Archive - 9 November 2002

KMM suspect Nasaruddin Nasir almost made it out, but not quite. The authorities seem hell-bent on keeping him behind bars in Kamunting for two more years, not to mention the last six months he had spent there. Now, he has to wait a long time before he can taste freedom again.

Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor dismisses his 'quit Keadilan' rumours as a ploy to weaken BA. However, he says that he is ready to give way to new people who can be more effective than him as he is now incarcerated.

As a result of bad management decisions, working relationships are soured and human lives adversely affected. Whether white- or blue-collar, both managements cause much hardship to employees. A typical situation forcing a picket like the forthcoming one announced by MTUC sec-gen G Rajasekaran (photo) today.

The federal government's decision to suspend the per capita grant for Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR) or people's religious schools may not be conclusive but it is already causing financial woes to many schools, especially in remote villages. Some schools may even be forced to shut down.

Pirates armed with machetes attacked three ships, including a chemical tanker, in Indonesian waters close to Singapore, injuring some onboard and stealing more than US$8,000, a top maritime official said today.

A Malaysian court awarded RM500,000 to an eight-year-old boy who was infected in utero with HIV by his mother after a tainted blood transfusion at a public hospital in 1994, a report said today. Mohamad Hanis died of AIDS on Sept 18.

Era Konsumer urges the government to exercise caution with its implementation of the proposed domestic tax on cars when the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta) kicks in next year to avoid being misconstrued as discriminatory to imported cars.

The World Bank's recent study on the role of the mass media concludes that developing countries need free and independent newspapers, radio and TV stations to boost their economic development.

The last thing we need in Malaysia are more attempts to monitor our speech and activities. Yet this is precisely the outcome of the latest move to control 'inflammatory' language and political activity in our mosques.

The New Economic Policy of 1970 was renamed the National Development Policy 30 years later, but there is no substantial change favouring minority groups and pockets of poverty are rapidly spreading in our cities. A recent conference outlines what needs to be done.