Cabbie offers 'extras' not metered ride

THE Malay Mail took a "test ride" following complaints by a group of Singaporean tourists that they were fleeced by a taxi driver when they wanted to go to the Bird Park from Central Market here recently. Our reporter, HAMZAH NAZARI, swung into action by posing as a Singaporean interested in visiting both landmarks yesterday to see if taxi drivers were still up to their old tricks. This is his account: I was offered a "beautiful" woman, told that taxi drivers do not use meters on weekends, public holidays or at tourist service centres, reassured that taxi drivers do not lie, and was shown a "broken" meter when trying to get a taxi in Kuala Lumpur. Following a tip-off that taxi drivers going to, and from, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and Central Market were refusing to use their meters and charging over-the-top fees for tourists, I was assigned to verify the accusations by posing as an English-speaking-only foreign tourist at these places. Starting at the Bird Park at around 11.30am, I approached the taxi-coupon counter and asked for a taxi to Central Market. A woman at the counter told me I would have to pay RM14 and proceeded to fill out a coupon but, as I protested at the high fee, she told me I could try asking those stopped near the roadside, adding that they would charge the same price. Read more... Jarumemas: This incident did happen before and to other victims.

TKM1 Mansor Othman hanya pandai tabur janji... - R.Chandran

BUKIT MERTAJAM - Lebih 100 anggota Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Taman Sejahtera di sini mahu Timbalan Ketua Menteri 1 Pulau Pinang, Datuk Mansor Othman meletak jawatan kerana gagal menunaikan janji yang dibuat parti itu semasa pilihan raya umum lepas. Wakil kumpulan berkenaan R.Chandran berkata penduduk di kawasan berkenaan juga kesal dengan pemimpin pembangkang kerana hanya pandai berjanji untuk meraih undi. "Kami kecewa dan rasa seperti ditipu kerana pelbagai masalah yang dihadapi penduduk seperti limpahan air dari loji najis ketika hujan lebat belum dapat diatasi malah lebih teruk sekarang ini. "Datuk Mansor yang juga Timbalan Pengerusi Perhubungan PKR negeri juga pernah berjanji untuk membina sebuah dewan serbaguna yang dilengkapi gelanggang sukan, namun sehingga sekarang beliau masih membisu," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mengadakan perhimpunan secara aman bagi mendesak Mansor meletak jawatan. Berita selanjutnya... Jarumemas: "Tanam tebu di tepi bibir".

Latheefa Koya letak jawatan ahli majlis MBPJ akibat perselisihan dengan MB

PETALING JAYA, 16 Julai — Peguam lantang PKR, Latheefa Koya meletak jawatan sebagai ahli majlis Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) pagi ini. Perletakan jawatan ini dipercayai akibat daripada arahan Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim yang meminta Latheefa agar menghantar surat tunjuk sebab menjelaskan mengapa beliau mengkritik pentadbiran ADUN Ijok. "Mengikut apa yang saya dengar, sah Latheefa sudah meletakkan jawatan. "Dipercayai kerana arahan MB agar Latheefa menghantar surat tunjuk sebab tentang tindakannya mengkritik Tan Sri," kata Azman Yusof yang juga ahli majlis MBPJ mewakili PKR. Latheefa Koya juga merupakan 'ketua whip' bagi Ahli Majlis PKR di MBPJ. Selain itu, beliau juga merupakan ahli "One Stop Center" (OSC) yang meluluskan sebarang projek di MBPJ. Sehingga kini, The Malaysian Insider masih belum dapat menghubungi Latheefa Koya. Sumber: Malaysian Insider Jarumemas: Gimik atau betul benar?

National education system set to undergo transformation next year

JOHOR BARU, July 14 — The national education system is expected to undergo transformation next year after taking into account the findings of the National Education Dialogue (NED) conducted since April. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the transformation would be done in phases, starting with matters that could be implemented immediately. “We are hoping for a quantum leap. All views from the series of dialogue are recorded, reviewed and analysed in developing the Education Development Plan in 15 years and Strategic Education Plan in three years. “There are short-term, medium-term and long-term plans over 15 years to improve the quality of education to be on par with developed countries,” he told reporters after closing the National Education Dialogue (NED) 2012 here today. Read more... Jarumemas: It is a good move.

Latheefa Koya Disahkan Letak Jawatan..

AIDCNews – 16/07/12 – Ketua Biro Hal Ehwal Guaman PKR, Latheefa Koya hari ini mengesahkan yang beliau meletakkan jawatan sebagai ahli Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ), lapor Antarapos. Laman FMT turut mengesahkan peletakan jawatan Latheefa melalui surat yang dihantar hari ini yang berkuat kuasa serta merta. Dalam surat itu, Latheefa berkata bahawa kedudukannya tidak dapat dipertahankan sejak Menteri Besar Selangor Khalid Ibrahim dan exco negeri bercadang mahu memecatnya. “Saya merujuk e-mel dalaman kepada anda mengenai kebimbangan saya tentang projek perumahan untuk golongan miskin yang saya juga telah hantar kepada anda dan pemimpin tertinggi parti lain baru-baru ini. “Surat itu tidak berkaitan dengan MBPJ. Ia telah menjadi suatu perkara yang diketahui umum dan spekulasi. “Di bawah keadaan ini, kedudukan saya sebagai ahli majlis MBPJ telah menjadi tidak boleh dipertahankan,” kata Latheefa yang juga ketua Penerangan PKR. AIDCNews 13 Julai mendedahkan terdapat satu gerakan yang diketuai oleh Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid untuk memecat Latheefa daripada menjadi ahli MBPJ. Abdul Khalid sendiri yang mencadangkan pemecatan peguam hak asasi manusia itu dalam mesyuarat exco yang mendapat sokongan majoriti exco kerajaan negeri. “Semuanya bermula dengan satu surat yang dihantar oleh Latheefa kepada Menteri Besar, satu ketika lalu yang mengkritik pentadbiran Abdul Khalid,” kata sumber portal FMT. Salinan surat itu turut dihantar kepada pemimpin PKR, termasuk Ketua de facto, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan Presiden parti Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Malah Latheefa turut didakwa menghantar beberapa mesej pesanan ringkas (SMS) mempertikai pentadbiran Khalid terutamanya dalam isu rumah setinggan. Sumber: Blog AIDCNews Jarumemas: Gimik ke betul ni?

WATCH OUT DAP: SUPP says likely to win back Sibu with Najib's help

S the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) celebrated its 53rd anniversary last weekend, the party faces a rather grim prognosis going into the coming general election. Party president Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui could only manage to suggest that "all is not lost" for the party as it struggles to hold on to its mostly urban constituencies. Even Chin's own seat of Miri, where the anniversary celebrations took place, is no longer safe. He will, however, very likely not repeat the mistake of his immediate predecessor, Tan Sri Dr George Chan, also from Miri, who was defeated in the last state election after years of sterling work reshaping the city. Chin is expected not to contest in the general election. He put aside earlier announced plans to retire from politics to heed calls from party elders to be a transitional party president at a moment of deep internal crisis. He will likely devote himself to healing the party's wounds as full-time leader after the general election. Those internal party wounds are still deep. A serious rift opened up when he contested the party presidency against state minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh at the end of last year. Wong led a faction of the party in a walkout at the party elections. Unfortunately for Chin, that runaway faction included all six of the party's remaining state assemblymen. The two factions are now barely coming together and then only because of a far more potent external enemy in the opposition DAP in the coming polls. Read more... Jarumemas: Mirror, mirror on the wall which party is the greatest of all? DAP, PKR, PAS?

Ex-IGP says crime on the rise, refutes official statistics

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has accused the authorities of hiding facts from the public over the country’s crime rate, claiming that public security has now reached a “worrying stage”. In an interview with The Malaysian Insider, Musa told the government that there was no need to mask crime figures, pointing out that if crime was not on the rise, top-ranking officials and ministers would not need to hire bodyguards. “The public needs to know the truth, there is no need to hide when it comes to crime. When I was the IGP, I always spoke about rising crime,” he pointed out in the interview yesterday. Musa, who has served in the Royal Malaysian Police for over four decades, was the country’s IGP for four years from 2006 before he was succeeded by Tan Sri Ismail Omar on September 13, 2010. Read more... Jarumemas: Crime may be reduced in certain places but in major towns it may has risen.