Media Awareness Workshop - George Town, Penang

Media Awareness Workshop:

Media, Democracy and Human Rights
Sunway Hotel Georgetown,
Lorong Baru,
10450 Pulau Pinang,
Saturday,7th March 2009 from 8.30am -5.30pm,
sponsored by the Canadian High Commission.

The workshop is primarily for young people, from upper secondary schools and colleges and higher learning institutions, given that this is the generation that is most exposed to and influenced by the media in their daily lives.

The workshop aims to raise the level of awareness of participants in 3 areas
· the various aspects of the media industry in Malaysia ,
· the laws and other restrictions that affect the media industry and democracy,
· how to critically ‘read’ the media.
The workshop is structured in a manner which will allow for input from the speakers as well as active participation by the participants. There will be break-up sessions to encourage participants ‘read critically’ the content of the media. Comparisons will also be made between mainstream media and the Internet media

It is hoped that such ‘media awareness’ or ‘media literacy’ would empower young people as active citizens of a democracy to demand real changes in the way the news is reported.

As places are limited, registration prior to the workshop is required. The registration fee for the workshop is RM10/- only. This can be given as cash or in a cheque made out to Aliran and sent to Aliran at 103 Medan Penaga, Jelutong 11600, Penang by the 28th of February, 2009.

For further information please contact Evelyn at the Aliran office at 04-6585251.

Location Map of Sunway Hotel, Penang

(Click map to enlarge):

Location map of Sunway Hotel, zoom in:

Forum: Perak Coup D'etat - What say you?

Forum Perebutan Kuasa Di Perak, Apakah Pendapat Anda?

Perak Coup D'etat: What Say You?

Speakers: YB Ngeh Koo Ham, YB A. Sivanesan, YB Lim Kit Siang, YB Khalid Samad, YB Charles Santiago, YB Dr. Dzulkifli, Haris Ibrahim

Date (Tarikh): 17^th February 2009, Tuesday (Selasa)

Time (Masa): Dewan Hamzah MPK

Organizer (Penganjur): YB Charles Santiago

Enquiries (Pertanyaan): 016-2026300/016-6267797

Directions: From Federal Highway coming from Shah Alam towards Klang, go right to the end of Federal Highway, cross the Klang River via Jambatan Kota, along Jalan Jambatan Kota and go up the flyover to Persiaran Raja Muda Musa, turn left at Jalan Lebuh Turi, turn left again at Jalan Lebuh Siput.

Location Map of Dewan Hamzah MPK (Majlis Perbandaran Kelang): Click map to enlarge

Missing Person: Tan Chin Kieu. Klang

Name of missing person: Tan Chin Kieu (aka Chin Wong Pin)

Age : 85

Height : 150 cm

Residence : Jalan Landasan, off Jln Bukit Kuda
Kampung Kuantan, Klang

Date reported missing : Mr Tan Chin Kieu left his house at around 2 o'clock on the afternoon of 11th Feb 2009 and has not been seen since. A police report has been made.

Clothes worn : long sleeved shirt, shorts and a white cap

Contact : Mr Tan (son) 016-281 3875

Mr Peter Tan (friend) 012-3322 999


Please help circulate

WHAT TO DO IF STOPPED BY MALAYSIAN POLICE

WHAT TO DO IF STOPPED BY MALAYSIAN POLICE

This is is very useful information. Please pass it on to your friends and family.............especially the women folk!

The next time you are stopped by persons who claimed they are plain clothes police, you are under no obligation to answer their questions or follow their orders, lawyers said today.

'Policeman who is not wearing his uniform does not have the authority to stop anyone,' lawyer and human rights activist Sivarasa Rasiah said.

Procedures to follow in the event you are stopped by uniformed police Officers while driving:

1. Stop the car and wind down your window.
2. If the police officers ask for your documents, request to see their IDs first.
3. If you are satisfied about their identity, ask them if you are being summoned, and for what offence.
4. Produce your identity card and driver's license and wait to collect your summon ticket.

In the event that the police officers ask you to follow them to the police station:

1. Ask if you are under arrest and for what offence.
2. If you are not under arrest, you have the right to leave.

In the event you are flagged down by persons you believe could be plain clothes police:

1. Do not stop because plain clothes police officers do not have the authority to stop you.
2. Drive to the nearest police station and lodge a report. (The same procedure applies to pedestrians)

In the event the police come to your house:

1. Do not let them in before checking their IDs.
2. If you are not satisfied, phone the nearest police station and confirm if they had been sent to your house.
3. You are under no obligation to allow them into the house if they don't have a search warrant.
4. Do not go with them if you are not under arrest.

In the event persons who claimed to be plain clothes police come to your house:

1. Do not let him in because they do not have the authority to do so.
2. Lodge a report at the nearest police station.


Sivarasa was commenting on the alleged gang-rape of an 18-year-old Uni student by four men claiming to be police officers on New Year's Eve. The girl said that her car was stopped in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur and were asked by the men to open the car bonnet. She was then told that she had committed an offence and ordered to follow the men to a police station. The girl was driven in her car along the North-South expressway to the Tapah-Cameron Highlands road before she was raped in an oil palm estate.

This incident, and many others, have sparked confusion over the procedures which motorists must follow when flagged down by the police. The most common problem is that most people take instructions without determining if the other person is really a cop,' lawyer Annie Santiago said.

However, if you are stopped by a uniformed policeman, then you are required to stop. But you need not get out of the car because you are not expected to do so, Santiago said. He other rule to follow is to provide your identity card only when you are asked to do so. 'Even then, you should get his ID first to confirm if he is a cop. There is no harm in calling the relevant police station to verify if he is supposed to be on duty that day,' Sivarasa said.

Both lawyers said that motorists should never follow an officer to the police station unless one is under arrest . 'If you are not sure, and your instincts tell you that something is wrong, then drive off to the nearest police station and lodge a report,' Sivarasa said.

In response to the alleged gang-rape of the 18-year-old, Women's Aid Organisation executive-secretary Ivy Josiah called on the police to launch an education program to teach the public about their rights to prevent them from being victimised by bogus police officers.

PLEASE PASS IT ON..........

Source: From an email forward.

UAE-Malaysia relations, expats in UAE

United Arab Emirates and Malaysia

United Arab Emirates more commonly referred to as UAE is a federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The seven states, termed emirates, are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. The country is fossil fuel (oil and natural gas) rich and compared to the other Arab countries, is much better developed and has a relatively high Human Development Index for the Asian continent, ranking 39th globally, and had a GDP purchasing power parity of $293.5 billion in 2009 according to the IMF. It is a prosperous country.

There is much similarity and affinity between UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Malaysia as both are Muslim majority countries with UAE having 96% of its population belonging to the Islam faith while other religions including the Christians and the Hindus being allowed to practice their faith. Just like Malaysia, religions other that Islam is illegal to proselytise to the Muslim.

Economy and demography

As UAE is an oil rich country, it is highly prosperous and has a rapidly growing economy with a high GDP per capita and energy consumption per capita.
The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita is currently the 14th in the world. Just like Malaysia or perhaps to a greater extend, UAE attracts foreign workers (expatriates) in drove.

The UAE population has an unnatural sex distribution consisting of more than twice as many males as females. UAE has one of the most diverse populations in the Middle East.[8] 19% of the population is Emirati, and 23% is other Arabs and Iranians.[9] An estimated 74% of the population is comprised of non-citizens, one of the world's highest percentages of foreign-born in any nation. In addition, since the mid-1980s, people from all across South Asia have settled in the UAE. The high living standards and economic opportunities in the UAE are better than almost anywhere else in the Middle East and South Asia, This makes UAE a magnet for expatriates or expats in short. The expats in United Arab Emirates UAE.

Newly arrived expats to UAE will have an enviable opportunity to stay in the world tallest tower, the famous Burj Dubai or the Burj Al Arab, Dubai, namely the Burj El Arab hotel:

Photo of Burj Dubai courtesy of Catsper

Photo of the Atrium Al Arab Hotel courtesy of David Lisbona

In Malaysia, the term expat conjures up image of well paid Caucasians, but many expats in the UAE are relatively lower paid workers who may not want to stay in the expensive Burj Al Arab, Dubai hotel, but will look for Cheap Dubai Hotels like the Dubai Nova Hotel:

Photo of Dubai Nova Hotel courtesy of CheaperThanHotels.com

Staying in hotels on a long term basis is an expensive affair. Newly arrived expats to UAE are thus likely to eventually start looking for Abu Dhabi Accommodation not too long after arrival.