The Government has released without publicity more than a dozen Muslim extremists linked to the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror organisation. They include Malaysian Yazid Sufaat, who is believed to have abetted the Sept 11 attacks in New York.

Yazid emerged as a key figure in JI’s regional network because of his link to Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent who was convicted of conspiracy charges in the Sept 11 attacks in New York.

A senior Malaysian government official told The Straits Times that the Indonesian, Malaysian and Filipino detainees were freed over the past month after a government advisory board at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak decided that they were no longer security threats.
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Popularity: 7% [?]

Technorati Tags: extremist, indonesia, jemaah islamiah, JI, malaysia, muslim, sept 11, terrorist

The ads promoting “Malaysia: Truly Asia” aim to welcome visitors with a warm smile to a prosperous and modern nation, so the taxi fleet branded “the worst in the world” can come as a bit of a shock.

Even the locals are not spared the shabby service of unkempt and hostile drivers behind the wheels of decrepit vehicles who refuse to use the meter, overcharge and pick-and-choose which destinations they will travel to.

At the popular KLCC mall under Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Petronas Twin Towers is a typical scene, as a gang of cabbies negotiate with a young Norwegian couple just metres from a signboard warning against “taxi touts”.
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Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: driver, fare, malaysia, meter, metered taxi, taxi, tourism

Below are highlights of the 2009 Budget, tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the Dewan Rakyat on 29 August 2008.

• Budget 2009 is focussed on the well being of all Malaysians, further strengthening the nation’s resilience to mitigate the adverse impact of an increasingly challenging external environment.

• Themed a Caring Budget, the Budget 2009 has three specific strategies which is ensuring the well being of Malaysians, developing quality human capital and strengthening the nation’s resilience.

ENSURING THE WELL BEING OF MALAYSIANS

• The government will implement a broad range of measures to reduce the impact of the higher cost of living, particularly among the lower income group and the vulnerables.

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: abdullah ahmad badawi, budget, highlight, malaysia

Malaysia’s annual inflation rate spiraled to a 27-year high in June after a fuel price hike sent the cost of food and transport soaring, the government said.

Consumer prices in June rose 7.7 percent compared with the same month in 2007, more than double the 3.8 percent annual inflation rate recorded in May, according to data released late Wednesday by the Statistics Department.

Food and nonalcoholic beverages, which account for 31 percent of the price index, spiked 10 percent from a year ago. Transport expenditure surged 19.6 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco costs climbed 9.2 percent.

“The main reason for this increase is due to the substantial rise in the price of petrol and diesel announced by the government,” the statistics department said.
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Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: consumer price, fuel, inflation, malaysia, price index

Kuala Lumpur was 13th of the 51 cities to be visited by the Olympic torch on its way to Beijing. The final 31 of these venues are all in China, on the torch’s domestic tour of this year’s Olympic Games host country. This should rekindle the Olympic flame into a semblance of glory by the time it gets to its final destination, after an acrimonious world tour during which this symbol of universal amity in sport was subjected to indignities from protesters expressing solidarity with the people of Tibet.

The Malaysian leg of the Olympic Torch Relay went on relatively smoothly yesterday, except for four people, including a family of three, who were detained briefly for displaying pro-Tibet sentiments. Those detained were a Japanese couple in their 30s and their 5-year-old son and an English woman in her 40s. They were released after being questioned by the police for several hours.
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Popularity: 10% [?]

Technorati Tags: beijing, china, malaysia, olympic, torch relay, torchbearer