Court CCTVs: For security or profit?

Hulu Terengganu parliamentarian Mohd Nor Othman today asked point blank if the lucrative close circuit television (CCTV) installation projects at courthouses were for security purposes or for profit.

"Some of these projects costs huge amounts of money... however some of them fail to function. What is the purpose of the CCTVs - is it for security or to create business?"

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong ( left ) answered that the CCTVs were put up for security reasons, mainly to monitor accused persons.

This, Liew added, is necessary to supplement the security at courthouses.

On the matter of CCTVs not functioning, Liew asked Mohd Nor for more information so that he could take action.

Liew added the government has no plans to withdraw the use of CCTVs cameras in the courtroom.

Wee Choo Keong (PKR-Wangsa Maju) wanted to know the cost of installation at the Jalan Duta Courts Complex, the company that was awarded the project, and whether it was done through open tender.

Liew said the cost was RM318,410 and the Public Works Department had awarded the contract to Kay Corporation Sdn Bhd through an open tender.

However he added the CCTV cameras did not cover the whole court complex.

Replying to a supplementary question, from Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu), Liew said that there had been no complaints of accused persons slipping away while the system was being installed.

History syllabus must meet gov't criteria

Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong today stressed that the contents of the history syllabus taught in schools must conform to the government's agenda.

Answering a question from Kubang Kerian MP Salahuddin Ayub, Wee (right ) explained that in deciding what to include in history lessons, it is important to first fulfill the government's focus on holistic development and give focus to local and regional matters.

Salahuddin said the history syllabus in Malaysia was lacking when it came to modern events and western history and he proposed these topics be given greater emphasis.

Wee instead said that it was more important to focus on teaching our own history in line with the government's agenda.

"The history of our nation's founding must be given prominence. It is important to explain how we achieve our independence. We must fulfill our national agenda in teaching youth about our past."

While he thanked Salahuddin for the suggestion to include modern history into the syllabus, he said that the material should fit the ministry's criteria.

In a rare show of solidarity with Salahuddin, Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar then stood up to hit out at the Education Ministry for being bogged down with such criteria.

"I think that the ministry is too aggressive in implementing this policy. They need to get out of their box when it comes to this."

The way in which history is being taught and what is in history lessons has long been the bone of contention for the opposition and civil society who have accused the government of presenting a sanitised version of history to serve their own ends.

 ' Little Napoleons will destroy our country'

Wangsa Maju parliamentarian Wee Choo Keong ( below ) hit out at those he called "little Napoleons" in the opposition who questioned his involvement in the recent government trip to Washington.

His trip to the US was to take part in the seminar organised by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as destroyers of the nation.

"They question why I took part in the Washington visit while they were not chosen. But I know that they have been chosen before for other official visits. If they question this, then we need a new policy that no Pakatan parliamentarian can take part in official government visits."

Wee also defended de facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz over the latter's response to reporters in Washington over Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy allegations.

"To be fair, YB Padang Rengas did not slander anyone. When asked about the issue, YB Padang Rengas only said that Anwar was his friend and the case was between an employer and a worker. If no action was taken the worker may accuse the government of being unfair."

Wee also accused the unnamed "little Napoleon's" of "manufacturing lies" and "superimposing" pictures to create slander on the internet to smear national political figures.

"If the Napoleons can stoop so low to defame others for political reasons, nothing on earth will stop them from destroying our country."