Malaysian Information

21/07/2009 1:05pm
KUALA LUMPUR 21 Julai - Pakar bahan letupan, Nordin Mat Top yang dikaitkan dengan beberapa siri pengeboman di Indonesia tidak berada di Malaysia, kata Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein di sini hari ini.
- BERNAMA

When Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz said public transport companies are expected to improve their level of service after the recent fare hike, it is important to spell out specifically what changes we can expect, and how he expects those changes to happen.

Otherwise it is wishful thinking.If he is serious about expecting an improvement in service quality, he could start by enumerating some key components of service quality in the public transport system.Here are a several components from the perspective of the customer:

FOR BUSES: Punctuality according to a schedule that is displayed. No overcrowding in buses. Comfortable bus stops. Air-conditioning that works and safety.

FOR TAXIS: Available at all reasonable times like morning and evening, use of meter that is properly calibrated, no picking and choosing passengers according to destination, Cleanliness. Courtesy would be a nice extra.So Nazri, can we expect improvement in all of the above?

What targets have you set for the above key result areas? What specific measures have you put in place to initiate these changes happen?I'm sure the good minister is not so naive as to think that by merely increasing the fares, errant public transport operators are going to mend their ways.What mechanism is being set up to monitor the service quality level of the public transport system?

M0re statements about improved service quality are just hot air and an insult to the intelligence to the man or woman in the street waiting for public transport.

The Malaysian chapter of the world human rights organisation Amnesty International has expressed concerns over the death of DAP political aide Toeh Beng Hock while in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The patriarch of the Jackson family says he's taken his son Michael's death "very hard" and believes the doctor who took care of him could be behind the singer's demise.
Joe Jackson appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Monday and implied his son's personal doctor may be to blame for the death.
Joe Jackson told King, "The doctor gave him something to make him rest, and then he don't wake up no more. Something is wrong there."
The family is awaiting the coroner's toxicology report to determine how Michael Jackson died. The results are not expected until next week. The powerful anesthetic propofol was found in the singer's rented home.-AP

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Michael Owen scored for the second time in two matches to help give Manchester United a 2-0 win Monday over a Malaysian XI on its Asian preseason tour.
The Premier League champions narrowly edged the Malaysian team 3-2 Saturday, but delivered a more commanding performance in the rematch in front of 30,000 fans in Kuala Lumpur.
With Owen and Ryan Giggs in the starting lineup and Wayne Rooney on the bench, there seemed to be more urgency to United's game as they kept using the flanks to prise open the Malaysian defense.
United took an early lead in the 10th minute when winger Darren Fletcher played the ball back to the waiting Federico Macheda, who easily slotted into the net.
Just two minutes later, Owen capitalized on a hesitant Malaysian defense for his second goal of the tour.
Owen came close to scoring again in the 60th, but his effort came off the post.
United seemed content to protect its lead, and Malaysia failed to convert its chances in the second half.
Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov came on to increase United's pace in attack, and the England striker almost scored from a cross in the 68th. Five minutes later, Berbatov's header went straight to Malaysian goalkeeper Mohd Farizal Marlias.
The Red Devils decided to play against Malaysia again after canceling a planned match in Indonesia in the wake of Friday's bomb attack on the Jakarta hotel where they were due to stay. They will depart Wednesday for the next leg of their Asia tour in Seoul and then on to China