5 articles

Article 1: Boy kidnapped, tortured and hanged over handphone theft
TAMIL Nesan reported that a 17-year-old boy was allegedly abducted, tortured and hanged by a group after being accused of stealing a handphone in Ghaziabad, India, on Thursday.

The victim's distraught mother, Sunaina Jha, told police that her son was taken from their house at 8.30am and taken to the house of one of the abductors, Naeem, who had accused the boy of stealing his phone from his residence.

Police said Sunaina identified Naeem's wife Kousar as one of the other abductors.

The abductors have denied killing the boy and said he committed suicide.

Police have arrested four people and a hunt has been launched for several other suspects.

> The Barisan Nasional coordinator for the Kulim state constituency, Chua Teong Kee, told residents that even though the coalition lost Kedah in the last general election, it continued to serve the people, reported Makkal Osai.

“We have strived to resolve the problems faced by the people and I hope the Indian community will give their support to Barisan in the coming general election,” he said after attending a function organised by the Kulim Indian Welfare Organisation last Tuesday.

He said Kedah would have more economic growth if Barisan were given the opportunity to rule the state again.

> Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK party president M. Karunanidhi said he would wear only black shirt to protest against the current state government led by the AIADMK party, reported Malaysia Nanban.

He said his original plan was to wear a black shirt while participating in a human chain planned by the DMK to highlight the failure of the AIADMK government on all fronts yesterday.

However, since the state government had denied him permission for the protest, he decided to wear only black shirt permanently to express his opposition to the present regime.

He said that it was surprising that the state government had denied permission for the protest.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.

Question:
Who: Tamil Nesan and a 17-year-old boy.
What: A 17-year-old boy was allegedly abducted, tortured and hanged by a group.
Why: Stealing a handphone.
When: Thursday.
Where: Ghaziabad, India.

Element of news: 
Conflict

Citation:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/6/nation/12135505&sec=nation


Article 2: 55% of women expected to be in workforce by 2015
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is expected to have 55 percent of women in its labour force by 2015, said Women, Family and Community Development Ministry's secretary-general Datuk Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur.

She said various programmes would be implemented to achieve the target, which included flexible working hours, working from home and providing childcare centres at workplaces.

"According to the World Bank Report, as at 2011, the female labour force participation rate in Malaysia was 47.9 percent, which was below average of other East Asia and Pacific countries", she told reporters after launching the World Development Report 2012 on Gender Equality and Development, here.

Noorul Ainur said 71 childcare centres had been established at various government agencies and 20 in the private sector for working mothers.

The World Development Report 2012 on Gender Equality and Development says improving women's access to jobs and economic opportunities could significantly boost productivity in the region.

Noorul Ainur hoped the relevant stakeholders would fully use the report to ensure the strategies and initiatives geared towards gender equality in Malaysia were on par with international standards.

She said the RM50mil allocation for women in the 2013 Budget would also be used to train women as company board members to help achieve the government's target of having at least 30 percent women at the decision-making level.

The budget would also be used for the Single Mothers Skills Incubator Programme (I-KIT) in entrepreneurship, Get Malaysian Business Online programme to train 50,000 online small entrepreneurs and providing free mammogram screenings, she added. - Bernama   

Question:

Who: Women,Community Development Ministry's secretary-general Datuk Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur

What: Malaysia expected to have 55 percent of women in its labour force.

When: Year of 2015.
Where: Kuala Lumpur.

Element of news: 
Variety

Citation:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/5/nation/20121005162208&sec=nation

Article 3: Police warn of bogus personal loan syndicates on the prowl
KUALA LUMPUR: The police have warned the public to beware of local syndicates offering personal loans that turn out to be bogus.

Most of the dealings are conducted over the phone, without requiring the victims to fill any form or going through any red tape.

According to Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department principal assistant director 1 (Investigation) Senior Asst Comm Datuk Lim Char Boo, the syndicates advertised their "non-existence loan" through flyers and name cards placed on post boxes and car windscreens.

Those who called the number of the "moneylender" would then be convinced with a promise to approve their loan within hours.

"The victims will be asked to deposit 5-10% of the loan amount they are applying as a processing fee," he told a press conference here Friday.

However, once the money was banked into a given account, the "moneylenders" would not be reachable any more.

SAC Lim said 447 such cases, involving RM9mil, were reported last year and 299 cases so far this year, involving RM6mil.

He added that many of the victims were owners of small businesses who were seeking quick, hassle-free loans and those blacklisted by banks.

SAC Lim said there were also cases of syndicate members lingering outside banks and approaching potential victims, claiming to know bank officials who could approve loans without hassle.

Question:

Who: Police and the public.

What: Beware of local syndicates offering personal loans.
Why: Turn out to be bogus.

Where: Kuala Lumpur.

Element of news:
Consequence

Citation: 
http://thestar.com.my/news/nation/default.asp?pdate=/2012/10/5


Article 4: Johor, Penang gazetted as 'No Smoking' zones
KUALA LUMPUR: Six areas in Penang and one in Johor have been gazetted as 'No Smoking' zones under the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said  in a statement Friday that the gazette was effective Oct 2 and implemented with the cooperation of both state governments.

He said in Penang, the gazetted zones were the George Town Municipal Park, Botanic Gardens, Air Itam Dam, Teluk Bahang Dam (all on the island), Mengkuang Dam in Bukit Mertajam and Ampang Jajar Urban Park in Seberang Perai Tengah.

In Johor, the gazetted 'No Smoking' zone is the Mutiara Rini Urban Forest, Johor Baru.

Liow said in June last year, the Malacca government gazetted five zones, namely Malacca World Heritage City, Malacca Raya, Malacca International Trade Centre, Alor Gajah town centre and Jasin town centre under the Malacca Free of Cigarette Smoke programme.

"The ministry with the cooperation of state governments is determined to create more 'No Smoking' zones, especially in public places.

"This is to protect the non-smokers, especially women and children, from the effects of secondhand tobacco smoke," Liow said in the statement.

He said the Malaysia Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted last year found that 70 percent of adults were exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke in public places.

The Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 prohibits smoking in 21 categories of places including hospital or clinic areas, lifts and public toilets, public transport vehicles, public transport stations/stops, government premises, higher learning institutions, childcare centres/kindergartens, shopping complexes, fuel stations and libraries. - Bernama

Question:

Who: Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004.

What: Penang and Johor have been gazetted as 'No Smoking' zones

Where: Six area in Penang and one area in Johor

Element of news: 

Timeliness

Citation: 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/5/nation/20121005204019&sec=nation

Article 5: Najib hopes for strong mandate in polls
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hopes that he will be given a strong mandate in the upcoming 13th general election so he can continue to deliver to the people and make Malaysia a fully developed nation by 2020.

Najib, speaking on the CNBC Conversation interview show hosted by renowned anchor Martin Soong aired earlier on Saturday, said the next five years were very crucial for the government to fulfill commitments and promises made by previous leaders of the nation.

"I'd like to have a strong mandate... Because to achieve our vision of a fully developed nation by 2020, the next five years would be very crucial. Crucial, because you're talking about the last lap.

"You're talking about going down the stretch and this is the most critical part because we really have to deliver," he said, responding to a question on how important the upcoming election was for him, and the importance of receiving a fresh mandate to transform Malaysia into a developed country by 2020.

He said the transformation was a firm commitment made by then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the early 90s, with Najib's predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi implementing part of it.

The Pekan MP said it was now his turn to deliver to the people.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, also said that achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth without upsetting the political landscape too much was one the challenges Malaysia faced in becoming a developed nation.

However, he stressed that the key to make Malaysian society more equitable was growth, so that income could be redistributed back to the people.

"Without growth, it will be a lose-lose situation. So if we get five to six per cent within the time frame, then we will able to at the same time, ensure a more fair and equitable distribution of wealth in this country.

In the 30-minute interview, Najib said the move for growth was working and that the numbers were looking more positive in terms of Bumiputera participation.

"But it's not just about the equity numbers. We must also make sure that there is a fair distribution of income between the different levels of income groups in this country," he said. - Bernama

Question:

Who: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Malaysian.

What: Strong mandate in the upcoming 13th general election.
Why: Deliver to the people and make Malaysia a fully developed nation by 2020.

When: Year of 2020.

Element of news: 

Proximity

Citation: 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/6/nation/20121006145425&sec=nation