6 theSun | WEDNESDAY JULY 15 2009

news without borders

Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh

MCA wants 180min of

newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Wee ready to hand over

evidence to cops
WANGSA Maju MP Wee Choo
Keong, who claimed in his
blog over the weekend that
the office of a Selangor exco
member was used as a meet-
ing place by people connected
with criminal activities, said he
has evidence to support his
claims and is ready to hand it
over to police.
He said apart from having
documents to prove the exco
member’s impropriety, the
video recording from closed-
circuit TV cameras at the
Selangor state secretariat
building will show that people
associated with underworld
activities had been meeting at
the exco member’s office on a
regular basis.
According to a report in
Nanyang Siang Pau yesterday,
Wee said he will gather more
evidence to show that the
exco member concerned had
practised favouritism, and
will hand over the documents
concerned to the police.
“I welcome the investiga-
tion by the police or other
authorities into this matter
and shall fully cooperate with
them,” Wee wrote on his blog
on Tuesday.
Before the posting, he
repeated to Nanyang Siang
Pau his allegations that a
certain exco member is close
to people involved in criminal
activities.
“Since someone mentioned
No need for VSD consent
the state secretariat building
has tight security and all
visitors have to register and
produce identification to gain
access, the police can view the
building’s CCTV recordings to
investigate,” he said.
He said one visit by ques-
tionable people to the exco
member’s office is not proof
of anything, but if the same
people go in and out of the
place, there must be some-
thing unusual.
On the strong response
evoked by his allegations, Wee
quipped: “Only those who have
tasted the chilli feel its heat. If
they are not involved, why do
they have to be so sensitive?”
He told Nanyang that he
had got complaints both from
within the Pakatan Rakyat and
the public against a certain
exco member.
In fact, he said, “many
people know whom I refer
to. It is an open secret, I only
mentioned it in passing in my
blog.”
Asked why he did not name
the exco member concerned,
Wee said it was not the right
time to do so.
Meanwhile, exco member
Ronnie Liu on Monday chal-
lenged Wee to identify the
person he referred to in his
blog or “shut up”.
“My conscience is clear,
and I have nothing to hide,” he
told the daily.
English in Chinese schools
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: MCA wants to
increase the hours allocated to the
We teaching of the English subject in
noticed Chinese primary schools from the
current 120 minutes weekly to at
the time least 180 minutes.
allotted Speaking to reporters after chair-
for ing the party’s pre-cabinet meeting
teaching with all MCA ministers and deputy
ministers, its president Datuk Seri
English Ong Tee Keat said at present, Chi-
in SJK(C) nese primary schools spend far less
is far time teaching English as a subject
less than national schools and that it
than in was important to close the gap.
“We noticed that the time
national allotted for teaching English lan-
schools.” guage in SJK(C) (Chinese primary
– Ong Tee schools) is far less than in national
Keat schools.
“To address such disparity, we
Maya’s passion to save
environment gets a boost
by Bissme S.
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR:
Actress and nature
lover Maya Karin
propose to increase the time allot-
ted for (teaching) English language
as a subject in Chinese primary
schools to at least 180 minutes
weekly, compared to 330 minutes
at national schools,” he said.
The transport minister said this
can be done by using the time allot-
ted for the teaching of science and
mathematics in English previously
as Chinese primary school students
were required to learn the two sub-
jects in both languages.
Last week, the government
decided to revert the teaching of
mathematics and science to Ba-
hasa Malaysia and mother tongue
languages.
Ong yesterday also reiterated
the party’s stand that the teaching
of mathematics and science in
English should be maintained for
Form 4 and 5 students who will be
taking up pure science subjects.
Australia from July 11 to 13.
The conference was hosted
by Australian Conservation
Foundation and former US vice-
president turned environment
crusader, Al Gore.
“We have resolved in the party
annual general meeting last year,
to maintain English as the medium
for science and mathematics sub-
jects at the secondary level,” he
said.
Ong said it is important to be
mindful of the transition when the
upper secondary students begin to
take up pure science subjects like
biology, physics and chemistry.
He added it will be too late for
the students to only start learning
the subjects in English at matricu-
lation or pre-university level.
As for students in Form 1 to
3, MCA is proposing a bilingual
approach – in Bahasa Malaysia
and English – to teaching the two
subjects, Ong said, so that students
would have a choice.
He said he would be bringing up
the proposals at the cabinet meet-
ing today.
her a new perspective and an
extra boost to carry on with her
vision to help nature.
Being an environmentalist,
Maya was excited at meeting
Gore, star of the Oscar-winning

for pig price increase (pix), who took

VETERINARY Services Depart-
ment (VSD) director-general
Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin
says the department has never
said pig farmers must get its
approval for any increase in
the farm price of pigs, Sin Chew
Daily reported yesterday.
He said he had made it clear
at a recent press conference
that pig farmers need to brief
VSD officials before increasing
the farm price of pigs so that
the department is in the know
and able to explain to consum-
ers.
“The Veterinary Services
Department will not control
the farm price of pigs, but be-
cause pig farmers are entitled
to government incentives, we
want to know the reasons for
any pig price hike to protect
part in an environ-
Gore, who was co-winner
of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize,
2006 documentary, An Incon-
venient Truth.
ment confer- was part of a panel of interna- “I got the best seat in town,”
the interest of the consumer. ence over the tional experts who briefed the said the actress, who will be
“As such, we want the weekend, said participants on the relevant playing a gold digger in her new
farmers to brief us if they it has helped science and solutions needed movie, Pisau Cukur, which will
want to raise the farm to motivate and to help address the problem of be released at year-end.
price of their animals.” rekindle her pas- climate change. “I was just less than two
Meanwhile, the sion to save the The delegates also received metres away from him. I could
pig unit chief of the earth. training on inspiring their net- see his every smile and wink.”
Federation of Livestock “This is the works and communities and Maya hopes to spread the
Farmers Associations of best thing that’s creating greater awareness knowledge she has learned
Malaysia, Beh Kim Hee, happened to me. I about the climate change crisis. from the conference to the
welcomed Abdul Aziz’s feel so rejuvenated to “Sometimes you get a little community by giving talks and
clarification, saying “it save our environment de-motivated in (trying) to save presentations.
came as a big relief for again,” said the ac- the environment,” said the 29- She is also in the midst of
pig farmers”. tress, who was one year-old Maya, who returned to setting up a foundation which
On the threat by the of 300 delegates KL yesterday. will hold activities to instill the
National Pork Sellers As- from 18 coun- “You don’t have much of love of nature especially among
sociation to stage “banner tries taking a support system here. Some the younger generation.
protests” as well as to seek part in the people don’t understand why Asia Pacific Summit Climate
a meeting with the prime Asia Pacific you’re so passionate to save Project is one of several efforts
minister over the pig price Summit the environment. Sometimes to consolidate the international
issue, Beh said such action Climate you feel like giving up your fight voice in the lead-up to the UNCCC
would only bring shame to Project in altogether,” she told theSun. Climate Conference in Copenha-
the Chinese community. Melbourne, But this conference has given gen, Denmark in December.