Women who drank anywhere from a few alcoholic drinks a month to more
than three a week in the year leading up to a heart attack ended up
living longer than women who never drank alcohol, according to a U.S.
study. The findings, which focused on more than 1,000 women and
were published in the American Journal of Cardiology, add to mounting
evidence that alcohol, regardless of the type of drink, can be good for
the heart.
"One thing that was interesting was that we didn't
see differences among different beverage types," said Joshua Rosenbloom,
a student at Harvard Medical School who led the study.
"The most recent evidence suggests that it's the alcohol itself that's beneficial."
There was a similarly reduced risk of dying within the follow up period
whether the women drank wine, beer or hard liquor, Rosenbloom and his
colleagues found.
"One drink a day is a really good target,
assuming that a person can be disciplined about that," said James
O'Keefe, a cardiologist at St. Luke's Health System in Kansas City,
Missouri, who was not involved in the study.
Researchers
surveyed more than 1,200 women hospitalized for a heart attack. They
asked questions about how many alcoholic drinks the women usually
consumed, along with other health and lifestyle questions.
After
at least 10 years of follow up, the team found that 44 out of every 100
women who had abstained from alcohol had died, while 25 out of every
100 light drinkers and 18 out of every 100 heavy drinkers had died.
This translated to about a 35 percent lower chance of dying during the
follow up period for women who drank, compared to those who didn't.
In an earlier study including men and women, O'Keefe found that people
who continued to drink moderately after having a heart attack had better
health than those who abstained.
"You don't need to assume that people need to stop drinking once they develop heart disease," he said.
"The problem is that alcohol is a slippery slope, and while we know
that a little bit is good for us, a lot of it is really bad."
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Silicon Valley mourns revolutionary icon Jobs
AS news of Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs' passing broke around noon here, the usually bustling Bay Area and Silicon Valley took on a palpable aura of mourning.
Local TV and radio stations ran on-air tributes by Apple fans and users, who rallied together to mourn by lighting candles and placing sticky notes on the glass wall of the iconic Apple Store on San Francisco's busy Stockton Street.
Many of the mourners transcribed memorable quotes attributed to the man who aspired to “put a ding in the universe” and advised people that since life was short to “stay hungry, stay foolish.”
While the workday continued as usual, Silicon Valley folks also took time out to share the news on social media and with their co-workers.
In a typical busy week at the San Francisco Bay Area, news of Jobs' death also came during the weeklong Oracle OpenWorld conference that annually hosts as many as 50,000 visitors to San Francisco.
In places like the Googleplex in Mountain View, California a few miles down the road from the Apple campus in Cupertino, Googlers took time out to remember and pay tribute to the man many described as one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable in the annals of information technology history.
The two Google co-founders who have in the past referred to Steve Jobs as their inspiration wrote moving posts on Google+.
Larry Page said: “I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it.
“His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My thoughts and Google's are with his family and the whole Apple family.”
Sergey Brin posted: “From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no further than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the Macbook I am writing this on right now).
“And I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met. On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. My condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple.”
As a sign of mourning, Google placed a link to Apple's website on its search landing page that simply read: “Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011.”
Former Apple rival Microsoft also issued condolences with CEO Steve Ballmer saying: “I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.”
Apple itself invited everyone to share their thoughts, memories, and condolences by emailing rememberingsteve@apple.com.
Local TV and radio stations ran on-air tributes by Apple fans and users, who rallied together to mourn by lighting candles and placing sticky notes on the glass wall of the iconic Apple Store on San Francisco's busy Stockton Street.
Many of the mourners transcribed memorable quotes attributed to the man who aspired to “put a ding in the universe” and advised people that since life was short to “stay hungry, stay foolish.”
While the workday continued as usual, Silicon Valley folks also took time out to share the news on social media and with their co-workers.
In a typical busy week at the San Francisco Bay Area, news of Jobs' death also came during the weeklong Oracle OpenWorld conference that annually hosts as many as 50,000 visitors to San Francisco.
In places like the Googleplex in Mountain View, California a few miles down the road from the Apple campus in Cupertino, Googlers took time out to remember and pay tribute to the man many described as one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable in the annals of information technology history.
The two Google co-founders who have in the past referred to Steve Jobs as their inspiration wrote moving posts on Google+.
Larry Page said: “I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it.
“His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My thoughts and Google's are with his family and the whole Apple family.”
Sergey Brin posted: “From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no further than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the Macbook I am writing this on right now).
“And I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met. On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. My condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple.”
As a sign of mourning, Google placed a link to Apple's website on its search landing page that simply read: “Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011.”
Former Apple rival Microsoft also issued condolences with CEO Steve Ballmer saying: “I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.”
Apple itself invited everyone to share their thoughts, memories, and condolences by emailing rememberingsteve@apple.com.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Health is in the numbers
Take heart and know your numbers to stay healthy, says the National Heart Association of Malaysia. “You
must know your numbers your body mass index, blood sugar, blood
pressure and cholesterol levels because the best treatment is still
prevention,” said association vice-president Datuk Dr Azhari Rosman.
He called on Malaysians to take charge of their health in view of the high number of heart diseases and early deaths.
“Many Malaysians lack insight into their health conditions and half of the time, they live in self-denial,” he said yesterday.
The world commemorated World Heart Day with the theme “1World, 1Home, 1Heart” and Dr Azhari reminded Malaysians that they had to initiate change and it must begin at home.
He said 17% of deaths in Malaysia was the result of cardiovascu- lar diseases more than cancer deaths.
Each year, some 40,000 new heart cases are diagnosed in Malaysia, he added.
Dr Azhari, who is also consultant cardiologist at the National Heart Institute (IJN) said despite all the awareness created and money spent in the last decade, control of the disease was still poor.
He said patients must take their medication, eat moderately, exercise and not smoke, as there was just so much doctors could do.
The World Health Organisation revealed that 80% of premature heart disease, stroke and Type II diabetes can be prevented through healthy diet and regular exercise.
He called on Malaysians to take charge of their health in view of the high number of heart diseases and early deaths.
“Many Malaysians lack insight into their health conditions and half of the time, they live in self-denial,” he said yesterday.
The world commemorated World Heart Day with the theme “1World, 1Home, 1Heart” and Dr Azhari reminded Malaysians that they had to initiate change and it must begin at home.
He said 17% of deaths in Malaysia was the result of cardiovascu- lar diseases more than cancer deaths.
Each year, some 40,000 new heart cases are diagnosed in Malaysia, he added.
Dr Azhari, who is also consultant cardiologist at the National Heart Institute (IJN) said despite all the awareness created and money spent in the last decade, control of the disease was still poor.
He said patients must take their medication, eat moderately, exercise and not smoke, as there was just so much doctors could do.
The World Health Organisation revealed that 80% of premature heart disease, stroke and Type II diabetes can be prevented through healthy diet and regular exercise.
‘Rein in super-easy personal loans’
Maybank wants the authorities to tighten control on the ease with which personal loans are being given out to consumers. CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar cited personal loans given out either by non-bank entities or “over-competitive” banks, as worrying.
“We need stronger enforcement from the authorities on the personal loans issue as it is becoming a cause for concern,” he said after the group's annual general meeting.
Wahid suggested that non-bank lenders were quite lax when giving out personal loans, saying that these institutions should look at adopting some of the same standards as banks, especially when underwriting the loans.
“Those involved should not simply disburse personal loans based solely on salary deductions to attract customers,” he said.
He also expressed concern that there was “over-competition” in Malaysia's banking sector, with banks being aggressive in pricing their loans to attract customers.
On Maybank's loan growth this year, Wahid said it was expected to slow as it was typically twice that of the country's GDP growth rate which is also expected to slow this year, but added that the quality of its assets would continue to improve.
It is widely expected that the Government will address household debts in Budget 2012 to be tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak next week.
Bank Negara's figures in March showed that personal loans made up 15% of the overall household debt but housing loans make up the largest portion at 45%, followed by car financing at 20%, credit cards (5%) and purchase of securities (5%).
The Star recently reported that about 147,000 people who were facing personal debt problems had enrolled in financial distress and management programmes sponsored by Bank Negara's Credit Counselling And Debt Management Agency since 2006.
“We need stronger enforcement from the authorities on the personal loans issue as it is becoming a cause for concern,” he said after the group's annual general meeting.
Wahid suggested that non-bank lenders were quite lax when giving out personal loans, saying that these institutions should look at adopting some of the same standards as banks, especially when underwriting the loans.
“Those involved should not simply disburse personal loans based solely on salary deductions to attract customers,” he said.
He also expressed concern that there was “over-competition” in Malaysia's banking sector, with banks being aggressive in pricing their loans to attract customers.
On Maybank's loan growth this year, Wahid said it was expected to slow as it was typically twice that of the country's GDP growth rate which is also expected to slow this year, but added that the quality of its assets would continue to improve.
It is widely expected that the Government will address household debts in Budget 2012 to be tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak next week.
Bank Negara's figures in March showed that personal loans made up 15% of the overall household debt but housing loans make up the largest portion at 45%, followed by car financing at 20%, credit cards (5%) and purchase of securities (5%).
The Star recently reported that about 147,000 people who were facing personal debt problems had enrolled in financial distress and management programmes sponsored by Bank Negara's Credit Counselling And Debt Management Agency since 2006.
Heavier penalty for late tax submission - 20% to 35% penalty for late or non-submission of tax returns
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will impose a 20% to 35% penalty on
taxpayers for late or non submission of their annual income tax returns
within the stipulated deadline. IRB chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar said the penalty would be charged based on the delay duration between 12 months and 36 months.
"The penalty will not be more than triple the taxable amount," he said in a statement Friday.
Mohd Shukor said the IRB took a serious view of taxpayers being late or not submitting the returns at all.
The new directive came into force on June 1. Previously, a 10% penalty was imposed on late submissions.
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will impose a 20 % to 35% penalty on taxpayers who are late in submitting their annual income tax returns.
IRB chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar said the penalty would be charged based on the delay duration of between 12 months and 36 months.
“The penalty will not be more than triple the taxable amount.”
The penalty will be charged under sub-section 112 (3) of the Income Tax Act 1967 under an amended version of the previous directive to improve compliance in submitting income tax returns on time
The new directive came into force on June 1. — Bernama
"The penalty will not be more than triple the taxable amount," he said in a statement Friday.
Mohd Shukor said the IRB took a serious view of taxpayers being late or not submitting the returns at all.
The new directive came into force on June 1. Previously, a 10% penalty was imposed on late submissions.
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will impose a 20 % to 35% penalty on taxpayers who are late in submitting their annual income tax returns.
IRB chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar said the penalty would be charged based on the delay duration of between 12 months and 36 months.
“The penalty will not be more than triple the taxable amount.”
The penalty will be charged under sub-section 112 (3) of the Income Tax Act 1967 under an amended version of the previous directive to improve compliance in submitting income tax returns on time
The new directive came into force on June 1. — Bernama
Judges can be involved in plea bargaining
The Court of Appeal ruled that judges and magistrates can be involved in a plea bargaining process. They can indicate the maximum sentence they are minded to impose when an accused person seeks the range of sentence.
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif said the court's agreement on the sentence was vital because, whatever the circumstances, the judge retained the unfettered discretion whether to agree with the sentence to be imposed or otherwise.
In an unprecedented decision, Justice Raus said the time had come for Malaysian courts to depart from the judgment of a case law, New Tuck Shen vs Public Prosecutor, which prohibited the courts from giving an indication on the sentence that it was minded to impose in a plea bargaining process.
He strongly advised judges and magistrates to record exactly what transpired before them in the process of plea bargaining, saying that the notes recorded by the judge or magistrate would then form a part of the notes of the proceedings.
He also reminded the prosecution not to leave the difficult area of sentencing only to the court, saying the deputy public prosecutors should instead assist by producing authorities to back their request for a deterrent sentence and they must show the trend of sentencing in similar cases.
Raus has laid down a proposed guideline on plea bargaining in his judgment in the drug case of a air-con repairman M. Manimaran. He said the process of plea bargaining must be done transparently.
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif said the court's agreement on the sentence was vital because, whatever the circumstances, the judge retained the unfettered discretion whether to agree with the sentence to be imposed or otherwise.
In an unprecedented decision, Justice Raus said the time had come for Malaysian courts to depart from the judgment of a case law, New Tuck Shen vs Public Prosecutor, which prohibited the courts from giving an indication on the sentence that it was minded to impose in a plea bargaining process.
He strongly advised judges and magistrates to record exactly what transpired before them in the process of plea bargaining, saying that the notes recorded by the judge or magistrate would then form a part of the notes of the proceedings.
He also reminded the prosecution not to leave the difficult area of sentencing only to the court, saying the deputy public prosecutors should instead assist by producing authorities to back their request for a deterrent sentence and they must show the trend of sentencing in similar cases.
Raus has laid down a proposed guideline on plea bargaining in his judgment in the drug case of a air-con repairman M. Manimaran. He said the process of plea bargaining must be done transparently.
‘Register voters automatically at 21’
Malaysians who turn 21 should be automatically registered as voters, said former Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman. He said this would solve the issue of inadequate number of voters at the ballot.
“There are 16 million eligible Malaysians but only 12.5 million are registered as voters. Even with that figure, only 80% turned out on election day to vote,” he said.
Abdul Rashid, who had overseen six general elections and state elections, agreed that the automatic registration exercise would not be easy to implement.
“There are registered voters who had moved elsewhere and did not bother to change their addresses,” he said, adding that the EC cannot change the voters' address without consent.
On the Malaysian election system, Abdul Rashid said it was fair contrary to what the detractors say.
“I would say that our elections are free and fair, as far as our laws are concerned,” he said at a forum titled “MPs in Conversation: Parliamentary Elections & Funding” at Sunway University here on Thursday.
The other speakers were Rasah MP and DAP Socialist Youth national chief Anthony Loke, and Professor Dr Edmund Terence Gomez from the faculty of economics and administration of Universiti Malaya.
“There are 16 million eligible Malaysians but only 12.5 million are registered as voters. Even with that figure, only 80% turned out on election day to vote,” he said.
Abdul Rashid, who had overseen six general elections and state elections, agreed that the automatic registration exercise would not be easy to implement.
“There are registered voters who had moved elsewhere and did not bother to change their addresses,” he said, adding that the EC cannot change the voters' address without consent.
On the Malaysian election system, Abdul Rashid said it was fair contrary to what the detractors say.
“I would say that our elections are free and fair, as far as our laws are concerned,” he said at a forum titled “MPs in Conversation: Parliamentary Elections & Funding” at Sunway University here on Thursday.
The other speakers were Rasah MP and DAP Socialist Youth national chief Anthony Loke, and Professor Dr Edmund Terence Gomez from the faculty of economics and administration of Universiti Malaya.
Civil staff must reply to queries
Civil servants are obliged to reply to any query received, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. “It
is the civil servant’s job. If it’s about implementation and
clarification, they can and must do it. However, they can’t comment on
policy matters,” he said.
Mohd Sidek said the civil service had to learn to move with the times and use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to communicate with the public.
Better understanding:
The Star’s group chief editor and executive director Datuk Seri Wong
Chun Wai briefing (from right ) Abd Aziz, Mahmood, Mohd Sidek and Ahmad
Phesal during their visit to Menara Star in Petaling Jaya Thursday.
“Our Prime Minister wants us to do that.
“He himself tweets in the car on the way to meetings or functions,” he said after visiting Menara Star here yesterday.
Also present were Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam, the ministry’s Publications Control and Quranic Text Division secretary Abd Aziz Md Nor and Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib.
Mohd Sidek said the civil service had to learn to move with the times and use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to communicate with the public.
Better understanding:
The Star’s group chief editor and executive director Datuk Seri Wong
Chun Wai briefing (from right ) Abd Aziz, Mahmood, Mohd Sidek and Ahmad
Phesal during their visit to Menara Star in Petaling Jaya Thursday. “He himself tweets in the car on the way to meetings or functions,” he said after visiting Menara Star here yesterday.
Also present were Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam, the ministry’s Publications Control and Quranic Text Division secretary Abd Aziz Md Nor and Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib.
Good ideas are effective ones, says Sidek
The strength of any idea lies in its implementation, the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said. He said the challenge for the civil service was to implement good ideas and ensure that it was implemented properly.
Mohd Sidek, speaking at the presentation of prizes to winners of the Pemudah Challenge Season 2 here yesterday, said the implementation of new ideas depended on convincing end users of the good to be derived from them.
“Unless we are able to do this, our ideas will simply sit on the shelves of ideas,” he said, adding that change was often burdened by ingrained cultures and habits.
He said the Pemudah secretariat had received 1,105 ideas for improvements with 67 winning prizes in the first challenge last year while 3,946 submissions with 57 ideas which could be implemented were chosen to enhance the public sector delivery system.
“Civil servants sent in 3,289 entries and the remaining 657 entries were from the public; 557 entries related to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, 526 for Education Ministry and 425 for the Higher Education Ministry,” he said.
Among the ideas considered this year included a proposal to allow online application for change of schools, emergency paramedic support on motorcycles, drive-through pharmacies to collect prescribed medicines to avoid queuing, every citizen given only one number for their international passports and Social Security Organisation to review the requirement for beneficiaries to testify every year that he or she is still suffering from permanent disability.
Mohd Sidek, speaking at the presentation of prizes to winners of the Pemudah Challenge Season 2 here yesterday, said the implementation of new ideas depended on convincing end users of the good to be derived from them.
“Unless we are able to do this, our ideas will simply sit on the shelves of ideas,” he said, adding that change was often burdened by ingrained cultures and habits.
He said the Pemudah secretariat had received 1,105 ideas for improvements with 67 winning prizes in the first challenge last year while 3,946 submissions with 57 ideas which could be implemented were chosen to enhance the public sector delivery system.
“Civil servants sent in 3,289 entries and the remaining 657 entries were from the public; 557 entries related to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, 526 for Education Ministry and 425 for the Higher Education Ministry,” he said.
Among the ideas considered this year included a proposal to allow online application for change of schools, emergency paramedic support on motorcycles, drive-through pharmacies to collect prescribed medicines to avoid queuing, every citizen given only one number for their international passports and Social Security Organisation to review the requirement for beneficiaries to testify every year that he or she is still suffering from permanent disability.
US-based family intervention programme to aid Malaysian teens
Malaysia may implement concepts from a United States-based family
intervention programme which focuses on strengthening parent-youth
relationships and preventing teen substance abuse. The
Strengthening Families Programme 10-14 (SFP 10-14) targets children aged
between 10 and 14, National Population and Family Development Board
(LPPKN) deputy director-general (policy) Dr Anjli Doshi Gandhi said.
SFP 10-14 is endorsed by the World Health Organisation as having the best track record for family intervention programmes.
“Children aged 10 to 14 go through a very critical period in their lives and parents must equip themselves with knowledge on how to handle the situation,” Dr Anjli said.
Designed by Iowa State University Extension for Families, SFP 10-14 has been scientifically evaluated and proven to successfully lower the risk of adolescents getting hooked on substance abuse.
Programme coordinator Dr Anthony Santiago said participants also recorded increased academic success, less behavioural problems and more confidence in resisting negative peer pressure.
The programme is currently implemented by all 50 US states and countries such as Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden and Greece.
SFP 10-14 is endorsed by the World Health Organisation as having the best track record for family intervention programmes.
“Children aged 10 to 14 go through a very critical period in their lives and parents must equip themselves with knowledge on how to handle the situation,” Dr Anjli said.
Designed by Iowa State University Extension for Families, SFP 10-14 has been scientifically evaluated and proven to successfully lower the risk of adolescents getting hooked on substance abuse.
Programme coordinator Dr Anthony Santiago said participants also recorded increased academic success, less behavioural problems and more confidence in resisting negative peer pressure.
The programme is currently implemented by all 50 US states and countries such as Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden and Greece.
Kedah Sultan: Use history as a guide
History should be viewed as a guide of past happenings instead of a
political tool, said the Sultan of Kedah Tuanku Sultan Abdul Halim
Muadzam Shah. “If history states that the communist terrorists
had attacked the people and the Home Guards, there was no point in
denying this fact.
“It is good that today’s youths are thinking of the future so that they will work hard to achieve their dreams.
“But some will forget their past. Do not support the communists who had oppressed the people,” the Sultan, who is Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) chancellor, said in his speech during the 24th UUM convocation here yesterday.
A total of 8,556 graduates will receive their scrolls during the six-day convocation.
“It is good that today’s youths are thinking of the future so that they will work hard to achieve their dreams.
“But some will forget their past. Do not support the communists who had oppressed the people,” the Sultan, who is Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) chancellor, said in his speech during the 24th UUM convocation here yesterday.
A total of 8,556 graduates will receive their scrolls during the six-day convocation.
Two ways to combat graft
Strength and political will are needed to combat corruption, said Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah. Those
involved in the fight against corruption must have the strength to take
action against the guilty ones even if they were their own loved ones,
he said.
He said any party found to be corrupt should not be defended.
“When I was a judge, I had to deal with corruption cases involving top leaders in the country.
“In the face of such serious cases, a professional standpoint based on law and the desire to protect the interest of the nation, its institutions and the people, as well as a greater responsibility to Allah, should be used as a basis and reference in making consideration,” he said at the opening of the state Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) new building here yesterday.
Also present were Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and the MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed.
Sultan Azlan Shah, a former Lord President, said personal relationships and emotions should be ignored to ensure justice was implemented.
He added that the court must maintain its integrity and the morale of investigating and prosecuting agencies should not be undermined.
He said the MACC, which had been entrusted to fight corruption, must gain the support and confidence of the people.
Such support, he said, could only be there if the MACC could project itself as a commission that was professional, neutral and fair.
“For that, the MACC must first clean up its own organisation of officers and staff who may tarnish its image,” he added.
In his speech earlier, Abu Kassim said the RM24.7mil building is the first MACC office in the country equipped with a video interviewing room (VIR).
He said the facility would allow the MACC to demonstrate its transparency to the public when conducting investigations.
“With the VIR, it is hoped that the MACC will be able to deflect accusations that its investigating officers use torture, coercion and intimidation when interrogating witnesses or suspects,” he said.
At a press conference later, MACC deputy chief commissioner (management and professionalism) Datuk Zakaria Jaffar said the VIR would be ready for use at all MACC offices by the end of the year.
He said any party found to be corrupt should not be defended.
“When I was a judge, I had to deal with corruption cases involving top leaders in the country.
“In the face of such serious cases, a professional standpoint based on law and the desire to protect the interest of the nation, its institutions and the people, as well as a greater responsibility to Allah, should be used as a basis and reference in making consideration,” he said at the opening of the state Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) new building here yesterday.
Also present were Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and the MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed.
Sultan Azlan Shah, a former Lord President, said personal relationships and emotions should be ignored to ensure justice was implemented.
He added that the court must maintain its integrity and the morale of investigating and prosecuting agencies should not be undermined.
He said the MACC, which had been entrusted to fight corruption, must gain the support and confidence of the people.
Such support, he said, could only be there if the MACC could project itself as a commission that was professional, neutral and fair.
“For that, the MACC must first clean up its own organisation of officers and staff who may tarnish its image,” he added.
In his speech earlier, Abu Kassim said the RM24.7mil building is the first MACC office in the country equipped with a video interviewing room (VIR).
He said the facility would allow the MACC to demonstrate its transparency to the public when conducting investigations.
“With the VIR, it is hoped that the MACC will be able to deflect accusations that its investigating officers use torture, coercion and intimidation when interrogating witnesses or suspects,” he said.
At a press conference later, MACC deputy chief commissioner (management and professionalism) Datuk Zakaria Jaffar said the VIR would be ready for use at all MACC offices by the end of the year.
Vital to master critical thinking, students told
Pure academic achievement is not enough to guarantee employment. Students should inculcate themselves with the culture of creative and critical thinking, says former Human Resources Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that university graduates will not land a job without having soft skills,” he said during the launch of the Malaysia Festival of The Mind VII yesterday.
Dr Fong applauded initiatives by the Government and groups like the Malaysian Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM) in promoting mental development and literacy to develop the nation’s human resources.
Utar council chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik said new businesses were moving away from physical products and were now dealing in ideas and patents.
“Half of the United States’ exports are ideas. Instead of just selling trucks and cars, they are now exporting music and movies,” said Dr Ling, who is also the MMLM founder.
Visionary
leaders: (From left) Dr Chuah, Dr Tan, Dr Fong, Fernandes and Dr Ling
posing for a photo after the launching of the Malaysia Festival of The
Mind VII at TAR College in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The two-day festival was organised by MMLM in collaboration with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) and Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC).
Also present were AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, who was a guest speaker at the launch, Utar president Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik and TARC principal Dr Tan Chik Heok.
The festival featured talks, workshops and exhibitions on mind mapping and memory improvement, and will also be held at the Utar campus in Perak from Oct 8 -9.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that university graduates will not land a job without having soft skills,” he said during the launch of the Malaysia Festival of The Mind VII yesterday.
Dr Fong applauded initiatives by the Government and groups like the Malaysian Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM) in promoting mental development and literacy to develop the nation’s human resources.
Utar council chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik said new businesses were moving away from physical products and were now dealing in ideas and patents.
“Half of the United States’ exports are ideas. Instead of just selling trucks and cars, they are now exporting music and movies,” said Dr Ling, who is also the MMLM founder.
Visionary
leaders: (From left) Dr Chuah, Dr Tan, Dr Fong, Fernandes and Dr Ling
posing for a photo after the launching of the Malaysia Festival of The
Mind VII at TAR College in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Also present were AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, who was a guest speaker at the launch, Utar president Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik and TARC principal Dr Tan Chik Heok.
The festival featured talks, workshops and exhibitions on mind mapping and memory improvement, and will also be held at the Utar campus in Perak from Oct 8 -9.
Penang’s link with ocean made waves
Historians and researchers from across the globe recently
converged on George Town to discuss the diverse links between Penang and
the Indian Ocean.
PENANG has a spicy past, literally. The island's first pepper plants were introduced in 1790 by a Chinese Kapitan, who brought in pepper vines from Acheh with funds from Captain Francis Light, the founder of the British settlement.
Christina Skott, a history lecturer at Cambridge University, said the British East India Company (EIC) wanted to start spice plantations then in the hope of breaking the Dutch monopoly on cloves and nutmeg.
“Penang was an important centre for botanical exchange and transfer as well as for agricultural experiments during the first decade of its opening in 1786. The first commercial crops were coconut and pepper,” said Skott, one of 25 international speakers at the recent three-day “Penang and the Indian Ocean (PIO) Conference 2011”.
Irving: Pointed out that one of the largest collections of Malay melodies published in the 19th century was sourced from Penang.
During
the conference jointly organised by Think City, Penang Heritage Trust
(PHT), Universiti Sains Malaysia's Centre for Policy Research and
International Studies (CenPRIS), and academics from University of
Cambridge and London University, experts and researchers explored and
discussed Penang's history as a trading port in the Straits of Malacca.
The conference also looked at promoting a research cluster dedicated to mapping the historical and contemporary linkages of Penang in its Indian Ocean context.
While many speakers touched on early history, maritime trade, transmigration, cultural flow and commercial networks, a few like Skott gave interesting insight to some lesser-known facts.
Skott said the Company Garden in Air Itam was set up under Light and initially operated using convict labour. Many of the plants were brought in from China.
“The first substantial inventory of the Company Garden was carried out in 1803 by an official botanist, William Hunter,” said Skott. Inventive cultivation techniques, she added, led to the rapid expansion of nutmeg production in Penang after 1835.
David R. M. Irving, a post doctoral research associate at King's College London, described Penang as one of several significant trading entrepots which provided “fertile condition for the mixing and exchange of musical practices” in the early 19th century.
He cited an article by Jonas Daniel Vaughan titled Notes on the Malays of Pinang and Province Wellesley (1858) that made reference to Indian musicians playing “shrill pipes resembling the clarinet” during festivals.
Irving pointed out that one of the largest collections of Malay melodies published in the 19th century was sourced from Penang.
Skott: ‘Penang was an important centre for botanical exchange and transfer as well as for agricultural experiments’
From the late 18th century onwards, many Malay musical troupes with affinities to European music emerged.
Another speaker, Vivian Louis Forbes, adjunct professor and map curator from University of Western Australia, said the main aim of the EIC and English commercial traders when Penang was founded was to capture the tea trade of China and the spice trade of the East Indies.
“In order to achieve dominance in the trade links in the Indian Ocean, the EIC and later the Colonial administration were compelled to ensure that ships on passages to and from Penang were given all the benefits and protection that could be offered.”
Forbes said four significant lighthouses were constructed then, in Fort Cornwallis (1882), Muka Head (1883), Pulau Rimau (1885) and Pulau Tikus (date unknown).
Rathi Menon, a retired history professor from St Xavier's College Aluva, in Cochin, India, said many Malayalees from Madras started arriving in Penang after 1789 to work in plantations.
She cited a 1966 report of the Penang City Council which mentioned a fire in Malabar Street in 1789, noting that it was the name of the street now known as Chulia Street.
“Naming a key street like this clearly shows the large number of Malabari presence in that area. The Malabaris, a good number of them from the Muslim community, played a key role in trade and commerce in Penang. In later years, most of these Muslims assimilated into the local population by marrying Malay people and became bumiputras (sons of the soil),” she added.
The conference also highlighted the concern among Malaysian Indians over the declining use of regional Indian dialects among the younger generation, many of whom do not converse in Tamil or who just speak a smattering of Tanglish (a mix of Tamil and English).
This may be why the Telugus, Malayalees, Punjabis, Gujaratis and Sri Lankans often encourage their young to join their respective ethnic-based organisations to expose them to their mother tongue.
Many urban Indian youths, it was pointed out, shied away from speaking the dialects these days, partly out of fear that their peers might ridicule them.
History professor Lakshmi Subramaniam, from the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences in Calcutta, India, however, felt that language should not be forced on the younger generation merely to retain ethnic identity.
“Retaining culture is generational but it can be quite complex. A 70-year-old man who came to Malaya in the 1930s may have a particular notion about the land he left, the language he spoke and the religion he embraced. But his children, born and raised in an independent Malaysia, may have a very different sense of that reality,” she said.
“I think one cannot press the language and cultural identity issue too much. What is interesting about the diaspora is that in a strange way, it gives you a slightly different understanding of your national identity,” said Lakshmi.
“I feel it is very critical to be at least bi-lingual. It is also important to get a sense of your own linguistic ethnicity as it gives you access to a different world not to go back to the past but to address the present with your ancestral inheritance.
“If you tell your child she has to speak in her mother tongue to remember her grandfather's past, she may not want to do so. But if you integrate spoken Tamil with interesting things happening in the cinema, television or cultural scene, she may want to pick up the language.
“It is important to make language a part of the living present and not the past.”
PENANG has a spicy past, literally. The island's first pepper plants were introduced in 1790 by a Chinese Kapitan, who brought in pepper vines from Acheh with funds from Captain Francis Light, the founder of the British settlement.
Christina Skott, a history lecturer at Cambridge University, said the British East India Company (EIC) wanted to start spice plantations then in the hope of breaking the Dutch monopoly on cloves and nutmeg.
“Penang was an important centre for botanical exchange and transfer as well as for agricultural experiments during the first decade of its opening in 1786. The first commercial crops were coconut and pepper,” said Skott, one of 25 international speakers at the recent three-day “Penang and the Indian Ocean (PIO) Conference 2011”.
Irving: Pointed out that one of the largest collections of Malay melodies published in the 19th century was sourced from Penang. The conference also looked at promoting a research cluster dedicated to mapping the historical and contemporary linkages of Penang in its Indian Ocean context.
While many speakers touched on early history, maritime trade, transmigration, cultural flow and commercial networks, a few like Skott gave interesting insight to some lesser-known facts.
Skott said the Company Garden in Air Itam was set up under Light and initially operated using convict labour. Many of the plants were brought in from China.
“The first substantial inventory of the Company Garden was carried out in 1803 by an official botanist, William Hunter,” said Skott. Inventive cultivation techniques, she added, led to the rapid expansion of nutmeg production in Penang after 1835.
David R. M. Irving, a post doctoral research associate at King's College London, described Penang as one of several significant trading entrepots which provided “fertile condition for the mixing and exchange of musical practices” in the early 19th century.
He cited an article by Jonas Daniel Vaughan titled Notes on the Malays of Pinang and Province Wellesley (1858) that made reference to Indian musicians playing “shrill pipes resembling the clarinet” during festivals.
Irving pointed out that one of the largest collections of Malay melodies published in the 19th century was sourced from Penang.
Skott: ‘Penang was an important centre for botanical exchange and transfer as well as for agricultural experiments’ Another speaker, Vivian Louis Forbes, adjunct professor and map curator from University of Western Australia, said the main aim of the EIC and English commercial traders when Penang was founded was to capture the tea trade of China and the spice trade of the East Indies.
“In order to achieve dominance in the trade links in the Indian Ocean, the EIC and later the Colonial administration were compelled to ensure that ships on passages to and from Penang were given all the benefits and protection that could be offered.”
Forbes said four significant lighthouses were constructed then, in Fort Cornwallis (1882), Muka Head (1883), Pulau Rimau (1885) and Pulau Tikus (date unknown).
Rathi Menon, a retired history professor from St Xavier's College Aluva, in Cochin, India, said many Malayalees from Madras started arriving in Penang after 1789 to work in plantations.
She cited a 1966 report of the Penang City Council which mentioned a fire in Malabar Street in 1789, noting that it was the name of the street now known as Chulia Street.
“Naming a key street like this clearly shows the large number of Malabari presence in that area. The Malabaris, a good number of them from the Muslim community, played a key role in trade and commerce in Penang. In later years, most of these Muslims assimilated into the local population by marrying Malay people and became bumiputras (sons of the soil),” she added.
The conference also highlighted the concern among Malaysian Indians over the declining use of regional Indian dialects among the younger generation, many of whom do not converse in Tamil or who just speak a smattering of Tanglish (a mix of Tamil and English).
This may be why the Telugus, Malayalees, Punjabis, Gujaratis and Sri Lankans often encourage their young to join their respective ethnic-based organisations to expose them to their mother tongue.
Many urban Indian youths, it was pointed out, shied away from speaking the dialects these days, partly out of fear that their peers might ridicule them.
History professor Lakshmi Subramaniam, from the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences in Calcutta, India, however, felt that language should not be forced on the younger generation merely to retain ethnic identity.
“Retaining culture is generational but it can be quite complex. A 70-year-old man who came to Malaya in the 1930s may have a particular notion about the land he left, the language he spoke and the religion he embraced. But his children, born and raised in an independent Malaysia, may have a very different sense of that reality,” she said.
“I think one cannot press the language and cultural identity issue too much. What is interesting about the diaspora is that in a strange way, it gives you a slightly different understanding of your national identity,” said Lakshmi.
“I feel it is very critical to be at least bi-lingual. It is also important to get a sense of your own linguistic ethnicity as it gives you access to a different world not to go back to the past but to address the present with your ancestral inheritance.
“If you tell your child she has to speak in her mother tongue to remember her grandfather's past, she may not want to do so. But if you integrate spoken Tamil with interesting things happening in the cinema, television or cultural scene, she may want to pick up the language.
“It is important to make language a part of the living present and not the past.”
Letters tell of life on the island in the 18th century
An English lad who sailed to Penang two centuries ago left behind
letters that reveal fascinating aspects of the local population.
TEENAGER John Adolphus Pope never had the benefit of Facebook to share his adventures in the East Indies but the young mariner left behind a lasting legacy letters that vividly described his stay in Penang in the late 18th century.
Addressed to his friend George, the letters he wrote while sailing along the coast of Burma, the Straits of Malacca and China between 1785 and 1788 reveal fascinating observations of Penang before and after the early Sultan of Kedah ceded it to Britain on Aug 11, 1786.
Barbara Watson
According
to Barbara Watson Andaya, a history professor at the National
University of Singapore, the letters passed down through generations and
were now in the possession of independent researcher Anne Bulley, who
featured them in her book, Free Mariner: John Adolphus Pope in the East Indies 1786-1821.
“John was merely 14 years old when he was appointed Third Officer on the Princess Royal ship in 1785. He had predicted Penang would be a bigger trading port than Malacca, at that time the most important port in the Straits of Malacca,” said Andaya, one of the speakers at the recent Penang and the Indian Ocean Conference (PIO) 2011 in George Town.
When John first went ashore in May 1786, he described Penang as “an uninhabited island” although he saw a “deserted hut” and expressed initial fear of meeting Malays “who would not fail to murder us all”, Andaya related.
But by December the following year, John was singing praises about “our new settlement of Pulo Penang.”
Several country captains, he wrote, gave a “very flattering account of the fertility (of the) population” as people flocked to the island.
“Not less than 1,000 Chinese have settled here,” John chronicled.
After three years of interacting with the local community, John changed his opinion of the Malays. “Those who accuse them of moroseness, selfishness and a long catalogue of other vices are wrong and have never lived among them.”
He also wrote about religious tolerance and how he was treated with kindness and generosity. The locals were described as happy people, “always serene, temperate to an excess in their living and in their passions.”
Andaya said she believes that John might have started to work almost immediately after leaving school and never got to enjoy his teens.
“In the 18th century, there probably was no category for teenagers as he no longer was a child and had to assume the role of an adult. Even though we see him as a boy in his writings, more often he was an adult,” she noted.
She also observed that John was sometimes self-conscious, as if he knew his letters would reach a bigger audience than just his friend George.
For the most part, John's letters revealed his genuine pleasure in mingling with the locals and a sense of loyalty towards those he befriended.
During his voyage, John drew sketches and collected shells, rice, pepper, specimens of wood, a bow of the mountaineers, a spear and three arrows, as well as a “lump of gold” from a Malay friend during a visit to Kedah in 1786.
John also described the betel nut (pinang) tree as “a species of palm about six inches in diameter, straight as an arrow of about 20 feet and 30 feet high, its fruits hanging in clusters round the body of the tree. The fruit when arrived to maturity is enveloped in a fibrous covering of yellowish colour.”
Andaya pointed out that as e-mail and Facebook have now replaced journals and diaries of yesteryears, people these days wrote shorter messages.
“I think our powers of observation and visual perceptiveness have declined now that we depend more on photographs.
“What strikes me about John's letters is that this boy could look at things and describe everything he saw in great detail. This was before the advent of photography when people were trained to see in a way that we do not see any more.” By DERRICK VINESH
TEENAGER John Adolphus Pope never had the benefit of Facebook to share his adventures in the East Indies but the young mariner left behind a lasting legacy letters that vividly described his stay in Penang in the late 18th century.
Addressed to his friend George, the letters he wrote while sailing along the coast of Burma, the Straits of Malacca and China between 1785 and 1788 reveal fascinating observations of Penang before and after the early Sultan of Kedah ceded it to Britain on Aug 11, 1786.
Barbara Watson “John was merely 14 years old when he was appointed Third Officer on the Princess Royal ship in 1785. He had predicted Penang would be a bigger trading port than Malacca, at that time the most important port in the Straits of Malacca,” said Andaya, one of the speakers at the recent Penang and the Indian Ocean Conference (PIO) 2011 in George Town.
When John first went ashore in May 1786, he described Penang as “an uninhabited island” although he saw a “deserted hut” and expressed initial fear of meeting Malays “who would not fail to murder us all”, Andaya related.
But by December the following year, John was singing praises about “our new settlement of Pulo Penang.”
Several country captains, he wrote, gave a “very flattering account of the fertility (of the) population” as people flocked to the island.
“Not less than 1,000 Chinese have settled here,” John chronicled.
After three years of interacting with the local community, John changed his opinion of the Malays. “Those who accuse them of moroseness, selfishness and a long catalogue of other vices are wrong and have never lived among them.”
He also wrote about religious tolerance and how he was treated with kindness and generosity. The locals were described as happy people, “always serene, temperate to an excess in their living and in their passions.”
Andaya said she believes that John might have started to work almost immediately after leaving school and never got to enjoy his teens.
“In the 18th century, there probably was no category for teenagers as he no longer was a child and had to assume the role of an adult. Even though we see him as a boy in his writings, more often he was an adult,” she noted.
She also observed that John was sometimes self-conscious, as if he knew his letters would reach a bigger audience than just his friend George.
For the most part, John's letters revealed his genuine pleasure in mingling with the locals and a sense of loyalty towards those he befriended.
During his voyage, John drew sketches and collected shells, rice, pepper, specimens of wood, a bow of the mountaineers, a spear and three arrows, as well as a “lump of gold” from a Malay friend during a visit to Kedah in 1786.
John also described the betel nut (pinang) tree as “a species of palm about six inches in diameter, straight as an arrow of about 20 feet and 30 feet high, its fruits hanging in clusters round the body of the tree. The fruit when arrived to maturity is enveloped in a fibrous covering of yellowish colour.”
Andaya pointed out that as e-mail and Facebook have now replaced journals and diaries of yesteryears, people these days wrote shorter messages.
“I think our powers of observation and visual perceptiveness have declined now that we depend more on photographs.
“What strikes me about John's letters is that this boy could look at things and describe everything he saw in great detail. This was before the advent of photography when people were trained to see in a way that we do not see any more.” By DERRICK VINESH
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