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Indonesia’s gecko-gate

by Tim Lindsey
The Australian
November 20, 2009
(extract)

Instead, the nation is riveted by televised Constitutional Court hearings, explosive press conferences and a daily diet of rolling media revelations uncovering what may be the country’s biggest political crisis since the fall of Suharto in 1998.

At the heart of it all is Indonesia’s popular anti-corruption commission (KPK). Originally expected to be the latest in a long and unhappy line of toothless, gutless or silenced anti-corruption initiatives, it quickly proved itself anything but.

Energetic, determined and courageous, it used aggressive new tactics involving electronic surveillance and carefully managed stings to chase some very bigfish.

It targeted legislators at the local and national levels, as well as ministers, governors, police, prosecutors, judges and reserve bank governors. And it enjoyed a spectacular 100 per cent success rate in court. Continue reading “Indonesia’s gecko-gate”

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Najib should give iron-clad guarantee of personal safety of PI Bala to return to tell the truth of what he knows about C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should give iron-clad guarantee of the personal safety of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam for him to return to the country to tell the truth of what he knows about the C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

There is no other option to Najib to ensure national and international legitimacy as Malaysian Prime Minsiter following the five-part publication of Balasubramiam’s interview, where he named names as well as cited monetary figures explaining the background to the mystery of his Statutory Declaration One and Statutory Declaration Two contradicting each other within 24 hours and his subsequence disappearance with his family from Malaysia.
Continue reading “Najib should give iron-clad guarantee of personal safety of PI Bala to return to tell the truth of what he knows about C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya”

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Personal Data Protection Bill put online as national service and to welcome public views

It has taken the government some two decades to finally come out with Personal Data Protection Bill which was presented in Parliament for first reading yesterday.

It is however not available online, which is a sad reflection on the government’s seriousness and commitment to ICT and e-government.

As a national service, the Personal Data Protection Bill is hereby put on-line and all public views and input are welcome before parliamentary debate next month.

In Parliament in April 1997, I spoke of eight principles which should be adopted in a Malaysian Data Protection Act, viz:

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Divyashree, one of three pupils drowned in Kuala Dipang bridge tragedy, scored 4 As 3 Bs in UPSR, had ambition to become orthopaedic surgeon

V. Divyashree, 12, one of the three pupils drowned in the bridge collapse tragedy at SK Kuala Dipang in Jeram, Perak on Oct. 26 scored 4 As and 3 Bs in the UPSR results yesterday.

But the UPSR results were no comfort to her or her family. Divyashree’s life and her ambition to become an orthopaedic surgeon were snuffed out when together with two other pupils, N. Dina Deve and M. Devatharshini attending a 1Malaysia camp organized by the Education Ministry’s Co-curriculum Centre, she was drowned when the Kuala Dipang suspension bridge collapsed because of criminal negligence.

This morning, together with Perak Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives including MPs Ngeh Koo Ham (Bruas), M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat), Nga Kor Ming (Taiping) and Perak State Assembly members A. Sivanesan (Sungkai), legitimate and legal Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar (Tronoh), Leong Mee Ming (Jalong), I was at the Ipoh High Court to extend support, sympathy and solidarity to the parents of the three victims of the Kuala Dipang tragedy to file a hundred-million ringgit suit against the Education Ministry for their death.
Continue reading “Divyashree, one of three pupils drowned in Kuala Dipang bridge tragedy, scored 4 As 3 Bs in UPSR, had ambition to become orthopaedic surgeon”

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Only 5.7 Per Cent Of Year Six Students Skilled At Problem Solving

Bernama
November 19, 2009 16:39 PM

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 19 (Bernama) — The education ministry’s first Aptitude Test for Year Six students during their UPSR exams has shown that only 5.7 per cent (29,084 students) out of 509,885 pupils are skilled at problem solving and decision making, and only 34.34 per cent (175,101) in skilled thinking.

Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom This said today that this indicated that the children needed more training on problem-solving and decision-making.

Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, he explained that the Aptitude Test was divided into two dimensions, namely Skilled Thinking and Problem Solving and Decision-Making . Continue reading “Only 5.7 Per Cent Of Year Six Students Skilled At Problem Solving”