Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

(Merdeka Moments - Photos courtesy of Bernama's Photo Unit)

For the first time, the 52nd day National Day celebration was held at Parliament Square on Aug 31 with the participation of a limited number of people due to the influenza A (HIN1) or swine flu pandemic and the Ramadan month.

For the same reasons, the national level celebration was held on a moderate scale, mostly indoors, in the states.

Bernama marked the day with the raising of the Jalur Gemilang and the singing of Negaraku at Wisma Bernama last Friday. At the event, attended by General Manger Hasnul Hassan and Editor in Chief Datuk Yong Soo Heong, Bernama employees were in high spirits as they sang two other songs Jalur Gemilang and Satu Malaysia.

The celebration, led by maestro Faiz Sanusi from the Sales Department, ended with seven shouts of "Merdeka".

While the 52nd national level celebration has been scaled down, the Merdeka spirit is alive as reflected in the vibrant colours of Jalur Gemilang and the spirit of the people.

The theme of this year's celebration is '1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now.'

Model's Caning Deferred Due To Fasting Month

KUANTAN, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- The caning of model, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who was ordered to receive six lashes of the rottan and fined RM5,000 for drinking beer, has been deferred until after the fasting month.

Pahang Religious Affairs, Dakwah, Unity and NGOs Exco chairman Datuk Mohd Sahfri Abdul Aziz said the state Religious Department (JAIP) had received a directive from the Attorney General's office to defer the punishment until the fasting month was over.

"However, the sentence will remain the same," he said here today.

Kartika who was sentenced to six lashes of the rottan and fined RM5,000 for the offence was scheduled to be taken to the Kajang women's prison today to undergo her caning punishment.

According to reports, JAIP officers had gone to Kartika's house in Sungai Siput, Perak but left 30 minutes later after receiving the orders from their 'higher' authorities.

Kartika, 32, a mother of two, was arrested during a raid at the Legend Hotel lounge in Cherating at about 11.40pm on July 20, last year, for breaching Shariah law, which forbids Muslims from consuming alcohol.

On Aug 18, Syariah Court judge Datuk Abdul Rahman Yunus found Kartika guilty of the offence, and handed out the punishment, seen the first of its kind in the country.

-- BERNAMA

Rotan Issue - Much Ado About Nothing

Come on people, why all the fuss about this Singapore model by the name of Kartika Sari Dewi Sukarnor getting the rotan in Malaysia?

Remember Michael Peter Fay, an American who briefly shot to worldwide fame when he was sentenced to caning in Singapore as an 18-year old in 1994 for theft and vandalism?

Caning is a routine court sentence in Singapore but most Americans were unfamiliar with it, and Fay’s case was the first caning involving an American citizen.

Kartika, 32, a part-time model, hit the headlines – both the mainstream and new media-- for drinking beer at a nightclub in Cherating, Pahang on July 12, 2007.

On July 20, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor was ordered to be whipped six times by the Kuantan Syariah Court.

However, in a turn of events, Kartika wanted the court to expedite the sentence.

“I will accept this earthly punishment, let Allah decide my punishment in the hereafter... The court has yet to tell me when the sentence will be carried out, so I would like to ask them to hasten it.

“I truly respect the court's decision... I admit that it's my offence and not that of others, it's not the offence of my parents, not the offence of my other family members,” a teary Kartika told reporters in her home town in Perak recently.

If her sentence is meted out soon, it could be the first time that a man or a woman is caned under Islamic law.

She was drinking beer with her husband in a hotel in Cherating, two years ago when she was caught by Islamic enforcement officers. She pleaded guilty last year.

She was fined RM5,000 and sentenced to six strokes of the rotan by the Pahang Syariah High Court on July 20.

The mother of two, who is married to a Singaporean and is a Singapore permanent resident, paid her fine the following day and decided not to file any appeal.

The caning may sound absurd, but rules are rules. The fact is she is a Muslim. And she knows the rules. She broke the rules and she must accept the consequences.

Based on the Syariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2002, the whipping tool used must be a rotan or small branch that should be not more than 1.22 metres long and not more than 1.25cm thick.

The whipping has to be done using moderate force and the punisher should not raise the hands over the head to avoid injuring the skin. The appointed punisher must be a fair and mature person, During the punishment, the offender must be dressed according to Syariah law.

Male offenders will be whipped while standing whereas female offenders will be in a sitting position when whipping commences.

Whipping would not be done on pregnant offenders and would only be done two months after delivery. It must not hit the face, head, stomach, breast or private parts - only the buttocks.

The offender's health should be checked by government health officers who should also be present during whipping.

There was public outrage over the caning sentence.

Earlier, women leaders such as Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Titiwangsa Member of Parliament Dr Lo'Lo Datuk Mohd Ghazali had expressed concern over the harsh punishment in relation to the offence.

Muslim lawyers, however, dismissed the criticism, saying they were a challenge and an insult to the Kuantan syariah court.

The issue could have been prolonged had Kartika not expressed her repentance over consuming alcohol.

Kartika is really lucky she’s not getting a real caning!

English From Pre-School: Right Decision

When it comes to learning, especially acquiring a language that is not your mother tongue, you’ve got to start early, and preschool’s the best.

Here’s Tuesday’s announcement on efforts to strengthen the command of the English language, from Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin which is front page headline news on The Sun newspaper today:

Preschools To Be Part Of National Education System – DPM

PUTRAJAYA, July 21 (Bernama) -- Preschools will be absorbed into the national education system as part of the efforts to strengthen the command of the English language at the early stage of schooling, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He said trained English language teachers would be sent to the schools to help improve the learning and teaching of the language.

Muhyiddin, who is education minister, said the government had agreed in principle to implement the policy but had not set any time frame to do so.

He added that the move would be implemented to correspond with the proposal to make English a compulsory pass subject in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

"If we can set aside a suitable period for the subject, and let trained teachers handle the class, in three years these preschoolers will be able grasp basic English," he said.

By doing so, he said, preschoolers need not wait until they were in primary school to have a good grasp of basic English.

"If the six-year period (in primary school) is not enough, they have five more years to learn the language (in secondary school).

"So, it is unlikely that they will fail their SPM English language examination," he said at a gathering with educators at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here Tuesday.

He said that the government was aware of the concerns expressed by certain quarters over the proposal to make English a compulsory pass subject as many students, especially those in the rural areas, might not be able to achieve the pass mark.

Citing the results of last year's SPM examination as an example, Muhyiddin said, only 26.9 per cent of rural students managed to register a pass in the subject.

The government, however, would not take the "levelling down" approach in implementing the proposal, he said.

"We should instead be brave enough to adopt the 'levelling up' approach by striving to improve the performance among students.

"In the context of the English language, the suggestion to make English a 'must pass' subject is a levelling up approach to improve the command of the language among students so that they can become competitive."

Muhyiddin said the proposal could be implemented soon but the efforts to enhance the command of the English language among students should start now.

-- BERNAMA

Pos Malaysia Delivers One Billion Mails Annually

Despite the stiff competition from modern and instant communication systems, the workload of the postmen has not reduced, delivering an average of one billion letters and parcels annually.

The list of services provided by Pos Malaysia Bhd, which has been in existence for more than 175 years, kept on increasing given its position as the exclusive provider of mail services in Malaysia.

Today, Pos Malaysia, which is listed on Bursa Malaysia, has evolved into a multiple service provider, with volume of conventional mail handled by Pos Malaysia totalling 1.271 billion in 2008, according to available figures.

At a recent briefing for visiting members of Benita, an association of Bernama women employees, a spokesperson of Pos Malaysia said the company was committed to improving its products and services to meet the growing demand of its customers.

Forty per cent of its business are handled in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur, which is the head office of Pos Malaysia has a staff of 2,400, handling an average of 800,000 mails a day.

Most of the mails that Pos Malaysia handles are business-related, such as bank statements, credit card statements, bills, etc.

There are 8,000 postmen in the country, of which 1,600 are in Kuala Lumpur. Of the 1,600 postmen here, 50 are women known as Posnita, who are assigned to do coding duties at the headquarters.

The spokesperson said Pos Malaysia had set before itself realistic service standards, that is, next day delivery after posting for local mail delivery, two days between major towns and 3-4 days between other places in the country.

At present, Pos Malaysia operates a network of over 1,000 outlets comprising General Post Offices, post offices, mini post offices and mobile post offices.

It employs a workforce of more than 16,000 employees throughout the country.

The public can do more than 160 different transactions at the post-office counters, which provide a wide range of services, including collecting payment of utility bills, payment of pensions, renewing road tax and driving licence, as well as paying mobile phone bills.

The postal service, then Postal Service Department, has come a long way from the time when it only delivered letters, newspapers and business documents to Malaysian households nationwide.

Its vast experience formed a strong backbone to support its massive restructuring when it became a corporatised entity in 1992.

In 2003, Pos Malaysia restructured its entire operation into four specific strategic business units -- PosMel, PosLaju, PosNiaga and PosLogistik -- to be more focused on its various customers and marketplace.

Statistics also show that the conventional mail services contributed RM566 million in terms of revenue to the company during the financial year Dec 31, 2008, making it the biggest contributor to the company's revenue.

For 2008, Pos Malaysia posted a net loss of RM33.3 million against a revenue of RM921.7 million, although it made an operating profit.

Its group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar has expressed confidence that Pos Malaysia will return to the black this financial year.

For Faisal, who is formerly CEO of New Straits Times Press Bhd (NSTP), the challenge for Pos Malaysia is to improve the customer service.

Kaka’s ‘Bombers Kiss My’ – This Month’s Flavour

By now, Kaka of Indonesian musical group Slank (pix top left), who removed his jeans on stage at the ‘Anugerah Planet Muzik 2009’ in Jakarta last Saturday, to show his ‘Bombers Kiss My’ message on his underwear to his audience, would have been the flavour of the month.

Searches for news on last week’s bombings at two hotels in Jakarta on the internet could also be diverted to this latest piece of news from the capital city of Indonesia, which hosted the awards show aired live in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

At the ceremony, Slank’s ‘Kuil Cinta’ took the Best Indonesian Song award category.

Whether the Indonesian authorities would impose a ban on Kaka is yet to be seen. But the entertainment media in Malaysia and Indonesia, have also highlighted this ugly episode, with internet portals inviting comments from the public, with many expressing their outrage over Kaka’s behaviour.

Live television shows have had a history of artistes making headlines –not so much for their musical performance—but more for their disgraceful acts. For these shameful acts, these artistes had to pay the price.

In Malaysia, Faizal Tahir (centre pix) courted controversy on Jan 13, 2008 by removing his jacket, singlet and belt before throwing them to the audience of about 8,000 people live on television to celebrate 8TV’s fourth anniversary. The television station’s top management took stern action by giving him strict warnings and requiring him to be involved in charity work for six months.

Two days after the incident, 8TV held a press conference for him to apologise to all who were offended by his stunt. As a result, on Jan 19, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission stated that it would ban him from appearing on television for three months, also bar 8TV from airing live or tape-delayed entertainment programmes throughout the same period effect Jan 15.

The ban ruined his chance to perform two songs (Mahakarya Cinta and Kasih Tercipta) in Anugerah Juara Lagu organized by TV3.

On the international front, Janet Jackson (pix top right) caused a storm while performing in the halftime show of the 2004 Super Bowl, when her co star Justin Timberlake pulled off a piece of Jackson's costume, exposing her right breast.

An estimated 140 million people were watching the show when at the end, pop star Justin Timberlake popped off part of Jackson's corset, exposing her breast.

MTV produced the halftime show, which was broadcast by CBS. Both had issued their own apologies.

A statement from MTV said the tearing of Jackson's costume "was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance.

"MTV regrets this incident occurred, and we apologize to anyone who was offended by it."

Despite its apology, MTV did not hesitate to promote the incident after the fact. A Web page headline said: "Janet Jackson Got Nasty at the MTV-Produced Super Bowl Halftime Show."

Continuing, the Web page said, "Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we're talking about ... Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core."

Up Close and Personal With Ahmad Mustapha Hassan

(Photo by Zuber of Corporate Communication, Bernama)

Ahmad Mustapha Hassan, the author of a book The Unmaking of Malaysia was in Bernama today.

He was not here to promote his book launched in 2007, but to share his experience in managing Bernama as well as being press secretary to former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the then Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

At 73, Ahmad Mustapha is still witty and was happy to see some of the early batches of Bernama journalists present during his talk at the Centre of Excellence on the 12th floor of Wisma Bernama.

Among others are former general managers Datuk Seri Azman Ujang (Bernama editorial adviser) and Datuk Syed Jamil Jaafar (Bessar adviser), former Editor in Chief Datuk Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, former Editors Ratna Melan,Amin Husaini, Rachman Norodin (Nam News Network coordinator) and S. N. Rajan (last post as Bernama’s Head of Marketing).

“I thought I will be talking to young reporters, but I am happy to see some familiar faces,” said Ahmad Mustapha, who was happy to note that he is a natural grandfather, or ‘Datuk’ with eight grandchildren.

During the session moderated by Azman, Ahmad Mustapha, who started Bernama’s commercial ventures when he held the post of General Manager from October 1981 to Nov 30 1987, took the audience on his life journey, and paid tribute to Abdul Razak, whom he described as someone who was easy to work with.

He said Abdul Razak had full confidence in him as press secretary, and Ahmad Mustapha knew then that there was a clear career path for him, envisioning that he could move several steps further, right up to holding a ministerial post, or “even minister in charge of Bernama,” he said in jest, drawing laughter from the audience.

But it was fated that his term with Abdul Razak lasted for one and a half years, till the latter’s death and “fate is such, I become the GM of Bernama”, said Ahmad Mustapha, who shot to stardom when he wrote the book, which was critical of Dr Mahathir.

Launched by former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam in November 2007, the 271-page book, published by the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, details Ahmad Mustapha’s experience working under the two former leaders and comparisons between their leadership styles.

It also touches on how Abdul Razak’s singular goal was to uplift the rural people who had supported the fight for independence.

In his book, Ahmad Mustapha, who is a nephew of Dr Mahathir said the latter did not follow rules and procedures set by his predecessors.