Five die in pre-dawn fire

news on 31.05.2007

IPOH: A family of five from Cameron Highlands died in a pre-dawn fire which razed two houses in Taman Song Choon here. The dead, all from one house, have been identified as Chai Kim, 91, his son Chai Kar It, 67, granddaughter Chai Moi Fong, 32, and her husband Tan Wei Lim, 32, and a cousin Lim Kian Hwa, 29.

Another unidentified family member, the only survivor from the 3.30am incident today, has been sent to Ipoh Hospital for treatment.

Police have classified the case as sudden death but are also investigating other possible causes of the fire, including arson.

Malaysia to host Guangdong meet

PETALING JAYA: The Fourth Guangdong (Kwang Tung) Community Federation Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur later this year is expected to attract about 2,000 delegates from 40 countries.

Federation of Kwang Tung Associations Malaysia president Datuk Douglas Lee said Malaysia was given the opportunity to host this conference to foster closer ties among Guangdong people from all over the world.

“We are not a political association and we want to encourage people to gather and get to know one another,” he said during a recent interview.

He said several seminars, to be held in English, were planned during the three-day conference, including a panel discussion on why the non-Chinese educated youth were not joining guilds or such associations.

Lee also said another seminar would discuss and encourage overseas Chinese, apart from Singapore and Malaysia, to form Guangdong associations.

He said delegates who were keen on improving business networks could also benefit from a trade and commerce session planned for the November meet.

“We want to encourage foreign trade and foster business cooperation and we have invited speakers from Malaysia to share their experiences,” he added.

In 2000, the first meet was held in Singapore and the second in Guangzhou, China in 2002.

The third conference was held in Hong Kong in 2005 and saw the participation of about 1,800 delegates.

This fourth conference will be held from Nov 19 to 21 in Genting Highlands. For further information, please contact the association’s secretariat at 603-2031 1468 or 2078 4336/7 or www.fedguangdong.org.my.

Filipinos can SMS money home, Indons to follow suit soon

KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of Filipino workers can now send money to their families and other dependants in the Philippines within seconds through mobile phone service messaging, and without going through banks.

Maxis Communications Berhad and the Philippine’s telecommunications company Globe Telecom yesterday launched the world’s first international mobile-to-mobile money transfer service, between the two countries.

The service, approved by Bank Negara, allows users to transfer up to PHP6,500 (RM500) per transaction at RM5 per transaction and 15 sen for each SMS, half the transaction fee of banks, said Maxis chief executive officer Sandip Das.

Up to RM10,000 can be transferred per day at no charge to recipients who receive the money in pesos based on daily exchange rates

Lina unhappy with decision

KUALA LUMPUR: Lina Joy is extremely unhappy with the Federal Court judgment.

“I am disappointed that the Federal Court is not able to vindicate a simple but important fundamental right that exists in all persons; namely, the right to believe in the religion of one's choice and equally important, the right to marry a person of one's choice and to raise a family in the Malaysia context.

“The Federal Court has not only denied me that right but to all Malaysians who value fundamental freedoms,” she told The Star, through her solicitor Benjamin Dawson.

“I am hoping that my case would have made a difference to the development of constitutional issues in the plight of many others.”

Asked whether she would leave Malaysia for good, Lina, who is believed to be overseas at present, said: “It would extremely difficult to exercise freedom of conscience in the present environment.”

Lina, 42, was born Azlina Jailani to Malay parents. She was brought up as a Muslim but at the age of 36 became a Christian.

In 1999, she managed to change the name in her identity card to Lina Joy but the National Registration Department retained her religion in the card as Islam.

On April 23, 2001, the High Court refused to decide on her application to renounce Islam as her religion on grounds that the issue should be decided by the Syariah Court. It also dismissed her application for an order to direct the department to drop the word “Islam” from her identity card.

On Sept 19, 2005, the Court of Appeal, in a majority decision, also rejected her appeal.