Vocational education set for 'dynamic change'

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin with Professor Frances Corner, the head of the London College of Fashion, at the University of Arts London yesterday. — Bernama picture

THE much anticipated transformation of vocational studies in the country is set to take off with a revamped curriculum to be introduced by 2013, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said here yesterday.He said the move was part of the Education Ministry's re-engineering of vocational education to transform it into a more dynamic system which could produce skilled graduates to fulfil manpower needs in various sectors.

Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister, said the transformation process would involve basic vocational education for students who have just completed Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and also those seeking diplomas at vocational schools, which would be upgraded to vocational colleges.

"We view vocational education as being just as important as academic studies and want our vocational institutions to produce at least 20 per cent of our manpower needs in coming years.
"Right now we are only fulfilling 10 per cent of the industry needs from our vocational set-ups," he said after visiting the University of Arts London where he met the head of the London College of Fashion, Professor Frances Corner.

He also said the ministry was mulling establishing a strategic partnership with the renowned university.

The stopover was part of his three-day working visit here.

Muhyiddin said the transformation of vocational education would create a clearer path for vocational school students as their qualifications would be equivalent to a diploma.

It was reported that the secondary school syllabus was being revamped with vocational studies being added as a new stream. This means Form Four students will have three streams -- Science, Arts and Vocational. They will also be exposed to vocational studies from Form One.

Muhyiddin said the revamp of the vocational education would see students being exposed to more practical training of up to 80 per cent of the curriculum instead of academic studies.

The government was also in the process of establishing a National Vocational Council with the participation of the private sector and representatives of various organisations.

"We hope to see this council established soon and this reflects our commitment towards transforming the whole vocational education system to make it into an education of choice.

"This is a major exercise we are undertaking and private sector support is most welcomed."


Read more: Vocational education set for 'dynamic change' http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/6yasm/Article/#ixzz1Xc941lKa


Taken from New Straits Times Online

'My Distress' application may be extended to other states Read more: 'My Distress' application may be extended to other states

SEREMBAN: The "My Distress" smart phone application recently launched by the Selangor police has received encouraging response and may be extended to other states.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar said today that some 30,000 people had registered for the application which enables the public to signal police in emergency situations by pressing an icon.
"If every emergency call through the application is satisfactorily settled by the police, I don't discount the possibility of it being extended to other states.

"Apart from the response of the people, we have to look at the ability of the police to react immediately to a distress call. This is what we are monitoring now," Khalid told reporters at his Aidilfitri open house at Kampung Gebok in Mantin near here.

The application is equipped with the Global Positioning System, enabling police to track the person sending a distress signal. -- BERNAMA


Read more: 'My Distress' application may be extended to other states http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/MyDistress_applicationmaybeextendedtootherstates/Article/#ixzz1Xc8McECR


Taken from New Straits Times Online

MTUC urges PM to end NUBE-Maybank row

MTUC urges PM to end NUBE-Maybank row

By G. Manimaran

September 09, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) wants Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step in and resolve the growing controversy between bank workers and Maybank, the country’s biggest banking corporation.

The 50-year-old National Union of Banking Employees (NUBE) is representing some 5,000 Maybank workers who have been locked in a dispute with their employer since June 2009 over bonus claims and the issue over the legality of an in-house union for non-executive personnel.

“We hope the prime minister will intervene to resolve the issues faced by NUBE, we hope the prime minister will act to rectify this situation,” MTUC president Khalid Atan told The Malaysian Insider.

Wading into the controversy today, Khalid said the MTUC views that the federal government should not allow the setting up of an internal union within an organisation when one already exists at the national level.

“We don’t know if there exists loopholes within labour laws [that enable the setting up of an in-house union]. But from a moral angle, it should not be allowed,” Khalid said.

He declined further comment for fear of being charged with subjudice as the NUBE had taken the dispute with Maybank to court for resolution.

A new union known as the Maybank Non-Executive Employees Union (Mayneu), was set up last October and registered three months later under the Trade Union Act 1959 in January this year to represent the lower-level workers.

The NUBE, which has been portrayed as a stout supporter of the Najib administration, released a statement yesterday doubting the PM’s leadership, saying his popularity has been dwindling among the clerical staff.

Maybank is the largest bank in Malaysia with more than 380 domestic and 90 international branches.

The banking union has 30,000 members and alleged that Najib, who is also in charge of the Finance Ministry, had failed to resolve issues affecting workers in the banking sector, in particular those in Maybank, since it was brought to his attention last year.

NUBE secretary-general J. Solomon attributed Najib’s sliding rating among the clerical staff to the widening income gap, oppression of workers and the increasing inflation rate.

“The silence of the prime minister to act on complaints against Maybank, a government-linked company (GLC), will not endear him to the public,” Solomon said in a statement.

“Maybank is boldly and brutally violating international standards of human rights, making a mockery of Malaysian laws, and making wider an already huge income divide,” he added, and warned the union will go on a roadshow after Razak’s prolonged silence over its pay dispute with the bank.

MTUC’s Khalid refused to be pulled into that argument, saying the umbrella organisation supports those that are able to address the demands and problems of workers.

“We support whichever party that supports our workers’ cause, we support the prime minister if he is able to bring about a positive result to workers’ cause and demands... that is our stand. We support anyone who helps us,” he said.

Taken from Malaysian Insider

Watchdog wants end to secret defence deals

By Shannon Teoh

September 09, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) wants the government to put a stop to using national security as an excuse for the secrecy that ends up hiding graft involving defence contracts, and consider appointing independent monitors for such deals.

Datuk Paul Low, the president of the independent watchdog, told The Malaysian Insider that secrecy in the name of national security has led to such deals being riddled with corruption due to the practice of political funding and patronage.

Low said the government could not ask for money while suffering leakages. — File pic

“As the government is trying to cut the budget deficit while introducing goods and service tax, it cannot ask for money while suffering leakages,” he said.

The seedy and allegedly corrupt side of Malaysia’s defence procurement was laid bare in a US embassy cable, with startling revelations on how Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials receive 30 per cent “commission” on deals.

In a note on the opaque procurement system here revealed by whistleblower site Wikileaks, the US embassy noted that American companies operating here had three main complaints about the system: the lack of transparency, outright corruption, and Bumiputera requirements.

The undated cable sent during the Abdullah administration between 2004 and 2009 also noted that many government tenders do not follow procurement rules.

A US aerospace executive told the US embassy here defence deals were done through shadowy agreements with no tendering process. For example, the then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s sister-in-law arranged a US$400 million (RM1.2 billion) contract to buy military cargo aircraft from Airbus.

The deal was announced following Abdullah’s return from a trip to France.

“The US executive asserted that PM Abdullah’s brother told him this deal was ‘done for political and other reasons, such as commission’,” noted the US embassy cable madepublicthrough Wikileaks.

Similar scenarios were described for the procurement of T91 Polish tanks and SU-30 Russian aircraft, noted the executive, who also said that once someone purporting to work for then-Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak approached him about a deal and suggested “you will get a part of it.”

The US embassy noted that Malaysian political parties including Umno rely on “money politics” for much of their operating funds.

“Projects or tenders often are awarded as political patronage with a cut of funds circulating back to the party through different channels,” noted the embassy.

These revelations come at a time when there has been some scrutiny surrounding the deal to buy Scorpene submarine. More than RM500 million was allegedly paid to a local consulting company Perimekar and the opposition has pointed fingers at Najib who was the defence minister when the deal was inked.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians have also questioned the inflated costs of several new defence deals announced by current Defence Minister Datuk Zahid Hamidi.

The US embassy noted that lack of transparency was also evident when it came to awarding contracts in the information communication technology (ICT) sector. A manager at a US ICT firm pointed out that it was shortlisted for a tender with Telekom Malaysia Bhd but lost to another company that did not even bid for the contract.

Though the cable was sent during the Abdullah administration, there is little evidence that the procurement system has improved.

In response the the revelations, TI-M’s Low noted that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Auditor-General’s office were monitoring the RM50 billion Mass Rapid Transit project and such a mechanism could also be used on defence deals without laying bare details considered sensitive to national security.

Taken fom Malaysian Insider Online

Pakatan: Set up small panels to scrutinise budget allocations

PETALING JAYA, Sept 9 — The federal opposition has demanded at least seven committees to debate budget allocations in Parliament, a move it says will end the current practice where “billions of ringgit are approved with a brush stroke.”

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers told reporters today that allocating MPs to committees would allow each ministry’s allocation to be debated for about four days instead of the two hours some portfolios received in Dewan Rakyat now.

“At the committee stage, only three MPs from each side speak for a few minutes before the ministry’s budget of several billion ringgit is rushed through with a swift brush stroke,” DAP international secretary Liew Chin Tong (picture) said of some smaller portfolios.

The PR alternative budget committee said that in other Westminster systems, each ministry would have its own committee of MPs from all parties to discuss the allocation over the entire committee stage.

It proposed a compromise for the upcoming budget session beginning on October 7, with MPs being divided into seven committees of 20 lawmakers each to discuss allocations simultaneously over the entire 18 days set aside for the committee stage instead of the current practice where the entire House becomes a committee.

Liew, who is Bukit Bendera MP, said that it would ensure that MPs could sit in serious discussion instead of merely “crossing swords” as members of the government or opposition.

PAS research chief Dzulkefly Ahmad said this would allow parties to make fuller use of the expertise of their lawmakers.

“Each committee member will be able to develop specialist expertise and experience over the long term,” the Kuala Selangor MP said, adding that each member should be given a RM10,000 allocation per month to hire a research team.

The Najib administration’s proposed budget for 2012 is seen as crucial in charting the country’s economic amid fears of a global double-dip recession due to the current debt crises in the United States and Europe.

Malaysia’s economy growth has also lost its momentum after rebounding to a 7.2 per cent jump last year, slowing to 4.9 and four per cent in the first two quarters of 2011 respectively.

Putrajaya is also grappling with surging inflation that has remained at a two-year high of over three per cent since March while having to slash a subsidy bill that would otherwise double to RM21 billion this year, severely jeopardising its commitment to reducing the budget deficit.

After it hit a two-decade high of seven per cent in 2009, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak pledged to reduce the deficit and has targeted a reduction to 5.6 per cent this year.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said today that given the economic climate and the need to rein in the deficit, ruling Barisan Nasional lawmakers should also support the call for more stringent monitoring of ministerial allocations.

“Instead of being preoccupied with the political dictation of leaders of the day, we should focus on what is an 

important budget given the economic setbacks the country is facing,” the Lembah Pantai MP said

Taken from Malaysian Insider Online

MANCHESTER: Football/ Premier League - Tricky Swans

City boss Mancini not taking things for granted against Welsh delight

Monday, August 15th, 2011 12:31:00

Mancini: Difficult to play against a newly-promoted side

MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini is anticipating a tough time when his side host newly-promoted Swansea at Etihad Stadium tomorrow (3am).

On paper, a home fixture against a team who have come up from the Championship would appear to many to be an ideal assignment for City in their Premier League opener.

But last season's promoted trio Newcastle, West Brom and Blackpool — who memorably got their campaign started with a 4-0 thumping of Wigan at DW Stadium — all fared well in their initial round of league matches and were each positioned in the top half after 10 games.

With that in mind, there is no danger of Mancini underestimating the task that awaits his players.

"When you start the season and you play against a team who come from the Championship, it is really  difficult," said the Italian.

"Last season, with all the teams that came from the Championship, it was very hard to play against them in the first 10 games and it will be the same this time around. But this is why the Premier League is difficult. Every game is hard."

Swansea will be the first Welsh team to compete in the Premier League.

They have become renowned for their dynamic brand of football over the last few years and Mancini is well aware of the kind of challenge the Swans are likely to pose.

"I have watched many of their games," said Mancini.

"Swansea play good football.

They don't play long ball and they have good players.

"Their manager Brendan Rodgers is good — last season, he played really good football and got promoted."
Although Mancini's expensively assembled squad are being widely tipped to mount a serious title challenge this season, he has been keen to stress the difficulties of the early part of a season, both in terms of player recruitment and condition.

He is currently being forced to operate short of what he had hoped, with any talks over Samir Nasri's expected move from Arsenal too late to give the Frenchman a chance of being involved against Swansea.

Record signing Sergio "Kun" Aguero is still some way short of full fitness as well, while controversial Carlos Tevez only came back to training last Monday.

"I think the first 10 games are very difficult — the squad is not 100 per cent ready," said Mancini.

"It needs four or five games to find good form for the players."

Tevez will sit out the game tomorrow, while Aguero may feature for the first time since his £38m (RM185.7m) move from Atletico Madrid, but Mancini reckons the 23-year-old can contribute only 45 minutes at best.

Taken from Malay Mail Online

Malaysian joins two protocols on rights of child

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will join two optional protocols of the Convention on Rights of the Child introduced by United Nations (UN), said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil.

She said the protocols approved at the Cabinet meeting Wednesday cover the sale, prostitution and child pornography and to protect children from being involved in armed conflict.

Malaysia's participation in the two protocols was to contain problems that often affect children in the country, especially abuse and trafficking in children for sexual exploitation.

"The Cabinet agreed that Malaysia join the two optional protocols in addition to protecting children's rights," she said at a press conference after launching State of the World's Children Report 2011, here Thursday.

The ministry will plan several programmes to educate and raise awareness to guardians of youths and teenagers on issues with cooperation of the Home, Health and Education Ministry.

"The government is serious in planning strategies to curb this problem. Children have been know to spread their naked pictures on the internet without knowing the danger."

Earlier, Shahrizat who participated in a panel talk with six teenagers about their hopes and dreams discussed opportunities provided by the government.

Also in the panel was Unicef Children's Fund representative Hans Olsen.

She said teenagers are the country's important asset and must be approached and understood and their ideas used in implementing policies.

"They are too old to be treated like a child and yet young to be treated like an adult. At this young age, they can assess the mood to be more accountable to self, family and country," she said at the one hour talk.

Teenager Alayna Rani Sreenivas said "I feel more responsible for all my action. It is our right to participate towards a better country and world.

"There are 1.2bil youths in the world with so many ideas that should not be ignored," she added.

Taken from Malay Mail Online