MALAYSIA: An Indonesian sailor has gone missing along with his
MALAYSIA: An Indonesian sailor has gone missing along with his
fishing trawler following a pirate attack in Malaysian waters off
the eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, it was reported on
Friday.
Four of the ship's Indonesian crew managed to swim to safety
by jumping into the sea to escape the robbers who attacked late
Thursday, the official Bernama news agency reported.
However, the skipper was unable to escape as he was injured by
a gunshot when he got into a scuffle with the pirates.
According to the survivors, a boat carrying two robbers, armed
with M-16 rifles, had stopped by the trawler. The men in the boat
then boarded the trawler and demanded that the crew abandon ship
and swim to shore.
When the sailors refused, a scuffle broke out and one of the
armed men fired two shots, one of which hit the skipper in the
stomach, the report said. --DPA
;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Thailand-corruption
Thai ex-minister indicted for graft, could face prison or death
JP/11/ASEAN
Ex-minister indicted for graft
THAILAND: Thailand's former health minister Rakkiat Sukthana
vowed on Friday to fight a swelling graft case following an
indictment which could make him the first ex-cabinet member
jailed or sentenced to death for corruption.
Rakkiat was forced to resign his post after he found himself
in the midst of a massive medical equipment scandal exposed in
1998 during the previous government led by Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai.
The NCCC's unanimous vote to indict Rakkiat was a major step
towards a criminal court case which could see Thailand jail its
first former cabinet member on graft charges.
The inquiry concluded Rakkiat violated article 149 of the
criminal code, which provides for penalties up to the death
sentence if members of parliament or state officials are found
guilty by a Supreme Court political crime tribunal. --AFP
;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Philippines-plane
Executives of crashed Philippine plane arrested
JP/11/ASEAN
RP plane crash bosses arrested
PHILIPPINES: Two top foreign executives of a domestic Philippine
airlines involved in a crash that killed 19 people were arrested
on Friday for working here without permits, the immigration
bureau said on Friday.
Paul Ng, a Malaysian who chairs LaoagAir, and Jimmy Tan Teng
Chui, an Australian who also sits on the board and works as the
airline's chief mechanic, were arrested by intelligence
operatives in the northern city of Laoag, the bureau said.
Both were detained on orders by immigration commissioner
Andrea Domingo on Thursday, when she also placed them and two
pilots of the crashed LaoagAir Fokker 27 plane on a "watchlist".
The plane of the small domestic airline had just taken off
from a Manila airport on Nov. 11 when it crashed into Manila Bay,
killing 19 of the 34 people aboard, including six Australians and
three Britons. --AFP
;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Malaysia-opposition
Malaysia's opposition condemns Mahathir's action on Islamic schoo
JP/11/ASEAN
Mahathir's school move slammed
MALAYSIA: An opposition Islamic party on Friday criticized the
Malaysian government decision to freeze funding to private
Islamic schools, warning it may lead to the closing of hundreds
of such schools.
Mahfuz Omar, youth chief and lawmaker of the Parti Islam
SeMalaysia (PAS) said since January 2002, none of the private
religious schools have been given their yearly grants.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday the government
would look into restricting these schools.
The government last month announced a funding freeze amid
complaints that teachers indoctrinate pupils to hate national
leaders and instill extremism. But Mahfuz denied the allegations,
describing the government action as politically motivated. --AFP
;DPA;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Thailand-CondomSpurn
Thai actress spurns condom maker's "sexiest woman" award
JP/11/ASEAN
Condom award fails to excite actress
THAILAND: An actress who topped a survey to win the title of
"Sexiest Woman in Thailand" will refuse to accept the award
because it was sponsored by Durex, the condom company, the
woman's mother was quoted as saying on Friday.
Chalida Nilpirom, the mother of movie actress and top fashion
model Shermal Bunyasak, blasted the widely publicized Durex award
for "abusing my daughter's name".
She said it would have been fine if the award had been
bestowed by the media or an educational institute, but condoms
had a negative sexual connotation and so her daughter would not
pick up her Durex award.
Chalida complained that her daughter's celebrity status had
caused her to be attacked on the Internet for wearing sexy
clothes and taking on sexy movie roles. --DPA
fishing trawler following a pirate attack in Malaysian waters off
the eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, it was reported on
Friday.
Four of the ship's Indonesian crew managed to swim to safety
by jumping into the sea to escape the robbers who attacked late
Thursday, the official Bernama news agency reported.
However, the skipper was unable to escape as he was injured by
a gunshot when he got into a scuffle with the pirates.
According to the survivors, a boat carrying two robbers, armed
with M-16 rifles, had stopped by the trawler. The men in the boat
then boarded the trawler and demanded that the crew abandon ship
and swim to shore.
When the sailors refused, a scuffle broke out and one of the
armed men fired two shots, one of which hit the skipper in the
stomach, the report said. --DPA
;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Thailand-corruption
Thai ex-minister indicted for graft, could face prison or death
JP/11/ASEAN
Ex-minister indicted for graft
THAILAND: Thailand's former health minister Rakkiat Sukthana
vowed on Friday to fight a swelling graft case following an
indictment which could make him the first ex-cabinet member
jailed or sentenced to death for corruption.
Rakkiat was forced to resign his post after he found himself
in the midst of a massive medical equipment scandal exposed in
1998 during the previous government led by Prime Minister Chuan
Leekpai.
The NCCC's unanimous vote to indict Rakkiat was a major step
towards a criminal court case which could see Thailand jail its
first former cabinet member on graft charges.
The inquiry concluded Rakkiat violated article 149 of the
criminal code, which provides for penalties up to the death
sentence if members of parliament or state officials are found
guilty by a Supreme Court political crime tribunal. --AFP
;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Philippines-plane
Executives of crashed Philippine plane arrested
JP/11/ASEAN
RP plane crash bosses arrested
PHILIPPINES: Two top foreign executives of a domestic Philippine
airlines involved in a crash that killed 19 people were arrested
on Friday for working here without permits, the immigration
bureau said on Friday.
Paul Ng, a Malaysian who chairs LaoagAir, and Jimmy Tan Teng
Chui, an Australian who also sits on the board and works as the
airline's chief mechanic, were arrested by intelligence
operatives in the northern city of Laoag, the bureau said.
Both were detained on orders by immigration commissioner
Andrea Domingo on Thursday, when she also placed them and two
pilots of the crashed LaoagAir Fokker 27 plane on a "watchlist".
The plane of the small domestic airline had just taken off
from a Manila airport on Nov. 11 when it crashed into Manila Bay,
killing 19 of the 34 people aboard, including six Australians and
three Britons. --AFP
;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Malaysia-opposition
Malaysia's opposition condemns Mahathir's action on Islamic schoo
JP/11/ASEAN
Mahathir's school move slammed
MALAYSIA: An opposition Islamic party on Friday criticized the
Malaysian government decision to freeze funding to private
Islamic schools, warning it may lead to the closing of hundreds
of such schools.
Mahfuz Omar, youth chief and lawmaker of the Parti Islam
SeMalaysia (PAS) said since January 2002, none of the private
religious schools have been given their yearly grants.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday the government
would look into restricting these schools.
The government last month announced a funding freeze amid
complaints that teachers indoctrinate pupils to hate national
leaders and instill extremism. But Mahfuz denied the allegations,
describing the government action as politically motivated. --AFP
;DPA;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
Aglance-Thailand-CondomSpurn
Thai actress spurns condom maker's "sexiest woman" award
JP/11/ASEAN
Condom award fails to excite actress
THAILAND: An actress who topped a survey to win the title of
"Sexiest Woman in Thailand" will refuse to accept the award
because it was sponsored by Durex, the condom company, the
woman's mother was quoted as saying on Friday.
Chalida Nilpirom, the mother of movie actress and top fashion
model Shermal Bunyasak, blasted the widely publicized Durex award
for "abusing my daughter's name".
She said it would have been fine if the award had been
bestowed by the media or an educational institute, but condoms
had a negative sexual connotation and so her daughter would not
pick up her Durex award.
Chalida complained that her daughter's celebrity status had
caused her to be attacked on the Internet for wearing sexy
clothes and taking on sexy movie roles. --DPA