Thesun 2009-03-05 Page01 No Retrenchment Fund

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No. 4710 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Thursday March 5, 2009

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No retrenchment fund April 7 polling day for Batang Ai by-election the Batang Ai state

KUCHING: Polling for on April 7, simultaneby-election will be held the Bukit Gantang for ls pol ously with the and Bukit Selamak Per parliamentary seat in bau state seat in Kedah. chairman Tan Sri Election Commission yesterday nomid sai of Yus Abdul Aziz Mohd 29, like for the rch Ma nation was fixed for the writ would be of tice No ts. sea two other issued on Friday. owing the death The seat fell vacant foll ting Ingkot, the Un blin Du of incumbent Datuk vice-president, on S) (PR ak aw Sar yat Rak Parti ess. Feb 24, after a long illn considering sevAbdul Aziz said after t the Sarawak EC tha felt eral factors, the EC election and it bythe officer was ready for ctions simultaele bythe d hol to was timely gning period. pai cam g lon a id neously to avo roved for app n bee had He said RM400,000 the by-election. centres would be A total of 24 polling uses, kindergargho lon s, ool opened at sch es while 201 mis pre nt tens and governme loyed, he said, adding dep be uld wo rs rke wo 06 registered voters that Batang Ai had 8,0 inary and 43 postal ord 63 comprising 7,9 voters. – Bernama

by Giam Say Khoon

[email protected]

UALA LUMPUR: The government has ruled out setting up a retrenchment fund now although retrenchments and lay-offs are growing, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam. In winding up debate on the ministry in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, he said it was not the government’s policy to provide unemployment benefits. “We help those who have lost their jobs by helping them to increase their skills and employability as well as to secure other jobs. The retrenchment fund cannot be set up now as the country is already feeling

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the effects of the global economic slowdown,” he said. Subramaniam added, however, that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was conducting a feasibility study on such a fund for the country and was expected to be completed by June. He said the government will review the situation based on the ILO proposal. Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) insisted the fund was needed so that money could be disbursed directly to those who had lost their jobs to help them with their living expenses. “Rather than giving money to third parties to conduct refresher or training courses for retrenched workers, it is better to give the money directly to the workers. The monthly disbursement can be given

for up to two years and after they have found a job, they can pay back to the fund,” he suggested. Abdullah Sani Abd Hamid (PKRKuala Langat) felt that employers should contribute RM1 for every employee to the fund. “From a legal standpoint, workers who lost their jobs should be compensated and yet, we still hear stories of workers not getting their pay.” Subramaniam replied that the government will not be rushed into setting up the fund as it did not want a short-term solution to the economic situation. “When we talked to employers, many claimed that they are good employers and are unlikely to retrench their workers and (asked) why they should be paying for somebody who is irresponsible to their employees?

Old kingdoms The Bujang Valley civilisation of Kedah was one of several Indianised kingdoms to have existed in Southeast Asia. Although it is now known to have emerged by 300 AD, its disappearance remains a mystery. The other major kingdoms were: Champa (200 AD to 1832) Southern & central Vietnam First recorded as Lin-Yi in Chinese texts from 200 AD. Formed by the Chams, the kingdom lasted for a very long time, surviving a series of battles, until it was finally annexed by invading Vietnamese in 1832.

A USM staff excavates the site of a 1,700-year -old wall in Merbok.

MASRY CHE ANI/THESUN

Below: Mokhtar (right) with vice-chancellor Dzulkifli at the site of a smelting workshop.

Civilisation dating back to 300 AD found

by Himanshu Bhatt [email protected]

SUNGAI PETANI: Malaysian archaeologists have discovered at least 30 ancient mounds, comprising struc-

“So we have to look at it in a very holistic manner and we do an actuarial study before we make a commitment because once we start a fund like the Social Security Fund, we have to continue forever and we cannot stop it half way,” he said. On minimum wage, he said the government was committed to increasing wages and it was the way forward for the country so that jobs will be more attractive to locals. Meanwhile, Subramaniam explained that the ministry cancelled a briefing for all MPs on retrenchment issue next week as the mini budget will be presented on Tuesday and new policies might be introduced. Earlier, Chong Chieng Jen (DAPBandar Kuching) had asked why Opposition MPs’ invitations to the briefing were withdrawn.

tures like houses, clay brick walls and a metal workshop dating back some 1,700 years, within a 3 sq km area in Merbok, Kedah. The discoveries, made within the last year, point to new evidence that the Bujang Valley civilisation existed long before neighbouring empires such as Majapahit (1200 AD) and Sri Vijaya (700 AD). An extensive research is being done by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) of Universiti Sains Malaysia to determine how advanced the little-known civilisation, known variously in historic annals as Kataha and Kidaram, was. Remnants of the ancient society, including temples, tablets and drainage channels, have been found across more than 300 sq km around Gunung Jerai – the highest peak in north Malaysia – since the British colonial period. However, the latest discoveries shed greater light by scientifically

confirming the date of the civilisation, CGAR director Assoc Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin said yesterday. At the heart of the new discoveries is a metal-smelting workshop replete with a network of furnace nozzles, recently unearthed in an oil palm plantation in Sungai Batu. “This is the first time that an advanced metal industry from such a period has been confirmed to have existed in this region,” he said. “We are gradually uncovering the remaining mounds. It is a very slow and painstaking process, but is revealing a lot of new information.” It is understood that the system of metallurgy found in the site is similar to techniques used in ancient India. Also unearthed were artefacts like ceramics, pots, bracelets and beads. He said this during a visit to one of the excavation sites in Sungai Batu. Also present was USM vice-chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dzulkifli Abd Razak

He stressed that previous excavations in Merbok, closer to Gunung Jerai, uncovered structures that were principally religious in nature. A museum housing some of the artefacts is now located there. However, the recent findings give new insight into the actual lifestyles and activities of the people of that period. Mokhtar did not discount the fact that the port settlement could have had trading and cultural ties with empires such as Funan and Champa in the Indo-Chinese region. It is also likely to have been part of the Langkasuka empire which dominated much of the Malay peninsula, and whose traces have also been found in Patani, South Thailand. CGAR is drafting a plan to develop the area as a heritage park with guided trails for visitors. The research is being conducted with a RM2.3 million grant from the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

Funan (100 AD to 627 AD) Cambodia & Vietnam A pre-Angkor kingdom of the Khmers, Funan was an important trading port where ancient materials from the Romans, Indians and Chinese have been unearthed in modern-day excavations. The kingdom was later overthrown by its vassal state of Chenla. Langkasuka (100 AD to 1400s) South Thailand Most of the remnants of Langkasuka have been made on the eastern coast of the Malay peninsula, especially in Pattani region of south Thailand. Its port was used for trading between Indian and Chinese merchants, through possible inland routes though the Isthmus of Kra. Majapahit (1300 AD to 1500 AD) Java At its height, the Majapahit empire conquered much of the Malay archipelago, including the peninsula. Its decline came about during the same period that saw the Malacca sultanate rise as a trading power. Sri Vijaya (700 AD to 1300 AD) Sumatra It extended its military might to the Khmer regions, collecting tributes even as it drew commerce from far corners of the world.