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Inter humbled by Udinese as slump continues Posted: 06 Jan 2013 07:49 AM PST File photo of AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng reacting at San Siro stadium in Milan. — Reuters pic MILAN, Jan 6 —  Inter Milan's slump continued when they went down to a 3-0 defeat at Udinese on Sunday, with 35-year-old Antonio Di Natale scoring twice for the hosts. Inter dominated the first hour and missed a flurry of chances including one incredible effort from Brazilian Jonathan who contrived to fire wide from six metres out in the 54th minute with the goal at his mercy. Rodrigo Palacio was also guilty when he slipped and fired wildly over when he had a clear run on goal. Di Natale made them pay in the 63rd minute when he ran onto Andrea Lazzarri's chipped pass to score with a diagonal shot and put Udinese ahead. Inter had Brazilian defender Juan Jesus dismissed two minutes later for a second bookable office before Luis Muriel and Di Natale, who took his Serie A tally to 12 goals, struck twice in a four-minute spell. Inter, who have won only twice in their last eight league games, have 35 points, nine behind leaders Juventus who were hosting lowly Sampdoria later on Sunday (1400 GMT). Udinese climbed to eighth on 27 points, level with AC Milan who host bottom club Siena later on Sunday (1400). — Reuters

Swansea and Arsenal battle to 2-2 FA Cup draw Posted: 06 Jan 2013 07:42 AM PST Arsenal's Gibbs shoots to score against Swansea City during their FA Cup third round soccer match at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, South Wales. — Reuters pic LONDON, Jan 6 — Swansea City and Arsenal kept their FA Cup hopes alive on Sunday after a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Liberty stadium with a three-goal flurry in the final 10 minutes following a lightning strike from Michu. The big Spaniard made an instant impact in the 58th minute of the third round tie when he netted little more than a minute after he came on to chants of "he scores when he wants" from a spirited Welsh crowd. Arsenal, sensing their best chance of a first trophy since 2005 was slipping through their fingers, replied with a Lukas Podolski equaliser in the 81st. Kieran Gibbs then sent the visitors 2-1 up with a volley two minutes later before Danny Graham grabbed an equaliser from close range in the 87th. Collecting a long ball nodded on by Nathan Dyer, Michu muscled through the defence by lifting the ball past Per Mertesacker in a strong and smooth movement before calmly slotting home. It was his third goal against Arsenal this season, after scoring twice at the Emirates in the Premier League last month. Arsenal, who have not won a major trophy since the FA Cup in 2005, were dumped out of the League Cup on penalties by fourth tier side Bradford City last month. With the North Londoners sixth in the Premier League, 18 points behind leaders Manchester United, the FA Cup had looked like their best chance of taking some silverware from a highly erratic season. Arsenal are also still in Champions League contention, although far from favourites with a match against Bayern Munich looming next month. — Reuters

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Natural birth a tough sell in China’s caesarean boom Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:49 AM PST A mother smiling at her baby on a bed in a maternity ward at Antai Hospital in Beijing. – AFP pic BEIJING, Jan 6 – As an automatic piano chimed a wedding march, new mother Wang Dan walked down a red carpet towards a hospital room called the "White House", minutes after giving birth in a candlelit water pool. The suite is adorned with an enormous rococo style sofa and a Mona Lisa portrait, and 28-year-old Wang, who gave birth to a son, said: "I wanted to stay in the White House because it's large and well decorated." But Wang's presidentially-themed chamber at Beijing's Antai hospital — an expensive private facility aimed at the capital's wealthy middle class — was not the only unusual thing about the birth of her first child. In a country where most urban professionals choose caesarean sections, she stands out for choosing to give birth naturally. The proportion of Chinese mothers choosing caesareans more than doubled in less than a decade, from around 20 per cent in 2001 to above 46 per cent in 2008 - and approaching two-thirds in cities, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures for the country. Across Asia caesarean rates have reached "epidemic levels", it said in a 2010 report. Experts say that caesareans are necessary in many cases when a mother or baby has a health condition which would make a natural birth risky, but that the risks of elective operations are often greater than the benefits. China's caesarean rate is "definitely too high", said Shenlang Tang, a researcher into Chinese healthcare at Duke University in the US, adding that "the key factor is hospital financing". China has made huge strides in maternity care over the past decades, slashing its newborn death rate by almost two-thirds since the mid-nineties, largely by promoting hospital births. But Chinese hospitals receive little government funding and generate almost half their incomes from selling operations such as caesareans, with other revenues coming mainly from diagnostic tests and medicines. "The price of caesarean section based delivery can be up to three or four times that of a natural birth... which helps the hospital generate more revenue," Tang said. China's "one child" family planning policy also plays a role, as parents with more money to invest in their only childbirth are more likely to splash out on the procedure, which they see as safer, Tang said. "There are a lot of perceptions that if you have natural delivery it will affect your sex life," he added. Some local governments in China have launched campaigns to promote natural birth, he said, but there is no clear central government policy on the issue. In an attempt to encourage women to choose a natural birth, the Antai hospital offers water births and teaches expectant mothers hypnosis techniques to deal with the pain of labour. It also charges just as much for natural childbirth as it does for a caesarean, removing incentives for doctors to promote the operation. "Our major problem is that pregnant women in China are very scared of pain," Antai's director Chen Fenglin told AFP. "We found that even water birth couldn't reduce our patients' fear, which is why we introduced hypnosis," he said. A red carpet runs from Antai's delivery room towards a series of recovery suites, including the western-themed White House, a room aimed at Muslims called the "Islamabad Palace" and a chamber inspired by Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan. "Parents hope that their child can grow up to be an emperor or princess, or a president, so the rooms give the parents a beautiful dream," said Chen, who says his hospital has carried out more than 2,000 water births. An automated piano outside the delivery room plays a wedding march when mothers walk past with their newborn baby. "We want to express that a birth is as joyful as a wedding," Chen said. Its innovations have proved a hit with mothers such as Wang Dan, who are willing to pay its hefty fees. "I felt really happy when the wedding music played, because some people are in a lot of pain after giving birth, but I was simply excited," she said, adding that she did not use an anaesthetic. But downstairs from Antai's water-birth suite, the hospital's doctors are still busy performing caesareans. Chen doubts China's caesarean rate will fall significantly, because of the financial incentives hospitals face. "No matter how much you promote natural birth, it's ultimately a matter of economics," he said. – AFP-Relaxnews

Vienna Jewish museum may hold art stolen by Nazis Posted: 06 Jan 2013 03:03 AM PST Figurines draped with Nazi insignia are seen as part of a display by British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman entitled "The End of Fun" in the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg December 11, 2012. – Reuters pic VIENNA, Jan 6 – Vienna's Jewish Museum holds hundreds of books and works of art that may have been stolen by Nazis, a newspaper reported yesterday. A screening programme that started in 2007, years after other Austrian museums began combing their collections for works taken from their rightful owners, has determined that about 500 works of art and 900 books are of dubious origin, Der Standard said. It cited in particular paintings by Jehudo Epstein, who while abroad in 1936 entrusted 172 works to industrialist Bernhard Altmann for safekeeping. Altmann fled the country in 1938 when Nazi Germany annexed Austria, and his factory was "Aryanised", the paper said. The widow of Epstein, who died in South Africa in 1945, tried in vain after 1947 to track down the paintings, some of which were later routinely sold at auction in Austria, it said. Several are now in the Jewish Museum's collection, it said, citing information it got from the museum after many requests. It quoted Danielle Spera, who became director in 2010, as saying the museum had, despite tight finances, for the first time hired in December 2011 a part-time researcher to check the provenances of its artworks. "Anything that was acquired illegally ought to be returned. There will not be a hint of hesitation," Spera told the paper. Der Standard said leaders of Austria's Jewish community, whose collections are on permanent loan to the municipal museum, voted in October to return an Epstein painting called Italienische Landschaft (Italian Landscape) and a work in a separate museum to the painter's heirs, who now live in England. That transfer could take place as early as this month, it said. The Jewish Museum is closed on Saturdays and no one there could be reached immediately for comment. It contains, among others, the Jewish community's own collection, bequeathed in 1992, a Max Berger collection bought by the city in 1988, the Sussmann collection, on loan since 1992, and donations from a collection by Martin Schlaff. Other Austrian museums have already had to grapple with the issue of returning looted art to the proper owners. A painting by Egon Schiele, which was seized by the Nazis on the eve of World War Two, was shown in public for the first time in more than a decade last year after the Leopold Museum reached a settlement with claimants that cost millions of dollars. The dispute was the second of two restitution cases the Leopold settled with the help of funds raised by selling another Schiele painting, "Houses with Colourful Laundry, Suburb II", for £24.7 million (RM121 million) at auction in 2011. – Reuters

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French actor Depardieu meets Putin, picks up Russian passport Posted: 06 Jan 2013 02:12 AM PST Russian President Vladimir Putin greets French actor Gerard Depardieu during their meeting in Sochi. — Reuters pic MOSCOW, Jan 6 — French film star Gerard Depardieu met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea town of Sochi and obtained his Russian passport, the Kremlin said on Sunday, after he left his homeland to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires. Putin signed a decree on Thursday granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu, who objected to French Socialist president Francois Hollande's plan to impose the 75 per cent tax rate. His decision to quit France had prompted accusations of national betrayal. The Russian president and Depardieu were shown on state-run Channel One shaking hands and hugging each other early on Sunday during what the Kremlin said was a private visit by the actor to Russia. "A brief meeting between the president and Depardieu took place," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "On the occasion of his visit to Russia, he was handed a Russian passport." Peskov did not say whether Putin personally gave Depardieu the passport or if he picked it up through standard procedures. He said the actor also told Putin about his career plans. Depardieu, star of the movies "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Green Card", is a popular figure in Russia, where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns, including for ketchup. He also worked there in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin. Putin asked Depardieu whether he was pleased with his work in the movie, TV footage of their meeting showed, with the French actor saying he had already sent Putin some excerpts from it. Depardieu bought a house in Belgium last year to avoid the French income tax increase. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Depardieu's decision to seek Belgian residency "pathetic" and unpatriotic, prompting an angry response from the actor. Putin said last month that Depardieu would be welcome in Russia, which has a flat income tax rate of 13 per cent, compared to the 75 per cent on income over 1 million euros (RM4 million) that Hollande wants to levy in France. He offered Depardieu a Russian passport, saying he had a close, special relationship with France and had developed warm ties with the actor, even though they had rarely met. Some of Putin's critics said the passport move was a stunt and pointed out that the president announced last month a campaign to prevent rich Russians keeping their money offshore. — Reuters

Britain’s ‘Secret Cinema’ smashes through the screen Posted: 05 Jan 2013 10:58 PM PST British cinemagoers experience a Secret Cinema event in east London. — Afp pic LONDON, Jan 6 — Under the menacing eye of guards, the cinema-goers sit in silence as their 1950s bus rumbles through London. Suddenly, a prison looms out of the darkness.  Welcome to Secret Cinema, where the film is not just on the screen — viewers can wander up to the characters, brought to life by actors in a setting that seems to have been plucked straight out of the movie.  Guests arrive armed with nothing more than a string of cryptic emails detailing where to go and how to dress.  They don't even know what film they are going to see, despite having paid £43.50 (RM213) each for a ticket.  "You tell people nothing. They have no idea of what they're going to see, what they're going to experience," said Fabien Riggall, who founded Secret Cinema in 2007.  "And once they get there, they become more open and more adventurous." This innovative approach to cinema — which spreads to New York and Athens in April — has seen organisers transform a warehouse into the futuristic dystopia of "Blade Runner", a park into "Lawrence of Arabia" and dank tunnels into "The Battle of Algiers".  Movie-goers have found themselves conducting mock scientific experiments before a screening of "Prometheus" in a warehouse-turned-spaceship, and operating a pretend penicillin racket before sitting down to watch "The Third Man".  The latest instalment of the adventure offered the crowds a taste of the harsh prison life suffered by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in the 1994 classic "The Shawshank Redemption".  Told to arrive at an east London library wearing 1950s clothing, they were led into a mock courtroom and sentenced — to much giggling — for crimes ranging from kidnapping to bigamy.  The new convicts were then shuttled by vintage bus to an abandoned school, transformed by the Secret Cinema team into a grim US prison.  Hustled inside by uniformed "prison guards", they were forced to strip off their 1950s attire — much to the dismay of those who had ignored instructions to wear long underwear.  Prisoners swapped their trilby hats and trench coats for grey uniforms and spent the three hours before the screening exploring their jail, periodically harassed by the guards as they munched on burgers bought from the "infirmary".  "If you play along, it's amazing," said Andy, a six-time Secret Cinema-goer who has previously come dressed as a Bedouin for "Lawrence of Arabia" and a psychiatric patient for  "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". "Every time, it gets bigger and better."  Scenes from the film spill off the screen and into reality. For "The Shawshank Redemption", actors -- some of them indistinguishable from the crowds in their prisoner uniforms — recreated a brutal rape, scuffles, and an execution. From a modest first audience of 400 people in 2007, Secret Cinema has become a massive operation, hosting 13,500 excitable prisoners during a month-long run of "The Shawshank Redemption" that ended in December.  The latest show saw the launch of a "Secret Hotel" offering overnight stays in the prison, sleeping in bunks in the cells for an extra £30 per person.  "Every production, we try to create something that goes a little bit beyond what we did before in terms of how the audience become part of that world and how you allow the blur between the performance and the audience," said Riggall.  He added that many fans see this immersive form of cinema as an antidote to the more mundane experience of simply sitting in front of a screen.  "People are looking for adventure. They want to take a step away from everything they already know, and I think that the hotel is another step," the 37-year-old told AFP.  "We had actors sleeping next to the audience — you might wake up and there'd be a prisoner singing a 50-year-old song next to you. The whole building is a stage."  Tickets have already sold out for London's 20th Secret Cinema event next April, which for the first time will run simultaneously with shows at secret locations in Athens and New York. Jos, a young Dutchman living in London, said film fans in other cities would welcome the project with open arms.  "You get sucked in," he said, as prisoners loitered in a basketball court behind him. "At the start it's funny and then 10 minutes later you're really into it." "It really makes you think about what it would be like to be in prison — and it's probably not for me," he laughed. — Afp-Relaxnews

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S. Africa says Mandela ‘recovered’ from surgery, lung infection Posted: 06 Jan 2013 07:52 AM PST S. Africa says Mandela 'recovered' from surgery, lung infection JOHANNESBURG, Jan 6 — Former South African President Nelson Mandela has recovered from a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones that kept him in hospital for nearly three weeks in December, the government said on Sunday. "President Mandela has made steady progress and ... clinically, he continues to improve," the Office of the Presidency said in a statement, citing his medical team. The statement said Mandela had "recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection." — Reuters

Inter humbled by Udinese as slump continues Posted: 06 Jan 2013 07:49 AM PST File photo of AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng reacting at San Siro stadium in Milan. — Reuters pic MILAN, Jan 6 —  Inter Milan's slump continued when they went down to a 3-0 defeat at Udinese on Sunday, with 35-year-old Antonio Di Natale scoring twice for the hosts. Inter dominated the first hour and missed a flurry of chances including one incredible effort from Brazilian Jonathan who contrived to fire wide from six metres out in the 54th minute with the goal at his mercy. Rodrigo Palacio was also guilty when he slipped and fired wildly over when he had a clear run on goal. Di Natale made them pay in the 63rd minute when he ran onto Andrea Lazzarri's chipped pass to score with a diagonal shot and put Udinese ahead. Inter had Brazilian defender Juan Jesus dismissed two minutes later for a second bookable office before Luis Muriel and Di Natale, who took his Serie A tally to 12 goals, struck twice in a four-minute spell. Inter, who have won only twice in their last eight league games, have 35 points, nine behind leaders Juventus who were hosting lowly Sampdoria later on Sunday (1400 GMT). Udinese climbed to eighth on 27 points, level with AC Milan who host bottom club Siena later on Sunday (1400). — Reuters

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History of Istana Negara complex to be documented Posted: 06 Jan 2013 06:18 AM PST Through the book, the public will learn about the functions of the main ceremonial area and throne room besides other aspects of the palace. – File pic KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 – The history of the construction and methods used to build the Istana Negara complex will be documented in a special book titled Lambang Kedaulatan dan Keagongan Raja-Raja Melayu (The Symbol of Sovereignty and Glory of Malay Rulers). Through the book, the public will learn about the functions of the main ceremonial area and throne room besides other aspects of the palace. Publishing director and author, Datuk Md Nizam Md Sheriff said capturing the history of the palace into a book would be something invaluable. He said the idea to publish the book came from Raja Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail who wants it to become a form of reference for the future generations. Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin was also the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.  "The Istana Negara complex is a landmark and symbol of Malaysia's constitutional monarchy which features aesthetic elements and interior decorating that can become a national treasure," he said in a statement here today. The book is scheduled to be launched by Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Wednesday at a restaurant in the city while Kedah Regent Tan Sri Tunku Annuar Al-Haj Sultan Badlishah will also grace the event. Others scheduled to be present are Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, several cabinet ministers and other dignitaries. – Bernama

Interactive ‘Thirty Nine Steps’ coming to iPad in March Posted: 05 Jan 2013 03:11 PM PST Hannay's apartment lobby in Story Mechanics' "The Thirty-Nine Steps". LONDON, Jan 6 — Not long before the New Year, Scottish games company Story Mechanics confirmed a March 15 release for an interactive iPad, Mac and PC version of John Buchan's novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps." Numerous radio and film adaptations have already been made of the 1915 spy thriller, including Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 interpretation, and Story Mechanics prefers to call its own variation a digital adaptation rather than a game. Not to say that games based on novels or epic poems are uncommon — recent action adventures such as "Enslaved" (inspired by "Journey to the West"), "Dante's Inferno" ("The Divine Comedy"), "Stalker" ("Roadside Picnic"), "Metro 2033" and "The Witcher" all stem from literary origins — but March's rendition of "The Thirty-Nine Steps" is perhaps somewhat more straightforward in its technique. Story Mechanics, part of Tern TV, is based in Glasgow, the city whose university was attended by Buchan; another Scottish studio, Enter The Story, has also carved a niche in bringing interactivity to a selection of literary classics, counting "Frankenstein," "Les Miserables," "A Tale of Two Cities" and various Shakespeare plays among its adventures. Once it joins the App Store in March, "The Thirty-Nine Steps" will be in the company of other interactive interpretations such as "Frankenstein for iPad and iPhone" and the Edgar Allan Poe collection "iPoe." — AFP/Relaxnews

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How to buy a book… or not! Posted: 05 Jan 2013 06:06 PM PST JAN 6 ― The recent Big Bad Wolf book sale was awesome. As expected. With three million books on sale, it's no wonder I was spoiled for choice. Alas, you can't always get what you want. Due to budget constraints, some books were left behind. There was this one book that I took a liking to. All I read was the synopsis on the book cover and yes ― admittedly, I judged a book by its cover. To protect the name of the innocent (and avoid getting sued by publishers for the following criticism), let's call this book Z. Like most people at the Big Bad Wolf sale, I was overwhelmed by the choices of books. Z didn't initially stand out from the massive selection. I merely chanced upon it and read what I thought was an interesting outline of the book. Due to its hefty (in relative terms) price tag, I quickly put the book down and continued my search for other books. However, time and again, I was drawn back to the section where Z was. For some reason, I was drawn to it. The book was pricier than the other books ―  most of them going for ridiculously low prices ― and caused me to hesitate. There are a few factors to consider when choosing a book ― like how many pages it has, who the author is and how interested am I in the subject matter. Price is just another factor. So even though I had moved on from that aisle, I found myself returning to the section and leafing through Z's pages ― which, I might I add, is a bestseller ― and finding that there were some things that I found disturbing or discomforting… creating an unpleasant experience for me. So I placed the book back and bought another book that provided a pleasing experience. Now that the sale is over, I find myself thinking of the book again (I guess that's why the intriguing author made it to best seller) but the book will only be available at its usual sky high price ― unreachable to a mere pawn like me. Maybe I should try again next year when the Big Bad Wolf sale comes around again. Here's the question: would you work harder to get that acclaimed book everyone is talking about despite its high cost, wait for a book sale when an offer is made (and oh boy, you could be waiting for a looong time) or ditch the book because you didn't like the bits you read instead of finding out what made it a bestseller in the first place? * This is the personal opinion of the columnist

Tanah runtuh: Dalang bertanggungjawab perlu dihukum Posted: 05 Jan 2013 03:52 PM PST 6 JAN ― Kira-kira dua minggu lalu, penduduk di Lembah Klang digemparkan dengan insiden tanah runtuh di Bukit Setiawangsa. Akibatnya, beberapa buah rumah banglo milik Ahli Parlimen seperti Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis dan Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique menjadi mangsa bencana itu. Kesudahannya, rumah mereka terpaksa dirobohkan atas faktor cerun tanah yang kurang selamat. Apa yang menghairankan, terdapat juga rumah-rumah yang dibina di atas kawasan bukit, sesuatu yang tidak sepatutnya dibenarkan dalam konteks pembangunan rumah. Dan beberapa hari yang lalu pula, satu kejadian tanah runtuh turut berlaku di Putra Heights, Subang. Dalam insiden yang berlaku jam 6.15 petang Khamis itu, tujuh kenderaan tertimbus akibat lumpur yang dibawa oleh tanah runtuh itu. Mujur dalam kedua-dua malapetaka terbabit, tiada kemalangan jiwa dilaporkan. Apa yang berlaku di kedua-dua kawasan itu jelas mengundang satu situasi yang merunsingkan.  Sejauhmanakah selamatnya rumah-rumah yang dibina di atas kawasan tanah tinggi? Berapakah lagi kawasan lain yang terdedah dengan risiko sedemikian? Mungkinkah juga terdapat kes-kes sama yang tidak dibawa kepada pengetahuan pihak berkuasa? Apa yang berlaku di kedua-dua kawasan itu tidaklah mengejutkan. Sebaliknya, tanda-tanda mengenai kemungkinan berlakunya tanah runtuh sudah pun ketara sejak dahulu lagi. Malangnya,  tidak ramai yang tidak menyedarinya. Mungkin juga ramai yang memilih untuk tidak mengendahkannya sehinggalah berlakunya tragedi. Inilah tabiat buruk kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia yang hanya bertindak apabila ditimpa bencana. Tragedi Highland Towers pada 11 Disember 1993, merupakan detik hitam dalam sejarah pembangunan negara. Bukan sahaja nyawa tidak berdosa melayang begitu sahaja, bahkan kelemahan dari segi pemantauan pihak berkuasa terhadap projek-projek pembangunan terbongkar. Barangkali, tragedi Highland Towers tidak akan berlaku jika pihak berkuasa tempatan, PBT kita lebih peka dan tidak memberikan kelulusan kepada pemaju membina projek perumahan secara sewenang-wenangnya. Seperti kebiasaan, reaksi oleh pihak berkuasa tempatan, PBT terhadap insiden-insiden sebegini cukup mengecewakan.  Apabila kes dilaporkan oleh pihak media, baharu ada sedikit kemajuan dari segi reaksi mereka. Mereka nampaknya lebih bertindak mengikut musim dan hanya bergerak apabila didesak. Lebih membingungkan, sering kali kedengaran reaksi semerta PBT apabila berlakunya sesuatu bencana alam, sebuah jawatankuasa bertindak akan ditubuh untuk menegakkan kebenaran. Agak menghairankan, di negara kita, begitu banyak jawatankuasa bertindak ditubuhkan saban kali berlakunya sesuatu bencana. Anehnya, apa lagi yang perlu disiasat jika bukti kesalahan adalah jelas di hadapan mata kita? Proses mengumpul data, menyiasat dan memberikan konklusi kepada isu mungkin memakan masa berbulan-bulan lamanya. Dalam konteks ini, apa yang ingin dimahukan rakyat ialah solusi atau jalan penyelesaian yang dikemukakan daripada jawatankuasa terbabit. Rakyat tidak mahu mendengar alasan tetapi satu jawapan jujur dan ikhlas daripada PBT serta pihak berwajib. Rakyat sering diberi janji bahawa satu penyelesaian terperinci akan dilakukan namun ketuntasan laporan akhir siasatan pula tidak memperincikan hukuman terhadap dalang. Sewajarnya, dalang yang bertanggungjawab perlu dibawa ke muka pengadilan. Tidak timbul soal belas kasihan terhadap mereka yang bersalah. Hanya dengan cara ini sahaja, mereka yang bersalah akan merasa gerun dengan peraturan sedia ada dan tidak melampaui batas-batas yang dibenarkan. Mungkin ada baiknya PBT "bangun" daripada mimpi ini dan bertindak segera sebelum kredibiliti rakyat terhadap mereka terus tercalar.  Jika proses keadilan sedemikian tidak dapat ditegakkan, kepada siapa lagi rakyat boleh bergantung harap kepada sistem keadilan negara untuk membela nasib mereka? Penubuhan jawatankuasa bertindak hanyalah sebahagian daripada proses untuk mengenal pasti masalah yang timbul tetapi ianya tidak membantu menangani akar-umbi masalah itu. Justeru, adalah penting untuk pihak berwajib lebih "hands-on" dalam isu ini sebelum lebih ramai nyawa penduduk tidak berdosa terus melayang. Jangan biarkan berlaku lagi satu tragedi seperti Highland Towers. Hendak seribu daya, tak hendak seribu dalih. * Ini adalah pandangan peribadi penulis.

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SPRM tahan pembantu Timbalan Ketua Negeri Pulau Pinang dalam cubaan rasuah Posted: 06 Jan 2013 12:57 AM PST Pengarah Siasatan SPRM, Datuk Mustafar Ali. — Gambar fail KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Jan — Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) menahan pembantu khas Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang dalam percubaan merasuah seorang lelaki sebanyak RM30,000 bagi menarik balik laporan polis berkaitan gangguan seksual terhadap isterinya. Menurut laporan dari Mingguan Malaysia, akhbar mingguan Utusan Malaysia, lelaki tersebut dikata hadir untuk menyerahkan wang suapan di sebuah restoran kira-kira 11 malam semalam. "Lelaki itu hadir di restoran tersebut bersama dua lagi individu dan menyaksikan penyerahan wang yang dilakukan oleh salah seorang daripada mereka. "Ketiga-tiga lelaki itu kemudian ditahan oleh SPRM hasil maklumat awam," menurut sumber yang dilaporkan Mingguan Malaysia. Selain pembantu khas Timbalan Ketua Menteri, dua lagi individu yang ditahan ialah seorang pegawai daerah berusia 52 tahun dan seorang pegawai bank yang berusia 40 tahun ditahan. Menurut laporan tersebut, pengadu yang bekerja di sebuah pejabat daerah di negeri tersebut membuat laporan polis berhubung kejadian gangguan seksual yang berlaku penghujung tahun lalu. Pengarah Siasatan SPRM, Datuk Mustafar Ali mengesahkan penahanan pembantu khas Timbalan Ketua Menteri itu antara tiga yang ditahan semalam. "Siasatan sedang dijalankan mengikut Akta SPRM 2009 dan kertas siasatan yang lengkap akan dikemukakan kepada Pejabat Timbalan Pendakwa Raya dalam tempoh terdekat," kata Mustafar yang dipetik dari laporan akhbar berbahasa Melayu itu. Akhbar mingguan Sunday Star melaporkan pembantu terlibat bertugas di pejabat PKR di Permatang Pauh, iaitu kerusi parlimen Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Pekerja guna Facebook ketika waktu pejabat adalah pecah amanah, kata SPRM Posted: 06 Jan 2013 12:53 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Jan — Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) akan mengkategorikan pekerja dalam sektor awam dan syarikat berkaitan kerajaan (GLC) yang menggunakan media sosial bagi tujuan peribadi sebagai pecah amanah. Menurut timbalan ketua pesuruhjaya SPRM, Datuk Sutinah Sutan, jika seseorang menggunakan tiga jam di pejabat untuk kegunaan peribadi, ia dilihat sebagai satu bentuk pecah amanah kerana kerajaan mempercayai dan membayar mereka untuk menyiapkan tugas yang diberi. "Mereka yang melayari Facebook atau apa juga media sosial, boleh dianggap sebagai mengelakkan diri dari kerja yang dispefikasikan kepadanya," kata beliau yang dipetik dari portal berita The Star Online. Sutinah berkata, sikap suka menggunakan waktu bekerja untuk kegiatan peribadi boleh dilihat sebagai melanggar kontrak kerja, dan patut dikenakan tindakan disiplin oleh pihak majikan. Beliau berkata, walaupun kesalahan tersebut tidak diletakkan di bawah Akta SPRM, tetapi suruhanjaya tersebut akan menasihati apa tindakan yang boleh dilakukan oleh pihak jabatan kerajaan dan GLC dalam menangani pekerja yang ingkar. Sementara itu, Presiden Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs), Datuk Omar Osman menyeru agar pekerja kerajaan untuk memberi tumpuan kepada kerja ketika waktu pejabat. "Sementara penggunaan sosial media adalah baik untuk menggalakkan orang ramai untuk lebih arif dalam teknologi dalam mendapatkan maklumat, tetapi pekerja juga harus berdedikasi terhadap kementerian, jabatan dan agensi mereka," kata Omar yang dipetik portal berita berbahasa Inggeris itu. Beliau mencadangkan mekanisme untuk menentukan laman web mana yang boleh dilayari oleh pekerja kerajaan bagi menepati skop pekerjaan. "Sepatutnya kita perlu ada panduan yang jelas, bukan hanya untuk pekerja faham perlakuan mereka boleh diambil tindakan, kita juga perlu untuk menubuhkan jawatankuasa disiplin dalam menentukan yang mana (laman web) di dalam skop pekerjaan dan yang mana bukan," kata Omar yang dipetik dari laporan portal berita The Star Online.

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