Archive for October, 2008
Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was today acquitted by the High Court here of abetting in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 32, and Corporal Sirul Azha Umar, 37, who are members of the police Special Action Force (UTK), were, however, ordered to enter their defence to the charge of murder.
The prosecution is expected to file an appeal against Razak’s acquittal.
Altantuya was allegedly shot before her body was blown up with explosives two years ago.
Azilah and Sirul are jointly charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, at a location in Mukim Bukit Raja, Selangor between 10am on Oct 19, 2006 and 1am the following day.
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Popularity: 11% [?]
1. What is the action level for melamine?
The action level for melamine established by the Health Ministry is 1 mg/kg for infant foods and 2.5 mg/kg for other foods. This action level will be reviewed from time to time based on scientific development and latest information.
2. How much Melamine contaminated food would a person has to eat before they are exposed to health effect?
It is a non direct effect of melamine but the concentration of cyanuric acid leading to crystals. However, the health effects can be extrapolated based on animal studies. Data are available from animal feeding studies carried out in rats, mice and dogs. The main toxic effects of dietary exposure to melamine in rats and mice is stone formation based on oral feeding of 63 mg/kg body weight/day in a 13 week rat.
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Popularity: 7% [?]
PKR Youth leader Badrul Hisham Shaharin led a group of five people in lodging a police report today against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for corruption.
The group claimed they provided the police with evidence in connection with a number of deals to procure military equipment while Najib was Defence Minister.
Najib has been at the brunt of a series of allegations since he became the front-runner to succeed Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi as Umno president and Prime Minister.
Allegations of impropriety have surfaced over the proposed acquisition of Eurocopter helicopters for RM2.3 billion and the RM4.6 billion Scorpene submarines deal.
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Popularity: 8% [?]
Malaysia’s former health minister has made a political comeback less than a year after he resigned in disgrace over a sex scandal.
Chua Soi Lek was elected as the deputy president of the Malaysian Chinese Association late Saturday, defeating three other contenders for the No. 2 post in the largest political party representing the ethnic Chinese minority.
Chua has pledged to revitalize the party, a key member of the governing coalition that suffered massive losses in March general elections.
“With all party members’ support and cooperation, we now need to reunite and reform the party,” Chua said in a statement.
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Popularity: 7% [?]
Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.
The findings challenge the popular impression and marketing pitch that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.
However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said.
An industry group branded the findings “alarmist.” Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern “even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set.”
The study’s lab tests on 10 brands of bottled Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 7% [?]
The attacks over the Internet on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak continue to mount.
Just days after allegations surfaced on jailed blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s website Malaysia Today over alleged interference in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder investigations, more claims have surfaced on the same website over allegedly shady defence deals.
In the latest posting entitled “Eurocopter”, a letter purportedly from Datuk Zahar Hashim, the chairman of Mentari Services Sdn Bhd, the local representatives for a Russian helicopter company, alleges irregularities in the recent award to Eurocopter for the supply of 12 new aircraft to replace the ageing Nuri fleet of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
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Popularity: 12% [?]
A special court here has ordered Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negri Sembilan Tuanku Ja’afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman to pay nearly US$1mil (RM3.5mil) to Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd to honour his commitment in a letter of credit over a business deal. This is a landmark verdict that ended a centuries-old tradition shielding the country’s royal sultans from legal prosecution.
The case brought by Standard Chartered Bank against Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman was the first trial involving a Malaysian monarch since a 1993 constitutional amendment dissolved the immunity of state rulers from criminal and civil lawsuits.
“This would be an ordinary case but what is exceptional is that it involves a ruler,” the bank’s lawyer, Robert Lazar said.
A special panel of Malaysia’s top five judges unanimously ruled that Tuanku Jaafar was liable for a US$1 million credit provided by the bank in a Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 6% [?]
A beached whale has died in eastern Malaysia after swallowing a plastic bag, a rope and a bottle cap, a marine researcher said Wednesday.
The 10-meter-long (33 feet) Bryde’s whale got stranded at the Kuala Nenasi estuary in eastern Pahang state Monday and died a day later despite villagers’ efforts to safe it, said Mohamad Lazim Mohamad Saif, a researcher with the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Center, who was at the scene.
Mohamad Lazim said the preliminary findings of an autopsy showed the female had swallowed a black plastic bag, a rope and a bottle cap, Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 5% [?]
Sessions court judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah has lifted the media gag on the contents of nine “exhibits” referred to by the defence team in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II hearing.
Yesterday, Judge Komathy had allowed the prosecution’s application to issue a gag order to restrain the media from reporting about Abdul Gani Patail’s alleged involvement as shown in the contents of the exhibits.
Anwar’s lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah had argued before Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah that the three exhibits [two statements of claim respectively filed by Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and the then investigation officer in the 1998 Anwar case Mat Zain Ibrahim and newspaper reports on that incident] had been read out in open court.
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Popularity: 7% [?]
