Archive - 3 January 2003

When a general election looms, no political coalition can afford an internal crisis — so tells BN secretary-general Mohamed Rahmat to MCA and Gerakan.

The police warn local fishermen and politicians to stay away from the Batu Putih island until the ownership dispute between Malaysia and Singapore is settled.

The political climate has changed and this spells doom for the opposition, says a Perlis Umno leader. He is confident the ruling front will win back the seats in the state which were lost to PAS in the last election.

Chinese educationist Loot Ting Yee caves in to peer and public pressure to stay on as Jiao Zong's vice-president, saying his presence will boost the team spirit in the struggle to 'defend' mother tongue education in the country.

Notebook computers, CDs and LCD projectors - these are some of the hi-tech gear which the Education Ministry says it has equipped all schools for the implementation of its new 'interactive approach' for the teaching of Maths and Science in English.

Ahli jawatankuasa pusat PAS Dr Lo' Lo' Mohd Ghazali mengingatkan Menteri Pembangunan Wanita dan Keluarga Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil bahawa kementeriannya juga perlu membela nasib isteri kedua, ketiga dan keempat.

Even as third parties rush to douse the growing fire created by two unions at war over their leaders' claim to lead the nation's largest labour body, one faction is still mulling an offensive.

Trade surplus for November rose 40 percent from the year before and was up 15 percent from the previous month but exports slowed towards the year-end, says the trade ministry.

The failure of the latest round of negotiations to reach an international agreement to allow poor countries to buy cheap drugs, guarantees that 2003 will be another miserable year for millions of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis patients in poor countries.

Whether the judicial reforms initiated Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah will continue now depends on his successor. With two months to go before his short tenure ends, the legal fraternity is all abuzz about who will fill Dzaiddin's shoes.

The transition from military rule to a quasi-civilian government places Pakistan on a rocky road. Although this is the third change to civilian rule, there are new factors this time around that complicate matters.

Senario politik Umno di Kedah kini sudah berubah dan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Syed Razak Syed Zain yakin negeri jelapang padi itu akan kembali dikuasai Umno dalam pilihanraya umum akan datang.