Archive - 12 January 2004

Wildlife experts in Malaysia fought back against allegations made for the second time in four months that orang-utans could be extinct in 20 years due to the destruction of their natural habitat.

100 reformasi activists showed up at an agricultural park in Shah Alam on Saturday expecting to eat, meet old comrades and assess the state of the reform movement, but police and park management interference 'spoil' the day for them.

The proposal to issue identification cards to migrant workers may resolve some of their problems, but activists say that much more needs to be done.

Unhappy with the appointment of a new chairperson to the Industrial Court, a trade union has sought the High Court's intervention.

The MIC president's personal bank account, which allegedly show the veteran politician having assets far beyond what a minister would hold on his normal salary, is now at the centre of a police report.

A petty trader has allegedly been picked up by police for suspected involvement with regional terrorism grouping Jemaah Islamiyah.

The city will be rocked by shouts of 'reformasi' come Sunday morning as the Free Anwar Movement begins a new phase of the struggle for fundamental political and civil liberties.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says that both nations had to think "out of the box" to find a solution to their many unresolved issues.

A senior US security official held talks today with Malaysian leaders on "proliferation issues and other foreign policy matters".

The Election Commission chief dismisses claims by the opposition that the commission will place its election enforcement team only in areas where the ruling party is expecting to face difficulties.

Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's top three rubber producers, will meet to discuss how they can work together if the price falls below US$1 per kilogram.

Even as talks of an early general election gain steam, opposition parties appear to be still ill at ease with one another. DAP and PAS publicly display their latest disagreement.

Media hanya di pinggiran dalam Sidang Kemuncak Sedunia Masyarakat Maklumat. FATHI ARIS OMAR mengupas sidang bulan lalu di Geneva tajaan PBB.

The government may scale back plans to build Southeast Asia's largest hydroelectric dam in Sarawak state on Borneo island due to insufficient demand for energy.

An ambitious programme of 'Vision Schools' faltered at the start of this academic year when Chinese families refused to take part in the second pilot project.

Singapore and Malaysia must commit to resolving the many "disturbing" issues between them, Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in remarks published yesterday ahead of a visit there.

The appointment of Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak as deputy prime minister is viewed with skepticism in some quarters.

Car prices in Malaysia are not only the highest among regional countries but the third highest in the world.

Matshushita - known for its Panasonic and National brands - may shift its 14-year-old operations in Malaysia to neighbouring Thailand as part of its restructuring plan.

The civil service today is essentially a Malay institution, says M BAKRI MUSA. Its failures and shortcomings are thus widely viewed as those of the Malays; hence the urgency in upgrading the institution, quite apart from its importance for the nation's development.