Anything & Everything About Malaysia/Johor/JB

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Saturday 18 February 2006 :-

Web designer to hang for killing Russian girlfriend

KLANG, Feb 17:
--------------
An Internet web designer was sentenced to death by the High Court today for stabbing a Russian woman 19 times when she rejected his expression of love and proposals for marriage.

Chian Swee Ong, 36, was charged with murdering the 22-year-old woman he knew as Sara at his home in 11/a Jalan USJ 13/5B in Subang at 5am on Dec 13, 2002.

He merely nodded when an interpreter asked if he understood the verdict and told the court he wanted to call his sister to tell her the news.

Judge K.N. Segera, in handing down the sentence, said he had no choice but to reject the defence of sudden and grave provocation because of the lack of evidence.

"I have no doubt that you loved the deceased but there is no indication that she reciprocated the love," he said, adding that the relationship was one of customer and client.

Segera said his hands were tied despite finding the accused to be honourable by surrendering to the police and honest during his testimony.

"Your lawyers have fought very hard for you, but the law is clear and must run its course. There is only one sentence for the offence, which is death by hanging," he said.

During his own testimony, Chian (right) said he met Sara at the Lisa De Inn Spa in Petaling Jaya where she worked as a prostitute in August 2002 and he used her services between 10 and 20 times, paying RM260 on each occasion.

Chian said he also paid between RM800 and RM1,000 to take her out to a hotel or back to his house six and seven times.

He said he started to fall in love with her in late October that year. He told her so and proposed to her. He said Sara promised to marry him but had asked him to wait.

In November 2002, Sara moved to Kim Lady, an entertainment centre in Puchong where she worked as a guest relations officer. Chian said he went there often after work to meet her.

On Dec 12, he went to Kim Lady where he proposed to her again and asked her to stop working but she refused and an argument ensued.

Chian admitted slapping her during the argument and she slapped him back before he left. He said he was remorseful for hitting her and called her numerous times on her handphone but she refused to entertain his calls.

In desperation, he returned to Kim Lady at 3am and paid the establishment RM800 to take her home for the night.

Chian said at his house he apologised profusely to her and repeatedly declared his love before they had sexual intercourse in the hall.

He said Sara told him he did not really love her because he had hit her but he told her he loved her and would die for her. In an attempt to prove his love, Chian said he consumed 19 Uphamol pills but Sara only laughed at him. He took a knife from a cupboard in the house and slashed his own hand but again, Sara only laughed at him.

He said Sara then told him that she had come to Malaysia for the sole purpose of making money and was nice to him because of his money.

Chian said by this time, he had already spent RM20,000 and he felt angry. He lost control of himself and stabbed her multiple times.

He said everything happened so fast that he was unclear what actually happened. When Sara fell to the ground he panicked and attempted to kill himself.

Chian said he stabbed himself several times in the chest and consumed Harpic and Jif toilet cleaners but he only fell asleep at 10am the next day.

He said he left the house and checked himself into a hotel in Klang where he tried to kill himself by consuming rat poison, Dettol and Clorox.

Chian said he only returned to his house on Dec 16 and saw Sara lying motionless in his hall. He went to see his sister in Taman Eng Ann in Klang and she advised him to give himself up. He then surrendered to police.

When the body of the deceased was recovered, it was so badly decomposed that a positive identification was never established.

For the first time, the court ruled that the identity of a deceased was immaterial and called for the accused to enter his defence.

Chian was defended by Lee Cheng Theng and S. Ramesh while deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin prosecuted.


http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/n...ional/kill.jpg

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Saturday 18 February 2006 :-

Bigfoot’s 4am howls?

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 17:
----------------------
Did residents of Kampung Lukut at the foothills of Gunung Panti wake up over the past four mornings to the call of the "Johor Bigfoot"?

Some believe the spine-chilling howls they heard about 4am could be coming from the creature.

Dicky Darwis Abdul Rahman, whose family owns a 40- hectare oil palm plantation at the foothills of the mountain, said plantation workers had reported the phenomenon to him.

He said they had described it as a cross between the cry of a monkey and a wild pig.

"The workers who regularly go hunting in the nearby jungle know how to differentiate the calls of the various animals in the jungle and they are convinced that the roars were unlike that of any known animal."

Dicky Darwis said some of the workers had gone into the jungle to investigate and found many large footprints, especially at a nearby riverbank and hilltop.

They also found branches and leaves of trees in the area stripped clean up to a height of about 3m.

He added that before his father set up the plantation, the area was virgin jungle, where tigers and elephants used to roam.

"All the recent sightings of the Bigfoot and cases of elephants in this area, which is connected to the Mawai area, could be due to logging activities in the jungles."

He said his father, a former Johor Baru city councillor and retired factory manager, was excited about the new Bigfoot evidence and felt the whole area should be protected.

Dicky Darwis’ family had a visit today from a television crew from the British Broadcasting Corporation, which wanted to interview him for a preview of a television documentary.

The crew was led by BBC's Kuala Lumpur-based correspondent, Jonathan Kent.

The crew had earlier visited the adjoining Kampung Temening Lama area where villagers found 50cm-long footprints last month, believed to be that of the Johor Bigfoot .

There were also many footprints found in the jungle, where the creature was believed to have climbed a hill and disappeared into the interior.

The NST had earlier reported Dicky darwis’s account of how a search for Bigfoot conducted in the 1990s at Air Hitam by his late game warden brother had produced faeces samples and cement casts of the creature’s footprints.

He said the analysis of the faeces indicated that Bigfoot survived on leaves.

He added that the search party led by his brother, Abdul Jalil, had found an area in the jungle which was unusually clean with most trees bare of leaves up to a certain height.

Despite the announcement by the State Government that foreign media would only be invited to cover the Bigfoot story after local scientists had established a proper databank on the creature, two foreign media groups besides the BBC arrived here today.

They included a seven-man crew from a United States-based firm producing documentaries for television networks, and a cameraman from KBS 2TV, South Korea.

[Malaysian Datuk]

Originally Posted by KatoeyLover69

Report from The STAR dated Friday 17 February 2006 :-





Malaysia's 20 Richest Men :
http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2...iness/list.jpg

I just missed the list.....I at lumber 21

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Saturday 18 February 2006 :-

Fresh 'Bigfoot' footprints located near a stream in Panti Forest

JOHOR BARU, Sat:
-----------------
PHYSICAL evidence of what could have been Bigfoot's was today found at the foothills of Panti Forest by bio-diversity researchers and media who investigated claims by villagers that they heard the creature's spine-chilling calls on Tuesday.

Following a three-hour trek into the jungle near Kampung Lukut in Panti, the team saw giant footprints and broken foliage two metres above ground which could only have been reached by a tall creature/s.

It was reported yesterday that residents of Kampung Lukut had been rudely awakened by the howling over the past four days.

Local biodiversity researcher Vincent Chow who led the group, including the NST and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) media crew, said although wild buffaloes in the area had trampled over the tracks found at a stream, the group managed to find some untouched footprints believed to have been made by Bigfoot.

Plantation worker Yazid Jaafar, 29, said he first saw the footprints on Tuesday while investigating the source of the early morning howling.

"We could clearly see the large human like footprints with four toes and big toe bent about 90 degrees away from the other toes like a monkey's foot. The footprint tracks stretched along the banks of the stream.

"The creature appeared to have walked along the bank, probably feeding on leaves growing there before returning into the jungle," he said.


CONCRETE EVIDENCE: Researcher Chow (right) and Yazid measuring the freshly made giant footprints by the stream.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/n...sBreak/bf1.jpg

BIGFOOT: Look at the size of the footprint compared to the one made by a human (left).
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/n...sBreak/bf2.jpg


MORE EVIDENCE: A trackker showing a twig that could have been broken by the creature or creatures.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/n...sBreak/bf3.jpg

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Sunday Times dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

[COLOR="Red"]SHOCKING PLUNDER[/COLOR]: Looters turn posh condo resort into an empty shell

By Lau Meisan

JOHOR BARU, Feb 18:
---------------------
Thieves have reduced a once up-market condominium resort in Bandar Seri Alam to a shell, carting away residents’ belongings, furnishings and even doors by the lorry loads.

The Anjung Seri Resort is in such a sorry state that many would be excused for thinking it was slated for the wrecking ball.

The sad truth is this: the 11-year-old property is barely recognisable as the prime neighbourhood that once drew droves of Malaysians and Singaporeans looking for their dream apartment.

Today, many of the 190 units, developed by Resort Habitat Sdn Bhd, are without doors or windows with expensive fittings, appliances and furniture, having gone missing over time.

Even Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s generator and compressor have not been spared.

It all began in October last year when residents returning over the weekend found that their units had been broken into and belongings missing.

But their problems really started from Dec 18 when large-scale looting was believed to have been carried out.

The single security guard on duty daily posed no deterrent to the thieves.

The residents had lodged 40 police reports since October last year.

According to residents’ committee spokesman Jackson Chia, things were great in the first two years after the resort was completed in 1994.

"Most of the units were occupied by expatriates and my family enjoyed our weekends here," he said at a Press conference today attended by 40 owners.

But their woes began in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis when Singaporeans and other foreigners moved out.

Most of the units were left vacant with owners, including locals, unable to find new tenants or buyers.

"Since then, it has been neglected. Over time, thieves started breaking in. Numerous police reports have been lodged but to no avail.

"Although we complained to the management, the break-ins became more frequent late last year with nothing being done to stop them."

The last straw was in January when some owners who visited their units found them completely stripped.

Chia said the sole security guard claimed to have seen people ferrying resident’s belongings in lorries.

"When I asked him why he did not stop them. He just told me that there were too many of them and he dared not confront them alone."

Committee chairman Lim Chin Hoe wants the Housing and Local Government Ministry to look into the matter.

He said it was hard to ascertain the total loss incurred which many feel could run into hundreds of thousands.

A resident, who declined to be identified, said he could not believe that the management had allowed the thefts to occur.

"How could thefts on such a massive scale occur? Didn’t anyone care?’ he asked.

According to resident S.S. Goh, who paid RM240,000 for his unit, some residents had been paying the RM140 monthly management fee.

Robert Gomes, a 64-year-old retiree who bought his unit for RM370,000, was shocked to find his unit empty of everything, even the doors and windows were missing.

"I visited the place two months ago and the doors and windows were intact. Today, there is nothing left," he said.

Residents had another problem awaiting them today. The lift could not be used as the stolen generator had not been replaced.

"I had to walk up the stairs to my eighth floor unit," said an angry Gomes.

Teng Kwok Kheong, one of the 37 Singaporean owners, was shocked to find the front door to his unit missing.

"They plundered my unit. They took everything ...television sets, sofas and expensive paintings," he said.

According to Perpetual Gain Sdn Bhd, which stopped managing the resort last October, the property was in the hands of a liquidator, S.C. Corporate Sdn Bhd.

Johor Baru South police chief Assistant Commissioner Roslan Ahmad said police were aware of the matter which was under investigation.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Sunday Times dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

RM44.5b target from tourism during Visit Malaysia Year 2007

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18:
-----------------------
The Tourism Ministry has set an ambitious target — RM44.5 billion in revenue during Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

"Revenue from tourism in 2005 was around RM30 billion, and it should surpass that this year, but 2007 is a special year, it’s also the nation’s 50th anniversary," said Datuk Dr Victor Wee, the secretary-general of Tourism Malaysia.

Wee said this at at a Chinese New Year gathering jointly organised by the Kuala Lumpur Tourist Association (KLTA) and the Ministry of Tourism at the National Museum today.

He said the biggest segment of tourists was still from Singapore, but the number of tourists from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India, China and the Middle East was fast increasing as well.

"Increased efforts to promote Malaysia as a ‘meeting, incentives, conference and exhibitions’ (Mice) destination is also our top priority."

Wee said Mice-related tourists spend at least double the average tourist, and the Ministry wanted to increase the numbers to at least eight per cent from the present two per cent of the overall tourist numbers.

He also said the "Malaysia Welcomes the World" campaign was a key factor in making 2007 a successful year for the local tourism industry. "The campaign involves everyone, from government officials to taxi drivers and basically all Malaysians. We hope all frontliners will be ready to welcome all tourists with our gracious hospitality."

Datuk Shamsul Falak Kadir, the chairman of KLTA, said, "promoting Malaysian cultural experiences and our warm hospitality to tourists is our main objective today".

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Sunday Times dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

Adnan's twin tourism targets

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 18:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wooing Chinese tourists and promoting rural tourism are among the top priorities for newly-appointed Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

These are among the strategies to boost tourism revenue to US$10 billion (RM37.09 billion) by 2010. The figure at present stands at US$7.9 billion (RM29.3 billion), he said.

Tengku Adnan said he had met former Tourism Ministers Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad and Datuk Seri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, to get a better understanding of the industry.

"The top priority is to increase tourist arrivals," he said at Sekolah Menengah Kebangssan Putrajaya Precinct 9 today.

Tengku Adnan, who is the Putrajaya MP, was attending the school's Deepa-Raya-Gong Xi Unity Day celebration.

"I have also met my deputy, Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai, to talk about attracting Chinese tourists. We will have to have PR (public relations) strategies for China as it is a big country,"

Tengku Adnan also wants to meet the Menteris Besars, Chief Ministers and state executive councilors in charge of tourism to discuss ways to promote the rural attractions of each State.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Sunday Times dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

Khoo Kay Kim - The 'lonely bridge builder'

Feb 19:
--------
Datuk Khoo Kay Kim, one of the architects of the Rukun Negara after the riots of May 13, 1969, is clearly unhappy with the fabric of racial unity today. The historian tells WAN HAMIDI HAMID that race relations between Malaysians are at their most fragile in nearly 40 years.

HE is one of the few who can lay claim to being an active member of the prospective, but elusive, Bangsa Malaysia.

Coming from rural Teluk Intan, he is fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, loves P. Ramlee songs, is married to an Indian lady, and has three sons who share his love for culture, the arts and people.

Yet, Khoo is unhappy. He believes that he may be one of just a few in this seemingly exclusive club in a nation that appears to be generally pulling in opposite communal directions after 49 years of independence.

The Professor Emeritus at Universiti Malaya's History Department has just cause to sound depressed after nearly a lifetime of championing racial unity.

He points to lacklustre achievements in racial unity as proof that communal ties are at their most delicate in nearly four decades.

The root of the problem, as he sees it, lies in:

* a national school system that has become more communal despite its supposed non-ethnic and non-religious status;

* the participation of political parties in national unity committees; and,

* Malaysians ignoring the fifth tenet of Rukun Negara: good behaviour and morality.

He blames the education system which has become more communal despite its supposed non-ethnic and non-religious status for the growing division between the races.

Khoo, 69, says politicians planned their strategies according to the actual situation and hence fed on the problem.

"They feel that if they strengthen the position of the Malays, the Malays will think as one, and then they will always get votes from the Malays," he said.

This takes him to the second reason behind the problem: politicians who worsen the situation through their participation in national unity panels.

"Each political representative always feels he must fight for his own party.

"Since we have mostly ethnic parties, they are fighting for their own ethnic groups. It is very difficult to achieve any kind of consensus.

"For ethnic champions to survive, society must always be in a state of flux.

"If you don't do anything positive, things will get worse and worse. You have to address the problem."

Khoo understands that for a politician to get mass support, he must be seen as a champion of his ethnic group.

However, Khoo, who yearns for a day when Malaysians will share a single identity, warns that racial unity would continue to elude the nation if politicians persisted in harping on racial lines.

Khoo, a Human Rights Commissioner, is more than qualified to speak about racial unity.

He was called upon to help mend differences between the races as the nation lay smouldering after the May 13 race riots.

Khoo did not hesitate when the National Action Council asked him to sit on the committee to find ways to prevent the clashes from recurring.

The council, chaired by Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, was the governing body during the 1969 emergency.

"Prior to May 13, I was deeply disturbed by the kind of political campaigning that was going on. It was very ethnic; one ethnic group attacking another."

Headed by Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie, the committee's membership comprised prominent Malaysians such as the late Tan Sri Zain Azraai and Tan Sri C. Selvarajah.

During the emergency, Parliament was suspended and the committee met at Parliament to discuss issues.

Among other things, they formulated the Rukun Negara, based on Indonesia's Pancasila. It was not a state ideology as in Indonesia, but more a guideline for citizens to live by.

They formulated the principles of Rukun Negara in such a way that common people would understand, as it would express the tenets of nationhood.

"For example, the first principle of belief in God does not mean we have to have a faith but since the majority of Malaysians are religious believers, it was only fair to make it the main tenet of the Rukun Negara," he said.

Khoo feels that a third reason for diminishing racial ties is the general disregard among Malaysians for the fifth tenet of the Rukun Negara: good behaviour and morality.

He feels that the races would be pulling together if more Malaysians practised the fifth tenet.

The affable academic, who has also helped shape the National Culture Policyhas been through two racial disturbances.

He was eight years old when he witnessed his first race riot.

It was 1945 and the mostly-Chinese Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) were exacting revenge on Japanese collaborators in the aftermath of World War II.

The CPM and its military wing, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army, had no mercy for Chinese miners and traders, and some Malays, seen as "enemies of the people" for helping the Japanese during the Occupation.

It was a matter of time before the Malays retaliated.

Khoo still remembers the violent clashes in Teluk Intan which had a profound effect on him.

"I always see myself as a bridge builder rather than a champion of any ethnic group.

"If I were very much a champion of the Chinese, how could I get across to the Malays? What we need today are more bridge builders, not ethnic champions."

His schooldays, to a large extent, shaped the way he saw society.

"During my schooldays, the most important thing in our football team was that we must win.

"We didn't care if the players were Malays, Chinese or Indians. If you're the best player, you're in the team."

Is there a way out of the ethnic quagmire?

"Teach cultural history," says the man who has been teaching history for a good 40 years.

Khoo believes the teaching of history in Malaysia is too political, preventing children from learning more about other cultures.

"Of course I don't like the idea of interfering with history. But if you teach cultural history, you don't have to shape it to what you want. You can expose the children to cultural reality."

For example, many Malaysians do not know the difference between a Punjabi and a Bengali.

Some have strange ideas about the religions of their friends and neighbours. All this is due to ignorance.

How does he feel that almost 37 years after he helped formulate the Rukun Negara and other basic principles of national unity, Malaysians are still polarised?

"What we have tried to do, unfortunately, never got through to the people. We were fighting against obstacles which were more potent.

"We called for national unity, understanding and tolerance, but at the ground level, we did not promote this idea.

"We didn't teach the children in such a way that they can begin to know one another's culture."

Is he satisfied with what he has achieved?

"I always feel that I have achieved very little. My conclusion is that when you're a true Malaysian, you're a very lonely person.

"It is because we're all divided by cliques. And when you're not with one, you're left out."

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Sunday STAR dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

Bigfoot existence still in doubt

JOHOR BARU: The existence of Johor’s Bigfoot continues to be shrouded in mystery despite two sets of revelations by different groups here.

The Johor Wildlife Protection Society claimed that up to 40 Bigfoot creatures were living in the jungles in the state, including one that is supposedly 60 years old and nearing death.

At the same time, an expedition led by bio-researcher Vincent Chow said they had found two strands of hair embedded in dry clay in the jungles of Panti which could hold the key to prove the creatures exist.

The society called for a press conference to say that one of their members, who has been living in the jungle for the past six years, has seen a group of Bigfoot and knows where they live.

But when pressed for more details, society secretary Tay Teng Hwa claimed that the evidence, including images, were “locked away in a safe”.

“We cannot give everything out all at once, or there won’t be anymore story,” he said.

He said the press conference was called to put pressure on the state government to disallow foreigners to enter the jungle for the purpose of looking for Bigfoot.

Tay said it would be embarrassing if foreigners, instead of Malaysians, discovered Bigfoot.

Chow told The Star that members of his expedition came upon the hairs near shoots that the creature might have been feeding on.

He said the strands would be sent for DNA testing to ascertain what sort of creature they belonged to.

“At this point, we don’t know for sure what it is, but we hope that it might belong to the Bigfoot,” he said.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Sunday STAR dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

164 picked up at ‘mainly male pub’

KUALA LUMPUR: Police raided a “mainly male pub” in Bukit Bintang area here and rounded up 164 people, including 11 workers, for drug tests.

Of those picked up, 142 were male customers, aged between 19 and 60.

Dang Wangi deputy OCPD Supt Mohd Rodzi Ismail said seven people tested positive for drugs during the crime prevention operation that began at 1am yesterday.

“We recovered two rolls of ganja cigarettes and five Ecstasy pills on the floor of the premises,” he said.

In another raid at the spa centre of a hotel in the same area yesterday, police arrested six foreign women suspected of being involved in vice activities.

The women, aged between 24 and 36, were nabbed at a staircase near the centre.

Police believed they were trying to escape to the higher floor of the building to evade arrest.



TAKEN INTO CUSTODY: A plainclothes officer (right) escorting the foreign women nabbed at the hotel’s spa centre to a police car yesterday. They are believed to be involved in vice activities.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2006/...ation/vice.jpg

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Sunday STAR dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

Bridge over troubled waters


It has been called the scenic bridge and crooked bridge, but Malaysia has decided to go ahead and build its half of the controversial bridge over the Johor Strait. JOCELINE TAN looks at the arguments behind the decision that caught the Singapore side off-guard.

DATUK Ghani Othman must have felt that he had come full circle when he learnt that Malaysia was going ahead with the bridge project.

Ghani had been Johor Mentri Besar for barely a year when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrived in Johor Baru to launch a waterfront project.

That was when the idea of a bridge was mooted, and in quite typical Mahathir style, the former Premier told the media that, yes, it was his hope that one day, the causeway would be replaced by a bridge.

He had said it rather casually but, as folk on both sides of the causeway know all too well, nothing is ever really casual about Dr Mahathir.

“I remember being quite excited. Knowing Dr Mahathir, the willpower is always there,” said Ghani.

That was in July 1996. Now, close to a decade on, Malaysia has decided to go ahead with or without Singapore’s agreement.

Malaysia intends to build its portion of the bridge and, more significant, Putrajaya recently gave the green light for work to start on the bridge.

Ghani’s response to the news was plain relief.

“It's been 10 years of waiting,” he said.

The structure curves in a soft V-shape from the Johor side to the mid-point of the existing causeway. It has also been called a variety of names –crooked bridge, half bridge and, more recently, scenic bridge.

Ghani, not exactly famous for a sense of humour, said: “I prefer to call it the bridge.”

But Dr Mahathir, rather cheekily, asked whether the scenic bridge was spelt as “c-y-n-i-c.. "

Still, the elder statesman was pleased as punch.

“If you want to wait (till Singapore agreed) you can wait till kingdom come,” he had added

Said a Johor Umno figure: “I think Putrajaya got fed-up. The talks seemed to be going on forever.”

Singapore has asked for official clarification on the situation but it is evident the island state was caught off-guard by the Malaysian decision.

Talks between the two countries were still going on when Malaysia took the unilateral decision.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar has indicated that talks for a full bridge over the Johor Strait would continue.

And meanwhile, there was no reason why Malaysia could not build its end of the bridge. It is Malaysia’s right and sovereignty, Syed Hamid said, to carry out work in her own territorial water and land area.

“The scenic bridge is not a subject of negotiation,” he said referring to Singapore's request for the sale of sand from Malaysia and the use of Malaysian airspace as trade-offs.

So why does Malaysia want the bridge whereas Singapore does not seem so keen?

Malaysia’s reasons revolve largely around the fact that the bridge is part of the mega-infrastructure that includes the customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex that is nearing completion.

The project would help ease cross-strait traffic congestion as well as that in Johor Baru, boost economic growth, ease pollution in the straits and make it more accessible to sea vessels.

Singapore’s reluctance is reportedly connected to the cost of financing a project which it finds less than necessary.

They are not convinced about the argument behind the pollution in the strait. They also claim that they are not worried about greater access to Johor’s Tanjong Pelepas port because efficiency is still the key factor in port growth.

“It’s not as though it’s the Isthmus of Kra,” one Singapore official had said.

But it is no secret that both countries are keen rivals in the modern world especially when it comes to foreign investments, commercial growth and tourism.

The circumstances of the 1965 separation continue to bring a touchy edge to almost everything that happens between the two countries, including discussions on the bridge.

Malaysians find Singaporeans patronising whereas Singaporeans think Malaysia is trying to play the “big brother.”

After so many years, both sides are still learning how to live with each other.

“It’s not a question of one-upmanship. They are still not sure of who we are. We appreciate their need for water but they have to learn to respect what we want,” said Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad.

Shahrir, who had been against the bridge, seems to have come around to the idea.

“I’m happy to be proven wrong,” he said.

The outspoken MP was invited to join the annual “golf diplomacy” meet of the two foreign ministries in Singapore earlier this month.

In between the fun and games, Shahrir told some of his golf partners what he thought of Singapore’s sand and airspace request in exchange for agreeing to a full bridge.

“It’s like saying, okay, we’ll cooperate to build a garden fence between our homes but you have to let me use your toilet and allow me to park my car in your driveway.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Musa Hitam said it a little more humorously during a talk in Singapore last month.

“Please believe me, those kampung fellas over there, they have become very clever, they know how to count and strategise. Don’t talk down to them, stop patronising them and, most of all, don’t mistake their politeness for submissiveness,” said Musa.

There was a moment of stunned silence before the audience burst into applause.

But perhaps the most encouraging sign that ties are on a new level is the public civility despite the bumps and humps – there were alleged reports of tall poppy behaviour and walk-outs – during talks between the two countries.

Much of the credit has to go to the top leadership of the two states.

The impeccable décorum on the part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has helped to forge the civility.

He has made a very clear stand on the half-bridge but he has not tried to score political points by fuelling debate on it.

Government ties aside, the ordinary citizens on both sides have a much more symbiotic relationship than their leaders would care to admit.

The spending power of Singaporeans is important to the local economy of Johor whereas the islanders benefit from the value-for-money shopping and dining-out in Johor.

“We can’t run away from it. They eat here, shop here and even buy property here. Local businesses feel it when things are tense between us. You can immediately see fewer Singapore number-plates in JB,” said Ayer Itam MP Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Both sides watch each other's TV stations so much so that Astro reportedly had difficulty penetrating the Johor market.

“We used to joke that some Johorians watch Singapore channels so regularly that they can probably sing Majulah Singapura (the Singapore national anthem) as well as our own Negaraku,” said Dr Wee.

And if Dr Wee seems particularly sensitive to the state of bilateral ties, it is because his constituency produces agricultural goods which are exported to Singapore.

“Yes, some of the so-called ‘Singapore lychee’ (rambutan) and orchids that Singapore re-exports as its own comes from my constituency,” he said with a laugh.

The Malaysian side is unfazed by talk that a half bridge will be an awkward testimony to the often testy relations between Malaysia and Singapore.

“But I still hope it will be a straight bridge otherwise it'll be the Eighth Wonder of the World,” said Dr Wee.

At the same time, there are many Malaysians who would not mind an Eighth Wonder.

SCENIC BRIDGE: Malaysia has taken the bull by the horns and decided to go ahead with its half of the bridge across the Johor Strait. Abdullah and Ghani (far left) being briefed by bridge consultant Datuk Yahya Jalil. — STARpic by KENNETH WONG
http://thestar.com.my/archives/speci...n_22paklah.jpg

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Sunday STAR dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

Bridge over troubled waters


It has been called the scenic bridge and crooked bridge, but Malaysia has decided to go ahead and build its half of the controversial bridge over the Johor Strait. JOCELINE TAN looks at the arguments behind the decision that caught the Singapore side off-guard.

DATUK Ghani Othman must have felt that he had come full circle when he learnt that Malaysia was going ahead with the bridge project.

Ghani had been Johor Mentri Besar for barely a year when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrived in Johor Baru to launch a waterfront project.

That was when the idea of a bridge was mooted, and in quite typical Mahathir style, the former Premier told the media that, yes, it was his hope that one day, the causeway would be replaced by a bridge.

He had said it rather casually but, as folk on both sides of the causeway know all too well, nothing is ever really casual about Dr Mahathir.


“I remember being quite excited. Knowing Dr Mahathir, the willpower is always there,” said Ghani.

That was in July 1996. Now, close to a decade on, Malaysia has decided to go ahead with or without Singapore’s agreement.

Malaysia intends to build its portion of the bridge and, more significant, Putrajaya recently gave the green light for work to start on the bridge.

Ghani’s response to the news was plain relief.

“It's been 10 years of waiting,” he said.

The structure curves in a soft V-shape from the Johor side to the mid-point of the existing causeway. It has also been called a variety of names –crooked bridge, half bridge and, more recently, scenic bridge.

Ghani, not exactly famous for a sense of humour, said: “I prefer to call it the bridge.”

But Dr Mahathir, rather cheekily, asked whether the scenic bridge was spelt as “c-y-n-i-c.. "

Still, the elder statesman was pleased as punch.

“If you want to wait (till Singapore agreed) you can wait till kingdom come,” he had added

Said a Johor Umno figure: “I think Putrajaya got fed-up. The talks seemed to be going on forever.”

Singapore has asked for official clarification on the situation but it is evident the island state was caught off-guard by the Malaysian decision.

Talks between the two countries were still going on when Malaysia took the unilateral decision.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar has indicated that talks for a full bridge over the Johor Strait would continue.

And meanwhile, there was no reason why Malaysia could not build its end of the bridge. It is Malaysia’s right and sovereignty, Syed Hamid said, to carry out work in her own territorial water and land area.

“The scenic bridge is not a subject of negotiation,” he said referring to Singapore's request for the sale of sand from Malaysia and the use of Malaysian airspace as trade-offs.

So why does Malaysia want the bridge whereas Singapore does not seem so keen?

Malaysia’s reasons revolve largely around the fact that the bridge is part of the mega-infrastructure that includes the customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex that is nearing completion.

The project would help ease cross-strait traffic congestion as well as that in Johor Baru, boost economic growth, ease pollution in the straits and make it more accessible to sea vessels.

Singapore’s reluctance is reportedly connected to the cost of financing a project which it finds less than necessary.

They are not convinced about the argument behind the pollution in the strait. They also claim that they are not worried about greater access to Johor’s Tanjong Pelepas port because efficiency is still the key factor in port growth.

“It’s not as though it’s the Isthmus of Kra,” one Singapore official had said.

But it is no secret that both countries are keen rivals in the modern world especially when it comes to foreign investments, commercial growth and tourism.

The circumstances of the 1965 separation continue to bring a touchy edge to almost everything that happens between the two countries, including discussions on the bridge.

Malaysians find Singaporeans patronising whereas Singaporeans think Malaysia is trying to play the “big brother.”

After so many years, both sides are still learning how to live with each other.

“It’s not a question of one-upmanship. They are still not sure of who we are. We appreciate their need for water but they have to learn to respect what we want,” said Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad.

Shahrir, who had been against the bridge, seems to have come around to the idea.

“I’m happy to be proven wrong,” he said.

The outspoken MP was invited to join the annual “golf diplomacy” meet of the two foreign ministries in Singapore earlier this month.

In between the fun and games, Shahrir told some of his golf partners what he thought of Singapore’s sand and airspace request in exchange for agreeing to a full bridge.

“It’s like saying, okay, we’ll cooperate to build a garden fence between our homes but you have to let me use your toilet and allow me to park my car in your driveway.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Musa Hitam said it a little more humorously during a talk in Singapore last month.

“Please believe me, those kampung fellas over there, they have become very clever, they know how to count and strategise. Don’t talk down to them, stop patronising them and, most of all, don’t mistake their politeness for submissiveness,” said Musa.

There was a moment of stunned silence before the audience burst into applause.

But perhaps the most encouraging sign that ties are on a new level is the public civility despite the bumps and humps – there were alleged reports of tall poppy behaviour and walk-outs – during talks between the two countries.

Much of the credit has to go to the top leadership of the two states.

The impeccable décorum on the part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has helped to forge the civility.

He has made a very clear stand on the half-bridge but he has not tried to score political points by fuelling debate on it.

Government ties aside, the ordinary citizens on both sides have a much more symbiotic relationship than their leaders would care to admit.

The spending power of Singaporeans is important to the local economy of Johor whereas the islanders benefit from the value-for-money shopping and dining-out in Johor.

“We can’t run away from it. They eat here, shop here and even buy property here. Local businesses feel it when things are tense between us. You can immediately see fewer Singapore number-plates in JB,” said Ayer Itam MP Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Both sides watch each other's TV stations so much so that Astro reportedly had difficulty penetrating the Johor market.

“We used to joke that some Johorians watch Singapore channels so regularly that they can probably sing Majulah Singapura (the Singapore national anthem) as well as our own Negaraku,” said Dr Wee.

And if Dr Wee seems particularly sensitive to the state of bilateral ties, it is because his constituency produces agricultural goods which are exported to Singapore.

“Yes, some of the so-called ‘Singapore lychee’ (rambutan) and orchids that Singapore re-exports as its own comes from my constituency,” he said with a laugh.

The Malaysian side is unfazed by talk that a half bridge will be an awkward testimony to the often testy relations between Malaysia and Singapore.

“But I still hope it will be a straight bridge otherwise it'll be the Eighth Wonder of the World,” said Dr Wee.

At the same time, there are many Malaysians who would not mind an Eighth Wonder.

SCENIC BRIDGE: Malaysia has taken the bull by the horns and decided to go ahead with its half of the bridge across the Johor Strait. Abdullah and Ghani (far left) being briefed by bridge consultant Datuk Yahya Jalil. — STARpic by KENNETH WONG
http://thestar.com.my/archives/speci...n_22paklah.jpg

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Sunday STAR dated Sunday 19 February 2006 :-

Private zoo at Saleng, Johor with lots to offer

In a private zoo in Johor live two rather unlikely friends, a small two-year-old macaque and an old retired racing horse.

According to Pak Sakur, one of the workers at the Saleng Zoo in Kulai, it was love at first sight for little Mary, a female berok, when she first set eyes on staid old Sandang.

He said Mary would follow the horse around everywhere it went, and insisted on riding Sandang as the horse went on its walks.

“If Sandang didn’t want her on its back, Mary would kick up a fuss until Sandang gave in,” he said laughingly.

Mary and Sandang are just two of the animals to be found in this private zoo, about 37km from Johor Baru town, that boasts of about 2,000 animals from over 68 species.

Caretaker and animal trainer J. Siva Priyan who had Jim, the gibbon hanging from his neck, said it was common for the animals in the zoo to have pet names.

“Sometimes I name them, sometimes my friends and visitors suggest names.

“For instance, Mamat and Minah are our two orang utans, while our bears have names like Bobo, Pancho, Kiki, Ah Boon and Ah Siong. We also have Misai, a wild boar,” he said, adding that a tapir that weighed more than 100kg was named Baby.

Siva said Saleng Zoo is also home to 18 tigers and two lions.

“We also have something rather unusual, an enclosure that is shared by the Raja brothers, both of which are tigers, and Simba and Elsa, which are lions,” he said.

One visitor, Liang Gold Sun, 43, an operations manager said he first started going to the zoo 10 years ago.

“I like coming here because the zoo operator takes care of the animals and the place looks cosy and clean,” he added.

Liang who had come with his wife, three daughters and his maid said that his children enjoyed looking at the tigers the most.

“Every year you come, you can see the improvement, especially in the tiger enclosure,” he said.

Opened by owner Chai Sip Yee of T.C Arapaima & Tropical Fish Sdn Bhd 12 years ago, the zoo also houses a 200-year-old alligator snapping turtle, the world’s largest freshwater turtle.

The zoo opens daily from 9.30am to 7pm. The entrance fee is RM12 for adults and RM6 for children.

The zoo is located at Lot 3777, Batu 17 1/2, Jalan Raya, Saleng, 81400 Senai, Johor.



Tan Kim Leong, 32, cradling his son Zhi Heng, three, and Jim the gibbon as animal trainer Siva watches.
http://thestar.com.my/archives/2006/...east/p8tan.jpg


Zoo owner Chai stroking one of the tigers as they play with each other, while Simba the lion tries to join in the game.
http://thestar.com.my/archives/2006/...t/p8tigers.jpg


Pak Sakur feeding the long-horned Angoli cattle from Africa.
http://thestar.com.my/archives/2006/...t/p8angoli.jpg


The Arapaima fish (centre) and children playing with ostriches.
http://thestar.com.my/archives/2006/...8ostriches.jpg

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The New Straits Times dated Monday 20 February 2006 :-

'Bigfoot' also spotted in Endau-Rompin forests by Orang Asli

ROMPIN, Mon:
--------------
APPARENTLY the so-called ‘Bigfoot’ has not only been spotted in Gunung Panti in Johor but also by the Orang Asli living near the Endau-Rompin State Park and the Lesong forest reserve located on the Johor-Pahang border.

The New Straits Times spoke to several Orang Asli who lived in the area and was told that there were at least two species of giant ape-like creatures in the jungles.

Alias Kuwi, 32, of Kampung Kedaik Orang Asli resettlement scheme here said he had seen two species of the ape-like creature known to locals as Siaran Gigi. His last encounter with the creatures was in 1999.

"I've seen two types of Siaran Gigi before. One has red hair while the other, black.

Most Orang Asli fear the Siaran Gigi, he said, as they believed it to be a type of spiritual being or ghost they nicknamed ‘Hantu Mawas ’.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Wednesday 22 February 2006 :-

Man hacked into KTB card base – DSI

The Department of Special Investigation arrested a Malaysian man yesterday for allegedly stealing credit-card information from Krung Thai Bank by using telephone wiretaps to hack into its database.

Director-general Sombat Amornwiwat said Lee Kian Sin had caused more than Bt100 million in damage to the bank, which had kept the information theft a secret to avoid causing panic among its cardholders.

Sombat did not say how the hacking or phone bugging had been carried out but warned that people using KTC cards in the region south of Hat Yai district in Songkhla were at risk of having had their credit-card details stolen.

Sombat said bank customers who regularly ran up card balances of more than Bt100,000 were prime targets of the Malaysian suspect, who, he said, was part of a racket operating in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The ring included store clerks who took down shoppers’ credit-card numbers and others who then sold items obtained through payments charged to an unsuspecting shopper’s credit card.

The DSI chief added that the Malaysian suspect had also sold at least one fake credit card with a ready-to-use number for Bt10,000.

He said Lee could face a prison term of up to seven years and six months as well as a fine of between Bt30,000 and Bt150,000 under a new anti-cyber-crime law.

Colonel Yannapol Yangyuen, chief of the Police Information Technology Centre, said gang members sometimes put fake cards back in place of the real ones they stole in order to stave off the cancellation of the card.

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MALAYSIA BOLEH !!!!!!