TwoSen

IT WAS recently reported that a teacher was acquitted at the end of a full trial of charges of outraging the modesty of three “deaf-mute” female students in 2005. The sessions court judge reportedly said the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the charges were not specific. While respecting the criminal justice process and the right of an accused to a fair trial, the Women’s Centre for Change, Penang (WCC) remains deeply concerned about the prosecution and outcome of sexual crime trials, especially those involving special needs individuals.

In the above case, given the hearing and speech impairments of the victims, how did the investigating officers and the court communicate with them or assess the accuracy of information given via interpreters (assuming sign language was used)? How much time did the prosecution spend with the victims, preparing them for the trial? What sort of preparation went into the case if the judge stated that the charges against the accused “did not state what the criminal intimidation was that he was alleged to have committed to outrage the modesty of the victims and how he had done so, and there were also discrepancies in the dates of the incidents given by the victims”? Why were the discrepancies not sorted out prior to the trial or even amended during trial?

Sexual crime victims have little choice but to place their trust in the justice system, where the state prosecutes the perpetrators on their behalf. Given that only a fraction of reported sexual crimes result in the accused being charged, it becomes ever so important that the state mounts a well-prepared prosecution. The WCC’s research into sexual crime cases tried in subordinate courts in Penang between 2000 and 2004 showed the following with regard to outraging modesty (S354 of the Penal Code). Of the 125 cases which went to full trial, only 2.4% resulted in a guilty verdict, 27.2% resulted in acquittal, and 63.2% a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA). The low conviction rates and the high rate of DNAA verdicts send a shocking message on justice for sexual crime victims.

The WCC maintains that for such victims to get justice, there must be careful and thorough investigation, as well as meticulous and skilful prosecution. Until there is change to this effect, acquittals and DNAA verdicts will continue. Surely the victims deserve better than this.

Prema Devaraj
Programme Director
WCC

Source: The Sun – March 11, 2010

TODAY, more than 465,000 students nationwide will know their SPM results. Many will jump for joy for having done well. There will be a few who will be overcome with sadness, disappointed with their results, and there will be those rueing their fate for not getting the results expected.

Whatever the outcome, these young people should be reminded that if it is sweet success, well and good, but that it is only the beginning of a long passage to a more challenging future. If unsuccessful, it is not the end of the world. Strive harder to experience the ultimate success. Remember Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and many others!

As adults we should encourage children to look ahead with confidence and never allow success to get to their heads or failure to drag them down. Instead plan for the future strategically and effectively to continue with life’s journey and one day become useful to family, community and nation. Aspire to act in whatever way you can for the greater good of humanity.

As Malaysians, take it upon yourself to ensure that this country remains a land of peace and harmony. As eventual leaders of this sovereign state, children must be made to realise that they shoulder a big responsibility in ensuring the novel attributes of the 1Malaysia concept become a reality. Best wishes to all.

Zamri Mahmud
Kuala Lumpur

Source: The Sun – March 11, 2010

Source: The Sun – March 11, 2010

CALVIN Sankaran’s letter “Bleak prospects for Penang” (March 9) clearly shows a lack of understanding of the issues that confront Malaysia and not just Penang. It is unfortunate that his writings are not better employed on suggestions on how to improve Malaysia’s economy.

The writer must realise that Malaysia’s labour cost is no longer competitive as compared to Vietnam, Cambodia and other emerging economies around the world. It is sad that the writer continues to ignore the fact that Malaysia has to undergo a major structural change by moving into the Knowledge Economy concept. Many smart Malaysians have emigrated and talents as such are being drained away due to a discriminating government policy.

Secondly, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng never turned away any RM10.2 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) and it is a blatant lie to continue to say this. The company just never made any commitment to be in Malaysia after finding out that there were never enough engineers. Clearly this is real and apparent. Ask around Penang and you will get a fair comment from many whom I have interacted with.

Malaysia is not addressing the shortage of human capital well and there must be an apolitical effort to address the skills set issues.

If the writer is a savvy commentator on the Penang economy, he should note that the state’s GDP and FDI rates will fall in tandem with the economic recession, as almost 40% of Penang’s GDP is from the manufacturing sector. I am startled that the writer was unable to see this, although his views are clearly out to confuse the general public. In fact, local investments which should also play a role in Penang’s GDP fell drastically as many local corporations and investors are unable to support further investments in Penang as they are dependent on foreign investors.

What is suspect is the priority of the federal government. What is the writer’s stand on the economic and political climate of the country? Clearly, the drastic 25% drop in foreign exchange reserves shows that foreign investors believe the federal government is not paying enough attention on building trust among the people of different races and religions. Teoh Beng Hock’s death in custody and the fiasco over the use of the word “Allah” are issues, to name a couple, that may have contributed negatively to the economy in general.

Hence, the writer should acknowledge that Penang and Selangor continue to play a major role in capturing the bulk of FDI into the country.

The moral of the story is this. In times of a major crisis, there will be lots of opportunities. The current Penang government’s state of accounts has been praised by the auditor-general as compared to that of other states. Also, its efforts to distribute an annual RM100 to its senior citizens for their contributions is praiseworthy. Again, I am saddened at the misinformation with which the writer continues to portray the state government. A typical case of a misinformed Penangite.

Rajan Rajasamy
Penang

Source: The Sun – March 11, 2010

THIS is with reference to the Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor’s statement that the government is evaluating a proposal to build another highway linking the northern and southern parts of the peninsula to complement the North-South Expressway (NSE).

It is baffling how such a proposal was even thought of – don’t we have enough roads linking us from the north to the south? Why is there a need to build a second highway along the NSE when there are already the trunk (federal) and state roads? The NSE was built more than 20 years ago to be an alternative to the trunk roads. However, it seems that most of us have conveniently forgotten about the trunk roads. Do we really need three roads that will basically take us from Point A to Point B?

If the government is so adamant about building another highway, why doesn’t it focus on building one from Kota Baru to Kuala Lumpur instead? Or how about our Sabah and Sarawak counterparts? There are plenty of other

opportunities elsewhere, so why are we wasting taxpayers’ money on something that is clearly redundant – this is extremely unfair to those who don’t live along these routes and will probably never use these roads, and who will not be able to reap the benefits (should there be any).

Also, the NSE is not even fully utilised. The roads are clear most of the time and are congested only during certain peak times and a few days in a year during festive seasons. So what makes the government think there will be enough traffic for a second north-south highway? How sure are they that they will make enough to break even, let alone make any profit? And if they don’t, then once again the government would have to bail out the appointed concessionaire – and we are back to square one.

What the government should do is improve on current public transportation instead, by building more efficient trains that depart on an hourly basis. This would not only help eradicate traffic on the roads, but also cut travel costs, reduce accidents, be more environment-friendly and even provide more jobs to a certain extent.

The government could also perhaps look at upgrading the NSE by building more lanes. This will definitely alleviate any congestion that the NSE might see and for a fraction of the cost of building a new highway which is estimated to be around RM6 billion. Also, if accessibility to the NSE is the root of the problem, then perhaps we should be building more feeder roads leading to the NSE instead.

In finding new, exciting and extremely costly “solutions”, let us not be hasty in spending the rakyat’s money unless all other more viable options are considered first.

Saesha Razak
Kelana Jaya

Source: The Sun – March 11, 2010

 
IS there a stipulation on the minimum height of road signs. I see road signs are set at a height of about 5 ft. At such a low height there is every danger of unwary pedestrians walking into it.

On one occasion I crashed into a sign, hurting my forehead and back. There  have been other occasions when I have avoided knocking my head against the sharp edge of a sign in the nick of time.

Low roads signs straddle the pavements even in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. A pedestrian has to keep a sharp look-out so as not  to run into a roadsign in addition to avoiding  holes, bumps and loose tiles on pavements.

Source: The Sun – March 10, 2010

 
TOLLS have become a necessary evil and as the years go by, it is inevitable that toll prices will increase like everything else.

While I may not welcome the review of major tolls, it will only be fair to say that any hike has to be commensurate with the services provided.

If the toll road provides a smooth and efficient ride, slight increases in costs will be acceptable because as they say time is money.

Eventually at some stage, subsidies would have to give way to a freer market economy. The longer we are held by these crutches, the harder it will be in the future. What the government should remember is that the toll hike has to be reasonable, especially for the lower-income groups, underprivileged and retirees.

I also hope the government can help monitor prices of essential goods and services which will almost certainly be triggered by a toll hike.
 

Liew Jing Yan
Ampang

Source: The Sun – March 10, 2010

IT is good of theSun to highlight this problem of drivers flouting traffic rules. All drivers are equally guilty of this and it all boils down to enforcement. If one can have hundreds of summonses and still be driving on the road  what does it say of the enforcement.

To top it all offenders are offered discounts to get them to settle their summonses and if you know someone inside your summonses can be waived or the compounds reduced drastically. So why worry break all the rules because no  one will come after you. If the authorities are strict we will see some improvement.

Maybe the paper should publish an article on yellow boxes and motorcyclists taking off before the lights can change to green.

What about the latest fad of motorcyclists riding on the pavement and road dividers and expecting pedestrians to give way? This often happens at the Jalan P Ramlee  and Jalan Sultan Ismail traffic light junction in Kuala Lumpur. I have seen many tourists shaking their heads in disbelief.

Source: The Sun – March 10, 2010

Source: The disabled in a people-first 1Malaysia