404 pemilik tanah di Samarahan terima pampasan

WAKIL penduduk lima kampung di Bahagian Samarahan menunjukkan surat hak milik tanah yang diperoleh daripada Awang Tengah Ali Hassan (barisan kedua, tiga dari kiri) di Dewan Suarah, Kota Samarahan.

KOTA SAMARAHAN 30 Jan. – Sebanyak 404 pemilik tanah di negeri ini menerima pampasan berjumlah RM18.5 juta selepas tanah mereka digunakan oleh kerajaan negeri untuk melaksanakan 12 projek di Bahagian Samarahan di sini.

Pampasan tersebut melibatkan pengambilan sebanyak 338 lot tanah seluas 198 hektar dan projek paling tinggi menerima bayaran tersebut adalah projek pembesaran Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (Intan).

Pada majlis itu juga, sebanyak 231 penduduk di lima buah kampung tradisi iaitu Empila, Tanjung Parang, Tanjung Bundong, Pangkalan Kuap dan Stakan Kuap menerima surat hak milik tanah masing-masing

Majlis penyampaian pampasan dan surat hak milik tanah disempurnakan oleh Menteri Perancangan dan Pengurusan Sumber II serta Menteri Kemudahan Awam, Datuk Seri Awang Tengah Ali Hassan di Dewan Suarah, di sini hari ini.

Terdahulu dalam ucapannya, Awang Tengah meminta rakyat supaya memahami dasar kerajaan berhubung isu pengambilan tanah yang bertujuan untuk pembangunan.

Menurutnya, matlamat kerajaan mengenai dasar berhubung isu tanah adalah pragmatik dan realistik dengan mengambil kira kepentingan rakyat serta pembangunan di Sarawak.
“Kerajaan tidak mengambil tanah begitu sahaja tetapi membayar pampasan kepada pemilik tanah mengikut harga pasaran semasa.

“Kerajaan bukan merampas tanah hingga menyebabkan kepentingan rakyat terabai,” katanya.
Sehubungan itu, Awang Tengah meminta kerjasama rakyat dalam usaha memastikan proses pelaksanaan projek-projek kerajaan berjalan dengan lancar.

Pemaju serah kompleks penjara baru Kuching

Selepas lebih 10 tahun dan tiga kontraktor utama bertukar, akhirnya Penjara Kuching di Jalan Puncak Borneo, bernilai RM98 juta diserahkan kepada kerajaan secara rasminya semalam oleh pemaju.

Penjara baru yang mula dibina pada 1997 bagi menggantikan Penjara Pusat Kuching, Jalan Tabuan itu dijangka dapat digunakan antara Mei dan Jun depan. Timbalan Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri, Datuk Fu Ah Kiow, berkata pihaknya gembira dengan siapnya kemudahan baru itu bagi menggantikan Penjara Pusat, yang menempatkan hampir 300 banduan ketika ini.

"Ketika ini, kita dalam proses terakhir pembinaan pencawang substesen yang dapat membekalkan tenaga elektrik berjumlah 33 kilowat (kW) bagi kegunaan penjara dan kawasan sekitar Mambong dan Padawan sebelum kakitangan Jabatan Penjara dan banduan dapat dipindahkan sepenuhnya.

“Setakat ini, pihak Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (KDN) berpuas hati dengan kualiti dan tahap keselamatan yang dibina menepati perancangan serta boleh dianggap antara yang terbaik di negara ini," katanya kepada media selepas menghadiri taklimat khas kompleks berkenaan di sini, kelmarin.

Taklimat selama hampir sejam turut dihadiri Pengarah Penjara Sarawak, Zawawi Ab Rahim disampaikan jurutera dari Jabatan Kerja Raya, yang memantau pembangunan kawasan berkenaan sejak beberapa tahun lalu selepas ia terbengkalai.

Penjara Kuching, Jalan Puncak Borneo sebelum ini mencipta pelbagai spekulasi dan kritikan berikutan mengambil masa yang panjang untuk disiapkan sehingga Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) terpaksa membuka kertas siasatan ke atas pemaju awalnya.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, dalam lawatannya pada 2006 menegur masalah berkenaan, termasuk mengarahkan pembinaan penjara itu dipercepatkan bagi menampung kesesakan di Penjara Pusat, yang hanya memiliki dua blok sel banduan. Kompleks penjara baru ini mampu menampung sehingga 500 banduan lelaki dan perempuan yang ditempatkan di 30 blok sel dengan ciri pagar besi menjangkau ketinggian lima meter.

Ia turut menempatkan kompleks perumahan bagi 216 anggota dan pegawai penjara. Mengulas siasatan BPR terhadap kelewatan pembinaan penjara itu, Fu menyerahkan hal berkenaan kepada pegawai BPR bagi meneruskan siasatan serta melakukan pendakwaan ke atas pihak yang terbabit.

"Sehingga kini, pihak saya masih belum menerima sebarang laporan.

Namun, kami sedia maklum BPR sedang menyiasat kes ini secara agresif dan berharap ia dapat diselesaikan dalam tempoh terdekat,” katanya.

Selain itu, beliau berkata tapak penjara lama di tengah bandar raya Kuching akan diubah suai untuk dijadikan Pusat Latihan Jabatan Penjara Sarawak untuk melatih kakitangan di negeri ini.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, perancangan itu bergantung kepada peruntukan kerajaan.

Prepare for polls: Najib

DPM asks BN to be fully prepared to give PM more room to pick best time to dissolve parliament

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called on all the Barisan Nasional (BN) election machinery throughout the country to intensify preparations to face the 12th general election before the dissolution of Parliament.

“I notice (preparations in) the states that I have visited are satisfactory but there is still time (to make improvement). They must make all preparations so that the Prime Minister will have a lot of room to think of the best time to dissolve Parliament,” the Deputy Prime Minister told reporters after launching the Federal Territory BN Election Machinery here on Saturday night.

He said the directive received currently was to make preparation although the date of the general election would be determined by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Najib, who is also BN deputy chairman, said the BN component parties had also been directed to be prepared and hoped that their machinery at the polling station level were ready to move to look at the ballot boxes and so on.

When asked whether the BN machinery would be able to sustain until the polling day if it were to start early, he believed it would be able to carry out its task. Earlier in his speech, Najib described Parti Keadilan Rakyat or PKR as ‘Parti Kurang Relevan’ (Irrelevant Party) as it was bragging that it wanted to contest everywhere when in actual fact it had won only one parliamentary constituency with a small majority.

He also said that the BN was not championing the cause of the rich only but was looking after the interests of all strata of society regardless of race.

“We have fulfilled our pledges. The BN machinery must tell the people this. This is our commitment,” he said in his speech to about 3,500 members of the Federal Territory BN election machinery at Dataran BN Wilayah here. Najib said the BN also did not want to be a party that won by cheating the people, and this was proven when the BN lost by only two votes in the Kemuning state constituency in Kelantan.

“The BN will also field only candidates of calibre and nobody should go around lobbying for candidacy, even if you book your bush jacket, better do it quietly and don’t start booking posters with your picture on it,” he said. Najib said now party members should put aside petty problems they might be facing and focus on working hard on ensuring BN candidates chosen scored big victories.

As for the Federal Territory BN, he said its leaders had pledged to retain all nine seats won in the last election apart from dislodging the opposition in Cheras, Kepong, Bukit Bintang and Seputeh.

–Bernama

Are you well prepared for retirement? : Point To Ponder

Effective Feb 1, EPF will have three options for contributors reaching 55 to withdraw their savings — total, partially or monthly

WRITTEN on the wall of a coffeeshop at Poh Kwong Park in Kuching is a Mandarin graffiti that sums up the philosophical wisdom of financial security in life probably better than most text books.

Its translation reads: A man’s greatest regret is to die before spending his wealth; a man’s greatest tragedy is to spend all his wealth and go on living.

The second part of this wise statement puts in a nutshell the greatest fear of the aging population — living without any income or savings and depending on others to survive.

With the present life expectancy in Malaysia at 71 for men and 76 for women, and the present retirement age at 55, the average man now has to go through the last 16 years of his life without income, totally reliant on his savings and support from his family while a working woman will have to go without income for 21 years … if both stop working after 55.

hose in government service will have the cushion of a life-long pension to fall back on although with rising inflation, many pensioners are complaining of difficulties in making ends meet on half their last full pay.

However, they are luckier than many public sector workers who rely solely on their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions in their twilight years.

The bad news for this group is that studies by banks and insurance companies in Malaysia have shown generally, their total EPF contributions up to 55 years will be enough to sustain them for only three to five years if they were to live the lifestyle of their working years.

Even more alarming is the recent EPF finding that 60 per cent of those who with drew all their contributions at 55, spent all of it within three years, leaving them destitute if they did not have other forms of savings or support from their children or other immediate family members, and if they did not work after retirement.

To help retirees manage their savings better, EPF has worked out three options for 55-year-old contributors to withdraw their money. (See table on the right)

A senior EPF officer from the Kuching headquarters said the withdrawal options were flexible in that a contributor who opted to withdraw his savings through monthly payments could also take up the partial withdrawal option at the same time.

“A person who opts for a fixed monthly withdrawal can also apply for partial withdrawal of not less than RM2,000 if there is sufficient fund in his account,” she said.
She pointed out that this was to allow the contributor to meet emergency expenses or take out a larger sum for holidays.

According to her, those who have withdrawn all their contributions but are continuing to work or have been re-employed after a break, can elect to re-contribute before Feb 1 on the present ratio of 11 per cent from the employee and 12 per cent from the employer.

Those who still have funds in their account (because they opt for partial withdrawal or monthly payment) will automatically continue to contribute on the same percentage ratio if they continue working or have been re-employed after a break before Feb 1.

However, those who are re-engaged, or have reached 55 after Feb 1 but continue to work, the contributions will be halved — meaning the employee will contribute 5.5 per cent of his pay while the employer needs only pay six per cent.

Those above 55 who were employed before Feb 1 would not be affected by this new ruling, she said.

“Employers must pay their share of EPF contributions to their employees who are above 55 as they are bound by law to do so,” she warned.

The officer disclosed the age limit of EPF contributors was 75 and those who did not withdraw their contributions after that age would not be entitled to any dividend and if the contributions were not withdrawn five years after their 75th birthday, the money would be transferred to Bank Negara as unclaimed monies.

A person will also cease to be an EPF member after he withdraws all his contributions for the second time.

This means if he remains employed after 55, he can only withdraw partially or opt for monthly payment to continue saving with EPF … that is if he has already made one total withdrawal.
While EPF contributions go a long way towards providing financial security for senior citizens, many would still be in a precarious position if they were to depend solely on their EPF savings.

Financial analysts calculate that an estate of RM300,000, invested with a return of eight per cent and factored by a four per cent inflation rate on the living expenses, will last only 14 years if the survivors need RM30,000 to live on a year.

The vast majority of retirees do not have RM300,000 in their estate. Even if they were to scale down their living expenses, unemployed retirees could reasonably expect to live on their savings (yielding an invested return of eight per cent interest) for slightly more than 10 years before going broke if they did not receive any help from their families.

EPF contributions and government pensions provide financial security, albeit in many cases barely adequate, to retirees who are employed in the government service and private sector but daily paid labourers in the informal sector, farm-hands employed without contracts, hawkers and small-business operators do not have such protection in their old age.

Another group of workers very vulnerable to financial distress in their twilight years are housewives who slog most of their lives looking after the family and have to rely solely on their children for support after their husbands have died or are no longer in a position to provide for them.

Alas, many life stories do not have happy endings and senior citizens, abandoned at old folks’ homes, bear testimony to the harsh reality that life’s expectations are often unfulfilled.

There are many options for people who are not covered by EPF or pensions to prepare for their retirement but all these financial plans do not necessarily involve forced savings and to a large extent, require self-discipline to carry through to retirement.

Generally, Malaysians do not seriously plan their retirement and this is reflected by the fact that only 30 to 35 per cent of the population is insured or has taken up retirement plans.

However, this figure does not reflect the actual number of people covered by insurance or retirement plans since the statistic is derived from the ratio of the number of insurance policies and retirement plans signed and the total population.

A senior insurance manager pointed out that most of these policies and retirement plans were taken up by the higher income group who often had more than one policy while the lower income group, especially those in the rural areas, were very poorly covered.

Sadly, it is the lower income group who are most in need of insurance protection and retirement plans and are also the ones who fail to plan for the future.
Their usual excuse is they could hardly make ends

Better connectivity from Jan 21: MASwings

MASwings connects the world to Sabah and Sarawak.

MASwings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), will increase its flight frequencies and improve connectivity come Jan 21 when the seventh Fokker F50 joins its existing fleet.
With 12 aircraft (seven Fokker F50 and five Twin Otters), MASwings will offer 85 additional weekly flights in East Malaysia, living up to its tagline ‘Connecting the world to Sabah and Sarawak’.

MASwings managing director Dr Amin Khan said that for 2008, MASwings would make 27,000 trips per annum or just over 2,000 per month.

“So in terms of flight, we have more than 70 per day while in terms of projection we expect to carry just over 700,000 passengers this year. Our strategy is to improve that number and one way is to bring in more tourists to Sabah and Sarawak,” he told reporters at a hotel here yesterday.

He said the 12 aircraft was timely for MASwings to gear up for the upcoming Chinese New Year and school holidays.

It was learnt that the fleet will enable MASwings to mount an additional 42 weekly flights within Sarawak, 11 services a week within Sabah and another 32 weekly flights between the two states.
MASwings took to the sky on Oct 1 last year with four Fokker 50 and four Twin Otter aircraft.
There will also be a revision of its weekly schedule to incorporate these 85 additional flights and also a review of the overall flight timing.

Amin said among the significant improvements in the airline’s network was an increased weekly Fokker 50 flights from seven to 14 on the Kuching-Sibu route and similar increase on the Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan and Sandakan-Tawau route.

He said the Kota Kinabalu-Sibu flights also increased from seven to 14 times a week and the current 10 weekly Kinabalu-Miri flights will be increased to 21.

“This is well-received by the business sectors and traders who especially want to make day trips. As for our Twin Otter, there will be a slight change in its schedule by March 28,” he said.
Recalling when MASwings first started, Dr Amin said the biggest challenge was in operations, so that was what the airline focused on initially to minimise cancellations and delays.
Fortunately, by the end of Dec last year MASwings was able to overcome the problems and moved on to its second and third phase of planning which encompassed the community and marketing strategy, he said.

He revealed that in terms of on-time performances, MASwings initially started with a target of achieving 86 per cent of on-time departures and in the first month of Oct, it achieved 84 per cent.
Come November, the airline topped that by achieving 88 per cent and this month it achieved 94 per cent, which pleased the Transport Ministry, he said.

Besides, to meet another request of the government, MASwings also provides complete interlining and good connectivity by making travelling less of a hassle as customers need only to go to one travel agent to book their tickets whether they travel all the way from London to Mulu or stop somewhere in between.

He said whether they travel by different airlines per sector, customers need only one booking reference and one ticket.

The ticket would also be an electronic one which would be an advantage if one were to lose the paper copy, he said.

The airline would have an image of the ticket in its database and allowed customers to fly or changed their flights even after they had lost their printed tickets, he said.

As for long distance travellers like those from London to Mulu, for example, they only need to check in their luggage once in London and vice versa, he said, adding that at one time this was not possible and passengers had to re-check their luggage during transit.

Amin stressed that MASwings was dedicated to providing excellent air services and would be replacing its Fokker 50 in the near future with a 70-seater ATR72-500.

MASwings, through MAS, has signed a memorandum of understanding pertaining to the purchase of 10 ATR72-500 and expected to receive at least one of the aircraft by this year.
These new aircraft will enable MASwings to expand its capacity by 150 per cent to meet future demand in Sabah and Sarawak.

Amin said customers were encouraged to go online to MASwings booking engine www.maswings.com.my for better offers that were lower by 30 per cent or more. No service fee is charged.

Launched on Dec 15, MASwings now registered a penetration of 10 per cent of its total bookings online, he said.

He said MASwings would soon have a new web engine by the end of next month, offering two virtual cabins (different prices) - flex saver and full flex.

“We will be branding the fares for better pricing. If you go by the internet booking, we guarantee the lowest fares on MASwings and the discounts could easily be 30 per cent and more,” he said.
He said that MASwings would be promoting its ‘Click n Go’ ticketing online very soon

Don’t use our logo: Police

Police logos displayed on private cars must be removed immediately so as not to cause public confusion.

The head of the State Traffic and Public Order, Superintendent Najmi Mustaffa, issued this statement as the department has been receiving a lot of complaints from the public about the misuse of the logos on private vehicles.

“Even the State government has voiced this matter.

“So we clarify that using police logos on private cars, whether in miniatures or in the form of stickers, is an offence,” he told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.

He said orders will be given out to all district police chiefs regarding this matter and individuals found displaying the logos on their vehicles will be asked to remove them immediately.
If they refused, then action would taken against them action under the Police Act.

Quoting a part of the Act, Najmi said: “Any person using any symbols without the permission from the authority, illegally using and displaying any badge or signs to show that he or she is part of the police force is susceptible to a fine or jail sentence.”

The minimum fine is RM500, and imprisonment is not more than six months.
Najmi stressed that the logo can only be displayed on police vehicles.

Even police officers are not allowed to display them on their private vehicles without permission.
Retired police officers were also not allowed to display the logo on their vehicles because they were no longer in the force, he said.

“There are several reasons why people use the police logo on their vehicles. Some use them to avoid detection and get through road blocks,” he said.

He said only certain shops are registered and authorised to issue the logo. To obtain it a person must show his or her registered authority card.

“Somebody must be selling the logo. We will monitor the shops selling them,” he said.
He said so far there were no cases of people using the logo to commit crime, but the possibility that the logo could be misused did exist.

He said the move to warn the public about the logo was the first step in controlling its misuse.
If the warning is not effective, the force will have to take other more effective steps.

“I urge those who know about the illegal sales of the logo to the public to report the matter to the nearest police station,” Najmi added.

bp 18/01/08

Sarawak: Kedai runcit hadapi masalah tepung gandum

Beberapa kedai runcit di negeri ini mendakwa kekurangan bekalan tepung gandum, walaupun Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP) Sarawak memberi jaminan bekalan tepung gandum mencukupi untuk kegunaan harian serta Tahun Baru Cina akan datang.

Seorang pemilik kedai runcit di Jalan Matang di sini, yang enggan namanya disiar berkata, kedainya sudah mengalami kekurangan tepung gandum sejak awal bulan ini.

Beliau berkata, masalah itu pernah berlaku pada Oktober dan November lalu walaupun pada waktu itu KPDNHEP Sarawak memberi jaminan bekalan tepung gandum mencukupi.

Katanya, kini masalah serupa berulang dan harga tepung yang dibungkus sendiri RM2.00 sekilogram berbanding RM1.70 sebelum ini.

"Ada harinya, kedai saya langsung tidak mempunyai bekalan tepung gandum menyebabkan ramai pelanggan terutama pembuat kuih pulang dengan tangan kosong. Ini yang menghairan saya kerana KPDNHEP memberi jaminan bekalan tepung gandum mencukupi," katanya.

Tinjauan Berita Harian ke beberapa kedai runcit di Jalan Gambier di sini, mendapati ada kedai yang sudah kehabisan bekalan sejak beberapa hari lalu.

Seorang pengguna Ahmad Drahman, 45 meminta pegawai KPDNHEP turun padang segera bukan hanya berpandukan rekod yang diberi oleh pemborong barangan itu.

Katanya, kekurangan bekalan berlaku mungkin disebabkan ada pihak yang ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk menaikkan harga barangan itu.

"Pegawai KPDNHEP perlu turun padang lebih kerap dan awal pagi dan sebelah petang di beberapa kedai runcit di Jalan Gambier di sini bukan hanya berpandukan rekod yang diperolehi dari pemborong.

"Rekod bekalan tepung gandum mungkin memang mencukupi, namun apa yang berlaku, ia tidak dihantar ke kedai runcit seperti sepatutnya," kata beliau.

Kelmarin Ketua Pegawai Penguat Kuasa KPDNHEP Sarawak, Abdul Rosik Yaacob berkata, pemantauan anggota penguat kuasa mendapati tidak berlaku gangguan bekalan di pasaran pada masa ini.

Apapun katanya, pegawai kita tetap melakukan rondaan bagi memastikan tiada peniaga yang cuba mengambil kesempatan.

"Sehingga kini kita belum menerima sebarang aduan mengenai kesukaran mendapatkan bekalan tepung gandum. Pengguna yang berhadapan dengan kesukaran mendapatkan tepung gandum boleh segera melaporkan pekara itu kepada kami," katanya ketika dihubungi di sini, semalam.

BH 14/01/08

1.6 million jobs by 2030

The proposed development of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) was expected to create 1.6 million jobs by 2030, Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said yesterday.

As such, he stressed, there was a need for the State to embark on a drive to encourage self-learning starting from pre-school.

Taib said the key in this would be the massive usage of broadband networks as the development of the central region required a huge pool of quality human resources to meet demand beyond 2020.

He made the remarks at the joint launch of Miri WiFi City at Curtin University of Technology here with Water, Energy and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Kheng Yaik.

Welcoming federal assistance to facilitate the development of the knowledge-driven younger generation, Taib said starting a pre-school with a WiFi environment conducive to self-learning culture and pursuit of knowledge would be a step towards the more sophisticated infrastructure and environment of the future.

He said Sarawak was on the fast lane of broadband coverage with Sacofa-Denawa Resources establishing the infrastructures for Internet connectivity and broadband applications.
Taib said the State took the initiative to start the broadband coverage last year, and provided RM2 million for the company to pay for the purchase of bandwidth for the two-year free service for the public.

“The conventional lines could take another century to reach our rural areas. There has to be another way of increasing Internet penetration rate and connectivity,” he said.

For the pilot project, he said he sought the blessings of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to avoid being misconstrued as being disrespectful of federal policies.

“The RM2 million forked out by the State government was peanuts compared to the free benefits for the people who rushed by the thousands to sign up,” he said.

Taib said Sarawak was optimistic of achieving 50 per cent coverage in all flat terrain in the State by 2009.

“But I worry about mountainous areas like places in Bario where we still have to depend on the federal government for subsidies,” he said.

He said priority would be given to Internet connectivity for all schools in the State to bridge the rural-urban digital divide by 2010 or 2011.

He commended Miri City Broadband Stakeholders Group led by chairman Lee Kim Shin, who is Infrastructure Development and Communication Assistant Minister, for their efforts and initiatives which had put the city in the driving seat of the broadband bandwagon.

The results of the broadband drive had impressed Dr Lim, who said he would be telling the other states and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to learn from the State.

He said Sarawak could even apply for quadruple play in broadband services by adding mobility into the data, voice and video communication through Internet protocols.

Dr Lim commended the State for its strong support of the national broadband plan (NBP), calling for fast roll out of high speed broadband services, wireless and wired, which form one of the main “pillars” of the government’s Malaysian Information, Communications

Pandangan : Teliti cadangan lanjut umur persaraan

CADANGAN Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs) untuk membuat rayuan kepada kerajaan bagi mendapatkan sagu hati khas menggantikan bonus bagi 2007 sebanyak RM2,000 kepada setiap kakitangan awam adalah wajar.

Ini memandangkan kebanyakan ibu bapa baru saja menyelesaikan pelbagai yuran dan keperluan peralatan persekolahan anak mereka. Dalam pada itu diharap pihak persatuan pesara janganlah berdiam diri tanpa membuat sebarang rayuan untuk mendapatkan imbuhan sewajarnya kepada kerajaan. Aktifkan sedikit pergerakan dan minda anda, jangan hanya merancang untuk membuat lawatan rombongan saja.

Dengan kadar kenaikan taraf hidup sekarang ini bukan saja mereka yang bekerja dengan pendapatan tetap setiap bulan bermasalah, malah pesara kerajaan juga menghadapi masalah sama.

Syor Cuepacs untuk melanjutkan umur bersara bagi kakitangan awam daripada 56 tahun kepada 60 tahun perlu dikaji sedalam-dalamnya oleh Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) atas beberapa faktor.

Pertama, kakitangan awam apabila sudah lanjut usia didapati prestasi pekerjaannya menurun dan selalu memerlukan rawatan perubatan kerana mengalami pelbagai penyakit terutama sekali kerja yang memerlukan tenaga dan pemerasan otak.

Kedua, negara kita masih mempunyai kadar pengangguran meruncing terutama sekali bagi lepasan pengajian tinggi yang memerlukan pekerjaan.

Ketiga, ialah faktor kelemahan daya berfikir yang selalu saja mudah terlupa apa yang dibuat apabila menjangkau umur 56 tahun ke atas dan ini boleh menjejaskan perkhidmatan awam itu sendiri. Saya mencadangkan hanya kakitangan yang mempunyai rekod kesihatan yang baik saja dipertimbangkan. Mereka yang tidak kerap mengambil cuti sakit serta hanya pegawai kanan kerajaan peringkat tertinggi yang berkelayakan dipertimbangkan dan begitu juga kakitangan teknikal. Pengambilannya pula biarlah secara kontrak mengikut tahun, bukannya hingga umur 60 tahun yang dicadangkan.

Petikan BH 9/1/08

Apa Pandangan dan Komen Anda ??

Bahasa Inggeris perlu ditekankan di sekolah

Isteri Tunku Mahkota Johor, Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris mahu bahasa Inggeris diberi penekanan dalam sistem pendidikan negara bagi menyediakan golongan muda dengan tuntutan globalisasi.

Baginda yang merupakan Felo Diraja Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) berkata, generasi muda perlu disediakan dengan kemahiran bertutur dan menulis dalam bahasa Inggeris seawal usia prasekolah.

Titah baginda, rakyat yang mahir dalam bahasa Inggeris bukan setakat mampu bersaing di negara serantau bahkan merupakan pesaing di persada antarabangsa.

Raja Zarith Sofiah juga mahu rakyat melihat kepentingan bahasa Inggeris di sekolah dan institut pengajian tinggi dalam konteks yang lebih luas daripada politik.

Menguasai bahasa Inggeris, menurut baginda, tidak bermakna rakyat mengagung atau memartabatkan bahasa asing melebihi bahasa kebangsaan.

“Kita perlu melihat makna semangat sayangkan negara dari sudut berbeza iaitu setiap ahli masyarakat perlu menguasai bahasa antarabangsa itu supaya negara tidak ketinggalan dalam ilmu,” titah baginda.

Baginda berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas menyampaikan Syarahan Umum Felo Diraja bertajuk Menjadi Global : Penggunaan Bahasa Inggeris dalam Abad Ke-21 Malaysia di Dewan Senat UKM di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir Naib Canselor UKM, Profesor Datuk Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin dan Naib Canselor Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Profesor Datuk Dr. Ismail Bakar.

Raja Zarith Sofiah bertitah, keupayaan menguasai bahasa Inggeris menunjukkan rakyat mengambil berat mengenai hala tuju negara kerana ilmu wujud daripada bahan bacaan berkualiti yang kebanyakannya di dalam bahasa Inggeris.