MY: Bernama news 4 Oct 95
Faruq abd ul-Rafi
* ..... (Wednesday, Oct 4, 1995)
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* 1. NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR CHILDREN TO BE DRAWN UP
* 2. INDUSTRIALISATION UNAFFECTED BY IMBALANCE IN S & T GROWTH
* 3. DBP TO TRANSLATE "ENCYCLOPEDIA WORLD BOOK" INTO MALAY
* 4. SKILLS INSTITUTIONS TO BE SET UP
* 5. DBP SIGNS MoU WITH BRITISH LIBRARY
* 6. FOUR SABAH SOCCER PLAYERS BANISHED TO REMOTE AREAS
* 7. RESORTS WORLD'S ACTION, A LESSON TO ALL, SAYS MUHYIDDIN
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* 1. NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR CHILDREN TO BE DRAWN UP
*
* KUALA LUMPUR: The National Unity and Social Development
Ministry is drawing up a National Action Plan for Children.
* The minister Datin Paduka Hajah Zaleha Ismail said the
ministry required the cooperation and expertise of government
agencies, the private sector and non-governmental organisations
to map out strategies, programmes and activities for the plan.
* "Malaysia needs to take immediate action to identify and
formulate strategies, programmes and development activities for
children up till at least the year 2020 as it is expected that by
then there will be about 12.4 million children," she told
reporters after opening the National Consultative Forum: Caring
for the Children of Malaysia 2020.
* At the middle of this year the number of children in the
country was estimated at 9.7 million or 48 percent of the total
population of 20.3 million.
* "This is a large ratio and a high commitment is required to
protect and develop them and it is clear that what they require
is protection and proper development," she said.
*
* Zaleha said although children in the country now enjoyed
improved education and medical facilities as well as development
and modernisation, problems like child abandonment and abuse were
still widespread.
* "The government is aware and sensitive to the issues.
Although it can provide various facilities and implement laws, it
will be meaningless if the people are not conscious and sensitive
to the issues," she added.
* Malaysia was now at the third stage, the development phase,
of caring for the children, having successfully achieved the
first and second stages, that of survival and protection, she
said.
* "The private sector can play a leading role in providing
creches in their organisations and sponsor certain development
programmes while parents have an important role in creating happy
families," she added.
*
*
* 2.INDUSTRIALISATION UNAFFECTED BY IMBALANCE IN S & T GROWTH
*
* KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's march towards industrialisation will
not be affected by the imbalance in growth between its economic
and science and technology sectors.
* Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Law Hieng
Ding said the imbalance posed no setback to the country's aim to
achieve developed nation status by the year 2020.
* "Maybe, we have been over confident about our technological
capabilities all this while and we need to reassess our situation
now," he told reporters after launching a one-day information
technology conference here.
* The World Competitiveness Report prepared by the Geneva-based
World Economic Forum ranked Malaysia 33rd in science and
technology growth compared with its 21st position in economic
growth.
* Law said Malaysia had a strong science and technology base
and the question now was how to organise and mobilise it to
achieve better results.
*
* "We should not be too discouraged by these reports as our
economy grows faster than other sectors. However, we must be
cautious. We must strengthen our technological capabilities not
only within the ministry but also in other relevant agencies and
ministries," he added.
* Law said despite the major strides Malaysia has made in using
modern technology to increase work efficiency and quality, the
country was still far behind the front-runners.
* For example, Malaysia was still way behind the advanced
countries in using information technology (IT) to increase
national competitiveness while other developing nations such as
Thailand and India which until recently were ranked below
Malaysia in IT, were closing the gap, he added.
* About 200 civil servants attended the conference entitled
"Using IT to Build a Better Future" organised by Sapura Systems
Malaysia. Among other things, the conference aims to share IT
development with the public sector users.
*
*
* 3. DBP TO TRANSLATE "ENCYCLOPEDIA WORLD BOOK" INTO MALAY
*
* KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) will
translate and publish the 22-volume "Encyclopedia World Book"
into Malay in a move to provide more Malay reference books for
students and members of the public.
* The project estimated to take five years to complete will
cost the DBP RM7.5 million.
* An agreement was signed yesterday between the DBP and the
Chicago-based World Book International for the purpose.
* The DBP was represented by its chairman Datuk Rahim Abu Bakar
while the World Book International by its Vice President Encik
Richard Dell.
* The World Book International will send its representatives to
the DBP to help in the publication of the encyclopedia.
* The translation work would be carried out by the private
sector under the supervision of the DBP, Rahim told reporters
after the signing ceremony here.
* He said the completed works would be published at the latest
in the year 2000 with possible overseas markets to include
Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
*
*
* 4. SKILLS INSTITUTIONS TO BE SET UP
*
* KUALA LUMPUR: Four industrial training institutions and two
technology and advanced skills training centres will be set up
under the Seventh Malaysia Plan beginning next year.
* Human Resources Minister Datuk Lim Ah Lek said this was to
meet the need for highly skilled manpower in line with the
country's economic and technological development by the year
2000.
* "Existing industrial institutions will be expanded and their
teaching staff upgraded," he said at the signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding between Centre for Instructors and Advanced
Skills Training and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia here.
* There are 10 industrial training institutions and two
technical institutes -- the German-Malaysian Institute (GMI) and
Tuas Polytechnic run by Mara under a British frachise programme.
* Lim said another technical institution, the Japan-Malaysia
Technical Institute, would be built with cooperation from the
Japanese government and supervised by the Human Resources
Ministry.
*
* Emphasis would be given to new courses in high technology
like electro-mechanics, Computer-aided design and manufacturing
(CAD/CAM), precision machining, robotics, telecomunications and
information technology, he added.
* Under the Outline Perspective Plan, 320,000 jobs needed to be
created in the professional and technical categories in the year
2000, he said.
* He later told reporters the country was facing a shortage of
skilled workers in the electronics and services sectors,
including the hotel industry.
* Through several programmes, the ministry would increase the
number of workers in the hotel industry as seven or eight
five-star hotels would be build in the next year or two,
especially in the Klang Valley.
* The ministry's Human Resources Council would be discussing
the matter with hotel operators, he said.
*
*
* 5. DBP SIGNS MoU WITH BRITISH LIBRARY
*
* LONDON: A memorandum of understanding signed between the
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and the British Library will help to
promote further cooperation and exchange of experts and special
knowledge between the two parties, DBP Director-General Abdul
Aziz Deraman said after the signing ceremony at the School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) here
* The DBP had also signed a similar memorandum with SOAS, host
of today's signing ceremony, in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 30 when the
school's director, Michael McWilliams, visited Malaysia.
* Abdul Aziz said that DBP had long been working in close
cooperation with SOAS, and it had been the DBP's utmost disire to
establish a cooperation with the British Library.
* "With the formation of these links, I hope we will continue
our efforts in forging better ties and understanding between our
two countries and the promotion of literature and culture," he
said during the ceremony attended by McWilliams and scholars of
the Malay language at SOAS.
* Michael Smethurst, BL's deputy chief executive, signed the
memorandum on behalf of the library.
*
* The signing ceremony was part of the DBP's programmes.
Through these programmes, they hope to promote the Malay language
as a major world language through publications, research
programmes, and the holding of seminars and cultural programmes
at various venue from time to time.
* MoUs are being signed with 14 foreign research institutions
in all, Abdul Aziz said.
* Besides the British Library and SOAS, other institutions
include the Beijing Foreign Studies University, the Indira Ghandi
National Culture Centre in India, and the Research Centre for
Islamic History and Culture in Istanbul.
*
*
* 6. FOUR SABAH SOCCER PLAYERS BANISHED TO REMOTE AREAS
*
* KOTA KINABALU: Four of the six Sabah soccer players who
admitted receiving money to rig matches during the last Premier
League were today served with banishment order.
* Sabah Deputy Commissioner of Police SAC Datuk Wan Mohamad
Yusuf Mohamad Said said the order was signed by Deputy Home
Affairs Minister Datuk Megat Junid Megat Ayob.
* Gerald Mujiliu will be put under restricted residence in
Sipitang, Charles Tindi in Kunap, Juneydi Tuah in Tenom and
Matusin Bowie in Kudat.
* The two-year banishment order is also expected to be served
on the other two players, former national skipper Matlan Marjan
and G.Ravychandran.
* All the players were detained at the Kepayan Prison here
pending the banishment order.
* Mohd Yusuf said under the banishment order, the players were
required to report to the nearest police station in thir areas
every Monday and Thursday during the first year.
* During the second year, they only need to report on Mondays.
* He said they were allowed to leave their home within the
restricted areas from 6am-6pm and would need the permission of
the Commissioner of Police if they wanted to leave the district.
* The players had been arrested by the police in June this year
following a report by former Sabah coach Kelly Tham that several
of the Sabah players were on the take.
* They were later remanded in police custody for investigation
but were not charged due to insufficient evidence.
* However, during the police investigation they admitted
receiving money to fix the matches.
*
*
* 7. RESORTS WORLD'S ACTION, A LESSON TO ALL, SAYS MUHYIDDIN
*
* KUALA LUMPUR: The move by Resorts World Berhad to suspend
financial support to the Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union (MAAU)
will serve as a lesson to the officials who are more interested
in self gain rather than the development of the sport, Youth and
Sport Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
* Hopefully, it would send a strong signal to other national
sports associations to buck up, he said when asked to comment on
the decision by Resorts World to freeze until further notice its
RM1 million annual grant to MAAU which has been dogged by
controversy of late.
* "The move is timely. The company has the right to do so since
it has spent a lot of money. It's MAAU responsibility to pay back
what they have received but they failed to do so," he told
reporters after launching the Tunas Cemerlang Manual Training
Book for school children, published by Delta Publication, here.
* MAAU President Datuk Khalid Yunus, who was present at the
ceremony in his capacity as Deputy Education Minister, said the
MAAU was supposed to meet Resorts World today on the matter. But
Resorts World Executive Director Tan Sri Alwi Jantan is abroad.
*
* Alwi, in his letter dated Sept 15 to the MAAU, said the
decision was made with the the future of the sport in mind. He
also said the company was saddened by the adverse Press coverage
on MAAU.
* Muhyiddin said the ministry respected the decision by Resorts
World and was willing to assist both parties to resolve the
issue.
* Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin hoped that the publication
of the Tunas Cemerlang manual would boost sport development
programme from the grassroot level.
* The book, published in six series, covers training for
students, aged 13 to 15, in badminton, football, hockey,
athletics, tennis and sepak takraw.
* It is a joint effort by Delta Publication, National Sport
Council and the Malaysian School Sports Council.
*
--Bernama