The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Dr Chua: People need elected representatives with the ability and organisational network to serve efficiently
- Housewife cheated by syndicate which allegedly bought winning lottery ticket on her behalf
- Proud moment for Sunway College JB
| Posted: 29 Jan 2013 05:45 PM PST BEWARE is the advice for Johoreans when they are being wooed by Pakatan Rakyat leaders who promise to bring change to them after the general election. These opposition leaders would only station an assistant to serve the people if they got voted in. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek in issuing this warning ahead of the 13th general election, said the people need elected representatives who have the ability and organisational network to serve efficiently. "We are still living in a developing country and there are many problems on the ground, especially those in small towns and rural areas which need the attention of the elected representatives. "These elected representatives must know the community well, always be accessible to the rakyat and able to listen to their problems and help to resolve them. "Having an assistant or proxy to do the job is not the answer," he said. The Pakatan Rakyat, particularly DAP, has been boasting of sending their national leaders to Johor to create a "tsunami" in the upcoming polls. The Pakatan has also declared to make Johor their frontline state this round. Dr Chua, also Johor MCA chief, urged the people not to be taken in by Pakatan's populist policies like abolishment of toll, promise of free education all the way, abolishment of PTPTN loans and RM4,000 monthly household income for the rakyat if they made it to Putrajaya. He said these policies, if and when implemented, would cost the government RM200bil a year, and the country would go bankrupt within two years from its implementation. Meanwhile, Dr Chua also pointed out that the DAP which promised changes for the people was not in any position to deliver. Citing Kedah as an example, he said the DAP had helped PAS to win the state in the last elections, but unable to do anything when the PAS-led government imposed its Islamic values on non Muslims. Dr Chua said the only abattoir in Kedah was demolished, cinemas must have the lights on and males and females were not allowed to be seated together in public places. He said more restrictive rulings were in the pipeline, and the latest was on Chinese New Year stage performances. Dr Chua said the Kedah government had stated that artistes must be "conservatively attired" - the chest, armpits and thighs - must not be exposed. This was against the freedom of non-Muslims to choose their attire, he said adding that the cheongsam which was popular during Chinese New Year was also subjected to the state government's scrutiny now. The guidelines, he added, also stated that the songs must not be "hot or modern" and performances must not be overboard, failing which the authorities would stop the performance on the spot. Dr Chua said the DAP's silence on this latest set of guidelines was deafening. He said similar rulings to restrict the freedom of non Muslims would be imposed in Johor too if the Pakatan was to take over because the PAS would be the party dictating on the do's and don'ts, and not DAP. PAS being the dorminant partner in Pakatan had infact declared that the Johor Mentri Besar would be from the party if Pakatan took over the state, he added. On the economic front, Dr Chua said Johor's development was on a fast track and it would come to a halt if Pakatan took over the state. He said Johor was poised to overtake Selangor in terms of development in the next five years, citing the development in Iskandar and Pengerang as the two biggest contributors to the development. He said Johor's tourism was also set to surpass that of Malacca in the next five years. Dr Chua said Barisan Nasional had been doing well and Johor had always been a model state. Citing education, he said the Johor government had allocated five pieces of land, of five acres each, for Chinese primary schools after the last elections, adding that another plot in Permas Jaya had also been set aside recently. Dr Chua said the country's economy under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was doing well. "The Economic Transformation Programmes have yielded good results. "Our projected economic growth this year is between 5% and 5.5% and some 300,000 new jobs are created in the country annually," Dr Chua said, adding that Malaysia's economic performance had gained the recognition and confidence of foreign countries. |
| Housewife cheated by syndicate which allegedly bought winning lottery ticket on her behalf Posted: 29 Jan 2013 03:12 PM PST JOHOR BARU: Blinded by greed, a 40-year-old housewife has been secretly handing over money to a syndicate since 2010 after they allegedly bought a winning lottery ticket on her behalf with a prize of RM1.5mil. Susie Ng's secret however was exposed thanks to an Ah Long (illegal moneylender) who accidentally splashed her house and car with red paint last December. Susie's husband, Ewe Hock Chye, 37, said he was shocked when he received a threatening call from the Ah Long after the incident on Dec 19 demanding for money. "I have never gone to any Ah Long before and when I discussed the matter with my wife, I was shocked when she told me that she had borrowed from an Ah Long without my knowledge. "When I asked her what it was for, she confessed that it was to pay a "sifu" who had supposedly provided her with a lucky lottery number that struck second prize and got her RM1.5mil," he said during a press conference at the Chinese Press Club here. Ewe however, said that the "sifu" had told Susie that her luck was bad and negative things would happen if she just took the RM1.5mil. "In order to cleanse her past sins and luck, the "sifu" told my wife that he would have to conduct elaborate prayers for her first before handing her the money," he said. Susie, who was also present, then told reporters that she had been banking in sums of money ranging from RM2,000 to RM5,000 for the prayers since 2010. "In total I have sent more than RM60,000 to the "sifu" but I only realised that I was being cheated after my husband discovered my secret and convinced me that the "sifu" was a scam," she said. She added that she had secretly withdrew money from the couple's joint savings account to pay for the ceremonies. "I admit that I also borrowed RM2,000 from an Ah Long when I did not have enough money but I have since repaid the debt," she said adding that she was equally shocked when her home was splashed with red paint. Gelang Patah MCA division chief Jason Teoh, who called for the press conference said that he had personally contacted the Ah Long to sort out the issue. "We asked the Ah Long to provide proof that he had banked in money into Susie's account but he provided us with an account number belonging to an Indian national," he said adding that it could have been a case of mistaken identity. Jason said that as for the "sifu", he believed that there were many other victims that had fallen prey to the scam and urged those involved to lodge a police report immediately. Meanwhile, Nusajaya OCPD Supt Norhashim Mohamed confirmed the case and said that no arrests have been made as yet. |
| Proud moment for Sunway College JB Posted: 29 Jan 2013 05:45 PM PST JOHOR BARU: Sunway College Johor Baru status as a top private education institute here received a boost after being awarded with a platinum status by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The college upgraded its status after four years of maintaining a gold status and now has proudly received the highest status after meeting the requisite quality assurance measures and performance indicators. Its principal Hor Poh Choo said the students have shown constant progress and met examination targets and hence making the transition from gold to platinum was possible for the college. She said the students exceeded the ACCA's worldwide pass rate and up to date the college has nurtured five World Prize Winners and 13 Malaysian Prize Winners. "It is a proud achievement for the college as it is the first college in the southern region in the country to receive such high recognition from ACCA, which is a renowned global body," she added. Malaysia ACCA country head Jennifer Lopez officiated and presented the award to Hor during a ceremony held at the college here on Jan 21. "Currently there are only five platinum approved learning partners in Malaysia and Sunway College Johor Baru is the only one in the southern region to be accredited with the status," she said during the ceremony. To be eligible for the ACCA accounting programme at Sunway College here, applicants must have completed their Certified Accounting Technician or obtained two principal passes at STPM or an equivalent pre-university qualification. The course would take approximately three years to be completed and the college has intakes in January and July. ACCA is a global body for professional accountants with students and members in more than 170 countries. |
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