Sekolah padat: KPM sedia kabin dulu, bina sekolah intervensi jangka panjang

 

Menteri Pendidikan Fadhlina Sidek, pendekatan jangka pendek guna kabin akan dilaksana selain memastikan selepas itu penempatan pelajar mesti dalam bangunan lebih kondusif. (Gambar Bernama)

NIBONG TEBAL: Kementerian Pendidikan (KPM) telah merangka beberapa intervensi jangka panjang dan pendek bagi menyelesaikan isu kepadatan pelajar di sekolah di seluruh negara.

Menterinya, Fadhlina Sidek berkata intervensi jangka pendek melibatkan pembinaan dan penggunaan kabin di sekolah selain menyuraikan pelajar ke sekolah berdekatan supaya bilangan pelajar dapat dikawal dalam suasana kondusif untuk belajar.

Beliau menjelaskan, intervensi jangka panjang pula ialah pembinaan sekolah baharu yang dijangka mengambil masa, namun KPM akan mencuba sedaya-upaya memastikan keselesaan pelajar.

“Dalam belanjawan lepas, 26 sekolah baharu diluluskan untuk dilaksanakan dan kita harap dengan sekolah baharu itu akan dapat kurangkan kepadatan pelajar di sekolah dan anak-anak kita dapat belajar dalam suasana selesa.

“Bagi penggunaan kabin pula, ada beberapa sekolah kita dah kenal pasti dari segi kapasiti tapi ia hanya pendekatan jangka masa pendek dan bagi tempoh jangka masa panjang mereka harus bersekolah di bangunan sekolah yang kondusif untuk pembelajaran,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas menghadiri Program Jaulah Ramadan KPM 2024 Peringatkat Negeri Pulau Pinang di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Acheh, yang turut dihadiri Timbalannya Wong Kah Wong.

Fadhlina berkata, KPM akan terus memfokuskan penyelesaian isu tersebut dalam usaha memberikan keselesaan dan suasana kondusif kepada pelajar.

Menurutnya, ketika ini Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur antara negeri yang mempunyai isu kepadatan pelajar di sekolah. - FMT

Kedah sued for RM300mil over cancelled mining project

 

Kedah State Secretary Incorporated, its general manager, and the state secretary are named as defendants. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: A private company is suing the Kedah state government for RM310 million after it was told to return a plot of land that had been earmarked for iron ore mining.

The company, Aras Niaga Group Berhad named the Kedah State Secretary Incorporated, its general manager, and the Kedah state secretary as defendants, Bernama reported.

The firm’s lawyer, Firhat Muhammad Fikris said Aras Niaga decided to take legal action after it was instructed to return the 255-hectare land in Kuala Muda, which had been leased in 2020.

The company is now seeking damages amounting to RM300 million for breach of promise and RM10 million in compensation for the work carried out on the site.

Aras Niaga executive chairman Annas Anuar said the company had planned to collaborate with Permodalan Kedah Berhad to develop an iron ore mine on the site.

He said the state government did not entertain their requests for mining licences, which put the project in limbo. “Moreover, in a meeting with the Kedah SSI general manager, we were asked to return the land,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the company had secured a 45-year lease for the site and fulfilled all prerequisites necessary to initiate the development of the iron ore mine.

“However, in the end, we were not granted the mining license, and it is clearly detrimental to the company.” - FMT

IGP pledges tough action over KK Mart attacks

 

The inspector-general of police, Razarudin Husain, said police were monitoring social media for postings on race, religion and royalty.

PETALING JAYA: Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain has vowed that stern action would be taken against those who vandalise KK Mart shops after two outlets were firebombed last week.

Razarudin said action could be taken under the Penal Code for committing mischief and causing losses or damage.

“This is a reminder and warning to the public against taking matters into their own hands over this issue,” Sinar Harian quoted him as saying. He said the KK Mart case involving socks bearing the word “Allah” had resulted in company officials being taken to court.

Razarudin also said police were monitoring social media for postings on sensitive 3R issues of race, religion and royalty.

He said the authorities have repeatedly warned about touching on sensitive issues “yet there are those who pay no heed. The police will not compromise with these people”.

Last week, a KK Mart in Bidor, Perak, and in Kuantan, Pahang, were attacked with firebombs, leading to the sultans of both states issuing strongly-worded statements.

The Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, condemned the attack in the strongest terms, while Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak warned that racial tensions would escalate unless immediate action was taken against those responsible for the attack.

The firebomb in Bidor failed to explode, while the attack in Kuantan set on fire several items on display. The fire was immediately extinguished by KK Mart workers.

The chain has been mired in controversy since March 13 after the socks with the word “Allah” were discovered in the Bandar Sunway outlet, sparking calls by Umno Youth for a national boycott of the chain.

KK Mart’s founder and a director have since been charged with intentionally wounding the religious feelings of Muslims by selling the socks, while three officers of the vendor Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd were charged with abetment. All claimed trial. - FMT

PSB reportedly dissolved, members to join Tiong’s PDP

 

PDP president Tiong King Sing (left) and PSB leader Wong Soon Koh signed an agreement last year to work on a merger.

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sarawak Bersatu has reportedly been dissolved, paving the way for its members to move en bloc to the Progressive Democratic Party, led by federal minister Tiong King Sing.

The Borneo Post, quoting an unnamed source, said the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had approved the dissolution.

Discussions about a merger of the two parties have been held since July last year, and PSB delegates were believed to have approved the dissolution of the party last month.

The report said PSB leaders and members would be welcomed into PDP at a grand dinner in Kuching on April 6. About 1,500 PSB members from across Sarawak are expected to join the dinner, the report said.

The party, led by Wong Soon Koh, is reported to have about 80,000 members and has three assemblymen, including Wong, who represents Bawang Assan.

PDP’s president Tiong is the federal minister for tourism, arts and culture and MP for Bintulu. The party is a member of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak, and has five assemblymen and two MPs.

FMT is seeking confirmation from Tiong and RoS. - FMT

Netizens disagree with customers destroying goods in KK Mart

 

THERE has been a sharp rise in attacks on KK Marts in Malaysia. Besides the petrol bomb attacks, a viral video recently showed a man destroying a significant amount of products on offer in the mart.

The person who posted the video on the X platform said it is an act of barbarism, adding that it is barbaric to crush and destroy merchandise and food products just like that, urging the authorities to act on that.

The dispute against the retail brand began over socks with Allah printed on them sold at KK Mart. This sparked calls for a boycott from the UMNO Youth Chief Dr Akmal Salleh.

The store’s founders and three vendors were charged, yet two stores were firebombed. Dr Akmal condemned the violence, urging a peaceful but persistent boycott approach.

In addition to this, X users who are pro-unity government are stating that the customer’s action of crushing chocolate bars and other products as a sign of boycott is not part of the teachings of Islam.

A prominent X user says that behaving in such a way can make others view Malaysian Muslims in a less favourable light.

Some users are saying the owners of the particular mart should check their CCTV recordings to locate the culprit.

Others claim that the person who destroyed these items simply did it for their own views. X users claim that with the internet, some people are willing to do strange things for content. This could also be one of these people.

-Focus Malaysia

PAS man criticised by netizens for telling Anwar to be like Ismail Sabri

 

PAS Ulama Council Chief Datuk Ahmad Yahya is now getting a taste of social media fame with criticism from netizens after he urged Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to emulate former premier Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s calm and less controversial administration, even in dealing with the opposition.

Most of the netizens who debated on the issue were not too keen to support the PAS man’s views after he praised an UMNO ex-PM. For the most part, users were poking fun at the opposition party’s approach to solving problems in their states.

Ahmad Yahya on the other hand, noted Ismail’s ‘success’ in maintaining peace and engaging with the opposition, resulting in fewer issues compared to the current state of affairs.

One netizen on X said Anwar or PMX offered to start negotiations with opposition leaders on some pertinent issues (allowances for MPs) but they ended up declining the offer.

Some are saying the PAS is very funny since the party believes in running the country like they did for 33 months.

Others are blaming the opposition party for what is happening in the country. They claim that PAS and other opposition parties played on racial issues in the country, and now, when the situation escalates, they take no part in it.

They added that during Ismail’s time, the opposition of the time, PH, worked together with the government and some state that Sabri was too slow a PM.

-Focus Malaysia

Religious minister calls for calm after attack on KK Mart outlet in Kuantan

 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar has called on all quarters to remain calm and refrain from acting against the law following the recent petrol bomb attack on a KK Mart store in Kuantan, Pahang. - NSTP/ AIMAN FARHAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar has called on all quarters to remain calm and refrain from acting against the law following the recent petrol bomb attack on a KK Mart store in Kuantan, Pahang.

Na'ím, in a statement today, said all parties should also leave the investigation of the case to the authorities. He said criminal incidents like this should be left for the authorities to deal with.

"Any parties involved in the incident should be brought before the court to receive appropriate punishment.

"It is crucial to provide a lesson to all parties to always be responsible in maintaining the safety and harmony of the country," he said.

Na'im added that Islam is a religion that calls for peace, safety and harmony.

"Islam completely prohibits any action that could lead to harm and threaten public safety. Unity and harmony in society must be maintained to drive the nation towards the agenda of Malaysia Madani," he said.

The KK Mart store in Kuantan that was attacked has only been in operation for two weeks.

This marked the second time in four days that a KK Mart had been hit with a firebomb.

On March 26, a molotov cocktail was also thrown at a KK Mart store in Jalan Bruseh, Bidor, Perak, but it landed in an empty area and failed to ignite. bomb.

The attacks on the convenience store chain came after images showing a pair of socks bearing the word "Allah" that were allegedly sold at an outlet in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, surfaced on March 13.

KK Mart Group founder and executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr K.K. Chai, in an immediate response, had issued a public apology over the incident.

The authorities had also taken action, including seizing the socks and charging Chai and his wife, a director of KK Mart, with "wounding religious feelings". The couple claimed trial to the charge. - NST