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Ranking: Three Malaysian universities enter Top 500
Burst pipe disrupts water supply to some areas in Port Dickson
Full ministerial post for MIC president (Updated)

Ranking: Three Malaysian universities enter Top 500

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 05:28 AM PDT

PETALING JAYA: Three Malaysian universities have made it to the top 500 out of 12,000 universities ranked in the Webometrics Ranking Web of World Universities released Saturday.

They are Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (419), Universiti Sains Malaysia (428) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (462).

This is the first time that Malaysian varsities have entered into the top 500 since the ranking's inception in 2004.

Meanwhile, American universities dominate the Webometrics ranking, with the top five universities being the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, Cornell University, and the University of California, Berkeley respectively.

The ranking is an initiative by the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group part of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC) in Spain.

According to the Webometrics website, the aim of the rankings is to encourage universities to have a better web presence and researchers to publish more scientific content on the internet.

Among the main indicators used to analyse university web presence are the size or number of web pages recovered from search engines; visibility; number of rich files available; and the number of citations found in Google Scholar.

The rankings are published every six months, and survey around 20,000 higher education institutions worldwide.

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Burst pipe disrupts water supply to some areas in Port Dickson

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 03:57 AM PDT

Published: Saturday July 30, 2011 MYT 6:58:00 PM

PORT DICKSON: A 61cm-sized pipe burst near the Sungai Linggi water treatment plant caused water supply disruption in several areas here since Friday.

The areas affected were Batu 4 Jalan Pantai-Port Dickson, Port Dickson town, Lukut, Spring Hill, Chuah, Sua Betong and Bukit Pelandok.

Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn Bhd (Sains) customers service and public affairs manager Azlan Abdul Aziz said the disruption was caused by the collapse of the river bank close to the treatment plant, made worse by another burst of a 53cm-pipe nearby.

In a statement here on Saturday, he said repair work to strengthen the river bank was ongoing but hampered by strong currents, with water supply disruptions expected to continue until Aug 1.

Azlan said Sains had placed tanker lorries on standby to deliver water supplies and lessen the burden of consumers at affected areas.

Affected consumers can contact the toll-free line at 1-800-88-6982 for assistance.-Bernama

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Full ministerial post for MIC president (Updated)

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 03:53 AM PDT

PUTRAJAYA: MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel will be made Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made the announcement during the MIC 65th general assembly on Saturday.

Palanivel is currently Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister.

Najib said Palanivel was expected to be sworn in by next week.

He said the appointment was part of Barisan Nasional's commitment towards increasing the voice of the Indian community in the cabinet through MIC.

Speaking to reporters later, Bernama reported that the Prime Minister said he would announce Palanivel's new duties and portfolio after the latter was sworn in as minister.

Najib said the full ministership was a trade off for the two deputy minister posts reserved for the MIC, which were now vacant.

One was the post being vacated by Palanivel and the other, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's post that was held by Datuk T. Murugiah which has yet to be filled.

Asked if the move was part of the Barisan Nasional's strategy in facing the next general election, Najib said having two ministers from the MIC had been practised when his late father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was prime minister. "I want to return to the era of Tun Razak where there were two Indian ministers in the Cabinet," he said.

He said the decision was also proof of the government's commitment to the Indian community.

"In appreciation of the role played by the Indian community, the community can play a more effective role by having two full ministers," he said.

Before Palanivel's appointment, the MIC was represented in the Cabinet by its deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam, who is Human Resource Minister.

Asked if a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent following Palanivel's appointment as minister, Najib said: "I don't know. Today is just one announcement."

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Sabtu, 30 Julai 2011