Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
My cocks are missing!
How many gone?Without any apparent reason more than 10 men attempted to traumatise a family of five from Kota Samarahan.
They did that by going on a rampage and vandalised their house and vehicles Friday night.
The couple and their children arrived home shortly after and could only stare in disbelieve at what the group had done to their house, which included smashing and overturning the three vehicles in the compound, as well as smashing windows and furniture inside the house.
Luckily the victims said they had brought their three young children out for a ride when they received a call from a neighbour informing them of what was taking place.
The husband immediately contacted his younger brother, who then went to the house with two other friends to check and saw the rampaging group thrashing the entire house.
Fearing for their safety, the younger brother and his friends immediately fled the house and drove to the police station.
A team of police rushed to the scene to investigate but found that the group had already disappeared.
In what looks like a Christmas wish list the thugs had also stolen about RM50,000 worth of gold jewellery, a laptop and a Playstation 2 game console, while 10 fighting cocks were stolen from their cages outside along with an assortment of vehicle repair tools and spare parts.
Fishy tale from Borneo
The South China Sea may be too big for two local fishing associations to ‘net’-work together and find the best solution to harness its maximum fish haul.On one side is the Persatuan Usahawan Industri Perikanan Sarawak (Ikhlas) currently operating a deep sea fishing permit at Tanjung Manis Integrated Fishing Port, while on the other corner is the Sarawak Fishermen Association (Penesa).
The former has blamed the latter for not landing any big catch and making a false declaration of their total catch at Tanjung Manis facility.
Local fishermen were unhappy with the fact that foreign deep fishing vessel and crew from Thailand had been given local permits by Ikhlas to fish in the same area.
A spokesperson said investigations started after the committee chaired by Deputy Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister was formed last week.
Penesa claims that it was ready to take over the deep sea fishing from Ikhlas if the latter's fishing permit is revoked.
It said the association has about 300 deep sea fishing vessels and these should be sufficient to bring in enough catch for the integrated port.
While Ikhlas has 37 members, comprising companies related to fisheries which own 240 vessels.
So what’s the catch for the consumers? No big deal. Why? Because these people has been politicking about the issue for so long and yet no one is doing what they are supposed to do, that is to catch fish.
The only one profiteering from the bickering are the foreign fishing trawlers from Thailand, Vietnam and as far as Philippines and China, normally encroaching in or seems to be given the permits by the local fishing authority.
Each of these foreign vessels could land between 25 and 30 tonnes of fish.
Even the fishmongers in Sibu claim there was never any shortage of fish in the market.
They said that although fishermen went on strike in the past weeks, the supply of fish was sufficient to meet local demand.
One of them anonymously attributed this to the fish supply they got from the foreign fishing trawlers, notably those from China, Indonesia and Thailand.
"It has been like that for the past months and we do not foresee any problem as far as the fish supply is concerned," he added and the only difference, perhaps, is the pricing factor.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Just leave English alone
The Education Minister may decide on the hotly debated issue of using English for the teaching of Mathematics and Science in primary schools on Tuesday.
The feeling on the ground is that the English speaking silent majority in Malaysia are not overtly optimistic of the outcome.
If the outcome is not in favour of English then I think it is quite sad to see that the country that is trying to advance itself into future development is retrogressive in its steps.
I have picked a few recent topics from other bloggers such as from Rantings by MM says: “Our kids need to learn to speak English properly in order to get on in the world. That's not to say they should neglect their mother tongue and other languages. I happen to believe that children are capable of speaking more than one language easily. The key is exposing them to these languages early, as young as possible. Language researchers say that the best time to teach children languages is before they are five years old."
The feeling on the ground is that the English speaking silent majority in Malaysia are not overtly optimistic of the outcome.
If the outcome is not in favour of English then I think it is quite sad to see that the country that is trying to advance itself into future development is retrogressive in its steps.
I have picked a few recent topics from other bloggers such as from Rantings by MM says: “Our kids need to learn to speak English properly in order to get on in the world. That's not to say they should neglect their mother tongue and other languages. I happen to believe that children are capable of speaking more than one language easily. The key is exposing them to these languages early, as young as possible. Language researchers say that the best time to teach children languages is before they are five years old."
Education in Malaysia posted by Kian Ming says: “It seems a little ironic to me that the different 'nationalist' groups, who are usually at each other's throats, can unite over this issue because of their aversion to the policy of teaching Science and Math in English. While one may doubt the efficacy of this policy in terms of either improving the quality of English or the standard of Science and Math among our students, I have no doubt that reverting to the previous policy, without doing anything else, will definitely NOT improve the standard of English among our students.”
While Random Thoughts says: “My concerns are more on the education policies and vision and the lack of vision and direction are setting our children, along with that, lose several generations of young Malaysians. From the perspective of the parents there are several key issues. Firstly, the overall quality and standard needs to be improved. If any parents does not find schools innovative enough (I am sure there are many), there are no choices.”
So the fate of future education for our young Malaysians are left on the hands of the few who can make the decisions through their whims and fancies, without even referring for a consultation or referendum from the masses.
We'll see what the outcome will be.
Latest Update to Roundtable Discussion on the Issue on Tuesday, Dec 16
The options are:
1. To continue teaching and learning of Maths and Science in English as it is now.
2. To use Bahasa Malaysia or pupils' mother tongue as the medium of instruction from the primary school level and English for Maths and Science at the secondary level.
3. To start using English for Maths and Science from Standard Four right into the secondary level.
4. To use Bahasa Malaysia or mother tongue at the primary level, and Bahasa Malaysia fully at the secondary level.
5. Schools to determine the medium of instruction for Maths and Science.
6. To use Bahasa Malaysia or mother tongue from Standard One to Three, implement bi-lingual use from Standard Four to Six and full use of English at the secondary level.
7. To abolish the Science subject from Standard One to Three and incorporate teaching of Science in other subjects.
The findings from the series of roundtable discussions on the policy of teaching and learning Maths and Science in English will be handed over to Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein soonest possible to be tabled to the Cabinet.
Looks like it is quite positive, so far. Except for option No.7, which I think they need to review a little bit more.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Crab catcher's tragedy
Crab hunt turns tragic
It was his off day from work today and all he wanted to do to kill time was looking for crabs, never did it occur to anyone it will be his last trip.
The crab hunting trip proved fatal for a construction worker when he was electrocuted by a fallen high-voltage cable near Senari Port in Kuching.
Roslie Spuan, 20, was killed instantly after he picked up a fallen cable with his bare hands in an attempt to move it out of his path while looking for crabs with his 16-year-old cousin near an abandoned house at SungaiJenang.
His cousin, identified as Hamizan, said they had been looking for crabs for about half an hour when they came across the cable around 1pm.
He said Roslie began shaking violently the moment he picked up the cable and was unable to let go until he collapsed onto the ground.
The teenager then ran across the road to the Senari Industrial Complex and alerted several workers, who immediately went to investigate and later helped carry Roslie's body to the main road before contacting the police.
The victim's mother Leni, 40, rushed to the scene upon learning of son's death and broke down at the sight of his body.
The distraught woman, said she was at her workplace in Demak Laut when she received a call from her eldest daughter informing her that Roslie had been electrocuted to death.
She also revealed that Roslie, who was the fourth of nine children, was due to get married next week and that the final preparations for the wedding had already been made.
Roslie's fiancee was also informed of his death but she was too distraught to see the victim’s remains.
The crab hunting trip proved fatal for a construction worker when he was electrocuted by a fallen high-voltage cable near Senari Port in Kuching.
Roslie Spuan, 20, was killed instantly after he picked up a fallen cable with his bare hands in an attempt to move it out of his path while looking for crabs with his 16-year-old cousin near an abandoned house at SungaiJenang.
His cousin, identified as Hamizan, said they had been looking for crabs for about half an hour when they came across the cable around 1pm.
He said Roslie began shaking violently the moment he picked up the cable and was unable to let go until he collapsed onto the ground.
The teenager then ran across the road to the Senari Industrial Complex and alerted several workers, who immediately went to investigate and later helped carry Roslie's body to the main road before contacting the police.
The victim's mother Leni, 40, rushed to the scene upon learning of son's death and broke down at the sight of his body.
The distraught woman, said she was at her workplace in Demak Laut when she received a call from her eldest daughter informing her that Roslie had been electrocuted to death.
She also revealed that Roslie, who was the fourth of nine children, was due to get married next week and that the final preparations for the wedding had already been made.
Roslie's fiancee was also informed of his death but she was too distraught to see the victim’s remains.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Bad night out
Caught with a shirt and a pant...
A guy found out the hard way that it was really so not worth to shoplift from a departmental store since with all the surveillance cameras installed all around in the premises to catch a crook like him.
The incident happened around 7.15pm at the Parkson Grand store at Crowne Plaza Riverside when a store employee spotted the 26-year-old local man stealing a T-shirt and a pair of trouser, worth a total of RM80, and placing the items inside a backpack.
Fast reaction by members of the public resulted in the arrest of a shoplifter who had fled a departmental store with stolen clothes on Monday.
A male employee then alerted his supervisor, who checked the CCTV security footage which confirmed the theft, and both waited for the man to exit the store before going after him.
The suspect took off toward the main entrance when he realised he was being cornered as the supervisor called out to several members of the public to stop the fleeing thief.
A number of them responded and chased the suspect to the main road where they finally caught him across the road at Sarawak Plaza, not far from the vicinity.
Police arrived at the scene and recovered the stolen items before taking the suspect to the Simpang Tiga police station.
The incident happened around 7.15pm at the Parkson Grand store at Crowne Plaza Riverside when a store employee spotted the 26-year-old local man stealing a T-shirt and a pair of trouser, worth a total of RM80, and placing the items inside a backpack.
Fast reaction by members of the public resulted in the arrest of a shoplifter who had fled a departmental store with stolen clothes on Monday.
A male employee then alerted his supervisor, who checked the CCTV security footage which confirmed the theft, and both waited for the man to exit the store before going after him.
The suspect took off toward the main entrance when he realised he was being cornered as the supervisor called out to several members of the public to stop the fleeing thief.
A number of them responded and chased the suspect to the main road where they finally caught him across the road at Sarawak Plaza, not far from the vicinity.
Police arrived at the scene and recovered the stolen items before taking the suspect to the Simpang Tiga police station.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Cutlery burglar
Missing dishes recovered
Can you believe that anyone would resort to stealing anything nowadays.
Well that was what happened here in Kuching on Friday when police arrested a suspected thief who later led them to the recovery of hundreds of stolen cutlery belonging to a coffee shop.
The incident took place around 11pm when an employee of the coffee shop was informed by a member of the public that an unknown man was seen entering and leaving his house at Kampung Tanjong in Petra Jaya carrying boxes filled with plates, glasses and cups.
The items belonged to the coffee shop and were transported by the thief to the house for storage.
Later the coffee shop employee with the help of a friend lay in wait as the thief, who turned out to be a tenant at the house, returned and tried to leave the house with another load of dishes before he was apprehended.
The 23-year-old suspect was then handed over to police and he later led a team of officers to an undisclosed location where the stolen dishes were recovered.
It was later discovered that around 400 plates, 120 cups and saucers as well as 380 glasses had been stolen from the coffee shop!
Well that was what happened here in Kuching on Friday when police arrested a suspected thief who later led them to the recovery of hundreds of stolen cutlery belonging to a coffee shop.
The incident took place around 11pm when an employee of the coffee shop was informed by a member of the public that an unknown man was seen entering and leaving his house at Kampung Tanjong in Petra Jaya carrying boxes filled with plates, glasses and cups.
The items belonged to the coffee shop and were transported by the thief to the house for storage.
Later the coffee shop employee with the help of a friend lay in wait as the thief, who turned out to be a tenant at the house, returned and tried to leave the house with another load of dishes before he was apprehended.
The 23-year-old suspect was then handed over to police and he later led a team of officers to an undisclosed location where the stolen dishes were recovered.
It was later discovered that around 400 plates, 120 cups and saucers as well as 380 glasses had been stolen from the coffee shop!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
DUI driver cheats death
...and fled the scene
A DUI (Driving Under Influence) suspected driver somehow cheated death when his vehicle rammed into the back of a stationary lorry at Jalan Bako lateTuesday night.
The drunken driver, was speeding in the direction of Muara Tebas when he crashed into the lorry's carriage.
He was trapped inside the mangled wreck and passing motorists feared the worst until they went to check on his condition however to their amazement, found that he had only suffered a small cut to his chin and minor scratches to his arms.
Earlier the small truck had stopped by the roadside after having a flat battery where two of the men trying to repair the vehicle were nearly knocked down by the DUI vehicle.
The duo suffered scratches and bruises to their head and body, but were otherwise unhurt.
A passing motorist later sent the injured duo, along with the DUI driver to the Sarawak General Hospital for treatment.
However, the DUI driver fled the hospital grounds on foot as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle without seeking treatment, while the other two men were warded for their injuries.
The drunken driver, was speeding in the direction of Muara Tebas when he crashed into the lorry's carriage.
He was trapped inside the mangled wreck and passing motorists feared the worst until they went to check on his condition however to their amazement, found that he had only suffered a small cut to his chin and minor scratches to his arms.
Earlier the small truck had stopped by the roadside after having a flat battery where two of the men trying to repair the vehicle were nearly knocked down by the DUI vehicle.
The duo suffered scratches and bruises to their head and body, but were otherwise unhurt.
A passing motorist later sent the injured duo, along with the DUI driver to the Sarawak General Hospital for treatment.
However, the DUI driver fled the hospital grounds on foot as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle without seeking treatment, while the other two men were warded for their injuries.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
School's historical building went up in smoke
Old school block destroyed by fire
Fire broke out at the SMK Kuching High here around 1pm which started at the junior lab of the secondary school.
The wooden structure built in 1974 was engulfed in flames which quickly spread to the school's administration block cum library built in the early 1930s.
No one was injured in the incident at the time when some senior year students are sitting for their examinations while the rest are on school holiday break.
The fire caught the public's attention particularly students and teachers as well as former students who rushed to the fire scene.
As the school is located on top of a hill at Jalan Mathies, black smoke could be seen for miles.
The wooden structure built in 1974 was engulfed in flames which quickly spread to the school's administration block cum library built in the early 1930s.
No one was injured in the incident at the time when some senior year students are sitting for their examinations while the rest are on school holiday break.
The fire caught the public's attention particularly students and teachers as well as former students who rushed to the fire scene.
As the school is located on top of a hill at Jalan Mathies, black smoke could be seen for miles.
