The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency seeks hijacked vessel
- Assemblyman’s assistant receives death threat
- Malacca Zoo to be privatised
| Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency seeks hijacked vessel Posted: 27 Nov 2012 01:59 AM PST JOHOR BARU: Efforts are being made by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to locate a hijacked Malaysian-registered vessel using the Global Positioning System (GPS). Southern Region Maritime operations director Maritime Capt Ibrahim Mohamed said the vessel's last position was reported at the Natuna islands in Indonesia. The agency, he added, had also alerted its Indonesian and Vietnamese counterparts on the hijacked vessel. In detailing the incident, Capt Ibrahim said the owner of the vessel contacted the MMEA Southern Region command centre about their missing vessel on Nov 19. He added that the owner had lost contact with the vessel en route to Miri in Sarawak from Pasir Gudang, on Nov 16. "This area is a hotspot for piracy activities in the region," he added. The Natuna, with 272 small islands located off the northwest coast of Borneo became an ideal place for pirates. Capt Ibrahim said the Indonesian authorities were informed about the matter but it was already on its way to Vietnamese waters. "Our command centre then immediately informed our Vietnamese counterparts that a stolen vessel was heading their way where they managed to intercept and rescue the vessel and its crewmen from the pirates on Nov 23," he said. Capt Ibrahim added that cooperation between maritime enforcement authorities of different countries helped to reduce the number of piracy activities especially in Johor. "Last year, 12 piracy cases were reported in Johor waters mainly in Pengerang and Tanjung Piai but until October this year, only seven cases were reported. "Sharing intelligence and quick action by alerting our counterparts in other neighbouring countries help in keeping piracy activities down," he said. |
| Assemblyman’s assistant receives death threat Posted: 27 Nov 2012 01:59 AM PST JOHOR BARU: A personal assistant to an assemblyman here was left shaken after he received an anonymous call threatening to shoot him down because of something he said in a press conference earlier. Anthony Lee, 51, who works under Permas Assemblyman Datuk M. M. Samy claimed he received the call from a Hokkien-speaking man, calling him by his Chinese full name, Lee Kim Kwang. The line went dead after that. Lee, who looked stunned, added that he was surprised that the caller spoke in a calm manner and knew his full name because people usually addressed him as Anthony. "I called him back and the caller said I had offended one of his friends at a press conference that took place recently in Permas Jaya about a rubbish issue. "I was left speechless when the caller told me had he been at the event that day, he would have shot me down with a gun. And he said that he would come and find me," he said. Lee added that he did not think he offended anyone as he did not pinpoint anyone or named names. "I just made a general statement advising the residents not to approach us for funds and then approach the Opposition at press conferences to bring up issues," he said. Lee added that he was worried about his safety and had made a police report at the Taman Johor Jaya police station. He said it was the first time he received such a call in the four years that he had worked as a personal assistant to the assemblyman. Permas Selatan MCA division chairman Shium Chan Teck, who organised the press conference, said he hoped the police would catch the culprit soon as it was unfair to those who dedicated their time to helping the people. Meanwhile, Seri Alam OCPD Supt Roslan Zainuddin confirmed the police report and said the case was being investigated under Section 507 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation. |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST MALACCA: The popular Malacca Zoo is all set to be privatised. State government owned agencies will take over the management from Wildlife and National Park department before the end of this year. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the privatisation exercise would be handled by agencies such as Malacca Wildlife and two co-operatives — Koperasi Bela Masyarakat Melaka Berhad (Kobemas) and Koperasi Hang Tuah Jaya. "The aim of the privatisation is to turn the zoo as the most popular destination here," he told reporters here, recently. Mohd Ali said the state government had received a verbal nod from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the finer details on the takeover would be discussed later. "The privatisation is expected to benefit the arrival of visitors to the zoo although the ticket sales currently enjoyed by the zoo management is close to RM3mil annually. "We need to enhance the features of the zoo to turn the animal park into a crowd-puller and this could be achieved through injecting more tourist facilities," he said. Mohd Ali also said that the state government is expected to allocate RM6mil for the facelift and to make improvements to the infrastructure of the zoo once the take-over is done. He said the new zoo management will apply the system used by Singapore Zoo where it hopes to attract tourists from this region to visit the menagerie. Mohd Ali said the name of the Malacca Zoo would also be changed to a Night Safari as re-branding effort of the menagerie. He also revealed that the RM4mil subsidy granted by the Federal Government will no longer be channelled to the zoo once it had been privatised. The future income would be derived solely on ticket sales. Mohd Ali added that the current employees of the zoo would be absorb as contract staff under the Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council once the privatisation has materialised. |
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