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Federer claims maiden Paris Masters title Posted: 13 Nov 2011 07:48 AM PST Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during the final of the Paris Masters tennis tournament on November 13, 2011. ― Reuters pic PARIS, Nov 13 ― Former world number one Roger Federer captured his maiden Paris Masters title with a 6-1 7-6 win against local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the sixth seed, in today's final. The Swiss third seed became only the second player after Andre Agassi with titles at Roland Garros and Bercy ― the two men's Paris tournaments ― thanks to an 85-minute display of sheer brilliance. Federer raced to a 4-0 lead and bagged the opening set in 30 minutes against a hapless Tsonga thanks to his sharp first serve and devastating forehand. The Frenchman fought back in the second set, threatening to break on two occasions, but the contest was eventually thrown into a tiebreak which Federer won 7-3. Both players will be at the ATP World Tour finals in London from November 20-27. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Hamilton wins, rare retirement for Vettel Posted: 13 Nov 2011 06:49 AM PST McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain leads the race during the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix at Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 13, 2011. ― Reuters pic ABU DHABI, Nov 13 ― McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the floodlit Abu Dhabi Grand Prix today after Red Bull's double Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel suffered his first race retirement in more than a year. Hamilton, celebrating the third win of a troubled season for the 2008 champion, enjoyed a clean race to take the chequered flag 8.4 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with McLaren team mate Jenson Button a distant third. "Mega job, mega job guys ― as usual," whooped Hamilton over the team radio, dedicating the victory to his watching mother Carmen as a birthday present. Vettel, who has already clinched this year's title, was pitched off by a puncture at turn two of the opening lap after making a clean start from his record-equalling 14th pole of the season. The 24-year-old German managed to nurse his Red Bull back to the garage on three tyres and a rim but he was forced to retire once mechanics had surveyed the damage. The retirement ended Vettel's hopes of matching Michael Schumacher's record of 13 wins in a single season as well as a hat-trick of Abu Dhabi wins. He currently has 11 wins from 2011 with only the Brazilian Grand Prix remaining. It also ended a run of seven podiums and 19 successive points finishes stretching back to last season. While Vettel was left as a spectator on an evening without a Red Bull driver on the podium for the first time this year, Hamilton drove a controlled and self-assured race that lap by lap lifted his spirits as day turned to night. While Alonso led for a couple of laps before his final stop, the Spaniard came out of the pits 4.4 seconds behind the McLaren. There was no doubting Hamilton's happiness as he gave Alonso, his former team mate and foe who had sung his praises earlier in the weekend, a friendly hug on the podium and waved to the crowd as Button doused him with fizzy rosewater. "I'm ecstatic, very happy to be back up here," he told reporters of his return to the top of the podium after a series of crashes and controversies. "It's early days yet but this is definitely a start of something hopefully very good." Button's third place, secured on the penultimate lap when Red Bull's Mark Webber had to pit for a mandatory switch to hard tyres, ended a difficult afternoon for the 2009 champion whose KERS system failed early on. It also meant Hamilton will finish the season behind a team mate for the first time in his single-seater career. However the 26-year-old can still hope to end the year with more victories than fellow Briton Button, who has also won three and held on to second place overall in the championship from Alonso. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Scientists find big chink in malaria’s armour Posted: 13 Nov 2011 02:31 AM PST Scientists say they have discovered a unique microscopic channel through which malaria parasites must pass to infect red blood cells, a finding that will help create a vaccine. – shutterstock.com PARIS, Nov 13 – Researchers said recently they had discovered a unique microscopic channel through which malaria parasites must pass to infect red blood cells, a finding that opens up a highly promising target for a vaccine. The doorway mechanism is common to all known strains of the deadliest mosquito-borne pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum, which means that a future vaccine could in theory work against all of them, according to the study published in the journal Nature. The death toll from malaria has declined by a fifth over the last decade, but the disease still claims some 800,000 lives every year, mostly children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. "Our findings were unexpected and have completely changed the way in which we view the invasion process," said Gavin Wright of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the study's senior co-author. The breakthrough "seems to have revealed an Achilles' heel in the way the parasite invades our red blood cells." Up to now, scientists assumed that P. falciparum had several options for piercing the defences of blood cells. But in experiments, Wright and colleagues showed that intrusion depends on the interaction between a specific molecule on the parasite, called a ligand, and a specific receptor on the blood cell. Blocking this interaction repels the pathogen's attempt to breach the cell's protective wall, they found. "By identifying a single receptor that appears to be essential for parasites to invade human red blood cells, we have also identified an obvious and very exciting focus for vaccine development," said co-author Julian Rayner, also from the Sanger Institute. Early results from clinical trials in Africa showed that the world's first malaria vaccine, reported in a study last month, cut infection rates by roughly half. The vaccine, made by the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, works by triggering the immune system. "These reports are encouraging," said Adrian Hill, a researcher at Oxford's Jenner Institute. "But in the future more effective vaccines will be needed if malaria is ever to be eradicated." Hill added: "The discovery of a single receptor that can be targeted to stop the parasite infecting red blood cells offers the hope of a far more effective solution." – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Tourists to be banned from Dutch cannabis cafes Posted: 13 Nov 2011 12:02 AM PST Coffee shop bouncer Bryan (R) stands outside the shop 'Liberty Two' on November 19, 2008 in Rosendaal, Brabant. Next year; stricter laws regarding coffee shops will come into effect to curb drug tourism. – AFP pic THE HAGUE, Nov 13 – Non-Dutch residents will be banned from cannabis-selling coffee shops in southern Netherlands from January 1 to spare locals from the nuisance of drug tourism, the Justice Ministry said recently. The centre-right government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte has since September 2010 been weighing a "cannabis card", reserved for nationals and obligatory when visiting one of the country's 670 licenced coffee shops. "The measure will come into force for the (southern) provinces of Limburg, North-Brabant and Zeeland, the provinces most affected by drug tourism, on January 1," Justice Ministry spokeswoman Charlotte Menten said. Under the new policy, which some have warned could drastically curb tourism revenues, licenced coffee shops will be considered private clubs with a maximum of 2,000 members limited to Dutch residents who are older than 18. Menten said the measures would come into force in the rest of the country in January 2013. The policy aims to cut down traffic jams, nocturnal disturbances, and the abundance of drug pushers catering to the millions of foreign tourists drawn to the Netherlands by its relaxed marijuana laws. Coffee shop owners have come out against the measures, citing expected losses in revenue. The European Court of Justice ruled in December that banning foreigners was justified "by the objective of combating drug tourism and the accompanying public nuisance". The Dutch government also plans to introduce a policy, coming into force in January 2014, requiring coffee shops to be at least 350 metres away from schools, to keep drug consumption away from children, Menten said. Though technically illegal, the Netherlands decriminalised the possession of less than five grammes (0.18 ounce) of cannabis in 1976 under a so-called "tolerance" policy. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Oprah Winfrey receives ‘unimaginable’ Oscar Posted: 13 Nov 2011 12:31 AM PST Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Oprah Winfrey speaks after accepting her Oscar statuette at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences 2011 Governors Awards in Hollywood on November 12, 2011. ― Reuters pic LOS ANGELES, Nov 13 ― Oprah Winfrey received an honorary Oscar for her charitable work yesterday in what she called an unimaginable moment for a black woman who grew up poor in Mississippi and rose to the top of Hollywood stardom. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annually bestows its Governors Awards on people who have made an impact in the industry. This year, the honorary Oscars went to Winfrey, actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith at a black-tie affair that brought out stars such as John Travolta, Glenn Close and Alec Baldwin. Talk show host and film actress Winfrey, who was nominated for a supporting-actress Academy Award in 1985's "The Colour Purple," was given a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by a young woman who was sent through high school on a financial grant she earned from Winfrey's foundation. Winfrey teared up when accepting her honorary Oscar and described the moment as "unimaginable" given her humble roots growing up in Mississippi. "All of us can make a difference through the life we lead," Winfrey said. "We're all here to help each other." She talked of her career as a TV chat show host and her movie work, and said it was "The Colour Purple" that paved the way to stardom which, ultimately, led to philanthropy. That movie "door opened to me through the magic and majesty of film," she said. James Earl Jones was given his honorary Oscar for a body of acting work that ranges from his Academy Award-nominated performance as a boxer in "The Great White Hope" to voicing the role of the villainous Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" movies. Jones was not on hand because he is in working in London, but he spoke to the Los Angeles audience in a speech that was taped earlier yesterday. He said he was "deeply honoured, mighty grateful and just plain gobsmacked," using British slang for being astounded. Finally, the "Godfather of makeup" Dick Simon was given an honorary Oscar for his behind-the-scenes work using makeup and prosthetics to make actors look old, young, sick, dying and dead in films ranging from "The Exorcist" to "The Godfather." Simon gave a tearful and heartfelt acceptance speech in which he said he has loved every minute of his work in the movie business. "This kind of puts the crowning cap on all that," Simon said. The Oscars, or Academy Awards, for the films of 2011 will be given out in a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 26. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Amanah jadi parti politik? Jangan terburu-buru! Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:32 PM PST 13 NOV — "Amanah" merupakan satu terma yang cukup besar pengertiannya. Ia cukup besar kerana bukan sahaja ia melibatkan aspek kepercayaan seseorang terhadap sesuatu pihak lain bahkan juga menonjolkan integriti mereka. Di sinilah, keikhlasan serta kejujuran seseorang akan teruji. Mahu tidak mahu, segala pergerakan, tutur kata malah niat seseorang akan menjadi perhatian umum. Apa yang pasti, menggalas amanah tidaklah semudah menggalas tugasan biasa yang diberikan oleh pihak atasan semata-mata. Sebaliknya ia lebih daripada itu dan menuntut iltizam, keberanian dan ketuntasan seseorang untuk melakukannya. Tanpa sifat-sifat amanah dalam diri, tidak mustahil dunia seantero akan porak-peranda jadinya. Lebih buruk lagi, nilai-nilai murni yang dilaung-laungkan selama ini seperti kejujuran, integriti dan ketelusan akan memberi laluan kepada kemungkaran. Kehidupan seharian rakyat akhirnya akan ditentukan oleh paksi kejahatan dan kegelapan dan kesudahannya, masyarakat semakin hilang arah dan punca! Terma "Amanah" yang dimaksudkan di sini merujuk kepada kepada sebuah pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) baharu yang menggelarkan diri mereka sebagai Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah). Apabila kedengaran sebuah NGO yang diberi nama Amanah akan diwujudkan, sentimen serta penerimaan rakyat secara keseluruhannya, rata-ratanya positif dan memberangsangkan. Sentimen sedemikian sudah dijangka kerana kelazimannya, kewujudan benda-benda baru dianggap sebagai satu permulaan yang lebih baik dan gemilang. Bagi mereka, kelahiran Amanah ibarat satu "udara segar" dalam perkembangan semasa negara. Apa tidaknya, gelagat dan perbuatan parti-parti politik baik daripada pihak pemerintah mahupun pembangkang yang lebih cenderung untuk bertikam lidah mengenai isu-isu remeh menjadikan NGO kini sebagai pilihan rakyat. Parti-parti politik kini seolah-olah sudah hilang relevannya di mata rakyat dan bagi rakyat, politiking yang keterlaluan oleh parti-parti politik dan pemimpin mereka merupakan sesuatu yang cukup membinasakan negara. Bagi segelintir rakyat, masanya sudah tiba untuk beralih haluan. Maka kerana itu, trend yang kita dapat lihat dalam sokongan masyarakat Melayu umpamanya kepada kemunculan NGO baru seperti Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) dua tiga tahun kebelakangan ini bukanlah sesuatu yang mengejutkan. Sebaliknya, ia mengukuhkan apa yang dikatakan tadi. Walaupun Perkasa baharu sahaja ditubuhkan kira-kira tiga tahun lalu, dilihat pengaruh dan lingkungan pengaruhnya semakin meluas. Di pihak masyarakat Tionghua pula, komunitinya lebih percayakan kepada pertubuhan pedagang dan media-media berbanding dengan parti politik seperti MCA. Dari jauh, matlamat utama penubuhan Amanah iaitu menghidupkan kembali semangat nasionalisme dan legasi Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku Abdul Rahman; mengulangi, menyemai dan menghidupkan kembali semangat kekitaan dalam kalangan rakyat Malaysia serta perpaduan kaum — nampaknya cukup praktikal. Jelas, ia adalah visi yang realistik, tidak keterlaluan dan boleh dicapai itupun sekiranya semua rakyat tanpa mengira kaum dan agama bersedia untuk menyahut cabaran berkenaan. Akan tetapi, selepas mendengar kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh Presidennya, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah bahawa Amanah berkemungkinan akan menjadi sebuah parti politik tertakluk kepada kehendak rakyat, ia mengundang pelbagai pertanyaan, pertanyaan yang bermain-main dalam kepala rakyat . Apakah Amanah merupakan satu lagi NGO biasa dan mempunyai cita-cita politik seperti NGO lain? Dan mampukah Amanah menempatkan dirinya sebagai salah sebuah parti politik yang berpengaruh yang boleh menjadi kuasa ketiga dalam mengimbangkan pengaruh Barisan Nasional dan Pakatan Rakyat? Dalam iklim politik negara mutakhir ini, kelahiran begitu banyak parti politik baharu seperti Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA), Parti Bersatu India Malaysia (MIUP) dan  Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) boleh dinilai dari dua sudut, satu yang positif dan satu lagi negatif. Dari sudut positifnya, sudah tentu kemunculan begitu banyak parti politik mencerminkan kesuburan demokrasi di Malaysia tetapi bercambahnya parti-parti politik baharu yang terlalu banyak akan menyukarkan parti-parti politik baharu lain untuk meraih lingkungan pengaruh yang konkrit. Kalau dapat pun, sokongan tersebut mungkin berpecah-pecah dan tidak sekata. Berpandukan kepada hakikat itu, mahu tidak mahu Amanah kini perlu bersaing dengan parti-parti politik lain yang mungkin jauh lebih kuat dan lebih kukuh kewangannya seperti Umno, MCA dan MIC. Bukan itu sahaja, Amanah juga perlu berhadapan dengan tiga parti politik gergasi yang datang dengan reputasi dan rekod pencapaiannya tersendiri. Dalam konteks ini, kemampuan Amanah masih belum teruji. Hala tuju perjuangan mereka baharu sahaja diumumkan sementara rekod pencapaiannya pula tiada kerana ia hanya ditubuhkan beberapa bulan lalu. Sudah semestinya, untuk menilai keberkesanan hala tuju perjuangan itu, ia akan memakan masa. Apapun, satu kelebihan yang ada pada Amanah adalah ia diterajui oleh sekumpulan pemimpin politik berpengalaman dan bekas-bekas menteri Kabinet dan wakil rakyat terdiri daripada kepelbagaian latarbelakang. Dari segi trend penerimaan rakyat terhadap parti-parti politik pula, jelas rakyat Malaysia ketika ini lebih selesa dengan perjuangan NGO. Menurut mereka, sekurang-kurangnya perjuangan berpaksikan kepada NGO jauh lebih bebas dan tidak terikat dengan konvensyen politik yang adakalanya tidak menguntungkan sesebuah parti politik. Sebaliknya, keterikatan dengan konvensyen politik inilah yang akan menyebabkan parti-parti politik terpaksa akur dengan sensitiviti semasa dan beralah. Amanah perlu menonjolkan dirinya sebagai sebuah parti politik (jika memutuskan untuk berbuat demikian) yang mampu memberikan kelainan daripada parti-parti politik sebelumnya. Rakyat mahukan kelainan dari segi takuk minda kepimpinan yang berwawasan, visi perjuangan yang terbuka dan boleh menyatupadukan semua pihak. Kini, terpulang kepada Amanah bagaimana mereka merencanakan perjuangan mereka secara bijak. Kemampuan Amanah untuk menonjolkan kepimpinan matang, pragmatik, bersih selain tampil dengan dasar perjuangan yang mampu memenuhi citarasa rakyat Malaysia akan menjadi penentu kepada kelangsungan badan berkenaan. Amanah mempunyai peluang untuk melakar sejarah dalam persada politik negara. Itupun jika mereka mengambil iktibar terhadap apa yang berlaku kepada parti-parti politik terdahulu. Jangan sekadar syok sendiri untuk menjadi sebuah parti politik hanya kerana permintaan daripada beberapa pemimpin politik tertentu mahupun kerana kewujudan parti-parti politik baru yang lain. Dalam memperjuangkan hal-ehwal rakyat, tidak semestinya ia dilakukan dalam pentas politik.  Kesilapan membuat percaturan dalam isu ini boleh memakan diri sendiri. * Segala pandangan yang diberikan adalah pandangan peribadi penulis. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

What Malaysians want Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:29 PM PST NOV 13 — What a way to end the year.  Everywhere I read, the country seems to be losing money.  The national airline, TNB... not to mention the various ministries that overspent their budget without approval from the Finance Ministry. They did not lose and overspend public funds by a few thousands, but by hundreds of millions. They bought laptops and binoculars way beyond market prices and paid for instruments and devices that had not been delivered at that time, yet. The standard response given by the respective ministries: "We will look into it, and we will take action if there were elements of abuse."  What investigations? They made it sound as if the Auditor-General was careless and made unwarranted accusations of inappropriate use of funds.   The Malaysian Insider, in an article a few days back, asked "Where's the beef, Sharizat?" I concur, but I won't stop there. We should also be asking the ministers, Where are the commuter trains, where are the plain clothes officers on express buses to catch errant drivers, what happened to all the corridors, and where oh where have the English teachers gone to? Where are you leading us to next?  Malaysians do not want fancy new buildings or new shopping complexes. We do not need to see our man walking and conducting experiments on the moon, nor million ringgit consultants churning daily dishes of alphabet salads that make no sense to us.  Malaysians want a stop to the misallocation of funds. We want action taken against ministers, their family members and high ranking government officials who do not understand the meaning of conflict of interest, public funds, accountability involving our hard earned salaries. We want our companies to tell Malaysians what they are doing to save costs, avert a loss and why Malaysians should continue paying taxes to support their negligence and opulent lifestyles.  Dishing out RM500 to families earning less than RM3,000 is not the answer and neither is opening up Kedai Rayat 1 Malaysia that sell — according to the minister of Domestic Trade and Consumerism — popular products at cheaper prices. Why in the world is Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia selling popular products?  Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia was set up to offer cheap products of good quality to those who are less fortunate. Subsidising popular products, or selling them at a cheaper price than other shops defeats the whole purpose of setting up these outlets. The government needs to look at the big picture, and fast. We need high-paying jobs, and to attract high-paying companies we need skilled workers. And to have skilled workers we need better education and training that is commercially, economically oriented and not politically motivated. We are already one of the biggest spenders in education in the region, all we have to do is make it worthwhile. Revamp the universities and colleges, and make them use English on campus. There is a reason why graduates from international and private universities are worth more than their local counterparts. So learn from them please. Please train our teachers in teaching schools only in English. Like any language it is about having enough vocabulary and confidence to converse and not just about learning grammar in class.  Lack manpower? Then start recruiting our retired but qualified, experienced English teachers to take up this challenge. Not many are stepping up because the offer is not enticing enough. Spice it up! Offer them high pay and good perks instead of giving it to the Americans US President Barack Obama is sending to teach us English under the Fulbright programme.  Education and politics should not mix in our culturally diverse country. They should be set by academicians who are politically neutral and have no vested interest in any parties, except the betterment of the Malaysian people. So to sum up for busy politicians (some with short attention spans), please plug the financial leak, stop spending more than you have, stop meddling and create better education to attract better paying jobs, be more transparent, accountable, and responsible in governing this country.   And lastly, please stop appearing on TV to offer us your seasonal apologies. We are tired of apologies, we want results and we want them yesterday. Move aside if you don't think you can perform, and retire with whatever modicum of respect you have left.  Don't let the next general election be a Malaysian Spring. Or it may just turn out to be the election you will never forget. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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STU: Projek kerja 9 jam akan bantu dedah beban sebenar guru Posted: 13 Nov 2011 02:46 AM PST KUCHING, 13 Nov ― Kesatuan Guru Sarawak (STU) berharap projek perintis guru bekerja sembilan jam sehari akan memberi gambaran sebenar tentang peranan dan beban seseorang guru, sekali gus menepis tanggapan salah sesetengah pihak tentang perkhidmatan pendidikan. Kementerian Pelajaran memilih 19 buah sekolah rendah dan menengah di Sarawak, kesemua terletak di bandar raya ini, untuk melaksanakan projek perintis guru bekerja sembilan jam sehari mulai Januari depan. Daripada jumlah itu, 11 buah melibatkan sekolah rendah dan bakinya sekolah menengah. "Diharapkan selepas pelaksanaan projek perintis, gambaran sebenar beban tugas guru dapat diketahui kerana kini ada persepsi yang menganggap tugas guru hanya terhad pada hari Isnin hingga Jumaat," kata Presiden STU William Ghani Bina dipetik Bernama Online hari ini. Beliau berkata ramai tidak mengetahui ada sebilangan guru bekerja sehingga hari Ahad untuk mengendalikan aktiviti kokurikulum, menghadiri kursus dan aktiviti sekolah selain daripada tugas hakiki sebagai guru. "STU mahu kesemua sekolah terlibat menyampaikan laporan yang sebenar dan jujur supaya persepsi ini dapat ditepis sama sekali," katanya. Selain Sarawak, projek perintis itu akan dilaksanakan di Melaka, Pahang dan Johor. Seramai lebih 5,000 guru dan 104 sekolah di seluruh negara terbabit dalam projek perintis tersebut dengan guru sebelah pagi bertugas di sekolah mulai pukul 7.30 pagi hingga 4.30 petang dan guru sebelah petang bertugas pukul 9.30 pagi hingga 6.30 petang. Semalam, Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong (gambar) memberi jaminan ia tidak akan diperluaskan ke seluruh sekolah di negara ini sehingga keputusan penuh projek perintis tersebut diketahui. Di sarawak, sekolah rendah yang dipilih ialah SK Chung Hua No 2, SK Chung Hua Sungai Buda, SK Bako, SK Bandar Semariang, SK Combine, SK Kenyalang, SK Madrasah Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir Hassan, SK Satria Jaya, SK St Mary dan SK St Theresa. Ghani berkata sekolah menengah yang terpilih ialah SMK Bandar Kuching No.2, Sekolah Seni Kuching, SMK Tabuan Jaya, Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah, SMK St Joseph, Kolej Vokasional Batu Lintang, SMK Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Gapor Stampin dan SMK Agama Tun Ahmad Zaidi. Terdahalu The Malaysian Insider membawa laporan bahawa Kesatuan Perkhidmatan Perguruan Kebangsaan (NUTP) hari ini menggesa Putrajaya membatalkan sahaja projek perintis guru bertugas sembilan jam sehari atas alasan kajian itu membazir manakala kebanyakan sekolah pula kurang kemudahan selesa bagi tenaga kerja. Presiden NUTP Hashim Adnan berkata, pihaknya pasti bahawa kajian perintis itu tidak akan membawa hasil positif jika mengambil kira kemudahan semasa di kebanyakan dan beban kerja setiap guru buat masa sekarang. "Kita tahu bahawa kajian perintis ini tidak akan membawa keputusan positif yang diharapkan... jadi mengapa kita hendak membuang masa dan wang rakyat. "Lagipun guru tidak perlu diwajibkan kerja sembilan jam seperti perkhidmatan lain, sebagaimana dikatakan oleh menteri, guru-guru sebenarnya kerja lebih daripada sembilan jam... misalnya kita ambil kira seorang cikgu yang meninggal dunia bersama dua anak muridnya," kata beliau. Kata Hashim, besar kemungkinan guru-guru tidak akan berminat dengan dasar baru kerja sembilan jam ini, dan oleh itu "kerajaan hendak meneruskan kajian perintis ini." Hashim berkata Kementerian Pelajaran hendak menjalankan kajian perintis sebelum mewajikan kaum guru juga berkhidmat selama sembilan jam sehari seperti kakitangan awam yang lain. "Langkah ini bertujuan menjadikan perkhidmatan pendidikan seperti perkhidmatan lain di negara ini. NUTP merasakan langkah ini tidak sesuai, tidak kena tempat memandangkan sifat perkhidmatan itu sendiri berbeza sifatnya," kata beliau. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Ahmad Maslan: Rugi jika AGM Umno tak bincang strategi hadapi PRU-13 Posted: 13 Nov 2011 12:44 AM PST PEKAN, 13 Nov ― Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2011 hujung bulan ini perlu dijadikan medan bagi perwakilan untuk menyuarakan pandangan dalam memenangi pilihan raya umum ke-13 khususnya menawan kembali negeri yang dikuasai pembangkang. Ketua Penerangan Umno, Datuk Ahmad Maslan (gambar) berkata, perkara itu perlu dibincangkan kerana pilihan raya umum sudah terlalu hampir. "Rugi besar jika tidak dibincangkan dengan teliti kerana pilihan raya sudah dekat sangat. "Saya harap perwakilan akan membincangkan perkara berkenaan dengan teliti bagaimana nak menang kawasan yang kalah, mengukuhkan kemenangan di kerusi sedia ada dan menawan semula negeri yang kalah," katanya kepada pemberita selepas menghadiri program Semai Bakti Majlis Belia Felda Malaysia (MBFM) di Felda Chini 2 dekat sini, hari ini. Dipetik Bernama Online, kata beliau, perwakilan juga perlu membincangkan secara terperinci kriteria calon boleh menang yang dikehendaki Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2011 akan berlangsung dari 29 November hingga 3 Disember ini. Sementara itu, Ahmad yang juga Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri berkata, perwakilan juga diharap membincangkan mengenai dasar transformasi negara pada masa ini. Katanya, perwakilan bebas mengemukakan permasalahan berkaitan perkara itu supaya kepemimpinan parti memperoleh maklum balas dan memperbaiki kelemahan demi kepentingan rakyat. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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