Federal Govt Nod For VEP

By Ben Tan and Chuah Bee Kim 

JOHOR BARU: The Federal Government has agreed for Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) to be imposed on Singapore-registered vehicles that enter Johor.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the establishment of the VEP would however need some fine-tuning before its implementation.

"The Johor government first needs to inform and give notice to the Road Transport Department on its implementation as an administrative process," he said in his speech before a state government organised berbuka puasa event at the Persada International Conventional Centre here this evening.

Najib added that the Federal Government and Johor Government will also discuss on the proposed rates for the VEP before its implementation.

"Part of the VEP collection will also go to the state government," he said.

Present at the event was Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The Johor Government has been keen in awaiting the approval from the Federal Government to implement the VEP for Singapore-registered vehicles entering both the Causeway in the city and also the Second Link in Gelang Patah in the state.

Earlier Najib launched a new bus service at a cost of RM2.9 million to be borne by Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) from Larkin to the Johor Baru city centre.

In the afternoon, Najib attended a closed-door briefing on Johor's development and progress at the Puteri Pacific Hotel here.

Johor state planning unit (Unpen) director A. Rahim Nin gave the two-hour briefing on the state's development and progress. - NST online

Illegal Immigrants

Many people leave their country to seek greener pastures in foreign lands. Sometimes its just something that one needs to do to survive, to achieve a dream ... whatever the reason may be that make you wanna enter or leave a country, please seek the proper channels.   The proper channels may be fraught with a little inconvenience and the hassle can be frustrating but the illegal way is fraught with danger and much risk.

It's your life, your choice.  Choose wisely.   

Every year there are reports of incidents like these. When will they ever learn?

By Chuah Bee Kim 

JOHOR BARU: TWO drowned and 17 other illegal immigrants are missing after their boat carrying 80 people capsized off Tanjung Piai near Pontian here on Monday, following a collision with a patrol boat.

Another 61 people, comprising 10 women and 51 men, including a pregnant woman, were rescued in the 11.30pm incident, which took place three nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Piai.

The boat was believed to be ferrying the 80 Indonesian illegal immigrants home for the Hari Raya celebrations.

The authorities immediately launched a joint search-and-rescue operation involving personnel from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), police, Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Department.

Johor Baru MMEA enforcement chief Captain Aminuddin Abd Rashid said the drama unfolded after the agency received news of a boat maneuvering in a suspicious manner.

“A patrol boat with three enforcement officers, which was part of the Ops Tumpas enforcement operation, was sent to check following the alert,” he said at the MMEA headquarters here yesterday.
Aminuddin said when MMEA patrol team spotted the boat, they were not sure whether the boat was transporting contraband cigarettes or firecrackers.

“All officers knew at that time was that the boat tried to get away when MMEA announced their presence. The tekong turned aggressive and rammed his boat into the patrol boat twice.”
Aminuddin said the boat then tried to evade authorities’ vessels by using two of its four engines.

“It was when the boat attempted to outrun a patrol boat that it swerved into the path of another patrol boat, causing our boat to ram into it from the rear. The impact of the collision threw the passengers into the sea. Three officers tried their best to rescue the victims.”

Following the incident, the marine police, Civil Defence Department and Fire and Rescue Department later arrived to assist in search-and-rescue operations.

The survivors were transported to a jetty in Danga Bay and sent to the MMEA headquarters here before being handed over to the Immigration Department.

Aminuddin said two more Indonesian men were later rescued, but it could not ascertained if they were the tekong.

He said 10 of the survivors were sent to Sultanah Aminah Hospital for treatment and four had since been discharged.

The two bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Their remains will be surrendered to the Indonesian Consulate which will make arrangements to send them home.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that the illegal immigrants paid RM1,500 per head to be on board the boat to transport them from Tanjung Adang in Gelang Patah to Batam in Indonesia.
Aminuddin said search-and-rescue operations would continue for the missing 17 victims.

Yanti's Tailor-Made For Success

By Chuah Bee Kim

Pic by Nur Aisyah Mazalan

MERSING: WHAT started as a hobby is now business for Yanti Suhaila Abu Samah.

She started out by sewing beads on her own blouse. When Yanti wore her beaded blouse to a function, a friend who saw her work, asked her to adorn the latter’s scarf with beads as well, and paid RM50 for it.

The incident inspired Yanti, 26, who has a degree in architecture, to start designing her own scarves and shawls and adorn them with lace or beads.

Four years ago, she started selling her scarves and shawls online and attracted customers from Brunei and Singapore.

Buoyed by the success of her online venture, Yanti decided to open a physical boutique early this year.

Her Kuntum Boutique is in Kampung Makam here.

“My customers want their scarves and shawls to be made to match their attire,” said Yanti .

“Most of my customers are locals who are looking for quality products and the latest fashion.

“I like to work with satin, chiffon and crepe as they are soft and graceful and comfortable when worn.

“The most sought-after among my scarves and shawls are those made using chiffon,” she said.

“Chiffon is quite difficult to work with because it is lightweight and slippery.

“My scarves are different from what is available in the market as I adorn them with lace or beads, or both. I want my brand Kuntum to be exclusive and in keeping with the times,” she said.

Yanti said she has always encouraged others to be entrepreneurs.

“I also offer franchising opportunities and I am also looking for dealers of my products,” she added.

In conjunction with Hari Raya, Yanti has created a collection of scarves and shawls.

For details, call 017-312 0290017-312 0290.

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Happy 169th Birthday

The New Straits Times, founded on July 15, 1845 as The Straits Times, turns 169 today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

On August 31, 1974, it was renamed The New Straits Times.

Lethal Injection

Will the stray dogs in Johor see better days now?  For that to happen, dog lovers have to do their part to keep dogs off the streets.  

In the Star today

JOHOR BARU: A municipal council has engaged a private company to get rid of stray dogs with lethal injection instead of bludgeoning them to death.

Central Johor Baru Municipal Council (MPJBT) president Sallehuddin Hassan said the private company, which was appointed at the end of last month, would be tasked with catching, putting down and disposing of the carcasses.

“We decided to engage this company, which was already carrying out services for the Kulai Municipal Council in Johor as we do not want a repeat of the bludgeoning of stray dogs by our enforcement officials to happen again,” he told The Star here.

Sallehuddin said this method was a more humane way to put the animals down.

He stressed that while it would incur higher costs, it was the best option to tackle strays as MPJBT was facing a huge problem due to many public complaints.

The Star recently reported about a video clip showing enforcement staff inhumanely putting down strays at the back of a warehouse in Jalan Makmur, Skudai, which went viral online and raised uproar among animal lovers.

Sallehuddin admitted that the incident is a “terrible mistake” and said the council had taken the matter seriously.

Some councillors and animal rights groups have even suggested that action be taken against the enforcement officers.

MPJBT councillor Tan Tuan Peng, who had previously criticised the enforcement officials for bludgeoning the strays, said the private company would charge the council RM100 per animal put down.

He added that the cost of disposing the strays was high due to the lethal injection used.
”All strays will be photographed and documented before the company makes a claim with the council,” he said.

For the first five months of this year, MPJBT has put down 1,181 dogs.  Last year, the council received 997 complaints on stray dogs and had put down 2,524, while in 2012, the council received 1,135 complaints and put down 2,345 strays.

A Prayer For Gaza and All Those Who Are Sad

Yesterday I got overwhelmed by the cuteness of Micky, and posted three self-indulgent photos.  I removed one already. Same photo what, all carrying Micky.

Anyway, I'm posting the cover of yesterday's New Sunday Times to remind myself that whenever I feel deprived or sad or bitter, I just have to look at this.  Who can be sadder than this little girl?

Of course, there are the families of the passengers of  MH370 who are still waiting and hoping for the return of their loved ones,  the recently widowed spouse of the marine cop who was killed in the Semporna shooting ... so many sad stories in our midst....their loss and pain I cannot imagine.

We can only pray for the oppressed and those who are sad.  May they have the strength to overcome the pain and misery, and may they find happiness again.

Later in the day I am welcoming someone home with the message "I LOVE YOU".  It cost me a total of RM10.50 (RM3.50 per stalk).

Make sure you tell your loved one or a good friend this same message, ok? You don't need to say it with flowers.  Even a simple text message will do.