Fire destroys 77 cars in workshop

Fire destroys 77 cars in workshop

Fire destroys 77 cars in workshop

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:02 AM PST

21 January 2014| last updated at 12:30AM

The fire also razed four shophouses and a workshop.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Mohd Sani Harul said that they were alerted at 8.08pm to a fire at several shophouses in Jalan Indah 4, Batu 8.

"We despatched firemen and fire engines from Selayang, Gombak and Sungai Buloh to the scene.

"A water tanker was also sent there.

"The first team arrived at the scene at 8.13pm.

"The fire was brought under control at 8.38pm."

Sani said 90 per cent of the workshop was destroyed in the fire.

He said members of the public saved 25 cars.

Fire and Rescue personnel examining cars razed in a fire at a workshop in Selayang yesterday. Pic by Muhd Asyraf Sawal


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NST blazes trail with pop-up ads

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

21 January 2014| last updated at 12:00AM
By BALQIS LIM AND MELISSA ANN MELVIN | news@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: THE New Straits Times kicked off its first 5D advertisement campaign yesterday, widely touted as the most amazing print-enabled campaign.

Over the next four days, readers will be able to engage their senses of touch, sight, sound, smell and taste with the launch of Wonda, a Japanese premium ready-to-drink coffee from the Permanis Sandilands stable.

Readers of NST were left awed after seeing the pop-up insert during the NST's roving teams' promotional campaign in Taman Tun Dr Ismail here.

Siti Aisyah Mohd Adzlin, 25, said it was interesting to see something new from the paper's advertisement.

"The pop-up insert made me curious about the other type of advertisement for the whole week and about the product at the same time," she said, after buying a copy of NST and receiving a sample of the canned coffee.

Jess Tan, 30, said she thought that it was a fresh branding for the paper as the concept had never been done before on any other print newspaper.

"It is something you don't get to see daily," she said.

Bank officer Ahmad Fakhrurazy Abdul Rashid, 30, said the 5D campaign would excite youngsters and the web generation and encourage them to purchase the newspaper.

Another frequent reader Sashwin Lingam, 39, said he was enthralled with the revolutionary concept.

"It's fun, innovative and different, something new for readers and advertisers.

"Moreover, it is invigorating for the newspaper's innovation of incorporating multimedia facets into a traditional newspaper."

From yesterday to Friday, NST will share with the nation the changing face of advertising to something that feels and looks more real and not as traditionally displayed.

New Straits Times Press print advertisement consultant Norhayati Idris said NST had boosted its print order by 1,000 copies for the five-day campaign.

"We are creating a hype, a different kind of innovation in printing newspaper," she said, adding that the campaign was an extension of the 3D newspaper launched on Nov 11, 2011 and NST's first "talking newspaper" in Feb 2012.

In Penang, many NST readers were pleasantly surprised when three cans of coffee "popped up" from their favourite news daily.

One of them, Diana Fok, said she had been looking forward to the latest NST promotional gimmick.

"The pop-up advertisement is very interesting.

"It is very innovative of the NST and I know the news daily had done similar advertisement innovation," said the 53-year-old housewife when met at her favourite news-stand in Jalan Masjid Negeri yesterday.

Fok, who had keenly followed the NST's print-enabled campaign of the five senses said she was eager to look out for the next advertisement gimmick.

"I think today's Wonda coffee promotional gimmick is very interesting."

Ramli @ Awang Ahmad, 62, is piqued by the innovative Wonda 5D ad that appeared as a pullout in the NST's Life & Times section yesterday. Pix by Nur Adibah Ahmad Izam

ntv7 presenter Melissa Ong looking at the interesting advertisement that appeared as a pullout in the NST at Balai Berita yesterday.

'Govt helping couple in Sweden'

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said the ministry had sent officials to discuss the children's wellbeing with the Swedish welfare department, particularly on the issue of them being under the care of a non-Muslim family.

"Firstly, we have asked that the children be put under the care of Muslims and Malaysians. The proposal is still under consideration.

"Secondly, the parents still do not have access to their children. However, our officials have met them. According to a report, the children are doing fine, but they said they preferred to be put under the care of a Muslim family. The children also said they wanted to return to Malaysia.

"We are doing everything possible to speed up the legal process so that they can be cared for by Muslims or be sent back to their relatives in Malaysia," he told a press conference at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs here yesterday.

Tourism Malaysia director in Stockholm Azizul Raheem Awalludin and his wife, Shalwati Nurshal, a teacher, were arrested on Dec 18 last year for disciplining their son for not praying.

He also said the ministry had no plans to send legal representatives to monitor the case.

"We have not yet come to that stage, but we have discussed this possibility with the Tourism and Culture Ministry. They don't have the same privileges as diplomats because Tourism Malaysia is not a diplomatic entity.

"The couple is being represented by Swedish lawyers, as it is normal practice for any government to give legal aid to cases of this instance."

Meanwhile, the ministry, in a statement, said it was in the midst of securing the necessary approval for the four children to be moved from the appointed local foster parents to a Malaysian Muslim family in Sweden.

A Bernama report said the ministry had requested for a legal team from the government to hold a watching brief during the trial.

"Since the day of their arrest, the ministry, through the Malaysian embassy in Stockholm, has been providing assistance to the accused couple in many different ways."

Through diplomatic channels, the ministry said, it issued a Diplomatic Note from the Malaysian government to the government of Sweden on several occasions in seeking the latter's attention and good judgment.

"Official representations were made by the Malaysian ambassador to Sweden to the highest level of the relevant authorities."

It said the remand of the Malaysian couple had caused anxiety among the Malaysian public, especially with the case being prolonged.

The ministry pledged that it would mobilise all available means for the case to be resolved and for the rights of the couple and their children to be safeguarded.

The statement said Sweden upheld strong views on human rights and the protection of children.

"This, however, would not diminish ongoing efforts undertaken by the ministry in promoting the rights and protection, welfare and safety of all the Malaysians involved."

A source close to the family told the New Straits Times that relatives would only be allowed to see the children after investigations were completed.

He said as much as they appreciated the support, the public must not make general assumptions and compare it with other cases in the past as each case was different with its own reasons and circumstances.

"We must respect the law in that country. Now, it is up to the public prosecutor to justify the arrest in court. Relatives are praying that the interests of the parents and children are well taken care of, as they have a right to a fair trial," he said.

Yesterday, representatives from the Malaysia Muslim People's Coalition (IRIMM) and Malaysian Muslim Economy and Social Council (DESMMA) handed over a memorandum to the Swedish embassy here.

The memorandum, which called for the couple's release, was presented to the Swedish Deputy Head of Mission Minister Counsellor Sven Theus Malmberg by IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay and DESMMA president Mohd Fazil Abdullah.

"The deputy head of mission himself felt this was a minor issue and will bring it up to the Swedish authorities to find a quick solution," Fazil said.

In Putrajaya, Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau chairman Nafiq Alfirdaous Sheikh Ahmad said the bureau and Malaysian Volunteer Lawyers Association (Sukaguam) would be sending members to Sweden to assist.

"We will try to get the children placed with a Muslim foster family, but we will not go beyond the limits of Swedish laws," he said after a meeting with Wisma Putra Consular Secretary Yaacob Mat Deris.

Police mull formation of special response team

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

21 January 2014| last updated at 12:31AM
By ESTHER LANDAU | estherthomaslandau@nst.com.my

DARO: THE boat tragedy in Daro, which  claimed the lives of eight passengers, has prompted the authorities to consider setting up a special response team to tackle such incidences.

Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Wira Muhammad Sabtu Othman said this was especially crucial as boats were still the main form of transport in the interior.

He said police needed to discuss the formation of such a team with the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB), the governing body of the state's water transports.

"This is not the first incident of its kind. We have to look at how to tackle this problem in the long run as boats are the main mode of transport in many parts of the state," said Sabtu at Daro Hospital yesterday.

As at 6.30pm yesterday, the search and rescue team had found five bodies. They were identified as Borhan Bordan, 68; Naibi Saibi, 63; Riji Dalol, 60; Abu Bakar Mahli, 62, and Kalsum Mat, 50.

All the bodies were taken to the hospital and identified by family members.

The two passengers still missing are Iboong Rais, 60; and Mahdani Akim, 55.

The team is expected to resume search operations at 7am today.

The accident on Saturday occurred at 1pm at Batang Lassa, a tributary of the Rajang River, when a huge wave capsized a longboat carrying 27 people from Kampung Tekajong who were returning to their village after attending a wedding in Kampung Saai.

Sixteen passengers managed to swim to safety.

On May 28 last year, during the Gawai Dayak rush, an overloaded express boat with more than 200 passengers capsized near Giam Bungan in Belaga.

Two passengers drowned in the incident, while a pregnant woman, identified as Rosalin Jati, 34, was never found.

Two days later, a boat ferrying 14 passengers travelling from Kampung Tungkah Melayu to Kampung Ensika near Simunjan capsized due to choppy waters.

In that incident, an 18-month-old toddler, Christian Lagie Asun, who went missing, was found dead the following day near Kampung Skitong.

All the passengers were not wearing life jackets.

Family members carrying a coffin of a victim who drowned in Batang Lassa, Daro, yesterday. Pic by Azahan Rosli

Man nabbed breaking into ATM

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

21 January 2014| last updated at 12:30AM

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Goh Kok Liang said the man was caught on the bank's closed-circuit television camera trying to break into the machine in the wee hours of the morning.

"The bank's security personnel in Ipoh, who saw the live feed, lodged a police report," he said yesterday.

Goh said the suspect was so engrossed in his work that he was unaware of the arrival of seven policemen sent to the bank to investigate.

"The man was arrested on the spot."

Police also found a parang in the man's car parked outside the bank.

"The suspect, from Taman Perdana in Hutan Melintang, has been remanded," said Goh.

The suspect had no previous convictions and police believed he acted alone.

He tested negative for drugs.


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Op Harga 2.0 begins nationwide

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

21 January 2014| last updated at 12:04AM
By SUKHBIR CHEEMA AND KOI KYE LEE | news@nst.com.my

SEREMBAN: THE Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry kicked off  Op  Harga 2.0 yesterday to monitor prices of goods and act on businesses that   indiscriminately raise their prices.

Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek said the operation would involve about 1,800 enforcement officers and 1,200 monitoring officers who would carry out checks at wet markets, grocery stores and restaurants.

"The focus is to check on price tags, prices of goods, and the equipment and apparatus used to measure and weigh items," he said after the launch of Op Harga at the Main Market here yesterday.

Hasan said for the operation to be successful, the public needed to play their role as well.

"In some cases when we conduct checks, some traders would replace the price tags to deceive our officers. This is a constant problem," he said, adding that it would be helpful if the public acted as the eyes and ears of the ministry.

He also urged the public to refer to the price list on the notice boards in wet markets to avoid being cheated.

Yesterday, 13 traders here were issued warning notices under Section 21 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act.

Hasan said the operation would go on until the ministry was satisfied with the results.

Hasan said the ministry had also set up a working committee to review the rules and laws that were said to be stringent by certain quarters.

"We are reviewing and researching the laws with the Attorney-General's Chambers, economists and consumer groups."

Under the previous Op Harga, the ministry compounded 463 traders this year for raising prices of items and failing to display price tags.

In Putrajaya, the ministry's Enforcement Department director Mohd Roslan Mahayuddin said the ministry had also set up consumer complaints counters at 100 markets nationwide and two officers would be stationed at each market to monitor the prices and to carry out enforcement.

Enforcement Department director Mohd Roslan Mahayuddin checking the price of goods at the Putrajaya Presint 8 market yesterday. Pic by Mohd Fadli Hamzah