Asian drug warlord dies in Myanmar

Story Highlights
# One-time drug warlord Khun Sa has died in Myanmar aged 74, an official said
# He claimed to be fighting for autonomy for the Shan, an ethnic minority
# The United States had offered a $2 million reward for his arrest

PM disowns daughter for being gay

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Cambodian's prime minister said Tuesday he was severing ties with his adopted daughter, who is a lesbian, but appealed to people not to discriminate against gay people.

"My adopted daughter now has a wife. I'm quite disappointed," Hun Sen said.

He made the rare revelation about his closely guarded family life during a public speech at a student graduation ceremony. Cambodian society, like that of neighboring Thailand, is generally tolerant of homosexuality. In 2004, then-King Norodom Sihanouk announced his support for gay rights, including the right to marry.

Hun Sen said he plans to file a civil court case to disown his adopted daughter so that she cannot claim any inheritance from his family. "We are concerned that she might one day cause us trouble ... and try to stake her claim for a share of our assets," he said.

The prime minister and his wife, Bun Rany, have three sons and two other daughters. He said they adopted their third daughter in the mid 1980s when she was 18 days old. She has carried his family name, "Hun," just like his biological children.

Despite his action toward his daughter, Hun Sen in his speech to the graduating class at the National Institute of Education appealed to parents and society not to discriminate against gay people

Final resting place for Goh Tong

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong will forever remain on this vast hill he so dearly adored.

His wish of being buried here was fulfilled yesterday as his widow, Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, 79, and six children laid him to rest at the Gohtong Memorial Park, located some 600m from his residence, Gohtong Villa. The hill had meant so much to Goh Tong that he chose the villa to spend the last few years of his life here, although he owned many other residential properties.

The burial ground was also a personal choice. Friends mentioned how Goh Tong fell in love with this piece of land and made known his intention to be buried here after feng shui masters declared the site a prosperous “dragon’s head”, which was good for Goh Tong and the generations after him.

Simultaneously yesterday at Goh Tong’s birthplace in Anxi, China, a memorial ceremony was held at the community hall to honour a filial “son” who successfully made his fortune overseas but continued to pour money back to the village to build schools, construct roads and uplift the local economy.

Eight eulogies were delivered paying tribute to Goh Tong's “can do” spirit, his philanthropic deeds and his humility.

Widow’s grief: Lee by herself during the funeral ceremony at Gohtong Villa.
MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting described Lim as a great man who left a legacy that contributed to the country’s economy and nation-building.

The funeral yesterday ended five days of wake beginning on Wednesday after Goh Tong died at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre the day before.

More than 20,000 people, including royalty, Asia’s rich and famous, politicians, friends, business allies and members of the public paid tribute to Goh Tong in their own ways. They either attended the wake, sent wreaths or penned messages of sympathy.

The wreaths alone took up almost a kilometre, lining the road up to Gohtong Villa.

Asia’s richest man, Li Ka Shing, sent a personal condolence note to the bereaved family, offering words that perhaps best captured the essence of who Goh Tong was.

”I am feeling very sad but be comforted that he enjoyed a long life with his children and grandchildren. He led a full life without anything to be regretted about. I hope your mother and others in the family will take good care, and this is my prayer too,” he wrote.

The Lim family had opened up Gohtong Villa for friends and the public to pay their respects. However, the burial at 1.18pm was a private affair restricted to the family.

Honouring a friend: Hanif reading his eulogy at the beginning of the funeral ceremony at Gohtong Villa Monday.
Words of farewell
“From harvesting lettuce and maple syrup, we have now become the most profitable casino in the world. Before Lim, we only knew poverty. It was with his faith and trust that we are what we are now.”

- Michael Thomas, chairman of the Native American Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

“He was a young man of 19 who left his country never to see his mother again, to come and work in Malaya as a carpenter.”

- Tun Hanif Omar, deputy chairman of Genting Group.

“He had undergone more difficulties and challenges than any other entrepreneur, before he became successful in his business. However, he remained a friendly, sporting and humble person who was actively involved in charitable activities.”

- Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong, president of the Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia.

“Even though he was a wealthy man, he still lived a simple life. He also understood that he needed to repay society after benefiting from it.”

- Dr Tan Tat Chin, a member of the Tung Shin Hospital Board of Directors.

“He is a source of inspiration and we salute his accomplishment. He will continue to live in the heart of those who have been touched by him.”

- Tan Sri Dr Ng Lay Swee, president and chief executive officer of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

"Life come with a time frame, without this frame, our life will be meaningless"
- Lee Teck Jun, good bye uncle lim...

EPF scheme to help members save more for retirement

KUALA LUMPUR: All Employees Provident Fund contributors will, from Feb 1, be able to withdraw part of their funds and channel them to approved investment programmes.

Under the new scheme, contributors, irrespective of age, will be able to withdraw from Account One what is in excess of a “required amount” of savings as determined by the EPF and invest the money in unit trusts.

Currently, contributors can only do so if they have in excess of RM50,000.

This is one among a range of changes that the EPF is implementing in stages to make it easier for contributors to exercise the option to augment their savings for their retirement.

Using the tagline “Beyond Savings”, the EPF also hopes the changes will ensure that contributors have enough money for retirement.

Other changes include:

# MORE flexible withdrawals for contributors at age 55;

# ALLOWING withdrawal of any amount irrespective of age for savings in excess of RM1mil;

# ALLOWING withdrawals from Account Two for critical illness insurance; and

# WITHDRAWALS for housing loan instalments.

These changes were revealed by EPF chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol at the fund's headquarters here yesterday.

Azlan said the EPF has established a set of “required amounts” for contributors depending on their age.

The amounts are based on the assumption that a person would need at least RM120,000 – or RM500 a month – from retirement at 55 to age 75.

He said a contributor could withdraw 20% of the amount in excess of the required amount for investments in unit trusts.

“For example, if a 25-year-old has RM20,000 in Account One, he can take 20% of the excess to invest once every three months. This is because his required amount is only RM9,000,” he said.

For those who have reached 55, Azlan said that from Nov 1 they would have several options: withdraw everything they have, go for monthly withdrawals of at least RM250 for at least one year, or withdraw at least RM2,000 at any one time.

Currently, members aged 55 can only choose to withdraw the entire sum, withdraw only annual dividends, or take out monthly amounts but for at least five years.

Azlan said there would also be changes to the procedures for age 50 withdrawals.

From Jan 1, 2013, those who reach 50 would only be able to withdraw any amount from Account Two if their Account One has at least RM90,000, the required amount for that age.

On using EPF withdrawals to pay housing loan instalments, Azlan said that although the money would be banked straight into the contributors' accounts, it would be liasing with the banks to ensure that the loans are properly serviced.

“If they fail to pay their instalments for three months, the bank will inform us and we will stop payment to the contributors,” he said, adding that this scheme would start from Jan 1.

Azlan said that from Nov 1, those who had more than RM1mil in their savings could withdraw and invest the excess amount anytime. He said there were about 4,700 contributors who had more than RM1mil in their accounts.

DEATH OF A GIANT.....

PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, founder and honorary life president of Genting Group, passed away at 11.20am Tuesday at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

The tycoon, who turned 90 in April this year, was renowned for his vision in transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop to one of the world's most successful casino resorts.

The fifth child in a family of seven children, Lim migrated from China's Fujian province in 1937 at the age of 19 with only a small suitcase and US$175.

The idea of a hill resort was chanced upon by Lim amidst the crisp air of Cameron Highlands in 1964. Lim was then working on a hydro-electric power project at the popular hill resort, patronised mostly by British colonials seeking cool refuge from the tropical heat, when he foresaw a prosperous Malaysia of the future desiring a cool mountain holiday resort within the reach of all Malaysians.

To date, Genting Highlands Resort has five hotels and two apartment blocks at the hilltop and Awana Genting Highlands Golf and Country Resort.

The company, founded in 1965, has since expanded and diversified from its initial hotel and resort activities to plantations, properties, paper manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas, electronic commerce and information technology development under Genting Group.

According to Forbes Asia, the Genting Group founder was third richest in the country with a net worth of US$4.3bil (RM14.6bil).

Lim is survived by wife Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, and their six children and 19 grandchildren.

One of the greatest man has gone....... we pray for his goneness

Witnesses: All gold miners freed from South Africa mine

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa -- The last of 3,200 gold miners trapped by a power failure reached the surface late Thursday after nearly two days underground, witnesses reported.

The workers were stuck 1.3 miles (2 kilometers ) underground in the cavernous Elandstrand New Mine after a large compressed air pipe fell down a shaft about 6 a.m. Wednesday (midnight Tuesday ET). The accident knocked out power and disabled elevators in the mine, which is built like an underground city, complete with trains, trucks and cars.

No one was hurt during the ordeal.

"I'm happy now because we are out and we are alive," said Granny Makau, one of the freed miners and one of scores of women working at Elandstrand.

"No one died so we are happy," she said.

"This was a situation where the people were not really in danger, they were underground," said Graham Briggs, the president of Harmony Gold Mining Company, which oversees operations at the mine.

"It's not really an accident in the sense of an underground accident -- in the sense of a falling rock," Briggs said.

More than a thousand miners had surfaced by midmorning Thursday.

Airbus boss denies insider trading

PARIS, France (AP) -- Airbus Chief Executive Thomas Enders denied insider trading allegations stemming from the sale of shares in parent company EADS amid problems with the A380 superjumbo.

In a letter sent late Thursday to Airbus employees, Enders said that when he exercised stock options in November 2005, "there was no reason to believe it would be improper." The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Friday.

For more than a year, the French Financial Markets Authority, or AMF, has been investigating share sales between November 2005 and March 2006 by 21 top managers of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.

A preliminary report by French regulators leaked to the press on Wednesday suggests "massive insider trading" took place at EADS.

Problems with the A380 and the mid-range A350 came to light publicly in June 2006, sending EADS shares tumbling 26 percent in one day.
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Enders sold 50,000 shares for a profit of €711,750 ($1 million), according to the AMF. Airbus Chief Noel Forgeard in March 2006 made a profit of €2.5 million ($3.2 million).

"To be clear to you all, I have never committed any insider trading, and I have not been accused of insider dealing by anyone, including the AMF," Enders wrote in the letter. "I categorically deny the allegations and insinuations in the press.

Spain arrests Basque leaders

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police have arrested 23 leaders of an outlawed Basque pro-independence party on suspicion of aiding the armed separatist group ETA, a judicial source told CNN.

Authorities raided a meeting on Thursday involving the 23 in the Basque town of Segura, where they were suspected of secretly trying to transfer the leadership of the outlawed Batasuna party from veteran activists present to a new set of leaders, who were also present, the source said.

The arrests were seen as part of broad crackdown on ETA and its supporters after ETA formally called off its cease-fire last June.

ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths over four decades in its fight for Basque independence and is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

Judge Baltasar Garzon, who has long sought to untangle ETA's web of armed fighters, financial support, logistical apparatus and clandestine support from the outlawed Batasuna, ordered the latest arrests, the source said

Southwest Airlines makes man change T-shirt

TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Southwest Airlines said it will apologize to a passenger who was told he would be removed from a flight if he didn't change clothes, the second time in recent months the budget carrier has been forced to do so.

Joe Winiecki, of Largo, Florida, boarded a Southwest flight in Columbus, Ohio, wearing a fictional fishing shop T-shirt which featured the words, "Master Baiter."

Winiecki, who was traveling home, said he was in his seat when an employee told him he had to change his T-shirt, turn it inside out, or get off the plane.

Winiecki protested that the airline was infringing on his right to free speech, but changed his shirt fearing he would miss the flight and a day's work.

Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Friday the employee made a mistake because the Dallas-based airline does not have a dress code.

The airline apologized this summer after a college student wearing a denim miniskirt and a sweater over a tank top was told to change her outfit or get off a flight departing from San Diego.

Kyla Ebbert, who was 23, told the story on "The Dr. Phil Show." She was read a printed apology from Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly on the show.

Ebbert was allowed to fly after agreeing to alter her outfit. The airline offered Ebbert free tickets and tried to make light of the mix-up in humorous advertising.

Ebbert declined the tickets.

After the Ebbert encounter, Southwest President Colleen Barrett sent employees a generally worded e-mail reminding them that the airline has no dress code, Mainz said.

Southwest, like other airlines, has language in its contract of carriage that states it reserves the right to deny service to customers whose clothing is "lewd, obscene or patently offensive."

Tenn. man kills himself at city council meeting

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A barber with strong ties to the military community pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head at a City Council meeting after his request for a rezoning measure was rejected.

Ronald "Bo" Ward sought the rezoning to increase the property value of his home, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded his barber shop.

After the 5-7 vote Thursday night, Ward stood and walked toward the council.

"Ya'll have put me under. ... I'm out of here," he said before shooting himself in the head with a small handgun.

Fire and police officials attending the meeting immediately ushered the audience of about 50 into the hallway, where several people were sobbing.

At least one police officer is always on duty during council meetings, officials said. However, visitors are not required to go through a metal detector or any other screening.

"When a gun gets whipped out like that, someone is going to get shot, but I didn't know who," Councilman Bill Summers said. "You could've been right next to him, and I don't think you could have stopped that."

Mayor Johnny Piper said Thursday's council meeting would be the last held in that room.

VK Lingam on phone with Ahmad Fairuz (subtitled)

Second heart transplant for Hui Yi

KUALA LUMPUR: Tee Hui Yi’s body was rejecting her new heart and doctors at the National Heart Institute (IJN) were getting desperate.

Miraculously, a second donor heart became available and the 14-year-old girl got a second chance – thanks to the parents of a 20-year-old mechanic in Johor who died in a road mishap.

Hui Yi had shown signs of organ rejection after a 10-hour heart transplant surgery at the IJN which began at 1.30am on Thursday.

The first heart had come from a 15-year-old boy who was declared brain dead on Wednesday in Ipoh and the organ was harvested by IJN surgeons and brought back on a mercy flight to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang.

On Thursday, the young mechanic Chin Yoon Keong was declared brain dead in Johor, and his father offered to donate his son’s heart to Hui Yi after having read in the newspapers about her one-year-wait for the organ.

“Hui Yi would not have made it if she had not received the second heart,” said IJN heart and lung transplant unit clinical director Dr Mohamed Izani Md Taib.

He said the IJN received an average of one donor heart in six months, but in the past one year, there was none at all.

“However, in the last two days we received two. This must be divine intervention,” he said yesterday.

When Hui Yi’s own heart began to fail, doctors at IJN had put her on a mechanical heart device which could only last two years.
From the day she got the the artificial heart, she had been warded at the IJN, with her mother by her side.

At the end of the first year on Sept 29, a tearful Hui Yi told pressmen at a media conference that she had been suffering frequent bouts of fever, vomiting and body ache – besides anxious, sleepless nights worrying that time was running out.

On Wednesday night, IJN assembled a team of 35 medical personnel as Hui Yi was wheeled into the operating theatre about 10.45pm, upon hearing that a heart had been harvested from a boy in Ipoh who was killed in a road accident.

Hui Yi’s heart was removed and replaced with the donor heart but unfortunately, the implanted heart failed to function, said IJN’s chief cardiothoracic surgeon Datuk Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub.

“Blood pressure was unstable even though the heart was in good condition when we procured it in Ipoh,” he said.

The symptoms pointed to her immune system rejecting the heart, said Dr Mohamed Izani, who explained that in any organ transplant, despite the matching blood type, there was a 5% to 10% chance of rejection.

“When we heard that there was a second donor in Johor Baru and that the blood group and height of the donor match the girl’s, and because her condition was not stable, we decided to carry out the second transplant,” he said.

The same team of surgeons performed the second transplant which started at 1am yesterday and ended about seven hours later.

“Her condition is now stable and the heart’s blood pressure is satisfactory. However, her condition remains critical,” said Dr Mohd Azhari, who headed the transplant team together with Dr Mohamed Izani.

Anwar declines to reveal his source

PETALING JAYA: Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim declined to reveal the origins of the Lingam video clip during a two-hour interview by Anti-Corruption Agency officers yesterday.

Anwar told a press conference at his office that he was questioned by ACA officers on the particulars of the video footage and the sources who had disclosed it.

Only eight minutes of the 14-minute video clip have been made public so far. Keadilan has said the remainder has not been released to protect the sources.

“I am willing to come out in the open and co-operate with the ACA but I am very concerned about the personal security of the sources. The ACA said they were willing to protect the sources, but personal security is not within the ACA’s power, and we will not compromise on their personal safety,” Anwar said.

He said the sources, which he referred to as Mr X and Mr Y, were willing to come forward if they were assured of their personal security, and would reveal themselves “when the time is right".

Come one, what if the guy is dead when you reveal them?

Ministry looks for win-win situation in toll hike

JELI: The Works Ministry will try to strike a balance between the needs of the people and highway concessionaires in the coming toll hike.

Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said his ministry would submit a report to the cabinet on the review, as well as the study carried out by the seven concessionaires, after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“We are considering several proposals. Our aim is to avoid burdening the rakyat.

“The concessionaires have the right to request a review of the toll rate under their agreements with the government, but we will make sure it is a win-win situation,” he said after performing the groundbreaking of a RM70 million upgrading project on the Jeli-Jelawang-Gua Musang road on Thursday.

The project, due for completion in two years, is one of six road projects in Kelantan under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
He said the stretch is an important part of the federal route 66, linking Gua Musang in south Kelantan and Jeli in the west.

“Jeli town has the potential to grow, especially with several major projects like the new Sekolah Menengah Sains and the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan branch campus here.”

A surprise in his loaf of bread

SEREMBAN: A construction supervisor and his wife nearly had a little “extra protein” in their sandwiches on Thursday.

Mohd Rafi Mohd Kamal found a dead cockroach in a loaf of bread he bought from a grocery shop near his Seremban 2 home.

“I didn’t notice anything wrong with the bread until I got to the last few slices. I found a dead cockroach sandwiched between them,” said the 31-year-old.

He says his wife Shukrina Abdullah fell ill after eating a few slices from the same end of the loaf where the cockroach was found.

“She was vomiting and had diarrhoea. The doctor said it might have been caused by the contaminated bread,” said Rafi, adding that he noticed a few spots of mould on the bread even though the expiry date on the label was Oct 6.
Shukrina lodged a police report on the same day but Rafi said when he contacted the manufacturer, the company tried to brush off his complaint.

“They asked me to send the bread to them so they could conduct tests and investigate the matter.

“I declined because I want the tests to be done by a neutral body,” he said.

He lodged a report and submitted the bread to the Negri Sembilan health department for testing yesterday.

“My next move depends on the test results,” he said.

The manufacturer’s Nilai facility was temporarily closed down last year because it was unhygienic, and the company was employing illegal workers as well as using cooking oil without a halal certification.