Thesun 2009-08-11 Page05 Jagdeep Suspended From Morning Session

theSun

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| TUESDAY AUGUST 11 2009

news without borders

Himanshu Bhatt, Opalyn Mok and Bernard Cheah at the Penang State Assembly yesterday

DR M reiterates need to teach science, maths in English by Eva Yeong [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reiterated yesterday his unwavering stand on the teaching of science and mathematics in English. The former prime minister said there are ways of teaching these subjects in English even in the rural areas. “You can’t teach science in English using the present teachers because they don’t understand the language. You can use computer software which will not only teach the students, but teach the teachers also,” he said. “I agree that we don’t have enough teachers but that’s not the way to teach. I told the Education Ministry to use that system but they are still saying they don’t have enough English teachers.” According to him, the need to teach science and maths in English is not to improve the student’s command of the language but to better learn the subjects, which use a different type of English. He also said the national language would not be compromised even if these two subjects are taught in English. On the three million students who scored bad grades because of their poor command of English,

Mahathir asked if investigations have been made to find out if they have been allowed to continue studying in English despite their poor performance and if so, why. He also said political parties “tend to lose quite a lot of support because they’re playing around with the future of our children for political reasons”. Mahathir, who spoke to reporters after a talk on “Instilling Entrepreneurship Culture Among Malays: A Paradigm Shift”, said more can be done to improve the Malay economy. “I feel we can always do more if we’re willing to practise a culture that is in line with success in business and entrepreneurship,” he said. Commenting on Amanah Saham 1Malaysia, he said nonbumiputra investors are not only quick at taking up the units but also investing a lot. As for Internet censorship, Mahathir said the government promised not to censor the Internet when the Multimedia Super Corridor first started, but he felt there is a need for censorship because of the content available. “Not because of politics but because there is so much filth and violence coming out of the computer. A child can access the filthiest film through the computer,” he said.

Jagdeep suspended from morning session MCA return to Ling-Lim era? pg 8

BACKBENCHER Jagdeep Singh Deo (Datuk Keramat-DAP) was ordered by the Speaker to leave the Penang state legislative assembly when he refused to retract a statement in which he called a former Barisan Nasional executive councillor a “robber” in reference to land on which Kampung Buah Pala sits. Jagdeep Singh refused to withdraw the statement when asked to by Datuk Abdul Halim Husin, on the ground that he had not specifically named anyone. Jagdeep Singh had initially stood to seek the clarification of Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy (Prai-DAP) on the Kampung Buah Pala issue, but had started his question with a long statement accusing the former state government of complicity in the land controversy. “A former BN exco was there when they got together to ‘rob’

Kampung Buah Pala residents of the land. This ‘robber’ is even inside this assembly now,” he said, gesturing to the Opposition row and looking at state Opposition Leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim (Penaga-BN). Azhar immediately protested, and using a point of order, said Jagdeep Singh was supposed to be asking Ramasamy a question, but had instead stood up to make accusations against him. “He does not know the rules after having been a state assemblyman for more than one and a half years. He is being rude. Who is he calling a robber? I want him to retract the statement,” Azhar said. When asked by the Speaker to leave, Jagdeep Singh said: “I was not referring to anyone in particular. It’s not my fault that he wants to admit to being the ‘robber’.” Jagdeep Singh, who had to sit out the rest of the morning’s proceedings, told reporters outside the

assembly hall that the Speaker’s decision was unfair. “I was only asking Ramasamy a question and not attacking anyone, so it is unfair that I was asked to leave.” Jagdeep Singh is the first state assemblyman to be suspended from the assembly after the DAPled Pakatan Rakyat government took over Penang last March. Earlier, in answering questions on Kampung Buah Pala, Ramasamy said the state government had formed a committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman (Penanti-PKR) to look into the sale of the land and whether there had been corruption or abuse of power. He also said former deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rashid Abdullah had been behind the reduction of the land premium from RM6.4 million to RM3.2 million. “The question is, why is the premium so low and why was (the land) sold to the co-operative (Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang)? What’s so special about the cooperative? This is what our report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency is about,” he said.

Hill railway plans near completion PLANS to upgrade the Penang Hill railway service at a cost of RM60 million are in the final stages, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Ayer Putih) said. The project will provide enhanced facilities and increase the railway’s capacity to transport tourists up the hill, he said. Lim said this when tabling a bill to enact Penang Hill Corporation to provide for a

government body to manage, operate and maintain the service and related matters. He said the corporation was in tandem with the finalisation of the project, adding that it was necessary for the purpose of proposing policies and advising the state government on the promotion, development and preservation of the hill. It would also facilitate infrastructure and

socio-economic development to promote the hill as a tourist destination, he said. The corporation will be developed in such a way as to make it self-financing in the future, Lim said. He said policies would take into account the hill’s natural eco-system, heritage and water catchment, to ensure its sustainable development.

‘Temple committee revamped after delay’ by Opalyn Mok [email protected]

The accused are brought to court.

Datuk among five charged with trafficking GEORGE TOWN: Five men including a businessman carrying the title of “Datuk” were charged in a magistrate’s court yesterday with trafficking in 300kg of nimetazepam pills. Datuk Koay Khay Chye, 52, Ang Choon Beng, 24, Neoh Soon Par, 41, Mohamad Ziraldean Md Tanzi, 35, and Ramli Abu Hassan, 34, are alleged to have committed the offence behind the Suew King building on Jalan Sungai Dua, Gelugor at 11.30pm on July 28. Nimetazepam is a hypnotic drug marketed under the brand name Erimin.

The five are charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (revised 1980), which carries a mandatory death sentence. Koay, Ang and Neoh were represented by counsel Datuk Hanif Hashim, while the two other accused were unrepresented. Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Faisal Md Noor appeared for the prosecution. Magistrate Noor Fadzila Ishak fixed the case for mention on Sept 10, pending a chemist’s report. No plea was recorded and bail was not allowed.

GEORGE TOWN: The Hilltop Murugan Temple Building Committee was revamped by the Penang Hindu Endowment Board as a result of a long delay in the construction of the new temple. The board’s chairman A. Tanasekharan said in a statement yesterday the previous committee chairman Datuk R. Rajasingam had been removed because the board wanted a fresh team in charge of the project. “We don’t have any personal agenda against Rajasingam and we even appointed

him chairman of the temple management committee when we took over the board last year,” he said. Tanasekharan said Rajasingam was first appointed to see to the construction of the new temple in 2000, but that the board had been shocked to find that structural work on the temple had started only last year, with just 50% of the work completed to date. “It was the unanimous decision of the board that the building committee be revamped to oversee the project’s completion.” He said the board would have to be answerable to donors to the project in the event of a further delay. “The people will blame the board and not Rajasingam.

Moreover, it is within our right to carry out the necessary and required changes.” He said the board was committed to completing the temple by 2012 and had set up an advisory committee towards this end. Tanasekharan, who is also Bagan Dalam assemblyman, said Rajasingam had not appealed to the board against his removal. He was responding to a call by the Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party and several Indian non-governmental organisations to reinstate Rajasingam. The groups claimed he had been removed without justification and had threatened to stage a protest if he was not reinstated soon.

Clear understanding of KPI and KRA required: Rais KUALA LUMPUR: Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said yesterday the ministry’s departments and agencies must understand what Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and Key Result Areas (KRA) mean to make the 1Malaysia concept a success. He said a recent retreat with heads of department had shown that some were still confused over the terminologies and had the tendency to combine the two.

“To achieve the 1Malaysia concept, we have to be serious in the matter of KPI and KRA,” he said at a monthly meeting of the ministry. Rais said the determinant of the ministry’s KPI would be the number of people in the country who understood the 1Malaysia concept. However, this also depended on the KRA, he said. “The Information Department for instance, should find out how many people in the country understand the

1Malaysia concept. If the number surpasses 55%, then we have succeeded.” Rais called on Radio Televisyen Malaysia to broadcast the Rukun Negara and 1Malaysia at the end of programmes, and heads of department to provide a copy of the “1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now” booklet in their offices and put up 1Malaysia posters. “The more frequently we see these, the more easily can we assimilate these practices.” – Bernama

Murder, incest accused fit to face charges by Bernard Cheah [email protected]

GEORGE TOWN: An odd-job worker who pretended to be mentally ill when charged with murdering one daughter, and committing incest with another, has been found fit to face the charges. Deputy Public Persecutor Tan

Guat Cheng told a magistrate’s court yesterday that this was the finding of a psychiatric evaluation report produced by Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan. The accused had been under observation at the hospital for a month from May 12. Magistrate ‘Ainul Bashirah Dona Don Bijayid fixed Sept 11 for mention

of the murder case, pending DNA and post mortem reports. In the sessions court, judge Rosilah Yop set Aug 24 for mention of the incest case, pending the victim’s medical report, and to allow the accused time to record his plead. On May 12, the 41-year-old was charged with murdering a daughter on Nov 11, 2004, and with committing

incest with a teenage daughter at a men’s toilet in Air Itam in February this year. The birth of the girl he is alleged to have murdered was never registered. The girl’s age was not stated in the charge sheet, but newspapers had earlier reported that she was a disabled seven-year-old whose body was found buried in a shallow grave

in an open field in Kampung Pisang, Air Itam. The man was also charged with committing incest with a teenage daughter at a men’s toilet in Air Itam at 12.30pm on Feb 7. The charge under Section 376B of the Penal Code crime is punishable with imprisonment of between six and 20 years, and whipping.