Soi Lek sacked

26 August 2009

In the cross-hairs ... Dr Chua Soi Lek's future in MCA, if he has one, is looking bleak. - Picture by Jack Ooi

By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 – The split in the MCA took a turn for the worse tonight with the presidential council deciding to sack deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, on the recommendation of the party’s disciplinary committee.

The expulsion of Dr Chua is ostensibly his punishment for tarnishing the party’s image over the disclosure in late 2007 of a secret recording showing him engaging in sex acts with his mistress.

He had resigned as a minister and from all party posts last year after admitting to being the man in the footage, but won in the party elections last October as deputy president of MCA.

But Dr Chua and party president Ong have been barely on speaking terms.

"This evening after much deliberation the presidential council made a decision to accept the disciplinary's recommendation to expel Chua from the party with immediate effect," Ong told reporters tonight, while reading from a prepared text.

He said he would explain the decision to sack Dr Chua to Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Ong also said that Dr Chua had 14 days to appeal the decision to the party's central committee.

The Malaysian Insider understands Najib was shocked at the decision, as are other Umno and BN leaders, as many of them feel that an MCA on a path of destruction is the last thing the ruling coalition needs.

Ong has denied being behind the decision to dredge up his deputy’s sex scandal even though the party’s disciplinary committee had decided early this month to go ahead with a hearing despite the fact that the complainant had withdrawn the allegation.

The party’s decision today will be seen as a move by Ong to shore up his own position in the party, but brings him on a collision course with MCA’s senior partner in the Barisan Nasional (BN), Umno.

"Maybe by sacking me, Ong believes he can sleep better and the party will be more stable," said Dr Chua.

He said he would not join the opposition and denied being behind a move to call an EGM, although he would endorse it to save the party.

Asked if the disciplinary board gave any grounds for recommending a sacking, he replied: "I tarnished the party image. That is a severe crime. I am lucky they did not sentence me to death."

Dr Chua had only recently been appointed by Najib as BN’s coordinator in Pakatan Rakyat-held states.

Ong has also been in a beleaguered position in recent weeks because of his ongoing tiff with BN backbenchers’ chairman Datuk Tiong King Sing over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

Tiong, the CEO of PKFZ turnkey contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), has accused Ong of taking a RM10 million donation and for taking free flights on the company’s private jets.

Ong has, in turn, filed a RM500 million lawsuit against Tiong, in an escalation of the open quarrel which has badly embarrassed BN.

Umno leaders have urged Ong to settle the dispute with Tiong, but the transport minister is now attempting to portray himself as someone who has been trying to expose wrongdoings over the PKFZ scandal.

The tough action against Dr Chua today will be seen as an attempt by Ong to shore up his own position as there are now rumblings within the MCA against him for dragging the party into the PKFZ saga.

Yesterday, six party divisions in Perak openly called for Ong to be suspended over the allegations that Tiong had donated the RM10 million.

The MCA has already clarified that it did not receive the donation while Tiong has called for Ong to open up his bank accounts for scrutiny.

More divisions, especially those from Dr Chua’s home state in Johor, are expected to join their Perak counterparts in calling for Ong’s removal.

马华会长理事会开除蔡细历！ 翁诗杰将亲自向纳吉汇报决定

郭史光庆 8月27日 午夜 12点04分

马华会长理事会已经接纳纪律委员会的建议，宣布开除涉及性爱光碟事件的署理总会长蔡细历的党籍。 马华总会长翁诗杰（右图）在主持近5个小时的会议后，在一众会长理事会成员的陪同下，於凌晨12点15分左右召开新闻发布会，发表5段由会长理事会发出的简短声明，做出这项宣布。 声明说，经过冗长详细的讨论，有鉴于蔡细历性爱光碟对党形象所造成的伤害，会长理事会基于党的利益，今天以沉重的心情，集体决定接受纪律委员会的建议，开除蔡细历的党籍，即日生效。 可在14天内向中委会上诉 声明指出，根据党章第127（A）条款，蔡细历可以在收到会长理事会决定的正式通知后的14天内，向中委会提出书面上诉。 “根据党章第128条款，中委会对有关纪律事项所做出的决定，将是最后和决定性的，不能向任何法庭提出诉讼。” “我们全体会长理事会成员，团结一致并集体对这项决定负责。” 翁诗杰将亲自向纳吉汇报 声明最后表示，为了尊重纳吉作为国阵主席，翁诗杰将亲自向他阐述会长理事会的决定。 除了总财政郑福成、两名副总会长陈国煌和黄燕燕之外，其他会长理事会成员都有出席这项简短5分钟的新闻发布会。 不过，翁诗杰在宣读声明后，拒绝回答任何提问，并表示所有内容都已经在会长理事会发表的声明里，便匆匆结束这场新闻发布会。其他会长理事会成员，也都拒绝回答任何提问。 稍早前，蔡细历因为会议讨论起纪律案件，为了避免利益冲突，而先行中途离席，并召开记者会，炮轰翁诗杰把他当作头号敌人，并疾呼党员挺身而出拯救该党，避免马华受到翁诗杰一人的摧毁 以下是会长理事会发表的声明全文： 经过冗长详细的讨论，有鉴于拿督斯里蔡细历性爱光碟对党形象所造成的伤害，会长理事会基于党的利益，今天以沉重的心情，集体决定接受纪律委员会的建议，开除拿督斯里蔡细历的党籍，即日生效。 根据党章第127（A）条款，拿督斯里蔡细历可以在收到会长理事会决定的正式通知后的14天内，向中委会提出书面上诉。 根据党章第128条款，中委会对有关纪律事项所做出的决定，将是最后和决定性的，不能向任何法庭提出诉讼。 我们全体会长理事会成员，团结一致并集体对这项决定负责。 为了尊重拿督斯里纳吉作为国阵主席，总会长拿督斯里翁诗杰将亲自向他阐述会长理事会的决定。

相关照片

■ “金字塔”形西瓜，一粒售价不菲。

■ 这是人脸造型西瓜，还有2颗大“眼睛”。

能看不能吃　金字塔形西瓜值千元

二零零九年八月二十六日 晚上七时四十四分

（新加坡26日讯）金字塔形西瓜，只能看不能吃，一粒叫价500新元（约1220令吉）。

这粒只供人欣赏的金字塔形西瓜，重约7公斤，从日本北海道特别引进，目前在新加坡汤申大厦的Fairprice Finest亮相。这粒贵西瓜可供长期摆放，作为装饰品，在21摄氏度至22摄氏度的室内，平均可摆放3个月。

日本北海道的农夫是在2年前就开始培植“金字塔”形西瓜。除了“金字塔”形西瓜之外，还有人脸西瓜、星星形状和爱心形状的西瓜。

引进“金字塔”形西瓜的新加坡蔬果批发商万春商行私人有限公司表示，西瓜是用特别的原料种植，因此不适合食用。

被套上模子

西瓜之所以长成奇形怪状，是因为被套上一个模子，例如金字塔形状或心形的模子，成长的过程里就会填满这个模子，最后就长成心形、星形等各种形状。

万春商行说，形状越精美的西瓜，售价就越高。在日本，大机构和财团都喜欢把这些不同形状的珍贵西瓜当成互送礼物的佳品。

盼明年引进心形西瓜

万春商行希望在明年情人节的时候，能够把象征爱情的心形西瓜引进新加坡展出，以配合这个罗曼蒂克的节日。

如果你很想买一粒“金字塔”形西瓜放在住家的客厅或办公室，可向汤申大厦的Fairprice Finest询问详情。据估计，平均要4周至6周的时间，才可取货。

下一则: 股友趁低吸购　亚太股市回扬 | 上一则: 马路封锁躺着拍照　性感美女：非玩命

Dodgy degrees

Sunday August 23, 2009

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are so caught up with degrees that many would go to any lengths for one.

And degree mills — bodies that award degrees with little or no study — are ready to hand out the awards to many who want to boost their business position, social status or political standing.

The Starprobe’s search reveals that many Malaysians are buying dubious Bachelor’s, Master’s and even Doctorates from popular degree “conferring” bodies, among them the American-based Preston Uni-versity and Newport University; Dublin Metropolitan University (DMU) and Irish International University (IIU).

Degrees for sale: An online site promoting degrees to students and prominent personalities. The site includes contact details and hotline numbers of accreditation bodies for ‘graduates’ to pass on to prospective employers for verification

Other dubious institutions which are not in recognised accreditation registries include Connaught University, Pacific Western University, American Northeast State University, Western University, European University, Hill University, Rochville University and Buxton University.

When the Starprobe team conducted a search, including on the Internet, for the “alumni” of these degree mills, the list included prominent personalities in different sectors:

Cambodian premier Hun Sen (right) receiving his honorary degree from Irish International University head, a Malaysian called Hardeep Singh Sandhu, in 2007.

> a Selangor Umno division chief who is also chairman of a local publishing group (MBA, Connaught University, UK);

> a Kedah Umno division head and Umno Supreme Council member who became a self-made millionaire after school (MBA, Preston University, US);

> a Perak DAP state assemblyman (Bachelor of Business Administration, Paramount University of Technology, US) ;

> a retired Royal Malaysian Police department director who is now serving in a government body (MBA, Newport University, US);

> a leading Chinese educationist with three PhDs (PhD, Kensington University, US);

> a celebrity motivational speaker who has set up a private college (MBA and Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA), European Business School Cambridge of European Union);

> a top entrepreneur and chairman of one of Malaysia’s leading manufacturers (DBA, Irish International University); and

> a chairman of a local IT media company who was charged with furnishing false statement to the Bursa Malaysia (Bachelor of Science in Building Construction and Management, Connaught University, Ireland; MBA, North West London University, UK; and Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration, Pacific Western University, US).

The questionable “qualification” is evident in the official resumes of these public figures which the Starprobe team obtained from their offices or official websites.

When contacted, some were genuinely surprised to find out that they had been duped but others evaded questions and refused to comment.

One person with two alleged doctorates did not deny receiving the bogus doctorates but simply urged Starprobe to quote his third doctorate from the Southern Cross University, Australia, which is legitimate.

All the universities mentioned claim to be accredited, but none is recognised by the national accrediting body Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) or its foreign accrediting partners.

The IIU was blacklisted by MQA(then known as National Accreditation Board) in July 2005.

A disturbing trend is that these dodgy institutions offer prominent personalities degrees so they can gain credibility with the “qualifications”.

This is the standard practice for many of these bogus universities, said a senior Irish academic attached to a local private university who declined to be named.

“These institutions go to another country, especially in the less developed and developing world, and offer local prominent personalities doctorates and other degrees. These are not honorary degrees but they don’t ask the VIPs for money either.

“They just invite the important people to put in a 1,500-word essay or write something about themselves, and they ‘award’ them their degrees.

“It becomes an endorsement of sorts — when the institutions get complaints from parents and students, they will simply point out the important people who have their degrees,” he explained, adding that it is prevalent because it is win-win for both parties.

“The institutions get the chance to be set up and the important people get their paper qualification.”

Republic of Ireland deputy ambassador to Malaysia Eoin Duggan highlighted another device for these universities to gain credibility.

They would invite VIPs, including politicians, to their convocations and sometimes confer on them honorary degrees.

“Their presence gives the ceremony importance. Having, say, a junior minister’s name on their list meanwhile would add credibility to the institution’s name,” he said.

For example, IIU’s previous honorary luminaries include a senator who is famous for championing minority rights, the president of one of Barisan Nasional’s component parties and the director of a local think tank.

Although most have wised up and dropped the dubious qualification from their resume, a few still list it in their academic credentials.

Education blogger Tony Pua believes that half of those holding bogus degrees knew that their “qualifications” were not bona fide.

“It lends credence to the university to have VIPs on their list. But if you can get a doctorate without doing any research, it is a fake one. It is impossible to get a credible doctorate via a long distance learning programme, especially if you are studying part-time,” said Pua, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

British Council Malaysia Education and Programmes Director Peter Clack agrees, pointing out that a degree is intended to reward academic excellence and requires hard work and commitment as that is what gives it its value with employers.

“If a degree course sounds too good to be true, then it is more than likely to be a bogus one,” he said.

Unfortunately, there is nothing much that authorities can do to stamp out this fraudulent practice.

Although the respective governments are aware of these dubious institutions, they have not been able to fully eliminate them as many are legitimately registered as business entities or exist mainly in the virtual world.

Many can only advise the public about the “bogus” institutions, like Ireland, which is distancing itself from the institutions claiming to be Irish.

However, these “bogus” bodies are experts in evading authorities; further checks revealed that IIU had changed its name to Isles International University. It has even maintained an international office in Petaling Jaya.

The degree mill issue has become such that the United Nations declared a war on this worldwide industry of fraudulent qualifications in June.

Calling it “an emerging academic corruption”, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has issued a guideline for countries around the world to help eradicate these degree mills.

全球最贵城市

二零零九年八月二十一日 下午四时十三分

（日内瓦21日综合电）根据欧洲最大的金融控股集团──瑞士联合银行公布的2009年全球73个城市“价格与薪资”调查报告，全球最贵的城市是挪威首都奥斯陆，吉隆坡等则是最便宜的城市。在全球最贵城市当中，香港排名第28，上海第41，北京第52。

这 份每3年公布的报告指出，今年全球最贵城市前10名分别是奥斯陆、哥本哈根、苏黎世、日内瓦、东京、纽约、赫尔辛基、维也纳、巴黎和都柏林，其中除了东京 和纽约，其他均为欧洲城市。由于英镑的贬值，在2006年排行榜中名列第2的英国首都伦敦今年下降为第20名，和比利时首都布鲁塞尔一起位居西欧中游水 平。

亚洲城市差距最大

亚洲各城市之间的生活费用差距最大，日本首都东京跻身全球5大最贵城市，而马来西亚的吉隆坡、菲律宾的马尼拉、印度的德里和孟买则是最便宜的城市。

薪资最高的是苏黎士和日内瓦，工作时数最多的是开罗和首尔，里昂和巴黎则是工作时数最少的城市，符合一般对法国人工作不多的印象。

列在这份报告里的亚洲城市有东京、首尔、台北、北京、上海、香港、曼谷、新加坡、吉隆坡、雅加达和马尼拉。在全球最贵城市当中，除了东京名列前5名，其次是新加坡（24）、香港（28）、上海（41）、台北（46）和北京（52）。

东京薪资最高

薪资最高的亚洲城市是东京（18）、香港（37）、首尔（38）、台北（39）和新加坡（40）。

在房租的消费上，香港、东京、新加坡、首尔、台北名列前茅。台北5星级旅馆价格居东京和新加坡之后，却比欧美城市如柏林、维也纳、马德里、哥本哈根都昂贵。

工作时数方面，亚洲、拉丁美洲和阿拉伯世界的16个经济体全年的工作时数超过2000小时，亚洲地区还有曼谷（2165）、香港（2295）、雅加达（2172）、吉隆坡（2050）、北京（2052）、首尔（2312）、新加坡（2088），都超过2000个小时。

不过，73个城市中仅5个地方的年假不超过10天，台北和北京的上班族平均年假是9天，但上海只有8天，曼谷是7天、墨西哥市6天。

相关照片

■ 最贵：奥斯陆

■ 第2位：哥本哈根

■ 最便宜：吉隆坡

15 Malaysia 第二短片 Chocolate

Yamine 的一贯手法，细腻，柔顺，平和，但激荡反思，真实感十足的短片。

短片中，男主角跟母亲正在谈话，话题是该母亲要男主角到“邻国”念书，因为“这里”没什么希望，男主角却不想去，原因是这里朋友多，然而最劲爆是男主角直接问其母亲，关于“她”的男友，母亲断然承认，男主角也告诫母亲，那男友不过是要钱！

说道这里，已经清楚了，华人常出现外国的月亮特别圆的想法，而往往逼着自己的孩子到哪去！年轻人总是叛逆，所以他会问母亲男友的事情，其实就是想说母亲你交男友就行，我这里有朋友却不能交！这是什么？

总的来说，就是“强行”逼着男主角去国外读书，却忽略了他对周围情景的感受及理解，然而男主角告诫母亲，也可以看出，身为儿子的他，还是爱这自己的 母亲，不过母亲却逼着他走，当然多少也是母亲自己有私心，想与男友，，，，，！儿子有内心挣扎，母亲也有，，短片也突出了家长式强逼性安排的困境，所以儿 子的反抗，是必然的！

再来就是女主角来买东西，本来男主角气着问要买什么，结果女主角的一个笑容，男主角就搞错了，这可以解释为男的对女的有些“感受”！然而最后的阶 段，女的不够钱买巧克力，另一边男的被母亲催着，男的就大声说没钱就不用买！结果女的不好意思就拿着电池走了，然而柜台剩下两样东西，2元15分 及 男主角握住的巧克力，过后又放在柜台上！

这是什么信息，女的没拿巧克力，但给多了15分，男的握住巧克力，是因为母亲的催促，而不卖，还是一路来他对女主角都会卖出，而不管差异哪少少的5分钱？可以肯定两人确实动了情。

这就是看了短片的一些感受。

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15 Malaysia 之 “明志的午觉，割掉交交皮！”

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JPJ vehicle registration no. update (31 Jul-09)