Selangor Sultan has broken the State Constitution: Appointment of State Secretary

http://www.digitalibrary.my/dmdocuments/malaysiakini/277_selangor.pdf

Download this constitution and refer to para 55:

None in the list of actions that the Sultan has discretion of, is the
appointment of the State Secretary.

The Sultan must act on the advice of the State Executive Council.

Under Para 52, it is mentioned that only the Service Commission be
allowed to appoint the State Secretary but with the Sultan bound to
seek advice from the State Executive Council, the Service Commission
cannot overide the State Executive Council, let alone bypassing him.

This is extraordinary and against the spirit of the constitution and
Parliamentary Democracy.
The wishes of the people through the election of the State Executive
Council must be respected.

This constitution should be similar to Sabah. In Sabah, the state
government has its own Service Commission. They must function
according to strict rules and since it is a commission, i.e. its power
is derived from the Sultan or the TYT in the case of Sabah, the
commission cannot make its decision behind the Chief Minister's back.

The Federal Public Services commission has no right to appoint State
Government officers. Not so sure about the states in West Malaysia.

Study ties brain structure size to socializing

"The woman felt no fear in threatening situations." Thius perfectly
describes my situtations. Does it mean that my Amygdala is very small?

I may be good at mathematics but certainly not good at socialising. I
can talk to many types of people because I don't have any fear of
strangeness or any situations at all but this does not translate to
success in socialising.

Women should be better at it than men because they spend all their
time socialising. One such rule is, if they don't invite you to
weddings, why should you invite them as well. My brain will be scanned
with a CAT scan. It may not be as good as MRI, but with it the doctor
should be able to know the size of my Amygdala, hopefully.

Politicians should have a large Amygdala but how about dictators?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRw9Gcfw6_C8ucFaxUyQo0fDqdRQ?docId=56b1e32c48fd460c938b6496b20e1837

Study ties brain structure size to socializing

(AP) – 5 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Do you spend time with a lot of friends? That might
mean a particular part of your brain is larger than usual.

It's the amygdala, which lies deep inside. Brain scans of 58
volunteers in a preliminary study indicated that the bigger the
amygdala, the more friends and family the volunteers reported seeing
regularly.

That makes sense because the amygdala is at the center of a brain
network that's important for socializing, says Lisa Feldman Barrett,
an author of the work published online Sunday by the journal Nature
Neuroscience.

For example, the network helps us recognize whether somebody is a
stranger or an acquaintance, and a friend or a foe, said Barrett, of
Northeastern University in Boston.

But does having a bigger amygdala lead to more friends, or does
socializing with a lot of friends create a bigger amygdala? The study
can't sort that out. But Barrett said it might be a bit of both.

She said her study now must be replicated by further research.

The work, supported by the federal government, was aimed at uncovering
basic knowledge rather than producing any immediate practical payoff,
she said. But it might someday lead to ways to help people maintain
active social lives, she said.

People have one amygdala in the left half of the brain and another in
the right half. The findings of the new study held true for each one.

Arthur Toga, a brain-mapping expert at the University of California,
Los Angeles, who didn't participate in the study, called the work well
done and the statistical results strong. The idea of linking a brain
structure to human behavior is "interesting and important," he said.

Amygdala research made headlines earlier this month when researchers
reported on a woman without a working amygdala. The woman felt no fear
in threatening situations.
On the Net:

* http://www.nature.com/neuro

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Related articles

* Size does matter: Party animals with great social lives and lots
of friends ...
Daily Mail - 1 hour ago
* The secret to managing complex relationships
Hindustan Times - 6 hours ago
* The size of your amygdala might determine the quality of your
social life
io9 - 2 hours ago
* More coverage (1) »

Add News to your iGoogle Homepage Add News to your Google Homepage
The Associated Press

Hadith on seeing wrong doings

http://www.sufism.org/society/articles/PeaceHadith.htm

Anyone of you who sees wrong, let him undo it with his hand; and if he
cannot, then let him speak against it with his tongue, and if he
cannot do this either, then (let him abhor it) with his heart, and
this is the least of faith.

No amnesty for capital crimes: Argentina example

Even dictators will pay for the crimes that they commit sooner or
later. Argentina has shown the way.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704774604576035980945498152.html
Former Argentine Dictator Gets Life in Prison

BUENOS AIRES—Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, on trial
for the first time since the country's Supreme Court rescinded his
amnesty, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal court for the
murder of 31 political prisoners in 1976.

Mr. Videla ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1981 and presided over the so-
called Dirty War in which at least 10,000 people suspected of working
against the regime, and perhaps as many as 30,000, were "disappeared"
and killed, according to historians and human-rights groups.

After the country returned to democracy, Mr. Videla was sentenced in a
landmark 1985 trial to life in prison for abuses committed during his
rule. He served five years before he and other figures from the
dictatorship were pardoned by President Carlos Menem, who said he was
trying to close the book on a divisive era in Argentine history. The
Supreme Court struck down the pardons in 2007, paving the way for new
cases to be brought against officials from the dictatorship.

View Full Image
1222videla
AFP/Getty Images

Former Argentine general and dictator Jorge Rafael Videla (L) and
former army general Luciano Benjamin Menendez await for their sentence
in the trial for the murder of 31 political prisoners.
1222videla
1222videla

Wednesday's sentence was the culmination of a six-month trial in the
city of Cordoba revolving around the case of 31 prisoners suspected of
opposing the regime, who were rousted from their cells and executed
following the coup that brought Mr. Videla to power. A three-judge
panel issued the sentence, which it specified should be served in a
common prison facility, as opposed to in a military jail or under
house arrest.

Mr. Videla, 85 years old, sometimes appeared to doze off during the
trial. He was defiant when he did speak.

"I don't speak of 'Dirty War,' I prefer to speak of 'just war,' " he
said on Tuesday, asserting that his government had implemented a
legitimate defense strategy against leftist guerrilla groups.

He took thinly veiled swipes at the government of President Cristina
Kirchner, who has acted aggressively to bring former officials of the
dictatorship to justice. "The enemies of yesterday achieved their goal
and govern the country and they try to set themselves up as champions
of human rights," Mr. Videla said.

Convicted along with Mr. Videla were 29 other security officials from
the dictatorship, including former Gen. Luciano Benjamin Menendez, who
headed anti-guerrilla operations in a large section of the country.

Write to Matt Moffett at matthew.moffett@wsj.com

Wan Azizah as Malaysia's First Woman PM

There are many accusations that Anwar Ibrahim is crazy to become PM.
This is the reason quoted by UMNO as to why Anwar kept on fighting for
the poor people in Malaysia.

It is very easy for PR Pakatan Rakyat to solve this problem and at the
same time, wield as a weapon against their opponents. Let Anwar only
stand as a State Assemblyman. In this way, Anwar cannot become PM
without massive support from within PR and the voters.

It also removes any possibilility that Anwar be convicted just before
Election day. Based on actions by the Judge in disallowing defence
evidences while allowing dubious prosecution evidences, it is very
clear that Anwar will not get a fair trial. By pre-empting this
decision, Anwar should feel less pressure and allow him to rest and
plan for the coming election.

Anwar must campaign so he must register as a cadidate for the State
Election.

The world seems to go for women as their leaders. Australia, New
Zealand and Germany had gone this way. US may be next.

I don't know my own culture

Although I am getting old, I still don't know much about my own
culture. I used to think that my culture is not that important as long
as my religion is well guarded. However I notice that once I was
exposed to my cultures during marriage ceremonies and cultural dances,
I notice the superiority of the Daling-daling dance and now Mengiluk
over the widely publicised dances in Sabah such as Sumazau and Joget.
Culture is not just to show differences but to show our most beautiful
and elegant creations that will give the most entertainment.

One aspect of this culture is the participative dances. It used to be
dominated by Joget but in the increasing Islamic awareness this is
slowly being phased out. I won't allow my daughter, wife and sisters
to dance with strange men, and vice versa. However there is pressure
for entertainment in celebrations. In my marriage ceremony I used to
protest against any music or dance but they still organise them
because it was deemed as the usual practise, and allow relatives to
entertain themselves. Invited guests were only our close relatives.
Gate crashers will not be allowed.

It was more than 20 years ago that I was reintroduced to the Daling
daling dance because my mother-in-law hired a dancer to perform and
the band to play musing that allows the daling daling dance to be
performed by participants. It is the women, young and old who love to
dance this style of dancing. The women just dance by themselves
without men. Men cannot dance this type of dance anyway. It is too
gentle and require too much body movements. One good thing is that
there is no more Joget. The women like to dance probabably to exercise
while showing off their skills, beauty and elegance. As long as it is
not vulgar like some of the western and korean darnces, it should be
alright.

Mengiluk is more like Zapin. It is fast and therefore tiring for
amateur dancers.I am surprised that I was not aware of it. Based on
elegance, Mengiluk looks superior to any of the previously Malay/
Arabic dances that I was more familiar with. The question is why this
dance was not well promoted at all? Is there any attempt to destroy
other cultures that are not Malay based? Any attempt to destroy the
Suluk culture is futile because the Suluks in the Philippines will
promote it and later will claim it as their sole rights, as what is
happening to the Daling daling dance.

Just now I was asked to attend a dinner wearing a traditional dress.
I was trained to wear Baju Selangor since I was young because we use
it to go for prayers. It was more associated with Islamic culture than
Malay culture. However since I have Arabic blood, it should be better
for me to wear Arabic clothes but we don't do this because these
clothes are reserved for the Imams or extra pious Muslims. I also
don't wear any Jubah because I find it not suitable for me since I
don't like to pretend to be pious. Doesn't it mean that I show
disrespect to my ancestors, especially when I am somehow related to
the Prophet Muhammad himself? I can blame my grandmother and other
grand relatives for not reminding us to respect our ancestors. It is
fortunate that our religious discipline is still very strong. This
could contribute to the neglect of any of the hereditary titles such
as Sharif as being useless and unIslamic. Now I begin to doubt their
course of actions. They could be wrong. One sin is in not telling the
whole truth, at least to their descendents.

I start thiking about this culture business because a nephew, the
first in my family, will get married soon. We had discussed several
cultural issues. We had decided to show cultural dances to our guests
at Kota Kinabalu. This is also for the first time that any of our
family got married outside our home town of Sandakan. People in Kota
Kinabalu are not well exposed with the Suluk culture. One
controversial decision is to get rid of the "merenjis" ceremony as
unIslamic but allowing the "berinai". Berinai is the colouring of
fingers. I used to do this when I got married partly because every
Muslim seem to be doing it and there is no obvious harm in doing it.
Berinai is also deemed as a Hindu culture, not Islamic culture. I am
beginning to doubt it.

There will be 2 dance performances of the Suluks and 1 for the Malay
because the bride is a Malay + Indian. The berinai should be an Indian
rather than Hindu culture so should not be viewed as unreligious, but
so does "merenjis". Maybe, in the end, we shall just follow the crowd.

Idiotic Malaysian Economists vs World Bank

Malaysian Employer's Federation:
"According to MEF's survey, total wages had increased by 97.10 per
cent for executives and 91.21 per cent for non-executives from 1994 to
2007.

"After factoring the Consumer Price Index which increased by 37.3 per
cent during the same period, the actual wage increases were in fact
59.8 per cent for executives and 53.9 per cent for non-executives," he
said.

World Bank:

"Azman said the survey results also disproved the World Bank report
which stated that real wages in Malaysia from the year 1994 to 2007,
only increased by 2.6 per cent."

When you say REAL, it means the salary in 1994 versus salary in 2007,
IN world currency terms, not in Malaysian RM. In 1994, 1US = RM2.4, in
2007, 1US=RM3.8

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=548935

December 09, 2010 21:27 PM

MEF Expects Private Sector Employees To See Higher Salaries In 2011

PETALING JAYA, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Employees in the private sector are
expected to receive higher wages next year -- a clear indication that
the Malaysian economy is healthy and well on the road to recovery,
says the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).

Its President Datuk Azman Shah Haron said a survey conducted by the
federation found that wages for executives was forecasted to increase
by 5.79 per cent in 2011 compared with a 5.67 pct increase this year.

The survey found that 80.8 per cent of respondent companies granted
salary increase to all its executives this year which was also higher
than the 5.26 pct increase last year.

For non-executives, 80.3 per cent of the respondent companies granted
salary increase in 2010 which was also higher than in 2009.

This trend of salary increase is consistent with Malaysia's strong
economic recovery, Azman said at a media briefing on the "2010 MEF
Salary Survey for Executives and Non-Executives" here Thursday.

Apart from the Salary Survey, MEF also produced six new publications
including the MEF Compensation and Benefits Survey for Sales/Marketing
Personnel, MEF Fringe Benefits Survey 2010, MEF Survey on Man-Days
Loss, Analysis of Collective Agreements and Awards on Terms and
Conditions of Employment 2009 and MEF Survey on Implementation of
Productivity/Performance Linked Wage System.

Azman said the survey results also disproved the World Bank report
which stated that real wages in Malaysia from the year 1994 to 2007,
only increased by 2.6 per cent.

"According to MEF's survey, total wages had increased by 97.10 per
cent for executives and 91.21 per cent for non-executives from 1994 to
2007.

"After factoring the Consumer Price Index which increased by 37.3 per
cent during the same period, the actual wage increases were in fact
59.8 per cent for executives and 53.9 per cent for non-executives," he
said.

If the wage increases are extended to 2010, the total wage increases
from 1994 to 2010 will amount to 114.23 per cent for executives and
107.4 per cent for non-executives.

Therefore, with Consumer Price Index recorded to increase by 44.8 per
cent from 1994 to 2010, based on the yearly MEF survey on wages the
actual increase in wages from 1994 to 2010 will be 69.43 per cent and
62.6 per cent for executives and non-executives respectively, Azman
added.

This proves that the World Bank's report of real wages increase of
only 2.6 per cent from 1994 to 2007 is untrue.

Only the World Bank knows how this was derived at, as their method of
calculation was not revealed, he added.

The survey also revealed that 86.1 per cent of the respondent
companies granted bonus to their executives in 2010 while 83.7 per
cent provided bonus to non-executives, which was higher than the 80
per cent in 2009.

On MEF's survey on Man-Days Loss, he said 94.6 per cent of companies
surveyed indicated that the most common reason for man-days loss was
due to sick leave, other causes included lateness (56.8 per cent),
visits to clinic/hospital (50 per cent), industrial accident leave
(35.1 per cent), prolonged illness (32.4 per cent).

Other reasons were personal/family problems (28.4 per cent) and
application leave not approved (16.2 per cent) and the average number
of man-days loss due to sick leave (non-hospitalisation) in 2009 was
4.04 days per employee.

Based on the 5.5 million formal employees in the private sector in
Malaysia, the total number of man-days loss due to sick leave (non-
hospitalisation) was 22.2 million days per year, he said.

The survey also indicated that the average wage paid for each employee
who took an average of 4.04 days sick leave was RM294.62 per year
while the medical expenses spent per employee was RM511.09 per year
and the average overtime paid to each employee who covers those on
sick leave was RM441 per year, he said.

The MEF survey covered 35,661 employees and there were an average
268.56 work days available to each employee in a year.

The MEF survey for executives was participated by 220 member
companies, involving a total of 101 benchmark positions covering
11,287 executives.

In the survey for non-executives, responses were collected from 40,424
non-executives in 87 benchmark positions from both manufacturing and
non-manufacturing sectors.

-- BERNAMA

TORAH FORBIDS a JEWISH STATE

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081106074816AAQO45F

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8GFg3ZOvgs

The TORAH certainly forbids the establishment of a JEWISH state BEFORE
the coming of the Messiah.

If the Jewish state were created before the Messiah, it means that the
state is not blessed, and contrary to the teaching of the Torah. You
can create a State but NOT A JEWISH STATE.

A JEWISH STATE is a STATE THAT GRANTS SPECIAL privileges to JEWS ONLY,
like what is being attempted here.

A normal state, does not grant special rights to any citizens, even in
Malaysia, the constitution only grants rights to natives for
educational and economic assistance only for the less endowed natives.
In current Israel, this is entirely not followed. Jews are given
preferential treatment in immigratiion and other laws over the other
citizens of Israel to the point of killing and stealing properties of
the non-Jews.

Singaporean Intelligence DID NOT admit that ANWAR was GUILTY

https://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.malaysia/browse_thread/thread/56552abebb5162ad?hl=en#

More lies about Malaysian legal system: Maximum of 50%

The offer is only for a maximum of 50% reduction of maximum sentence.
So it can be ZERO %. It is meaningless for anyone who admit a guilty
plea. For a first offender, by right, the sentencing cannot exceed
50%, of course depending on the circumstances. So an offer for
leniency like this is meaningless.

For those who observe Malaysian legal system in practise, please note
that Anwar Ibrahim got a Maximum of 10 years for a corrupt case where
many evidences were deemed as IRRELEVANT and NOT even considered in
the judgement, whereas murder and rape cases also get similar 10 year
sentences.

Kuala Lumpur is boring to Sabahans

In my days in the 1970s it was so exciting to go to Kuala Lumpur
because of their shopping centres and low prices of goods compared to
Sabah. Now it is no longer so. Kota Kinabalu has an abundant of
shopping centres and our prices here are almost the same as Kuala
Lumpur. Whatever that we cannot get in Sabah, we can easily buy
online.

For Sabahans, that has lots of beaches and water fronts in all major
towns in Sabah, Kuala Lumpur is so boring. Even putting aquarium in
Kuala Lumpur will not make it exciting. Pulau Sentosa island's may
also use an aquarium but being so near to the sea, we somehow overlook
this and pretend that the aquarium is the sea. Similarly for Langkawi
but Kuala Lumpur?

No matter how many buildings you put at Kuala Lumpur including the
mega towers or whatever will not make Kuala Lumpur as exciting as
Sabahan towns or even overseas visitors. These are just different
types and sizes of buildings, nothing more. You quickly get bored of
them over time.