In Penang, 251 traffic summonses issued |
- In Penang, 251 traffic summonses issued
- Gold keeps its hold on Turkish savers
- A supplication for one in continuous submission — Abdul Aziz Abdullah
- Copenhagen shootings: One hit after Danish cops open fire following attacks
- Nishikori on course to defend Memphis Open title
- Why is Anwar still under attack after jailing? asks DAP MP
| In Penang, 251 traffic summonses issued Posted: 14 Feb 2015 09:03 PM PST
State Road Transport Department director, Datuk Hassan Yaacob said in the operation which also involved the Royal Malaysian Police, National Anti-Drugs Agency and the Department of Environment, 331 vehicles including 111 express buses were inspected. "Action was taken against 89 of the vehicles including 31 express buses inspected at the Sungai Nibong and Butterworth bus terminals. "Among the offences committed were the absence of a co-driver, worn-out tyres and cracked mirrors, while one bus driver in Butterworth was detected positive for syabu," he said when viewing an operation conducted at the Penang Bridge toll plaza, here, last night. Hassan said three motorcycles were seized for having expired road tax discs, while 10 men and a woman, all in their 20s and 30s, were found to be positive for drugs in the integrated operation which went on until midnight. On another note, Hassan reminded drivers of heavy lorries in the first category such as timber lorries and others carrying loads of more 5,000 kg not to use the roads on Feb 17, 18, 21 and 22, failing which, enforcement action would be taken against them. However, he said, container or cargo lorries carrying electric and electronic goods could operate from 6am until midnight on the dates stated. In ALOR STAR, Kedah RTD issued 145 summonses in an integrated operation involving motorcycles in Jalan Langgar last night, also in conjunction with the CNY celebration. Its enforcement chief, Shahrul Azhar Mat Dali said in the operation conducted by 73 personnel from RTD and 56 from other relevant agencies, the offences detected included riding without a licence, and having expired road tax and registration number plates not according to specification. He said in conjunction with the CNY, RTD personnel would be deployed at four accident-prone locations, namely KM42 Butterworth-Kangar road in Gurun, KM43.46 Butterworth-Kangar road passing through Sultanah Bahiyah Highway, KM57 Butterworth-Gerik road and KM16 Butterworth-Gerik road, both in Baling, as part of the road safety exercise. — Bernama  |
| Gold keeps its hold on Turkish savers Posted: 14 Feb 2015 08:54 PM PST
Gold is hugely prized in Turkey not just for ornamentation or investment by banks but as a secure way for private individuals to hold their savings. Many people in Turkey — which has one of the lowest private savings rates among major economies — keep gold as security for a "rainy day" rather than products offered by banks. According to estimates, Turks hold some 3,500 tonnes of gold. Banks have sought to capitalise on the tradition by offering accounts denominated in gold. "We were thinking about putting all that gold back into the financial system somehow, so we decided to create gold accounts for our clients," said Seda Yilmaz, marketing manager of the Kuveyt Turk Bank, the first to do so, in 2007. "So we bought one kilo of gold, and the demand on the first day was three kilos. It was a very good decision, so we decided to move ahead." Eight years on, Kuveyt Turk manages 200,000 gold accounts with different products allowing sales by cheque, bank transfer or mobile phone. Now with the introduction of the first ATMs that issue gold as well as the usual banknotes, consumers can withdraw pieces of gold weighing 1.0 or 1.5 grammes. The success of the ATMs started a trend, with many other Turkish banks latching on. The volume of gold in their reserves has gone from two tonnes in 2007 to 250 tonnes. The government has also tried to join the bandwagon with the central bank allowing commercial businesses to hold some of their reserves in gold and opening this up to private investors. "Thanks to this measure, our sales jumped 85 per cent last year," said Aysen Esen, head of a leading gold refinery in the country. "Over the last two years, banks have taken in some 40 tonnes of gold that people had stashed under their beds. And it's just a small proportion of the reserves." 'Huge opportunity' Turkey, where the mythical Phrygian King Midas turned everything to gold and Trojan King Priam was said to amass his gold hoard, has historically been a centre for gold mining. The first gold was mined in Anatolia several millennia before the birth of Christ but until recent years there had been a long break in extraction. This changed in the 1980s with new legislation facilitating foreign investments, resulting in the discovery of new gold deposits at home. The extraction of gold has since risen exponentially, from two tonnes mined in 2002 to 33.5 tonnes in 2013. A bright future is assured, with underground reserves estimated at 6,500 tonnes. "The main reason for this boom is that we still don't have any tax on gross gold transactions, we only pay VAT (value added tax) on finished products," said Ali Bulut chief executive of Turkey's number one gold retailer Altinbas. "I'm very optimistic in the long run about domestic demand, not only for fashion and jewellery but also for savings." Even if exchange rate variations have an effect on activity and profits, Turks are the number four global consumers of gold and number two exporters. "In 2013, recycling, fabrication and consumption (of gold) boosted the Turkish economy by at least US$3.8 billion (RM13.6b)," said Alistair Hewitt, author of a recent report published by the World Gold Council. "The opportunity is huge. We are only at the early stages here, there is a huge potential. "It's looking very, very exciting... all that infrastructure allows Turkey to become a gold trading hub within the region." Made a little jealous by the successes of banks in a market that they once had to themselves, Turkish gold jewellers staked their interest in joining the gold investment industry. "We are a little bit disappointed. We may need new legislation and have this gold end up with the jewellers instead of the banks," said Sarp Tarhanci of the Istanbul Chamber of Jewellery. "Jewellers are customer-based, they build trust and good relationships with their clients." Turkey's performance in 2014 remained strong, according to the latest figures published by the World Gold Council, even if purchases were down on the extremely strong 2013. 2014 demand for gold jewellery of 68.2 tonnes in Turkey was down seven per cent, "slightly more resilient" than the overall global trend of minus 10 per cent. Meanwhile, investment demand of 54.8 tonnes was 46 per cent below the previous year's 102.1 tonnes record. — AFP |
| A supplication for one in continuous submission — Abdul Aziz Abdullah Posted: 14 Feb 2015 08:53 PM PST
Integrity personified so true; simplicity in style through and through; Principled man never rue, esteemed political leader – not crew; Revered by old and members new, loved by many not few! You could dwell in splendour, still chose abode so meagre; You're a multi-ethnicity defender, sans losing religious fervour! You had power, yet - disdained grandeur; You may amass dollars, but elected to teach scholars; Encountered adversity, with much humility; Responded to perfidy, with showers of mercy; Faced whatever malady, with stoic personality; Entrenched in deep piety, to none other than the Almighty! You touched lives so many, sans meeting each individually; Unable to denigrate personally, they attacked your family; You countered sans travesty, ensuring their retreat with infamy! Your life so exemplary, causing foes to be weary; Ne'er a chance, to meet you even once; I - too busy perchance, you with state governance; Yet, your overarching presence, has always been in cognisance; To abide to your spiritual guidance, have a clean conscience! May you rest with His blessings, rewarded for your worldly sacrificing; The noble deeds bequeathing, we hope many will continue practising; We'll always be supplicating, for your continuous wellbeing; Till we meet again Allah granting, in the Hereafter so beguiling! * This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online. |
| Copenhagen shootings: One hit after Danish cops open fire following attacks Posted: 14 Feb 2015 08:47 PM PST
The police said on their Twitter account they had fired the shots, but could not say what condition the injured person was in. Two people died and five police officers were wounded after attacks on a cafe, hosting a controversial Swedish artist who had been threatened with death due to his cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, and on a synagogue. — Reuters |
| Nishikori on course to defend Memphis Open title Posted: 14 Feb 2015 08:45 PM PST
The top-seeded Nishikori withstood 27 aces from America's Querrey, toiling for two hours and 41 minutes to claim a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5) victory. Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up and a quarter-finalist at this year's Australian Open, next faces second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, who outlasted American Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Nishikori will be seeking an eighth career title. Four of those came last year, when he repeated in Memphis and also won the Barcelona Open, Malaysian Open and Japan Open. Anderson, the 28-year-old world number 15, blasted 13 aces past Young to reach the championship match. He broke Young at love in the seventh game of the final set for a 4-3 lead and held twice for the triumph, his fifth in six meetings with the 25-year-old US left-hander. Anderson has lost his past five ATP finals appearances, most recently last March at Acapulco to Grigor Dimitrov. His only ATP titles came at the 2011 South African Open and in 2012 at Delray Beach, Florida, where he now resides. — AFP |
| Why is Anwar still under attack after jailing? asks DAP MP Posted: 14 Feb 2015 08:44 PM PST
Pointing to the ongoing remarks and personal criticisms against Anwar by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the Puchong MP said the AG should advise the private lawyer, who was empowered to act as public prosecutor through a fiat, to put a lid on the behaviour which is embarrassing the Attorney-General's Chambers. "Does he prosecute, get them convicted, put handcuffs on them, send them to prison and then go on a public rampage against them without giving them any opportunity to defend themselves?" Gobind asked in a statement. "This is a very serious matter as the Attorney-General would to my mind, in those circumstances, be going way beyond what is required of him both in law and ethically as public prosecutor. "The Federal Constitution gives the Attorney-General powers to prosecute. It stops there," he added. Gobind who is both a lawyer and lawmaker demanded the AG explain if he had authorised the statements attacking and ridiculing Anwar, and if the fiat he gave extends beyond and after the court case is done. "Is it not an abuse of power for the Attorney-General, be it personally or through his deputies or authorised persons, to carry through with open attacks against a convicted person on his behalf after his prosecution has come to an end?" he asked. The DAP national legal bureau chairman also urged the Bar Council's explanation, to consider and set the markers where its members are invited to prosecute. Last Tuesday, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal's conviction of Anwar for sodomising his former political aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, also keeping a five-year jail sentence. Shafee has been giving interviews to local daily New Straits Times on at least two separate occasions since the verdict, defending himself and attacking Anwar despite his limited role as a public prosecutor-by-fiat for the case. Today in another lengthy interview with Umno-owned broadsheet Utusan Malaysia, Shafee insisted that there was no conspiracy behind the case and slammed Anwar's supporters for perpetuating what he claimed was a ploy to gain sympathy. Shafee also ridiculed Anwar's family for calling Anwar's jailing as a sacrifice, claiming a real sacrifice would have required him to plead guilty from the start. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malay Mail Online | All To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
