Saturday, March 17, 2012

Kami Sokong Tokguru: Rakyat Selangor Bakal Dapat Wifi Percuma

Kami Sokong Tokguru: Rakyat Selangor Bakal Dapat Wifi Percuma

PETALING JAYA: Penduduk di bawah pentadbiran Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) kini tidak perlu bimbang mengenai kos perkhidmatan Internet apabila kawasan tempat tinggal mereka dipilih sebagai perintis projek jalur lebar (WiFi) percuma di negeri itu.

Di bawah projek Perkhidmatan Awam Berintegrasi Selangor (Spins), penduduk Selangor khususnya di kawasan Petaling Jaya dijangka menikmati kemudahan itu di lebih 200 lokasi mulai Jun depan.

Pada pelancarannya baru-baru ini, Datuk Bandar, Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman berkata, projek itu bukan saja di kawasan Petaling Jaya, malah turut membabitkan 4,000 lokasi termasuk kawasan terpencil seluruh Selangor yang kebanyakannya didiami golongan kurang berkemampuan mendapatkan perkhidmatan internet


Beliau berkata, ia dijangka siap secara keseluruhannya pada 2015 dengan menyaksikan Taman Datuk Harun sebagai lokasi perintis bagi projek terbabit yang siap pada 29 Februari lalu.

Tinjauan Metroplus ke Taman Datuk Harun, di sini mendapati orang ramai tidak melepaskan peluang menggunakan kemudahan itu di merata tempat termasuk kedai makan.

Ia membuktikan projek terbabit mendapat sambutan menggalakkan daripada orang ramai, malah memudahkan mereka mendapatkan maklumat terkini pada bila-bila masa walau di mana mereka berada.


http://www.hmetro.com.my

Menteri gagal tolak saman tumbuk ahli perniagaan

Menteri gagal tolak saman tumbuk ahli perniagaan

Mahkamah Rayuan hari ini menolak dengan kos permohonan Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi bagi membatalkan saman yang dibawa oleh seorang ahli perniagaan, yang didakwa mempunyai hubungan sulit dengan anak perempuan menteri itu.

ahmad zahid hamidiPanel tiga hakim yang diketuai oleh Datin Paduka Zaleha Zahari sebulat suara mengekalkan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam, dan mengarahkan menteri itu untuk membayar RM5,000 sebagai kos.

Ahli-ahli panel yang lain ialah Hakim Datuk Clement Allan Skinner dan Datuk Aziah Ali.

Ahli perniagaan Amir Bazli Abdullah, 40, memfailkan saman itu pada 4 Julai 2007, mendakwa bahawa beliau telah dipukul dan ditumbuk pada mukanya oleh Ahmad Zahid pada 16 Januari, 2006.

Keputusan itu dicapai selepas mahkamah mendengar penghujahan peguam Shamsul Bahari Ibrahim yang mewakili Ahmad Zahid, dan memutuskan bahawa ia tidak perlu bagi peguam, Amir Bazli, Karpal Singh, untuk membuat penghujahan.

Akuan berkanun diguna untuk tukar milik kenderaan

Akuan berkanun diguna untuk tukar milik kenderaan

Berkuatkuasa serta merta, Akuan Berkanun akan digunakan untuk urusan tukar milik kenderaan di Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) bagi menggantikan penggunaan Mykad yang disahkan oleh Pesuruhjaya Sumpah sebelum ini.
  
Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha berkata keputusan itu diambil selepas perbincangan lanjut diadakan antara JPJ dan Pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Persekutuan dengan mengambil kira maklum balas yang diterima daripada pemilik kenderaan dan pengusaha-pengusaha kenderaan terpakai.
  
"Pemunya berdaftar dan pemunya baru kenderaan perlu mengisi borang akuan sebelum tukar milik kenderaan dilakukan dan kemudiannya disahkan oleh Pesuruhjaya Sumpah yang dilantik oleh Mahkamah Persekutuan," katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.
  
Kong berkata borang itu boleh dimuat turun melalui portal JPJ di alamat www.jpj.gov.my.
  
Penggunaan Akuan Berkanun adalah seperti yang diperuntukkan mengikut Akta Akuan Berkanun 1960 iaitu sesiapa yang didapati membuat pengakuan palsu boleh diambil tindakan perundangan menurut akta ini.

Katanya JPJ akan mengadakan sesi taklimat kepada Persekutuan Persatuan Syarikat Motor dan Kredit Malaysia (FMCCAM) dan Persatuan Pengedar-Pengedar Motosikal dan Skuter Malaysia (MMSDA) pada 18 Mac ini mengenai penggunaan Akuan berkanun.

- Bernama

The Worden Report: Bank of America: Downsizing From Smallness

The Worden Report: Bank of America: Downsizing From Smallness

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Bank of America: Downsizing From Smallness

Three years after the near-meltdown of Wall Street in September 2008, Bank of America announced that 30,000 jobs would be eliminated. That amounts to nearly 10% of the bank’s total work force. Over all, BOA was planning to cut $5 billion in annual expenses. The reason is transparent: continued losses stemming from the bank’s acquisition of Countrywide in January 2008 in spite of the fall of the U.S. real estate market and the related losses on sub-prime mortgage-backed CDOs. What could Ken Lewis have been thinking? At least in the case of his acquisition of Merrill Lynch, which was agreed to in principle in September 2008, the investment bank had already sold its $30 billion of toxic assets for over $7 billion in July 2008.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Malaysian court clears Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy charges : NATION News - India Today

Malaysian court clears Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy charges : NATION News - India Today

When the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge delivered a not guilty verdict in the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial, the former deputy prime minister was taken aback. Ibrahim, 64, told reporters after his release on January 9, "To be honest, I am a little surprised." The final scene of the 13-year politico-legal drama was over faster than anyone expected. Judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah took only two minutes to give his ruling, saying DNA samples used as evidence might have been contaminated and that he could not convict in the absence of other corroborating evidence.
The judgment has brought the curtains down on one of the most controversial chapters in Malaysian political history. Ibrahim has been on trial for sodomy twice and has always maintained that the charges were politically motivated. He was deputy prime minister between 1993 and 1998. Ibrahim was booted out of the government in 1998 for challenging the authority of then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. In 1999, Ibrahim was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years on charges of sodomy. The court reversed the second sentence in 2004, paving the way for his release. In July 2008, he was arrested again on sodomy charges, just after he had led a three-party Opposition coalition to unexpected success in the elections.
Ibrahim has gone on to become a symbol for change in not just Malaysia but across the region. He brought the Opposition together, posing a challenge to the ruling National Front.
So what does the verdict mean for Malaysia? Has the victory given Ibrahim an edge over his fiercest critic and rival, Prime Minister Najib Razak? Professor James Chin at Monash University in Malaysia believes the acquittal does not really do much for Ibrahim. He says, "The sodomy issue would have been more effective had Anwar been found guilty. But now it is unlikely to be a major campaign issue." Political analyst Ooi Kee Beng explains, "One of the biggest challenges for the Pakatan Rakyat (the three-party Opposition coalition) is to convince voters that it has the leaders needed for a change in paradigm."
Other Malaysian political analysts see the verdict as a sign that the judiciary in Malaysia is really independent. They say it disproves Ibrahim's claims about government interference in the judiciary, especially since Judge Diah had earlier come under fire from his counsel for being biased.
Ibrahim's camp, led by stalwarts including Azmin Ali, deputy president of his party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, is thrilled with the acquittal. "This is not justice for Ibrahim alone, but for all those who care about freedom and justice," says Ali. He adds, "We will continue to explain to people that Ibrahim is a victim of a malicious conspiracy." But Ali is also quick to counter claims about the judiciary's independence. He says that is a claim made by Razak and Mahathir. The deputy chief of the Keadilan party says public perception is very different. "Malaysians feel there is a need for reform in the judicial system, and there are very few judges left who speak from their conscience," he claims.
So how does the verdict change the face of Malaysian politics? Both sides have different views on its impact. Azmi Anshar, chief editor of one of Malaysia's most prominent dailies, The New Straits Times, believes this will finally end Ibrahim's "unfair advantage" over his rivals. Says Anshar, "In the past 42 months, since the accusations against Ibrahim were first made, he has used the court solely as a political campaign platform. Now he can no longer use court for political sermons and that will even out the playing field." He believes, "Ibrahim will use his freedom to claim that the government tried to fix him, and that his victory was just a fluke."
The impact of this verdict will most certainly be seen in the forthcoming polls, as Razak tries to hold on to power and Ibrahim's attempts to improve upon his three-party coalition's 2008 success. Elections in Malaysia could be held anytime between June 2012 and March 2013, say analysts.
Cleared of the sodomy charge, Ibrahim is all set to hit the campaign trail. He will use the verdict to galvanise the Opposition. "We are ready for any eventuality; we have been ready for elections for over a year now. The verdict has given us confidence that we can capture Putrajaya (the federal administrative centre of Malaysia)," says Ali.
Anshar believes Razak has an edge. He says, "Either a status quo will be maintained or the government will scrape through. But it will be wrong to underestimate the popularity of Razak, who managed to draw in the support of many disgruntled voters during his last campaign."
Now that he is a free man, unless the Government appeals, Ibrahim seems to be even more determined to ensure that his three-party Opposition coalition is a force to reckon with in Malaysian politics. This was foremost on his mind as he walked out of the court on January 9. He tweeted moments after the judgment, "In the coming elections, the voice of the people will be heard, and this corrupt government will be toppled from its pedestal of power."