'SELAMAT DATANG KE BLOG 'PUSAT MAKLUMAT RAKYAT KUCHING'

Kami menyediakan bahan maklumat mengenai dasar-dasar kerajaan serta perkhidmatan internet bagi para pelanggan.

LEAVING THIS BLOG NOW...................

As I will be on a long months' holidays starting 7th July 2010 prior to my retirement in October 2010, I will suspend my service in updating my blog on daily issues or facts of interest.

I would like to thanks everyone for having the interest in surfing my blog and sharing the thoughts with me.

Thank you to everyone.


Thursday, August 28, 2008

Pengguna Jalan Kpg. Quap Melayu, Kota Samarahan Berhati Ketika Melalui Jalan ini.

Tindakan orang yang tidak bertanggungjawab sengaja meletakkan batu besar di tengah jalan mengancam keselamatan pengguna jalan raya. Keadaan jalan yang gelap yang tidak berlampu mudah menyebabkan kemalangan sesiapa sahaja yang lalu megguna jalan ini.

Baru baru ini, pada 17 Ogos yang lalu,kira kira jam 10.30 malam, satu batu kuari sebesar 50X 15 centimeter diletak ditenggah jalan di antara jambatan Kpg. Quap Melayu dan Kuari menyebabkan dua buah kenderaan mengalami kerosakan kerana terlanggar batu berkenaan.

Dalam kemalangan tersebut, sebuah kereta mengalami pecah tayer sementara sebuah lagi mengalami kebocoran pada bahagian enjin. Nasib menyebelahi kedua dua pemandu kerana tidak terbabas dan mengalami kecederaan.

Tindakan individu sengaja meletak batu kuari sebesar saiz tersebut memang nya perbuatan tidak berfikran waras kerana ia pasti mengundang kecelakaan kepada para pemandu yang mengguna laluan jalan ini.

Sarawak’s to contribute RM6 bln to nation’s coffers

Sarawak’s contribution to the national coffers in terms of taxes is projected to hit RM6 billion this year or nine per cent of the national direct revenue.

Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) chief executive officer and director general Datuk Hasmah Abdullah gave the projection at a press conference yesterday but she did not know where Sarawak stood compared to other states in the country.

“I’m not sure about the rating but as I have told the Sarawak (LHDN) director (Romli A Hamid), Sabah has already overtaken Sarawak this year,” she said in jest.

Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud had said in his speech at the opening of the 10th Study Group on Asian Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR) working level meeting earlier that the state was a “significant contributor to the federal revenue in terms of direct taxes.”

He said in 2006, Sarawak contributed RM4.681 billion or 7.23 per cent of the total national direct revenue and in 2007, its total tax contribution was RM5.658 billion or 7.57 per cent of the national direct revenue.

Taib, who is the state Finance Minister, pointed out that the fundamental economic driving force of the state was its abundant natural resources which had yet to be developed fully in areas of energy and plantations.

“When we have fully developed our natural resources and modernised the economy, the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) will bring immense benefits to our rural and remote areas as well as existing urban centres and cities,” he said.

Taib’s speech was delivered by Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.
The SGATAR meeting was hosted by LHDN Malaysia.

SGATAR, which was established in 1970 as a loose regional grouping, has 15 member countries.
Giving the audience an insight into the state’s economic progress, Taib said SCORE was a major initiative undertaken to develop the central region of Sarawak and transform the state into a developed state by the year 2020.

“It aims to achieve the goals of accelerating the state’s economic growth and development, as well as improving the quality of life for the people of Sarawak,” he said.

He pointed out that the core of the corridor was the energy resources, particularly hydropower, coal and natural gas.

He said they would allow Sarawak to price its energy competitively and encourage investments in power generation and energy-intensive industries that would act as ‘triggers’ for industrial development in the corridor.

He added that 10 priority industries had been identified under SCORE - oil-based, aluminium, metal-based, glass, tourism, palm oil, timber-based, livestock, fishing and aquaculture, and marine engineering.

The 10 industries, he said, would be promoted and developed extensively through greater private sector participation.

Moreover, he said the development of the 10 industries and their associated downstream value-added activities would be the driving force behind the growth of the industrial development of the corridor.

“The overarching goal of the Sarawak corridor is to develop our full economic potential and create investment and job opportunities in the state as a galvanising force to unite all the races of Sarawak,” Taib added.

Online buyers stung by cyber-scams

Two complainants lodged separate police reports yesterday claiming they were cheated by different individuals while con-ducting an online trans-action for second-hand items.

The first complainant, a man in his 20s from Desa Wira, had reportedly posted an ad on a popular community-trading website last Thursday stating his intention to purchase a second-hand Playstation Portable game console.

Shortly after, he was contacted by a female student who offered to sell him her PSP console for RM400.

Having agreed to the deal, the man deposited the sum into the student’s account.
He was told that the item would soon be delivered to him.

However, after a week of waiting without receiving the promised item, the complainant started to suspect that he had been scammed.

He tried to contact the student on several occasions, but was taken aback when she refused to answer his calls. Finally, as a last resort, he reported the matter to the police.
Meanwhile, the second complainant, a man in his mid-20s from Kenyalang Park, claimed he agreed to buy a second-hand Nokia N95 handphone from an unknown person via the same website last Wednesday.

Like the aforementioned complainant, he also deposited money into the seller’s account.
In order to secure his purchase, the man sent a total of RM1,000.

The following day, the complainant received a package from the seller, but was shocked to discover that the package only contained a handphone pouch and not the N95 handset he had requested to purchase.

When he tried contacting the seller for answers the complainant reported that the latter kept disconnecting his calls.
Coming to the conclusion that he had been cheated, the complainant decided to lodge a police report.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Government to announce new fuel price on August 31, to take effect September 1.

The government will announce the new fuel price on August 31, which will take effect on September 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday.

He said new price would be based on the averaqge fuel prices through the month of August and after deducting the 30 cents subsidy per litre.

However if the international fuel price goes higher, the current pump price will be maintain.

The government increased the price of petrol to RM2.70 per litre and diesel, to RM2.58 per litre in June this year.

LAKMNS Chairman refuses to comment

NO COMMENT!: Bujang Nor trying to evade the press

Lembaga Amanah Kebajikan Negeri Sarawak (LAKMNS) chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Bujang Nor evaded the press yesterday on the issue surrounding the desecration of 44 graves at Jalan Keretapi here.

“I can’t comment or I will be misunderstood again,” was one of the few words he said as he hurried off with members of the media hot on his heels.

Judging from the media frenzy which took place after an event at a hotel here yesterday, there was no second guessing that the Muslim cemetery issue was the hottest topic in recent weeks so far.
After an unsuccessful attempt to get a word on the issue from Bujang, members of the media turned to Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Dato Sri Awang Tengah Ali Hassan — the guest of honour for the said event — for answers.

It was put to Tengah that if there was indeed a misunderstanding, then Bujang Nor should communicate and explain to the people what was being misunderstood instead of being evasive.
Tengah, however, sidestepped the statement and instead tried to calm the situation down by assuring that LAKMNS, the gravesite owner, was trying its best to resolve the issue.

“I understand that they had a dialogue yesterday. All this is due to a misunderstanding although I do not know exactly what had transpired,” he said, adding that the main point of it all was to solve the problem amicably.

The incident, which took place on Aug 12, saw an official from the religious department beaten up over what was described as ‘unlawful exhumation’ of 44 graves by a local contractor here.
The incident sparked off fury among the family members of those buried at the cemetery, said to date back to the James Brooke era.

On Aug 17, Kuching Division Land and Survey Superintendent Abdullah Julaihi said in a press statement that no approval had been granted for the development of the land now occupied by the cemetery.

He said that the affected land was a private property registered to ‘Mesjid Besar (Kuching) Charitable Trust Board’.

“However, should the land owner wish to develop or redevelop the land, prior approval must be obtained from the State Planning Authority.

“I wish to assure all that no proposal for development has been received nor approval given to the land owner for any development on the said land,” he said.

On Aug 15, LAKMNS in a statement sought to clarify that the land where the cemetery is presently located is no longer classified under ‘tanah wakaf’.

It nonetheless expressed its “profound regret” and issued an apology to the descendents over the debacle surrounding the issue.

Apart from expressing its apology, LAKMNS also sought to clarify certain issues regarding the relocation of the cemetery from its present location to the Semariang Muslim cemetery.

The statement mentioned that the cemetery had, in fact, not been used for burial since Aug 27, 1985 and that the land was now wholly owned by LAKMNS and no longer ‘tanah wakaf’.

LAKMNS further claimed to have referred the proposed relocation to the relevant government agencies and contacted all the descendants regarding the matter since 2006, apart from appointing a contractor and consultants to discuss the issue with the affected families on its behalf.

It also stated that the relocation works were conducted in accordance with Islamic law and had been referred to the State Mufti officer and approved by the state government, with LAKMNS bearing the full cost of the project.

Meanwhile, a dialogue session was held between the newly formed protem committee of the Jalan Keretapi Muslim Cemetery and LAKMNS on Aug 18.

The committee was said to have handed over a seven-point memorandum to LAKMNS during the dialogue session.

The seven-point memorandum was said to contain, among others, a request for compensation of RM500,000 each for the 44 graves desecrated, the status of the cemetery to remain as such and the protem committee to be given the mandate to arrange for and supervise any activity in regards to the cemetery.

The memorandum also sought explanation from those responsible for the exhumation of the graves.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Don’t politicise DNA bill: PM

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday urged all parties not to politicise the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Bill 2008 which was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat Monday.

Dismissing the assumption that the bill had connection with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy charge, he said the government had wanted for a long time to take the matter relating to DNA and the act to parliament.

If DNA became an issue in the case, it was a coincidence, he said.

“This Act is good for us and for the future because it will be an important approach in efforts by the authorities to be more effective in combating crime,” he told reporters after the launch of the state-level Green Earth Programme by his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah at Taman Merdeka in Batu Berendam.

He was asked to comment on claims by certain parties that the Act, which requires crime suspects to give their DNA samples, is politically motivated.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Issue : What Sarawakians want is better highway

REFER to an article published in The Borneo Post on Aug 13 where the prime minister assured that Sarawak would get more value-added development.

What we in Sarawak want is for the highway to Miri to be upgraded from its present pitiful state to be on par with the North-South Highway in the peninsula.

The state government has not fought hard enough for the federal government to channel funds for the reconstruction of the Pan Borneo Highway, which in its present state, does not reflect Sarawak’s contribution to Malaysia since the formation of Malaysia 45 years ago.

All we ask is that the federal government ask the Deputy Minister of Works who happens to be from Sarawak to travel by road from Kuching to Miri and thence through Negara Brunei Darussalam to Limbang and Lawas and thence on to Sabah, and similarly travel from Johor to Perlis via the North-South Highway and then submit a report on the condition of this Pan Borneo Highway and ask this question: Do we deserve this type of road after 45 years and the countless contributions Sarawak has made to Malaysia?

If the Deputy Minister of Works were to travel from Kuching to Miri by road, we ask that he bring along the state minister of In-frastructure Development and other officials from the Ministry of Works.

I am a regular user of the Pan Borneo Highway as my business requires me to travel by road at least once a month from Kuching to Miri where I have to call at various towns along the Pan Borneo Highway.

I have also travelled along the North-South Highway from Johor to Perlis, at least twice a year.
What we have as the Pan Borneo Highway does not reflect the contribution Sarawak has made to the Federation and we are being ‘anak tirikan’ by the federal government.
So to reflect the appreciation of the federal government for Sarawak’s contribution, improve the Pan Borneo Highway to one that is comparable to that of the North-South Highway in Semenanjung Malaysia.

Letters to Editor, Saturday, August 16 Borneo Post

Monday, August 18, 2008

Prejudice makes you just another drug mule : Watch out when you are travelling alone to foreign country

An anti-narcotic policewoman taking an X-ray of the abdomen of a passenger at an international airport. With a growing number of female drug mules, immigration personnel are taking extra precautions, sometimes even bordering on bigotry
Tricked by their lovers into smuggling drugs, Malaysian women are languishing in foreign jails. And with too many Malaysians overstaying in the UK, the British government is mulling introducing visas for visiting Malaysians.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Banks to ease financial burden of customers

Finance companies are resorting to restructuring car loan repayments to help ease the burden of customers with heavy financial commitments.

At least three major banks will announce their hire-purchase loan restructuring plans soon.

A senior manager of a prominent local bank with a substantial volume of hire-purchase customers said that given the current economic scenario, where prices of fuel and food had increased, many customers would be burdened by the high repayment plans that they had signed previously.

Finance companies could not rule out that some customers might find it difficult to service their monthly instalments, he said.

“We expect that for next year there will be more repossession orders given, but it won’t be a drastic increase,” he said, adding that his company issued a monthly average of 2,500 repossession orders.

Most banks and finance companies will try to assist any customer whom they feel could fail to meet their monthly instalments.

The move is expected to bring cheer to thousands of hire-purchase customers, especially those paying high monthly instalments for their car loans.

A Perodua Kelisa owner, Jen Neoh, 29, welcomes an option to restructure her car loan, as it would ease her financial burden.

“I think it’s better to be in debt with a bank, rather than borrowing from friends, family or even loan sharks,” she said.

Neoh, who now pays almost RM400 for her monthly instalments, said she would be comfortable paying about RM200 instead.

A public relations manager in a large bank here said her bank was now very selective with new approvals for hire-purchase loans.

“And we have also started calling customers to help restructure their hire-purchase agreements to help them make ends meet,” she said.

Loan restructuring is commonly done by extending the account holder’s repayment period to lower the monthly instalment that needs to be paid.

“Many factors affect how much the refinancing would affect the new monthly repayment amount,” said a head of retail collection in Kuala Lumpur.

He said they included how much loan was taken in the first place and the customer’s financial status.

“But if they can’t pay, reduction is not a solution. They can always surrender their cars. But we will try to help them so that they won’t have to,” he said.

Federation of Consumer Associations adviser Datuk Hamdan Adnan said Bank Negara must step in and help consumers who have been threatened with having their vehicles repossessed.
“Banks always claim they are customer-friendly. But in reality, they exploit some customers,” he said.

Harga beras ST15 kekal

Kerajaan hari ini memutuskan untuk mengekalkan harga beras Super tempatan 15 peratus hancur (ST15) pada paras RM1.65 hingga RM1.80 sekilogram, walaupun ada permintaan daripada pengilang untuk menaikkan harga beras jenis itu sebelum ini.

Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, berkata kerajaan sebaliknya akan memperuntukkan dana berjumlah sekitar RM400 juta sebagai bantuan subsidi kepada kira-kira 160 pengilang beras jenis itu di seluruh negara bagi mengatasi masalah kerugian yang mereka alami.

Mengenai beras import, Mustapa berkata sehingga semalam, harga runcit bagi beras itu telah diturunkan kepada RM3.50 sekilogram daripada RM4.50 sekilogram sebelum ini, setelah Bernas menurunkan harga borong beras import mulai 1 Ogos lalu.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Drugs in handicraft ploy

Syndicates smuggling drugs to Europe are now using local handicraft like batik, songket and woodcarvings to hide their activities.

The syndicates, especially from African countries, claim to be authorised importers from their respective countries when buying such items.

Syndicate members then entice local women to smuggle the drugs under the pretext of “exporting” authentic Malaysian products.

The items were to be sold throughout Europe.

Claiming that they had opened joint-venture companies based in Malaysia, the syndicates convinced local women to collect documents that were purportedly sales orders for the items in various European countries.

According to sources, the local women were further lured by the syndicates' promise to employ them as permanent workers if they carry out their “duties” well.

The women were paid pocket money, with some receiving up to RM30,000 depending on the amount of drugs they were carrying.

Previously, local women were tricked into becoming drug mules after falling in love with syndicate members who pretended to be their suitors, or were enticed by the lure of quick money.

Some of these women were confined and raped by syndicate members, and later forced to smuggle drugs.

The usual destinations for the drugs – commonly heroin, cocaine, ganja and syabu – were England, Germany, France and Spain.

City narcotics chief Assistant Commissioner Kang Chez Chiang said the syndicates’ latest ploy came to light in May after police rescued a 20-year-old woman just hours before she was to board a flight to Spain.

Three Africans, aged between 24 and 31, who duped the woman, were arrested at a condominium in Damansara Damai, Petaling Jaya.
ACP Kang said the syndicate paid for her passport, the flight tickets and pocket money for her “vacation.”

Last year alone, 80 Malaysians, 53 of whom have been charged, were arrested for drug offences in China, Singapore, Malta, Brazil, Peru, Taiwan, Venezuela, India, Spain and Portugal.

Up to July this year, 170 Malaysians, mostly women aged between 21 and 30, have been detained abroad.

Peace, stability in our hands, says PM

The country’s political stability, peace and security rests in the hands of Malaysians and is not up to foreign elements to determine.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the laws of this nation and its sovereignty would have to be protected and upheld.

He added enforcement would also have to be at its utmost efficiency in order to maintain peace and stability in the country.

“We have to determine this and not other countries or people. We have to ensure that the country continues to be stable and peaceful.

PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (right) accompanied by DPM Datuk Seri Najib at the monthly gathering at at the Prime Minister’s Department on Monday. On the left is KSN Tan Sri Mohd Sidek.

“There is no need for me to explain this further but suffice to say it is the responsibility of all Malaysians to look after the country’s well being.

“We need not ask foreigners to come (and help us do so). Neither can we blame others if we cannot maintain peace in our own land,” he said Monday at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly gathering.

Abdullah said the Government was aware that a large segment of the society was still unhappy with petrol prices despite the Government giving a discount and subsidy, adding the Government would continue with efforts to ease the public’s burden due to the fuel price.

“But the rakyat (people) must remember that this (fuel hike) is beyond our control. There are things that are out of our control.

“The Government is aware that there are a lot of problems that are caused by the escalating fuel price and we strive to ensure the people are not too burdened by this,” he said.