A brigadier-general and 40 other armed forces personnel were sacked late last year over their alleged involvement in the case of the missing RM50 million jet fighter engine belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

The brigadier-general was a department head.A source said he may also be one of four men whom Federal Commercial Criminal Investigation Department deputy director I Datuk Nooryah Mat Anvar identified as the main players in the case.

Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said he complimented Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak because he deserved the credit.

"For his (Najib's) noble attitude, we have to praise him," Nik Aziz said when responding to the prime minister's comments on Tuesday.

There were 1,191 reported crime cases involving Internet banking for the first six months of this year, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung.

Although the losses amounted to only RM1mil in total or 0.0003% of the overall transaction value of internet banking, that did not mean that the Government would not take steps to address the problem, he said.

BANGKOK: There is no immediate plan to cancel the planned visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva to the restive southern province of Narathiwat despite the bomb attack and shooting there on Monday, which killed three people.

Both Thai and Malaysian officials said they were not asked by their respective superiors to review the historic visit by the two leaders there.

Bangkok Banks On Najib’s Help BANGKOK: Thailand has high hopes that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak can help it achieve peace and stability in its southern region.

Thai ForeignMinister Kasit Piromya said the government under the leadership of Abhisit Vejjajiva was confident of Najib’s role in providing assistance to boost the socio-economic development in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which have been wracked by violence since 2004.

 

 
The Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) results will be released on Thursday, said Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom.

“Pupils can collect their results from their respective schools from 10am onwards,” he said at an event to celebrate the success of the Malaysian contingent named the overall champion at the World Robot Olympiad 2009 in Korea.

Pakatan Rakyat is consolidating itself with details such as its leadership line-up to be hammered out at a later date, said PKR strategy director Tian Chua.

He said Pakatan Rakyat was awaiting the outcome of its application to register the opposition alliance so that it would become a legal entity.

There will be no cover-up in the probe into the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The Prime Minister added that the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, chaired a special task force committee meeting yesterday to study the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

High drama surrounded the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents’ (Matta) extraordinary general meeting (EMG) called by caretaker president Ngiam Foon.

As the EGM was in progress at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, a press conference called outside the hall by Datuk Joshua Tan, who was elected president at the June Matta annual general meeting (AGM), was disrupted when a woman barged in demanding to see her son.

The Government is studying the possibility of blacklisting main contractors of government projects who do not pay sub-contractors on time, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Such contractors might be barred from further bidding for government jobs, he said when delivering the keynote address at a convention on the management of government assets at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

PAS should hold an extraordinary general meeting to decide on Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's position as president and those who want to work with Umno, said its spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

He said PAS could not have a situation where its members were split over the issue of whether to collaborate with Umno or not.

The MIC has proposed that Malaysia Day on Sept 16 be rena­med “One Malaysia Day” to signify the importance of unifying all Malaysians, party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said.

He said it would also “institutionalise” the 1Malaysia concept mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and make it a permanent feature on the Malaysian map.

Newly-elected Bagan Pinang assemblyman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad has set himself a target – to help Barisan Nasional recapture the Teluk Kemang parliamentary seat and three other state seats in the constituency.

The Teluk Kemang Umno division head immediately got down to work yesterday meeting Umno branch leaders in the division.

Tell us more: Najib (third from right) having a discussion with delegates during a reception at Unesco headquarters in Paris. - Pix from The Star

Prime Minister Najib's visit to France and his address at the recent UNESCO's general conference marked another first for Malaysia. It also got those who attended buzzing at how he aims to bring the world closer together. By getting the basics right.

Choi Tuck Wo of The Star puts it down best.