YB. R.S.N RAYER - A.D.U.N. SERI DELIMA, PENANG

GEORGE TOWN:
The Penang-based Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) has given its thumbs-up to the state government for introducing various initiatives for the benefit of the people.

Its president Jamaludin Abdullah yesterday said JIM was impressed with the CAT (Competency, Accountability and Transparency) approach of the new administration.
"We are also pleased with the state government's efforts to call for tenders and its cost-saving practices," Jamaludin said.
In a statement congratulating the state government's 100-days in office, Jamaludin said focus should be given to development and the people's welfare.
He pledged that JIM, as an Islamic non-governmental organisation, would continue to support the state government's effort in bringing benefits to the people.

GEORGE TOWN: An unemployed man has filed a summons at a High Court here challenging the conversion of his deceased stepbrother to Islam.
S. Selvam, 48, a former mee goreng (fried noodles) seller, filed the summons at the High Court registry here on Wednesday, naming the state Islamic Religious Affairs Department, the Perak Islamic Religious Department and the Parit Buntar Hospital director as defendants.

He is seeking a declaration that B. Elangesvaran, 34, was a Hindu when alive and when the latter allegedly committed suicide four days ago.
He is asking the court for an injunction to restrain the defendants, their workers or agents, from claiming Elangesvaran's body.
In his statement of claim, Selvam represented by R.S.N. Rayer, said Elangesvaran had committed suicide by hanging himself at a house in Bagan Serai, Perak on June 22.

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DIABETIC A. Athappen, 61, whose left leg was amputated last year due to gangrene, could not contain a smile of gratitude when fitted with a prosthetic leg courtesy of the Lions Club of Butterworth Host.
The former school gardener was eager to try out his new prosthesis following a period of curtailed movement since the amputation at the Penang Hospital.
Obviously touched by the club’s generous gesture, Athappen said everything moved quickly after he was approached by club vice-president Suppiah Manikam.


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MOVED by a newspaper report on a two-month-old baby who needs funds to undergo a heart operation, a tourists donates RM18,000 towards the surgery.

Penang Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the philanthropist, who wished to remain anonymous, first knew about Mohamed Rizwan Mohd Saber’s plight upon reading The Star last Wednesday.

“The kind donor, from a foreign country, was staying at G-Hotel Penang when he read about the boy’s plight in StarMetro.
“The donor quickly wrote a cheque for the boy and passed it to the hotel general manager Marco G. Battistotti,” Phee said at the Penang Hospital on Saturday.

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GEORGE TOWN: Tempers flared when residents confronted workers from a developer’s firm as they tried to transport building materials into a cattle-rearing village.
The standoff in Lorong Buah Pala here between the 300-odd villagers and 10 workers, who arrived at about 10.30am, lasted about two hours. Police managed to calm the angry crowd and prevented any untoward incident.

Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd managing director Thomas Chan, who arrived at about 11am to monitor the situation, was not spared as the villagers turned their anger on him. As he was about to leave the area in his car, a resident blocked his path with his motorcycle.

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FEDERATION of Malaysian Manufacturers (northern branch) chairman Datuk O. K. Lee said generally, the new Penang Government was proactive and obviously trying to do its best.

“As far as its policies are concerned, they are quite sound and acceptable in line with a democratic practice. The CAT (Competency, Accountability and Transparency) principle is good.
Lee gave the government 80 marks out of 100 for its practices and 70 to 75 marks for performance.
He said the government should also be commended for appointing non-political people in the municipal councils, adding that this would lead to “a better check and balance in the system.”

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PENANG will work closely with Pakatan Rakyat-led state governments to promote youth and sports activities.
State Youth and Sports, Woman, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Ong Kok Fooi said she would be meeting with her counterparts from Selangor and Perak as well as Kedah and Kelantan to discuss the matter.

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TWO-MONTH-OLD Mohamed Rizwan Mohd Saber has to undergo four heart operations and his father, an odd-job worker who is a Myanmar national, is unable to raise the money for the surgery.
Mohd Saber Kala San, 27, said doctors at the Penang Hospital told him that the surgery would cost more than RM18,000.
“The hospital bill has come up to RM2,197 because of the fees imposed for foreigners,” he told a press conference recently.



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ALOR STAR: PAS Youth's proposal to implement an Islamic administrative system in Pakatan Rakyat states is totally unacceptable, said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

Lim said it was not in line with Pakatan Rakyat’s promise to uphold the secular concept.
“There should be no attempt to introduce Islamic state or hudud laws,” he said.
Lim, who is the Ipoh Timur MP, was responding to a proposal by PAS Youth vice-chief Azman Shapawi to implement Islamic administrative system in the Pakatan-governed states if PKR and DAP agreed to it.

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GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government will temporarily put on hold applications by owners of units in multi-storey buildings to obtain freehold rights.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said strata holders who sought freehold status should exercise patience until the state government resolved legal matters with the Federal Government.
“There are legal problems when changing strata ownership to freehold status which have to be referred to the Federal (Government) and it is expected to take time to resolve,” Bernama reported that he told reporters at his office yesterday.

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GEORGE TOWN: The cost of the second Penang bridge has ballooned from RM2.7bil to RM4.5bil within a year and the Penang Government wants an explanation.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said there was no reason for such a huge increase as the official inflation rate in 2007 was 2.3%.
“The Federal Government says there is a 2% inflation rate but they have allowed a 60% increase of about RM1.6bil for the second bridge

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GEORGE TOWN: Penang has formed an ad-hoc committee tasked with setting guidelines on information that the public and the media can access directly from the government departments without hassle.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the committee’s aim was to create a culture of freedom of information at a level that was comfortable for all.
“We want to provide an avenue and opportunity for the mass media and the public where information that is not sensitive or classified as secret can be obtained freely and for free,” he told a press conference after chairing the state executive council meeting yesterday.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Members of DAP called for the Government to withdraw the new fuel prices and electricity tariffs, which they said were "extreme and unjust".
Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai said that the "steep" fuel hike and increased electricity tariffs would cause people from all walks of life to be affected.

"We want the Government to announce that the increase will be halted immediately.
"If they don't, it will be a nightmare. The public anger is already at its peak," he told the press Thursday during a peaceful protest at the Pudu market here.

Tan added that if the increments were not halted, it would lead to "runaway inflation".
He also said that the Government was not "leading by example" when asking the public to have a change of lifestyle.

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A NUMBER of property projects in Penang, especially those on reclaimed land of the island and township developments by state agencies, can look forward to higher property value if the land tenure of these projects is converted to freehold from their current leasehold status.

According to Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Penang chairman Datuk Jerry Chan, while most privately owned pieces of land are on freehold status, projects on state reclaimed land are mostly on leasehold land.

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