The Star Online: Nation

MTUC: Government should manage foreign labour
100 protest against Kelantan Government over land
Goverment revives housing schemes to help the poor

MTUC: Government should manage foreign labour

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

Saturday February 23, 2013

THE Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) wants the Government to be in charge of the employment of foreign workers so that they will be protected, Malaysia Nanban reported.

Its president Khalid Atan said using agents and outsourcing agencies were causing problems and tarnishing the country's image, especially when the workers were being exploited.

At a press conference in Subang, he said some middlemen were making excessive profits from the foreign workers.

He said that sometimes, the rights of these workers were not respected while some had their work permits abruptly terminated.

Khalid added that some workers were forced to work long hours while some were not even paid.

> Makkal Osai reported that a woman in Patna, north India, sold her two-month-old daughter for Rs5,000 (RM284) to a neighbour to pay for her husband's medical treatment.

Shama Parveen, a mother of three sons from Isopur village, said that poverty forced her to sell her daughter Nazia to a woman to raise money for her husband's stomach surgery.

She said it was a difficult decision but she had no other choice.

100 protest against Kelantan Government over land

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 03:32 PM PST

Saturday February 23, 2013

TUMPAT: More than 100 residents and settlers in Pasir Pekan Hilir held a peaceful demonstration against the Kelantan Government for allegedly alienating 400ha of land along the banks of Sungai Kelantan to three companies.

The residents, who gathered here at about 11am yesterday, demanded that Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat hand over the land grant which they claimed the state government had promised them in the 1990s.

Mohamad Ismail, 60, said the recent revelations by non-governmental organisation Orang Muda Berpadu Anti Korupsi (Ombak) that the Sungai Kelantan riverside project developer had leased out the land to another party was shocking.

"At that time, we agreed to move out after being promised a land grant but instead the land now belongs to a private company," he said here yesterday.

Ombak president Wan Khairul Ihsan Wan Muhammad recently showed proof that the developer of the RM2bil Lembah Sireh Riverfront Beautification Project, Liziz Standaco Sdn Bhd (LSSB), had leased out a piece of land to a company on a 99-year leasehold.

He claimed that the 400ha land had been given to LSSB, which had yet to complete the project, by the state government.

Meanwhile, Kelantan People's Action Council president Azmi Ali, who also took part in the demonstration, said the only way for the those affected to get back their land was to change the state government.

Goverment revives housing schemes to help the poor

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 03:31 PM PST

Saturday February 23, 2013

TANGKAK: The Government has revived several abandoned housing schemes to ensure lower-income groups have access to affordable housing.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said this after presenting keys to Taman Sri Nilam residents here yesterday.

Abdul Ghani, who was accompanied by State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Zahri Jamil, said Taman Sri Nilam, with 180 units of houses, had been abandoned for more than 10 years.

He said the Government decided to allocate some RM6.2mil to revive the scheme and hired a developer last year to build the homes.

"The developer took about eight months to complete the scheme.

"Today we are happy that the buyers received the certificate of fitness to their houses as well as the keys.

"We want to thank the Housing Ministry, the district office, the Ledang Local Council and all utility departments here for their cooperation," he added.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Jumaat, 22 Februari 2013