Archive - 20 August 2003

The war of words between two former opposition partners escalates today with Keadilan launching the latest salvo by accusing DAP of being the first to leak details on the troubled seat negotiation to the media.

The Human Resources Ministry is sponsoring a last-ditch mediation attempt to break the deadlock within the bank employees' union leadership, hinting of stern action to come if this fails.

Sarawak director of immigration Robert Lian says the state has 'good reasons' to deport a prominent human rights activist and hints that it could be due to her anti-logging activities.

The government forms a special police force to counter security threats from Jemaah Islamiah and militant groups operating in the nearby southern Philippines.

The police have rounded up all but four of its most wanted terror suspects and their capture will effectively wipe out the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leadership in the country, says a top security official.

The Department of Environment's confirmation that no EIA was done for the logging on a piece of permanent forest reserve land owned by Umno Pahang leads to more questions on the scandal which already reeks of high-level of corruption.

Malaysia's policy on treating asylum-seekers as 'illegal immigrants' has incensed the justice league at home and abroad, following yesterday's unprecedented arrest of 239 Acehnese in Kuala Lumpur.

The mother-in-law of top terror suspect Hambali says she was shocked when she saw a television report that he and her daughter had been arrested in Thailand.

The police seem set to deter asylum seekers from approaching the UNHCR for protection, following yesterday's mass arrests.

Contending with an unusually long run-up to the general election, PAS has had to respond once again to questions about its real mission.

Direct flight service between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur starts tomorrow as part of Vietnam Airlines regional route expansion programme.

Malaysia's Bumiputra-Commerce Bank (BCB) and its Indonesian unit PT Bank Niaga tied-up today to introduce a speedy remittance service for some 600,000 Indonesian workers here.

Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, the country's second-largest, has denied allegations made by the National Union of Bank Employees in a recent police report.

Sergio Vieira de Mello perished in the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad yesterday, and his country mourns for him. Ironically, in his last interview, the UN official said he felt safe in Iraq.

The Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka want full interim authority to run the north and east of the country, failing which the group may pick up its quest again for a separate state.

Kerelaan PAS untuk "berundur selangkah untuk mara dua langkah" dengan menggugurkan tuntutan penubuhan negara Islam dan hudud dalam manifesto Barisan Alternatif (BA) akan mencerahkan lagi harapan pembangkang untuk berkuasa di negara ini.

With all hopes dashed, the family of a young coconut trader have ended a marathon struggle to find out how he died while in custody.