- B E R I T A _ H A R I _ I N I _ 2 0 0 8 -

fatz

Singapura : 24 Januari 2008         
         
DIDENDA $4,000 KERANA BERI MONYET MAKANAN

SEORANG lelaki semalam didenda $4,000 kerana memberi makanan kepada monyet-monyet yang berkeliaran di hutan simpanan Mandai.

Denda yang dikenakan ke atas Panneerselvam Arunasalam, 46 tahun, itu adalah yang tertinggi pernah dikenakan mahkamah bagi kesalahan serupa itu.

Di mahkamah, Panneerselvam, seorang tukang masak, mengaku salah memberi makanan kepada monyetmonyet itu di hutan di Upper Thomson Road pada 5 Ogos tahun lalu.

Dalam kejadian itu, seorang peronda melihat Panneerselvam memberi makanan sedangkan terdapat papan-papan tanda yang jelas memaklumkan orang ramai supaya tidak berbuat demikian - satu kesalahan di sisi undang-undang.

Meminta hukuman lebih berat dikenakan, pendakwa raya Lembaga Taman Negara (NParks), Encik M. Maniam, memberitahu mahkamah bahawa memberi makanan kepada monyet-monyet dalam hutan simpanan boleh memudaratkan manusia dan binatang.

'Ia akan mengubah kelakuan semula jadi monyet-monyet itu yang sebaliknya akan bergantung kepada sumber makanan daripada manusia, bukan mencarinya sendiri di hutan,' tambahnya.

Monyet-monyet juga akan bertambah ganas terhadap manusia, terutamanya kanak-kanak.

Ia juga akan menambah bilangan haiwan itu dan memaksa mereka menagih makanan daripada pengunjung hutan tersebut.

Di bawah undang-undang, Panneerselvam boleh dihukum denda sehingga $50,000 atau penjara sehingga enam bulan atau kedua-duanya sekali.

fatz

Singapura : 24 Januari 2008

SESI RANGKAIAN PERNIAGAAN DPPMS

POTENSI NIAGA HALAL DI BRUNEI

Peluang niaga di Muar juga boleh diteroka

Oleh
Rosebi Mohd Sah

TERDAPAT dua pilihan bagi syarikat-syarikat kecil dan sederhana (SME) Melayu/Islam setempat yang ingin menjalankan perniagaan halal di Brunei.

Satu cara ialah dengan mengadakan usahasama dengan peniaga setempat Brunei bagi menghasil dan mengeluarkan produk-produk makanan halal di sana.

Satu lagi cara ialah bagi para peniaga setempat yang lebih suka mengendalikan operasi perniagaan halal mereka di Singapura ialah dengan mendapatkan jenama halal yang diluluskan Penguasa Islam Brunei bagi produk mereka, kata Pemangku Ketua Unit Promosi Industri dan Perdagangan dan Sumber-Sumber Utama Brunei Darussalam, Cik Mariani Hj Sabtu.

Mendedahkan demikian kepada Ekoniaga semasa sesi Rangkaian Perniagaan dan Jamuan Teh Dewan Perniagaan dan Perusahaan Melayu Singapura (DPPMS) di Restoran Tepak Sireh, Kampong Glam, kelmarin beliau berkata pihaknya mengundang syarikatsyarikat Melayu/Islam, terutama yang menganggotai DPPMS supaya merebut peluang inisiatif tersebut.

'Mereka mempunyai dua pilihan: sama ada menjadi rakan niaga untuk melabur di Brunei, atau, bagi syarikat yang tetap mahu beroperasi di Singapura, mereka boleh mendapatkan pengiktirafan daripada sijil halal kami.

'Dengan jenama sijil halal Brunei itu, produk mereka akan dijamin mendapat sokongan dari segi mutu dan kehalalannya bagi dipasarkan di sana,' jelas Cik Mariani.

Menurutnya, antara produk halal yang mendapat permintaan di Brunei termasuk produk makanan dan minuman (F&B), kosmetik, herba dan makanan tambahan (supplement).

Selain daripada produk halal, Brunei juga, katanya, menyediakan peluang perniagaan berpotensi dalam bidang perikanan, perhutanan dan pertanian.

Sementara itu, Ketua Pemasaran Koperasi Pengusaha Makanan Melayu Muar Berhad, Cik Khairulnakiah Haji Sham, pula berkata peniaga Melayu/Islam Singapura boleh memanfaatkan peluang perniagaan di Muar dengan mengadakan usaha sama dan membuka kilang di sana atau membuat tempah kontrak pengilangan (contract manufacturing).

'Dalam contract manufacturing anda boleh menempah sesuatu produk makanan dengan kuantiti yang besar dengan harga murah dan menjualnya semula di Singapura menurut harga pasaran,' jelasnya.

Antara produk makanan yang ditawarkan koperasi itu termasuk perencah sejuk beku bagi mi bandung, mi rebus, soto, rendang, karipap dan samosa beku, dan pelbagai jenis kerepek seperti rempeyek dan tumpi.

fatz

Top O-Level scorers from Methodist Girls' and S'pore Chinese Girls' School
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 January 2008 1654 hrs



SINGAPORE: The GCE O-Level results were released on Thursday.

And the top students were Kim Chan Xinhui from Methodist Girls' School, and Pearlyn Ler Jia Ning from Singapore Chinese Girls' School.

Both scored 9 A1s and 1 A2.

MGS also produced the top Indian and Malay students.

The school抯 top overall student, Kim Chan said: 揑 think God has helped me, and together with my teachers and my parents, they showered a lot of love over me, so that inspired me to study harder."

This is the first time an MGS has claimed the top overall spot. The Education Ministry said before the Integrated Programme was implemented in 2005, it was not unusual for top honours to be dominated by one school.

With students from the Integrated Programme skipping the O-Levels, schools like MGS now have the chance to shine.

But it said its excellent showing this year is also the result of its teaching programme. In particular, the school credits its overseas programmes and interactive classroom pedagogies.

Principal of Methodist Girls

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Immigration officers arrest man for smuggling identity documents
By Chio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 January 2008 1950 hrs


SINGAPORE : A 42-year-old man has been arrested after he attempted to smuggle forged identity cards and documents into Singapore.

Immigration officers nabbed him at Woodlands Checkpoint on Thursday morning following a tip-off.

When he was searched, officers found a stack in his underwear.

The stack consists of Singapore blue identity cards, work passes and Safety Orientation Certificates, as well as photocopies of the bio-data pages of Chinese passports.

The suspect confessed that he had been promised S$200 for his efforts.

The case has been handed to the police for investigations.

If found guilty under Section 465 of the Penal Code, he could be jailed for a maximum of two years or fined, or both. - CNA /ls

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Caning error: Ex-inmate to seek redress in court
By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent

THE prison inmate who got three more strokes of the cane than he was supposed to is taking his case for compensation to court.

His lawyer, noting the lack of precedents for the case, said a court hearing 'will provide an opportunity to introduce case law references, not just from the UK but from the American courts as well'.

This move by Dickson Tan and his lawyer follows failed mediation talks. Three rounds of discussions with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) failed to produce an agreement on the amount he should get.

Tan, 20, was sentenced in February last year to a total of nine months' jail and five lashes of the cane for offences involving abetting an illegal moneylender in harassing a debtor.

The following month, he was caned eight times by mistake.

The Government acknowledged the error and expressed regret, but at issue then was the amount of compensation Tan should get.

In Parliament last July, Law Minister S. Jayakumar, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said the authorities had decided to compensate Tan well before his mother threatened legal action.

Once the error was confirmed, the AGC and the Subordinate Courts initiated discussions.

Tan's family indicated before these mediation talks that they would settle if an offer of $300,000 was made.

But apparently, there was a gap between the Government's offer and what the Tans were eventually prepared to accept.

Mediation sessions, as well as the terms arising from the discussions, are confidential.

The family's lawyer, Mr Joseph Chen, said on Thursday that it was 'not feasible' to accept the offer made by the AGC.

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Top Malay student
By Diana Othman and Ho Ai Li

THE eldest of five siblings, 16-year-old Nurul Azizah Johari tries to always set a good example to her two sisters and two brothers.

She did just that on Wednesday - she was named top Malay student at the O levels.

The Methodist Girls' School student scored eight A1s - and an A2 for Physics - to the delight of her parents, who took time off work to join her at the school.

'I was surprised she did so well as she did not perform well for her prelims,' said mum Rosidah Muhamad, 41, who runs a cafeteria.

Her dad runs a courier business.

Azizah scored B3s for Physics and Combined Humanities in the prelims, but turned these into A2 and A1 at the O levels.

fatz

Originally posted by fatz at 12-7-2007 11:36 PM
Supermarket worker drowns after truck plunges into sea
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 July 2007 2130 hrs

SINGAPORE: A 21-year-old Sheng Siong supermarket worker died in a drowning incident on Thursday.
Goh Chin Went was in a delivery truck that went under, after rolling into the sea.
Two other colleagues who were with him, managed to scramble to safety.
It was a tragic end for the young Malaysian worker.
The incident happened at around 11am in the waters next to Lim Chu Kang's Sarimbun Scouts Camp.

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Worker drowned after lorry reversed into sea, trapping him

Coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure

By                                                                                                                                         Elena Chong, Court Correspondent

A YOUNG Malaysian worker drowned when the lorry on which live fish hadbeen loaded slid backwards into the sea, trapping him and his twocolleagues in the cargo area.  While Mr Goh Ching Went's two colleagues managed to jump into thesea off Sarimbun Scout Camp and were rescued, the 22-year-old ShengSiong supermarket worker drowned on July 12 last year. His colleagues had shouted to Mr Goh to jump too but he didnot. His body was recovered from the cargohold by Singapore CivilDefence officers some three hours later. An inquiry into Mr Goh's death heard that it was a practicefor the supermarket staff to park the lorry on the shore with thehandbrake in a locked position.                                                                                                                                              Rocks would be placed behind the tyres of the lorry to prevent it from sliding backwards. The driver, Mr Chua Kim Swee, 51, told police he had beendriving and parking at the location three times a week for the past twoyears.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      This was the first time that the vehicle had slid downwards towards the sea.                                                                                                                                             The lorry was able to carry loads of up to 10 tons.                                                                                                                                              On that day, only two containers of live fish weighing 400kg were loaded. Mr Goh's father, Mr Goh Sing Kong, 51, a Malaysian boilerforeman working in Singapore, who was at the scene of the accident,attended the inquiry on Thursday.                                                                                                                                               He described his son, the second of three children, as filial and obedient. 'He was a good boy. He supported the family. My wife stillfeels very sad and cries whenever his name is mentioned,' he said.                                                                                                                                               State Coroner Victor Yeo recorded a verdict of misadventure on his death.

fatz

Batam authorities looking for S'porean in connection with plant shutdown
By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 January 2008 2058 hrs

SINGAPORE: Batam authorities are looking for a Singaporean investor, Goh Sing Hing alias Jackson Goh, who is believed to have owned PT Livatech Electronic.

The factories of PT Livatech Electronic, and another company PT Polestar Plastic, in Batam, were shut last month and 2000 workers left in the lurch.

The Jakarta Post reported that the workers were left without any severance payments and back-dated salaries after the companies vacated their premises without notice.

Goh is believed to have left for Malaysia before operations at his factory were stopped.

Channel NewsAsia learnt that as early as June 2007, Indonesia's Federation of Metal Workers had been trying to get PT Livatech Electronic to pay outstanding wages of four months and termination bonuses, as stipulated under Indonesian law.

In recent years, Batam and Bintan have seen several foreign companies shutting down operations because of high minimum salaries and rigid wage structures.

The on-going development of a Special Economic Zone that includes Batam, Bintan and Karimun aims to make them more attractive to foreign investors. -CNA/vm

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SIA to retime flights during S'pore Airshow in February
By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 January 2008 1651 hrs

SINGAPORE: Some Singapore Airlines flights will be retimed in mid-February during the Singapore Airshow 2008 Exhibition.

SIA said this is to accommodate the short periods when the airspace around the Changi Airport will be closed to facilitate flying rehearsals and displays which will take place between 14 February and 24 February.

Over the 11-day period, a total of 158 Singapore Airlines flights - both out- and in-bound will be retimed to work around the closure of airspace.

SIA said customers travelling during this period are advised to log on to the Singapore Airlines website at www.singaporeair.com to check the schedule of their flight - in case there are changes from their bookings.

SIA will also send SMS alerts via mobile phones to customers to notify them on the temporary changes in flight schedule, where mobile phone numbers were provided as part of the booking.

The retiming of flights has been planned to minimize inconvenience and flight mis-connections. However, if customers miss their connecting flights due to the schedule change, SIA would re-book the customers onto other available services. -CNA/vm

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Analysts say properties will see boost from MRT expansion plans
By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 25 January 2008 2138 hrs




SINGAPORE: Property prices are expected to rise around ten to 15 per cent around the 100 new MRT stations to be built, analysts said.

The government announced Friday that it would pump S$20 billion to double the rail network by 2020.

Properties are going to be hot around the new 100 stations, with malls and public facilities expected to draw crowds to the stations.

Property consultants are forecasting price increases of ten to 15 per cent.

But with the new MRT lines to be completed only by 2020, they said the impact on the property market will not kick in until the next five to ten years.

Savills' director of corporate business and residential Ku Swee Yong said, "Generally, properties that are (within) 200 metres of an MRT station do trade at what about ten to 15% premium over properties that are less accessible but still within the same neighbour hood. It is too early to speculate because the government hasn't announced exactly where the line is going to pass through."

The rail plans include pushing forward opening dates for announced projects and extending existing lines. Two new lines will also be built, the first in the Thomson area, which goes up as far north as Woodlands, and the second along the East Coast, starting from Marina Bay.

Property analysts said properties along the Eastern Region Line will see the largest benefit as MRT coverage will be extended to those areas for the first time.

But until the new lines are fully operational, analysts said residents living near the new lines may experience inconvenience because of the construction works and government land acquisitions involved in the projects. - CNA/ac

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Almost 40,000 babies born here last year

Numbers have been rising since 2004; those in the 'Others' category are reproducing most
By Li Xueying

A TOTAL of 39,375 children were born in Singapore last year - up from 38,317 in 2006 - with those defined in official statistics as 'Others' reproducing more than other ethnic groups.

The 'Others' category refers to Eurasians, new citizens or permanent residents who are not of Chinese, Malay or Indian ethnicity.

The number continues the trend of rising live births since 2004.

Last year, there were 1,058 more babies than in 2006, which also did better than in 2005.

A total of 825 more babies were born in 2006 compared with the previous year.

At the same time, 17,052 people died last year.

As a result, the population in Singapore - comprising both citizens and foreigners - grew naturally by 22,323, an increase over the previous year's growth of 21,924.

This is according to provisional data from the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority's (ICA) Registry of Births and Deaths.

This natural population growth, however, does not include the immigrants who entered the country last year.

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2 new types of work passes for foreigners

THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has introduced two new work pass categories for foreigners working in Singapore for the short term - the Miscellaneous Work Pass and the Work Permit (Performing Artiste).

From Feb 1, these will replace the current Professional Visit Passes (PVP) that such foreigners usually apply for.

Miscellaneous Work Pass

The Miscellaneous Work Pass is applicable to foreigners working as journalists, reporters, or accompanying crew members not supported or sponsored by any Singapore Government agency,

The Work Pass, which is valid for 60 days, also covers those intending to conduct seminars, talks, or workshops in Singapore, including religious workers who are planning gatherings and talks here.

Work Permit (Performing Artiste)

For foreign artistes performing at a bar, discotheque, lounge, night club, pub, hotel, or private club, they will need to apply for a Work Permit (Performing Artiste).

This permit can be valid for up to 6 months.

Work Pass Exempt Activities

The same exemptions under the PVP scheme apply, but two new activities have been added to the list.

Those performing regulatory roles in the commissioning or audit of any new plant or equipment, and operational jobs such as repair or maintenance work on any equipment, process or machinery, will not need to apply for a work pass.

Arbitration and mediation services unrelated to religion, politics, or the community will also be exempted.

Work Pass Exempt activities can be carried out for a maximum of 60 days, but foreigners will still be required to notify the MOM via their website (www.mom.gov.sg) before they do so.

The Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will stop accepting PVP applications from February 1, but it will continue to process outstanding applications submitted on or before Jan 31.

fatz

S'porean caught smuggling firecrackers in car compartments

PLANS to light up the sky for one Singaporean was short-lived when the Imigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) busted his attempt to smuggle fireworks into Singapore, early Friday morning.

At 5.20am, a Singapore-registered car was stopped at Woodlands Checkpoint for a routine check.

When the ICA officer looked into the car through its window, he observed that the floor was unusually higher.

When the mat was lifted, packages of fireworks were found.

Further checks conducted by ICA officers uncovered more assorted fireworks near the rear passenger seat and in the spare tyre compartment.

The 39-year-old Singaporean driver admitted that he was aware that fireworks were prohibitied in Singapore and that he had bought the fireworks from a provision shop in Malaysia for personal use.

The police are now investigating the case.

If convicted, the driver faces a fine of up to $5,000, or a jail term of up to 2 years, or both.

The discharge of firecrackers is restricted to celebratory events of significance organised at a national level in relation to Chinese New Year, for instance, the Singapore River Hong Bao and the Chinese New Year Eve Countdown event.

fatz

  ISA arrests don't mean efforts to engage Malay-Muslim community have failed
By Alwiyah Mohd Siz, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 26 January 2008 2148 hrs

SINGAPORE: The recent arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA) do not mean current efforts to engage the Malay-Muslim community have failed.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Masagos Zulkifli, believes there are enough programmes to ensure youths understand the mainstream ideas that are totally against violence. However, he said, the community must always be wary of their sources of Islamic education, especially if it comes from the Internet.

He said: "I do not believe it is a failure in the system or a failure in the efforts of the mosque. It just says that we have to continue the efforts, the problem is not over. In fact, I believe it will be with us for a long way to come because it is not just isolated in Singapore, it is a phenomenon globally."

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday said two more men were recently detained under the ISA. One was spreading radical ideas and the other had tried to make bombs, it said.

Muhammad Zamri Abdullah and Maksham Mohd Shah, both 26, have been detained since last 5 December 2007.

MHA said Muhammad Zamri Abdullah was self-radicalised through radical propaganda in publications, videos and the Internet.

He even went overseas to join a 'mujahidin network' to wage armed missions overseas and he wanted to 'die a martyr'.

MHA added that since 2003, Zamri had spread his radical ideas to his associates, including Maksham and Mohammad Taufik Andjah Asmara, both 26.

Maksham subsequently developed radical ideas and constructed improvised explosive devices for use in armed jihad. He also tried making bombs with sparklers.

After watching videos of terrorist training, Zamri and Maksham also went on overseas camping trips to prepare themselves to wage armed jihad and die as martyrs.

As for Taufik, investigations showed that he eventually started to distance himself from the two. So Taufik has not been detained but was issued with a Restriction Order in December 2007. - CNA/ir

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Plane behind security alert was on 'test flight'
It was to return to Koh Samui; Thai air traffic controllers lost contact with it
By David Boey, Defence Correspondent


CHEQUERED PAST: The Cessna that caused an alert on Tuesday carried Thai registration HS-CCO, as seen in this picture, before it was re-registered as Australian aircraft VH-NRP. -- PHOTO: PHAKPHUM TANGKIJJARAK


MORE light has been shed on the float plane that intruded into Singapore airspace on Tuesday evening, disrupting commercial traffic and leading to two air force F16D fighter jets being scrambled.

Piloted by two Australians, it was on a 'test flight' from Koh Samui Airport and was expected to return to the private airport on the resort isle, Thai aviation authorities said yesterday.

But the Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian, a float plane able to land on water, ended up at Changi Airport, 1,000km away.

As the plane flew on towards Singapore without an approved flight plan, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) scrambled two twin-seater F16D warplanes at 6.42pm to intercept it.

It landed at Changi Airport's central runway at 7.54pm and was ringed by airport police.

The 50-minute lockdown of Singapore's airspace, triggered when commercial air traffic was at its busiest, ended at 8pm.

The Cessna's flight on Tuesday was supposed to last 50 minutes. But, 21/2 hours later, it 'went off the air' despite repeated calls by air traffic controllers at Koh Samui Airport.

A spokesman for the privately owned airport off Thailand's east coast told The Straits Times the flight was 'disconnected' at 2.31pm Thai time on Tuesday. Singapore time is one hour ahead of Thai time.

The two Australian men were the only ones on board the Cessna. A check on its Australian civilian registration code, VH-NRP, showed that it was registered to Ms Mary Cummins on Jan 8 this year.

Ms Cummins and business partner Mr Rhys Thomas co-own Kimberley Extreme, an adventure tourism company based in the Australian outback town of Broome.

Kimberley Extreme already flies two float planes of the same model as VH-NRP.

Mr Thomas is a pilot who flew with now-defunct Australian airline Ansett.

He is believed to have been one of the Cessna's pilots. He declined to speak to The Straits Times yesterday.

The plane previously carried Thai registration HS-CCO. It had been used by the Coco Seaplanes Company, which was owned by Coco International, a property developer behind beachfront developments on Koh Samui.

Coco Seaplanes, now believed to be defunct, has had a patchy business record since it was set up three years ago. Sources claim its sole float plane was often grounded due to licensing difficulties and it folded when its parent firm ran into problems.

The Singapore Police Force said yesterday that the two Australians are assisting with its investigations.

The Straits Times understands they are neither in police custody nor charged with any offence. But their passports have been impounded.

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Controversiol till the end, Indonesia's ex-president Suharto dies


Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (centre) and first lady Ani Yudhoyono (left) accompanied by the eldest of former president Suharto, Siti Hardijanti Indra Rukmana (right), sit next Suharto's body at Suharto's residence in Jakarta. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

JAKARTA - FORMER president Suharto, who helmed Indonesia for 32 years, died on Sunday of multiple organ failure. He was 86.

Suharto had been ailing since he was admitted to a hospital in the capital, Jakarta, on Jan 4 with failing kidneys, heart and lungs.

Dozens of the country's best doctors prolonged his life for three weeks with dialysis and a ventilator, but he lost consciousness and stopped breathing on his own overnight before slipping into a coma on Sunday.

A statement issued by Chief Presidential Dr Marjo Subiandono said he was declared dead at 1.10pm (2.10pm Singapore time).

Physicians did not try to revive him because his heart was too weak, said one of his doctors, Joko Raharjo, adding that 'all his children were at his bedside'.

'My father passed away peacefully,' sobbed Suharto's eldest daughter, Tutut. 'May God bless him and forgive all of his mistakes and place him beside Allah', or God.

The office of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a week of national mourning for 'the country's best son', calling for flags to be flown at half-staff.

Seven air force planes were to accompany the body to the family mausoleum for a state funeral and burial.

Suharto - a US Cold War ally - was toppled by massive street protests at the peak of the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

His fall opened the way for democracy in this predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million people and he withdrew from public life, rarely venturing from his comfortable villa on a tree-lined lane in Jakarta.

Suharto ruled with a totalitarian dominance that saw soldiers stationed in every village, instilling a deep fear of authority across this Southeast Asian nation of some 6,000 inhabited islands stretching across more than 4,825 kilometres.

Since being forced from power, he had been in and out of hospitals after strokes caused brain damage and impaired his speech. Blood transfusions and a pacemaker prolonged his life, but he suffered from lung, kidney, liver and heart problems.

Suharto was vilified as one of the world's most brutal rulers and was accused of overseeing a graft-ridden rule. But poor health - and continuing corruption, critics charge - kept him from court after he was chased from office.

The bulk of political killings blamed on Suharto occurred in the 1960s, soon after he seized power.

In later years, about 300,000 people were slain, disappeared or jailed in the independence-minded regions of East Timor, Aceh and Papua, human rights groups and the United Nations say.

Suharto's successors as head of state - B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Sukarnoputri and Yudhoyono - vowed to end corruption that took root under Suharto, yet it remains endemic at all levels in Indonesia.

With the court system paralysed by corruption, the country has not confronted its bloody past.

Rather than put on trial those accused of mass murder and multibillion-dollar theft, some members of the political elite consistently called for charges against Suharto to be dropped on humanitarian grounds.

Some noted Suharto also oversaw decades of economic expansion that made Indonesia the envy of the developing world. Today, nearly a quarter of Indonesians live in poverty, and many long for the Suharto era's stability, when fuel and rice were affordable.

Critics say Suharto squandered Indonesia's vast natural resources of oil, timber and gold, siphoning the nation's wealth to benefit his cronies and family like a mafia don.

Jeffrey Winters, associate professor of political economy at Northwestern University, said the graft effectively robbed 'Indonesia of some of the most golden decades, and its best opportunity to move from a poor to a middle-class country'.

'When Indonesia does finally go back and redo history, (its people) will realize that Suharto is responsible for some of the worst crimes against humanity in the 20th century,' he said.

Those who profited from Suharto's rule made sure he was never portrayed in a harsh light at home, Winters said. He said the ex-leader was able to stay in his native country despite having been an 'iron-fisted, brutal, cold-blooded dictator'.

Suharto's life

Like many Indonesians, Suharto used only one name. He was born on June 8, 1921, to a family of rice farmers in the village of Godean, in the dominant Indonesian province of Central Java.

When Indonesia gained independence from the Dutch in 1949, Suharto quickly rose through the ranks of the military to become a staff officer.

His career nearly foundered in the late 1950s, when the army's then-commander, General Abdul Haris Nasution, accused him of corruption in awarding army contracts.

Absolute power came in Sept 1965 when the army's six top generals were murdered under mysterious circumstances, and their bodies dumped in an abandoned well in an apparent coup attempt.

Suharto, next in line for command, quickly asserted authority over the armed forces and promoted himself to four-star general.

Suharto then oversaw a nationwide purge of suspected communists and trade unionists, a campaign that stood as the region's bloodiest event since World War II until the Khmer Rouge established its gruesome regime in Cambodia a decade later. Experts put the number of deaths during the purge at between 500,000 and 1 million.

Over the next year, Suharto eased out of office Indonesia's first post-independence president, Sukarno, who died under house arrest in 1970. The legislature rubber-stamped Suharto's presidency and he was re-elected unopposed six times.

During the Cold War, Suharto was considered a reliable friend of Washington, which did not oppose his violent occupation of Papua in 1969 and the bloody 1974 invasion of East Timor.

The latter, a former Portuguese colony, became Asia's youngest country with a UN-sponsored plebiscite in 1999. Even Suharto's critics agree his hard-line policies kept a lid on Indonesia's extremists.

He locked up without trial hundreds of suspected Islamic militants, some of whom later carried out deadly suicide bombings with the Al-Qaeda-linked terror network Jemaah Islamiyah after the attacks on the US of Sept 11, 2001.

Meanwhile, the ruling clique that formed around Suharto - nicknamed the 'Berkeley mafia' after their US university, the University of California, Berkeley - transformed Indonesia's economy and attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment.

By the late 1980s, Suharto was describing himself as Indonesia's 'father of development', taking credit for slowly reducing the number of abjectly poor and modernising parts of the nation.

But the government also became notorious for unfettered nepotism, and Indonesia was regularly ranked as one of the world's most corrupt nations as Suharto's inner circle amassed fabulous wealth.

The World Bank estimates 20 to 30 per cent of Indonesia's development budget was embezzled during his rule.

Even today, Suharto's children and aging associates have considerable sway over the country's business, politics and courts. Efforts to recover the money have been fruitless.

Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo 'Tommy' Mandala Putra, was released from prison in 2006 after serving a third of a 15-year sentence for ordering the assassination of a Supreme Court judge.

Another son, Bambang Trihatmodjo, joined the Forbes list of wealthiest Indonesians in 2007, with US$200 million (285 million) from his stake in the conglomerate Mediacom.

Suharto's economic policies, based on unsecured borrowing by his cronies, dramatically unraveled shortly before he was toppled in May 1998. Indonesia is still recovering from what economists called the worst economic meltdown anywhere in 50 years.

State prosecutors accused Suharto of embezzling about US$600 million via a complex web of foundations under his control, but he never saw the inside of a courtroom.

In Sept 2000, judges ruled he was too ill to stand trial, though many people believed the decision really stemmed from the lingering influence of the former dictator and his family.

In 2007, Suharto won a US$106 million defamation lawsuit against Time magazine for accusing the family of acquiring US$15 billion in stolen state funds.

The former dictator told the news magazine Gatra in a rare interview in Nov 2007 that he would donate the bulk of any legal windfall to the needy, while he dismissed corruption accusations as 'empty talk'.

Suharto's wife of 49 years, Indonesian royal Siti Hartinah, died in 1996. The couple had three sons and three daughters. -- AP

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Death on two wheels - It's bad news when Fait knocks on your door
Police squad informs families of fatal accidents after investigating scene
By Tracy Sua & Teh Joo Lin

THE team brings bad news.

A squad of six Traffic Police officers is the one who has to tell families their loved one has died in a road accident.

The squad calls itself Fait, an acronym for Fatal Accident Investigation Team. Said aloud, it could well be short for fatal or fate.

Only Traffic Police officers with three to four years' investigation experience can sign up to be a member of the squad.

Once activated, the officers in the squad interview witnesses and drivers and sketch out how the accident may have happened. They then inform the victim's family.

Senior Staff Sergeant Clement Tan, 29, who has been on the squad for four years, has found out the job does not necessarily get easier.

'Sometimes, I find it hard to break it to them.'

He recalled telling a 19-year-old last year that a motorcycle accident had killed his grandfather, and hesitating when he realised the pillion rider - who had also died - was the teen's mother.

'It was going to be a second blow and I felt sorry for him, so I hesitated. Then, I got the courage to tell him,' said Senior Staff Sgt Tan.

Police officers undergo training with mentors for about two months. The training includes learning how to help next-of-kin work through the shock and grief of the news.

Last year, Fait dealt with the relatives of 103 motorcyclists and pillion riders who died in road accidents, 37, is the squad's first female commander. She has been with the team for seven years.

'Informing the family is not easy. You are the first to see what happened at the scene, including the condition of the body,' she said.

If you go to the family's house after that and you are still thinking about it and are feeling down, it will be difficult to talk to the family.'

Fait officers are usually not in uniform for this part of the job. But when they introduce themselves, relatives typically sense something is amiss.

Read the full report in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

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Singapura : 29 Januari 2008        
         
LELAKI MAUT, ISTERI TERSELAMAT DALAM TRAGEDI MEMANCING

Sampan dikatakan dilanggar bot di laut dekat Tanjung Piai

Oleh
Khalid Khamis

DALAM keadaan cedera parah dan penuh cemas, Allahyarham Mamat Lambat tetap mengutamakan nyawa isterinya.

Tanpa berlengah, Allahyarham menghayunkan tong plastik untuk dipaut isterinya, Cik Banon Raja Deraman, sedang beliau berenang menolak sampannya ke tepian.

Tetapi arus terlalu kuat membuat Allahyarham keletihan.

Mujur kakitangan sebuah bot penumpang yang melanggar sampannya segera membantu dan membawanya ke darat.

Namun Allahyarham, 70 tahun, ayah 10 anak, tidak sempat diselamatkan kerana tiada sesiapa yang dapat memberi bantuan pernafasan kepadanya.

Tragedi itu berlaku apabila sampan yang dinaiki Allahyarham Mamat dan isterinya terlibat dalam perlanggaran dengan bot penumpang berkenaan sekitar 30 meter dari Pulau Banker, dekat Tanjung Piai, Pontian, sekitar 6.15 pagi kelmarin.

Akibatnya, Allahyarham dan Cik Banon, yang berada di penghujung sampan, tercampak ke air.

Allahyarham cedera termasuk kulit di bawah mata dan pipinya tersiat manakala Cik Banon, 60 tahun, hanya luka ringan.

Pasangan tersebut sedang memancing ketika kejadian berlaku.

Menceritakan tragedi tersebut, Cik Banon berkata bahawa mereka baru sahaja menarik jaring selepas bermalam di tengah laut sejak 2 pagi apabila nahas itu berlaku.

Secara tiba-tiba bot penumpang OPL Marine Logistic dikatakan datang daripada belakang dan terus melanggar sampan mereka sehingga terbelah dua.

'Saya tak perasan apa-apa... tiba-tiba dengar bunyi enjin bot.

'Saya tak sempat nak buat apa-apa dan jatuh ke laut.

'Arwah sempat beri saya tong kosong untuk berpaut. Sebelah tangan saya paut pada sampan. Dia cuba tolak sampai ke darat tetapi arus terlalu kuat sampai dia keletihan.

'Bila anak kapal bot penumpang datang, saya kata kepada mereka tolong pak cik dulu,' katanya ketika ditemui semalam.

Bot penumpang itu dalam pelayaran ke Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas selepas mengambil dokumen daripada sebuah kapal di perairan tersebut.

Tiada penumpang di dalamnya selain nakhoda dan jurumudi bot tersebut yang tidak cedera.

Allahyarham dan isterinya sering pulang ke rumah yang dibeli di kampung Cengkih, Permas, untuk menjala dan memancing.

Ketika dihubungi semalam, Ketua Polis Pontian, Superintenden Zahaliman Jamin, berkata kes itu telah diserahkan kepada Jabatan Laut untuk menjalankan siasatan.

Jenazah Allahyarham dibawa pulang ke flat salah seorang anaknya di Tan Ching Road, dekat Jurong, dan selamat disemadikan di Pusara Abadi pagi semalam.

fatz

23-year-old man caught with drugs worth S$22,000 at checkpoint
By Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 30 January 2008 0010 hrs

SINGAPORE: A drug courier was arrested Monday at Woodlands Checkpoint after trying to smuggle heroin, 'Ice', and 'Ecstasy' tablets into Singapore.

Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers had been tipped off that the suspect was attempting to smuggle the drugs.

At about 9am, officers identified the car driven by the 23-year-old man and searched him. Officers found 1g of 'Ice' in his pocket.

When they checked his car, they found seven packets of drugs concealed underneath the front dashboard.

The drugs seized have a street value of about S$22,000.

If found guilty, the drug courier will face a minimum jail term of five years and five strokes of the cane. - CNA/ac

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Brunei's Economic Development Board, ISEAS to organise forum
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 January 2008 1746 hrs

SINGAPORE : Brunei's Economic Development Board and Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies are organising "The Brunei Forum" in Singapore from February 19 to 20.

The forum's main aim is to promote awareness and dialogue on new business opportunities arising from recent developments in Brunei.

In his letter to participants, the Acting Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board said the Forum will be kicked off by the country's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah.

Other speakers include Brunei's ministers for education and energy.

Developing human resources for the challenges in the 21st century and Brunei's role in ASEAN are among the topics to be discussed during the forum. - CNA/ms