MCMC: Undilah video withdrawn because no approval from film censors

CYBERJAYA: The Undilah video clip was withdrawn because it has yet to be approved for airing by the Film Censorship Board, a statement from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said Saturday.

According to the statement, "the MCMC routinely carries out monitoring and enforcement activities pursuant to the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998.

"In relation to this, it is normal practice for MCMC to direct the withdrawal of content that has not been granted the requisite approval from the Film Censorship Board to be aired.

"In the case of the public service announcement (PSA) produced by musician Pete Teo, as a result of a routine compliance monitoring exercise made by MCMC, it was found that approval had yet to be obtained from the Film Censorship Board for the said PSA."

The MCMC said the PSA should not have been aired on television till approval was obtained.

"Accordingly, pursuant to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, all broadcasters must cease airing the video clip immediately.

"The issue is one of compliance by the broadcasters rather than the content of the PSA," it added.

On Friday, news portals reported that the video promoting the right to vote was taken off the air by TV stations as it contained Opposition figures and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's talking about Malaysia having issues.

Malaysian PM: Budget 2012 to lessen burden on rakyat

KAMPAR: Budget 2012, which will tabled on Oct 7, is set to strengthen the domestic economy and help lessen the burden of rising costs of living, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Saturday.

He said there was a need to ensure domestic demand remained strong as the Government would not depend on external factors to spur economic growth.

Najib said while the current situation was a global phenomenon and not just unique to Malaysia, the Government was taking steps to ensure the economy remain resilient.

Asked if there would be many suprises for the rakyat in the 2012 Budget, Najib said: "Let's wait and see. I'm fond of giving surprises."

Najib was speaking to reporters after launching the Tanjung Tualang 1Malaysia Carnival here as part of his day-long visit to Perak.

Indonesia expects to resume sending domestic workers in October

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia expects to start sending domestic workers to Malaysia next month following the government's plan to revoke its suspension policy on deploying domestic workers to the neighboring country since 2009.

"We plan to annul the moratorium on sending domestic workers by the end of this month," the manpower attache at the Indonesian Embassy here, Agus Triyanto, told Indonesia's Antara news agency Friday.

Agus said both governments had come to terms over contentious problems, including regulations allowing the workers to keep their passports, get one day off a week, get their salaries transferred via banks and be paid fair salaries according to the job market.

"Taskforce teams from both countries have agreed to improve the system and monitor the results," Agus added.

For Indonesia's part, the government will ensure that every worker undergoes a minimum of 200 hours of training. The government will also ensure standards of competence for every worker as required by the Malaysian government, prepare training centers, ensure valid documents and provide insurance for the workers. Agus called on the Malaysian people not to directly recruit Indonesian workers, which is against the law.

Since the moratorium in June 2009, domestic workers from Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines have travelled to Malaysia to fill the shortage.

Last year, the Malaysian Foreign Domestic Help Agency Association (Papa) announced that no less than 3,000 workers came from each country every month. However, the workers still fell short of the demand. Early this year, PAPA said that 35,000 Malaysian households were in need of domestic help.

There are currently 300,000 Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia.

UPKO: Sabahans don't know how many of them are M'sians

PENAMPANG: Sabahans themselves do not know how many of the state's 3.3 million population are Malaysians, said Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

He said in 1960, Sabah's population was 454,561 with 42% made up of Kadazandusun. The figure increased to 653,604 in 1970; 1.3 million in 1980 and 1.7 million in 1991.

In 2000, the population was 2.5 million and by 2005, Sabah's population increased to 3,313,000. It registered the highest percentage of increase in population with 3.1% compared with the national percentage of 2.3%.

Dompok said the National Registration Department could not provide the data of actual number of Malaysians living in Sabah, to the Parliament Select Committee on Integrity in 2007.

"And now the perception among the people is that the government does not know how many Malaysians are living in Sabah," he said at the Upko delegates congress meeting.

Dompok has called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the presence of so many foreigners that has contributed to the steep rise in population.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister says...

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin



1. BN supreme council apt avenue to discuss second deputy chairman post

PENAMPANG: The proposal to create the post of a second Barisan Nasional deputy chairman to be appointed from among component parties in Sabah and Sarawak should be brought to the coalition's supreme council, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

"I think any proposal can be brought before the top leadership. We have a council where all leaders sit and submit any matter. "Normally, a decision is reached by consensus," he said.

Upko had recently proposed that a second deputy chairman be appointed from Sabah or Sarawak and that the person be made second deputy prime minister.

On the allocation of seats for the coming general election, Muhyiddin said that component parties would "most likely" contest in the same constituencies they did in the 2008 polls "except if there is an agreement for a swap."

2. Status quo likely on seat allocation for BN component parties

KOTA KINABALU: Seat allocations for Barisan Nasional component parties are likely to remain at the status quo as no new seats are available in the next general election, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Saturday.

He said if the Election Commission carried out a delineation exercise - usually done once every eight to 10 years - then it would be possible for more parliamentary and state seats to be shared with component parties.

"As there has been no delineation, there are no new seats to share. I think it is likely that the seat sharing formula will remain status quo (among parties)."

Usually when there was an increase in seats through a delineation exercise, then parties would ask for more, he told reporters after opening the 13th triennial meeting of Parti Upko, which is headed by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

"It is normal for parties to hope to be given more seats. It has been a practice for seat allocation to be based on consensus, through discussion at both national and state levels," he said.


He said it was also unlikely any of the parties would want to give up seats allocated to them in the previous elections. However, he said Barisan has no objections to any seat swapping among component parties.

Earlier, in his speech, he urged Barisan leaders to go to the ground and meet people as such simple gestures would help them gain stronger support.

Business Exclusive: Asian currencies slip against US dollar on global economic gloom

Asian currencies are on a losing streak against the US dollar, as increasingly dismal global economic outlook prompts a flight to safety to greenback-denominated assets.

“The poor risk sentiment is exacerbating the move towards safe haven assets such as the US dollar,” a dealer told StarBizWeek. “This is evident in the widespread sell-off in the region's capital markets,” he added.

Among Asian currencies, the won was the worst performer, having lost 4.73% from a week ago to 1,167.37 per US dollar yesterday. The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, while the yuan trades in a managed float against the greenback.

The ringgit registered a slump of 2.69% from a week ago to 3.1672 per US dollar. That was the weakest level since July 2010.

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz in an interview with Washington-based Emerging Markets Newspapers said South-East Asian economies were now better equipped to withstand the volatile capital flows. “We are seeing very significant surges in capital outflows and reversals,” she was quoted as saying.

“Previously it destabilised us quite significantly. But in the current environment, these flows are better intermediated by emerging economies,” she added, citing more resilient financial institutions, more developed financial markets, higher reserve levels and a more flexible exchange rate.

Zeti also reiterated that the central bank now had a wider number of instruments to absorb and sterilise inflows to prevent the formation of asset bubbles.

Hot News: George Clooney's GF gets naked

Prior to this, it’s only for George Clooney’s eyes only. Now, thanks to Canadian photographer Raphael Mazzucco, Stacy Keibler, who is the darling du jour of Clooney, showcased her assets in front of a camera.

No, it’s not for a Playboy spread. The blonde beauty has reportedly turned down offers from the publication. Instead, she took it all off in the name of art and bared her bottom for Mazzucco’s new coffee table book titled Culo by Mazzucco.

For your information, “culo” means buttocks in Italian. Keibler, 31, was one of those who are featured in a series of photographs and art pieces centring on women’s buttocks in the 248-page book.

Keibler, a former WWE hottie, offered a sneak peek on WhoSay, writing: "So excited for the release of CULO!!! Raphael Mazzucco rocks! One of my fav photographers."

Exclusive World News:

1. Putin to return as Russian president

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW- Vladimir Putin declared on Saturday he was ready to return to the Russian presidency after current head of state Dmitry Medvedev announced he would bow to his mentor at March's election.

Ending months of speculation over which of them will be president, Medvedev proposed Putin, now prime minister, at a congress of the ruling United Russia party. Putin, widely regarded as the driving force in the country for the last 11 years, invited Medvedev to take his place as prime minister.

"It is a great honour for me," Putin said to loud cheers and applause from thousands of party members gathered in a Moscow sports stadium. "Thank you, I hope for your support."

Opinion polls show Putin is sure to be elected for a six-year term in the March presidential election, ushering in what critics say could be an era of stagnation in the world's biggest country.

His party also hopes to hold on to its two-thirds majority in the State Duma lower house in a parliamentary election on Dec. 4 with Medvedev as the top candidate on its list.

Putin, 58, is widely seen as more conservative than Medvedev and some economists have said his return to the Kremlin could herald an era of economic stagnation in the world's biggest energy producer.

Others have said that although Medvedev, 46, is widely portrayed as more liberal, there is more difference in their style than in their policies.

2. Libyans fight for control of Gaddafi stronghold Sirte

Anti-Gaddafi fighters stand guard as they celebrate the taking over of El-Khamseen gate, the eastern gate of Sirte September 24, 2011.

SIRTE- Libyan provisional government forces backed by NATO warplanes swarmed into the city of Sirte on Saturday but weathered heavy sniper fire as they tried to win control of one of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi's last bastions of support.

Black smoke billowed over the town as National Transitional Council (NTC) forces massed in Zafran Square about 1 km (half a mile) from the town centre. Gunfire could be heard from the centre as NTC fighters moved tanks and mortars into the square.

Pick-up trucks mounted with machineguns and loaded with NTC fighters raced into the town. NTC forces also advanced from the south of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown on the Mediterranean coast.

"They have snipers above the mosques, above the buildings. They're using the houses and public buildings," NTC fighter El-Tohamy Abuzein told Reuters from his position in Zafran Square.

NATO, whose war planes played a vital role in the six-month that toppled Gaddafi, would not comment on its operations in Sirte on Saturday. Its planes hit a number of targets on Friday, including an ammunition depot and an anti-aircraft gun.

A large cloud of smoke over the town was the result of a strike on an ammunition dump, NTC fighters said. At the western gate, gunners fired artillery towards the town and both sides exchanged volleys of rockets.

Entertainment Exclusive: Jury selected for Jackson doctor's trial

LOS ANGELES: A 12-person jury was selected on Friday to hear the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's former doctor in a process one prosecutor likened to "speed dating."

The panel of seven men and five women includes one man who said he briefly met Jackson when he worked at Walt Disney Co in the 1980s and the singer was starring in a "Captain EO" film that was a Disney theme park attraction.

That juror told attorneys he could approach the trial fairly.