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Sacked airman testifying in MH370 suit bound by OSA, armed forces chief insists
— Picture by Saw Siow FengKUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Former air force major turned expert witness Zaidi Ahmad may testify in a lawsuit against Putrajaya over Flight MH370 but remains bound by the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said today. Zulkiefli said that the armed forces had “nothing to hide” after it was pointed out that Zaidi’s testimony could implicate the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) in the aviation mystery, but was quick to note that the sacked airman may not disclose information detrimental to national security.
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Angry housewives go to police after Rosmah’s picture on pig - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, March 2, 2015.A Facebook posting showing Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor superimposed with a pig's body has caused an uproar among a group of housewives in Penang. The group, made up of Umno members, women non-governmental organisations, single mothers and housewives from Bayan Baru, lodged 11 police reports against a Facebook user, identified as Peter Lee, urging swift investigations by the authorities. Bayan Baru Umno information chief Kuraishah Syed Mohamad said it was unfortunate that people these days go to such extremes to offend leaders in the country. "The person who did this must face the music," she said outside the Bayan Baru police station.
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Fewer students score all ‘As’ in 2014 SPM exam – Bernama - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, March 3, 2015.Fewer students scored A+, A and A- in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, mainly because of a changed format for questions that required a different way of thinking, it was revealed in Putrajaya today. Director-general of Education Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof said 11,289, or 2.6%, of the 455,839 candidates who sat for the examination last year obtained the A grade in all the subjects they took, down from the 13,970 in 2013. He said the drop in the number of these A-grade students was due to, among others, the habit of spotting (forecasting) questions, thinking that the questions would be the same, thus making them revise lessons in the old way. "However, candidates who focus on lessons and knowledge will continue to secure excellent results," he said when announcing the analysis of the 2014 SPM results.
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Nephew of ex-CM killed after attack at his cafe - Nation | The Star Online
KOTA KINABALU: A nephew of former chief minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee died after an attack by an enraged worker at his own restaurant. Darren Kong died on his 36th birthday. The businessman was killed after he was slashed repeatedly on the head, neck and hands during the 5pm incident on Sunday at the Asia Cafe in the east Lahad Datu district. Lahad Datu police chief Asst Comm Hamza Ahmad said a 37-year-old foreigner had been nabbed within an hour of the attack.
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DAP calls for MACC to probe official statement on Najib’s family inheritance - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 3, 2015.The DAP wants the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to launch a full investigation into the official statement by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that attributed Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife's spendings to his inheritance. DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang called on the commission to start a full-scale probe after Umno-controlled daily Utusan Malaysia reported yesterday that Najib himself dismissed talk about the extent of the inheritance left behind by his father, the late prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. "What then is one to make of the PMO statement in the New York Times," the DAP parliamentary leader said.
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Chinese box office beats the US for the first time in February - The Malaysian Insider
The Chinese monthly box office brought in more revenue than its US equivalent for the first time in history in February. A record-breaking Lunar New Year…
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Gang member survives ride-by shooting
— file picPETALING JAYA, March 3 — The right-hand man of a millionaire drug lord and leader of Gang 36, survived after being shot at six times from close range in Kajang yesterday. The man identified as M. Thanabalan is the younger brother of former MIC Hulu Langat division youth chief M. Kalaiarasu, who also survived after being shot at three times in 2010. The shooting, the third in three weeks, prompted police to step up operations against gangland activities. Thanabalan — better known as Kajang Balan — in his late 30s was shot when he stopped at a traffic junction on Jalan Reko at 12.30pm.
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Depreciating ringgit causing price hike, not traders, says Rafizi - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 3, 2015.The depreciating ringgit against the US dollar is contributing to dearer goods despite the plunge in global fuel prices and cheaper locally manufactured products, said PKR, citing a government index to measure factory prices of goods. Party secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said traders are not responsible for the high prices of goods and services as the Producer Price Index (PPI) for Domestic Economy in January this year decreased by 0.4% as compared with December 2014, while year-on-year comparison showed a drop of 7%. In contrast, for the same period, the import prices of goods had only gone down by a mere 0.4% and 0.2% respectively. Coupled with the fact that Malaysia is heavily dependent on imported goods especially on food, this will definitely affect the prices of goods paid by consumers, he said.
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MH370: No debris, only shipping containers in underwater hunt so far, says Australia
— Reuters picSYDNEY, March 3 — The intensive underwater hunt for missing plane MH370 has so far turned up just a few shipping containers — and no sign of the jet, the head of the Australian agency leading the search said today. The plane vanished a year ago Sunday carrying 239 people en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and is believed to have gone down in one of the deepest and most remote areas of ocean far off the Western Australia coast. Chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Martin Dolan said that while several manmade items — mostly shipping containers — have been detected during a sonar search, they had found nothing resembling debris from the Malaysia Airlines jet.
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Flight path over Penang a ‘last farewell’ for MH370 pilot, reports UK daily - The Malaysian Insider
– March 2, 2015.Just days before the first anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a senior Boeing 777 captain with a major commercial airline has weighed in on the mystery, alleging that it was the work of the pilot. Captain Simon Hardy's theory was reported in UK newspaper Daily Mail today, where he said the main clue was that after flying across the border between Thailand and Malaysia, the aircraft made a sharp u-turn towards Penang, one of three turns made in quick succession. According to Hardy, the doomed MAS flight seemed to be taken on an emotional "last farewell", as in a fly-past of the pilot's home island of Penang. "The unusual overflying of Penang is ‘perhaps the only clue to the perpetrator'.
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Putrajaya receives first Petronas dividend payout - The Malaysian Insider
– Reuters pic, March 3, 2015.The government has received the first dividend payment from state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), said Ministry of Finance (MoF) secretary-general of treasury Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah. “Petronas has agreed to pay the government RM26 billion in dividend [for the financial year ended December 31, 2014] , and there is no two-ways about it. Last week, Petronas announced a dividend payment of RM2 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014, bringing the total payout for the year to RM26 billion.
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US teacher hangs herself in classroom
—AFP picLOS ANGELES, March 3 — A popular California school teacher hanged herself in her classroom yesterday and was found by students arriving for their morning lessons, police said. Jillian Jacobson, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene at El Dorado High School in Placentia, some 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Los Angeles, said a spokesman.
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Cabinet must take a stand on 1MDB tomorrow, says DAP - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 3, 2015.The Cabinet in its weekly meeting tomorrow must decide what action will be taken against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), in light of the recent revelations on the debt-ridden, government-owned strategic investment fund, DAP said today. DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said the Cabinet should decide whether to establish a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into 1MDB, or give its full support for a public inquiry headed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). "Will the Cabinet meeting tomorrow hide and run from the biggest financial scandal in the country and the issue which is casting the greatest cloud and doubt on the credibility, integrity and good governance of the Malaysian prime minister and government, both nationally and internationally – the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal?" asked Lim in a statement today.
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The first time I held a dying child
MARCH 3 — On his tiny, emaciated wrist he had a red string and a charm. It was tied too tight, so I untied and removed it from his body, but it would always be remembered by me. It would take me
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Japan offers degree scholarships for Malaysians | theSundaily
KUALA LUMPUR: The Japanese government has opened application for Malaysians to pursue their studies for bachelor and masters degree programme under its government of Japan sponsored scholarships, better known as Monbukagakusho. The programme offers a monthly allowance of 117,000 yen (RM3,500) for bachelor degree level and 143,000 yen (RM4,300) for masters level with the application closed on March 20, 2015 for civil servants and March 27 for non government employees, said a statement from the Japanese embassy here today. The scholarship for the bachelor degree programme will start from April 2016 for five to seven years and the masters degree from April or October 2016 for 18 months or two years.
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QPR owners write off RM34bil loans
The move strengthens QPR’s balance sheet, the club said in a statement.
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Baggage on MAS flights go missing | theSundaily
PETALING JAYA: Several passengers of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flights have taken to Twitter to voice their frustrations about their missing luggage. According to tweets that were directed to MAS' twitter account, these passengers who were on various different flights during the weekend, complained that they had not received their bags despite having already arrived at their destinations. "You have just failed to connect a plane's worth of luggage, including mine, from London to Phnom Penh. Feels great after 17 hours [of] travel," tweeted one of the passengers, known as Katy Oglethorpe, in her twitter account on Saturday.
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Former Microsoft boss keeps building his billions - The Malaysian Insider
– Reuters pic, March 2, 2015.Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has retained his spot as the world's richest man, a rank he has held for 16 of the past 21 years, Forbes magazine said on Monday. The Microsoft co-founder's fortune increased US$3.2 billion (RM11.6 billion) since last year to $79.2 billion, the business magazine said, despite a $1.5 billion gift of Microsoft shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in November. In fourth was Amancio Ortega, founder of the Inditex fashion group that includes Zara clothing retail shops.
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Visiting Terengganu? Dress this way
— Reuters file picKUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — Tourists and visitors to Terengganu may have to shop for new clothes before they visit as the state government will introduce an Islamic dress code barring revealing attire. According to The Star on its website today, the new dress code will be distributed soon to all travel agents both in Malaysia and in neighbouring countries. The guideline that is specifically addressed to tourists were initially publicised in an article on the state government’s website, Teganukita, that has since been removed. The east coast state of Terengganu is almost entirely Malay-Muslim, with only a handful of other ethnic minorities residing there.
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Stop blaming the Chinese for your own weaknesses, Azmin tells Putrajaya - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 2, 2015.Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali in a Sinar Harian report said today that blaming the Chinese community for inflation was just an excuse to cover up Putrajaya's own failures in managing the country's economy. In the report, Azmin said the rising prices of goods in recent times had nothing to do with race and that accusing one community of being responsible for it was regrettable. “Don't blame the Chinese whenever there is inflation and play up racial sentiments to cover up your own weaknesses,” he said. It does not matter if you are Malay, Chinese, Indians or Kadazans," the Bahasa Malaysia daily reported him as saying.
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