didn't provide details.

"The negative view of Islamic countries must change. The foreign media often has a bias against us,'' he said.

"They have a skewered view.''

No starting date or costs were provided.

Muslim nations, including Malaysia, have said media coverage by Western news organisations, particularly in the Middle East, is lopsided and portrays a negative view of Islam.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, after a tour of Lebanon, recently complained images and stories displayed a bias toward Israel.

Zahid said Malaysia has offered to set up a center for journalists from Islamic countries, which will be funded by the OIC, the world's largest political grouping of Muslim nations.

Separately, a news network under the 118-nation Nonaligned Movement will launch a Spanish news service, Malaysia's Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said.

Zainuddin said he met representatives from Cuba and Venezuela recently, and four Spanish-language journalists from South America will soon be based at the NAM News Network headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. - AP

Nation placing high hopes on astronaut candidates

The people were placing high hopes on the two astronaut candidates to realise the national mission, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Tuesday.

He was speaking to Malaysia's top two astronaut candidates, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor and Kapten Dr Faiz Khaleed, who will be leaving for Russia Friday night.

He also hoped they would do their best in carving a good name for the country.

The duo, who had been selected under Malaysia's first astronaut programme, will undergo training for a year in Russia before departing for the International Space Station (ISS).

Abdullah said their involvement in the aerospace programme would be a good exposure and experience for them. They should share their learning experience for the benefit of Malaysians upon their return home.

"Bon voyage and carry out your duties well," he said.

Both candidates will undergo their final training at the Star City, Moscow, including three months studying the Russian language, besides undertaking scientific research in several fields such as biotechnology and medicine.

Only one candidate will be selected to board a Russian rocket for eight days beginning Sept 2 next year.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, 34, said the meeting with the Prime Minister was an inspiration and provided the spirits for him to carry out the national mission.

He said the premier's advice not only served as a preparation from the physical, mental and spiritual aspects, but also reminded them of their duty to God and religion.

Upon returning, the medical officer said, he hoped to provide the inspiration to students and children to widen their knowledge in science.

Dr Faiz, 26, said he hoped the programme would succeed and achieve its objective.

He was confident that he would be able to go through the training prepared for them in order to realise the mission.

During the half an hour meeting, Abdullah also presented the Jalur Gemilang to the two candidates.

Also present were Director General of the National Space Agency of Malaysia (Angkasa) Prof. Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman and Secretary General of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Abdul Hanan Alang Endut.

Acid in 16 brands of bread within safe level

Safe. This is the result of tests carried out by the Health Ministry on 16 popular brands of bread.

The tests showed that the preservatives used in the bread were within the permissible level and safe for consumption.

Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the ministry carried out random sampling and found the content of propionic acid within the permissible range.

“Bread in the market is safe for consumption,” he said after opening the Lions' Club health programme for senior citizens at the Caring Society Complex here yesterday.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) had claimed last Wednesday that they found high levels of propionic acid in 46 of 50 samples of bread tested.

Said Lee: “We will check with CAP on their research and sampling methods,” he said, adding that he had also instructed health officers to carry out further checks.

CAP President S.M. Mohamed Idris had claimed that some of the bread bought from Kuala Lumpur and Penang had up to five times the permitted level of propionic acid.

The preservative is used to prevent the growth of mould and certain bacteria. It is usually used in cheese, bread and other bakery products to keep them fresh.

Idris had said that under the Food Regulations Act, propionic acid – which was known to cause migraine – should not exceed 2,000mg per kilogram of bread.

On the recent controversy over SK-II cosmetic products, Lee said tests based on random sampling found relatively low chromium and neodymium.

“We assume the products are safe. But one needs to be careful when using such products. It will not give adverse effects if used according to prescription,” he added.

The controversy arose when the Guangdong Centre for Inspection and Quarantine in China recently found that the products imported from Japan contained chromium and neodymium.

Manufacturer Procter & Gamble (M) Sdn Bhd yesterday placed a full-page advertisement that all SK-II products here complied with standards and regulations.

It said the amount of chromium from the use of the cosmetics was 100 times less than what the World Health Organisation considered as safe in the daily diet while the neodymium exposure was 1,000 times less than the safe level.

Express service from Immigration Department

The Immigration Department is going on an information technology push, which will enable electronic tracking of applications for Permanent Residence, on-the-spot maid application approvals and Visa On Arrival (VOA) for almost all foreigners.

Immigration director-general Raja Azahar Raja Abdul Manap said this was in addition to the one-hour passport renewal service already available at selected Immigration offices in the country.

“This is part of the department’s efforts to improve our delivery system to better serve the public and also improve our efficiency,” he told The Star.

On PR applications, which have come in for criticism from the public, Raja Azahar said that from next year all applications would be keyed in electronically and the applicants would be able to know the status at any given time during the processing period.

“Immigration officers have had difficulty tracking files. From next year, at the click of the mouse, we will be able to know the status of a PR application and which government agency was reviewing it.

“The applicant will also be able to know whether the application is undergoing security vetting, being processed at the Immigration Department or Home Ministry level or whether it has been approved.

“Hopefully, with this in place, the processing time can be shortened to maybe a year.”

PR application has been a bane for many foreign spouses married to Malaysians, with many claiming to being given the run-around whenever they checked on the status of their applications.

Another complaint is that PR status is still not being granted despite waiting for more than 15 years.

On applications for foreign domestic maids, Raja Azahar said that if the documentation were in order, the department would approve them within a day or immediately.

The Immigration Department Electronic Application System (Ideas) also allows for online applications and extension of passes for maids.

“All applications can now be done using Ideas and registered agencies may submit their applications online via www. imi.gov.my.

“Some of the state offices and our head office here are already approving the renewal for maids immediately,” said Raja Azahar.

He said the department was also working on providing Visa on Arrival (VOA) for most tourists, except those from Israel and 21 African countries.