Tuesday 14 June 2011

Welcome to Malaysia- the land of Nude Squats!!

Two Singapore women made to strip, do squats by JB immigration

June 14, 2011
Both women say they will never visit Malaysia again. — wapedia.mobi pic
SINGAPORE, June 14 — Two Singaporean women who drove to Johor Baru for supper were questioned by Malaysian immigration officials, handcuffed, thrown behind bars and made to do squats while naked, the Singapore Straits Times reported today.

The two women said they had driven into Johor Baru without getting their passports stamped, through an unmanned immigration lane.

Following their punishment, they were allowed to return to Singapore after 48 hours with a warning.

“We thought it was a small issue, we didn’t think something like that would happen,” the Straits Times quoted one of the women, a manager in an insurance company who wanted to be known only as Ms Chang.

A Malaysian immigration spokesman in Johor Baru confirmed that two Singaporean women had been detained for an immigration offence.

Chang, in her late 30s, had been driven to Johor Baru by her friend, a property agent in her late 20s, who wanted to be known only as Lim, at about 1.30am last Thursday, the Straits Times reported.

Lim was driving her new Nissan Latio. It was the first time she had driven to Malaysia, although she had been driven there before by friends, according to the Singapore newspaper.

“We just wanted to go for supper, polish my car and explore a bit,” she said. “I just bought my car a month ago, so we thought we’d make it an adventure.”

At the Malaysian immigration side of the Causeway, they drove into a lane that was not manned.

‘There wasn’t anyone at the station and the green light was on,” Lim told the Straits Times.

“I pressed the intercom and couldn’t hear anything because of the static, so I just continued driving when the barrier opened.”

Chang told the daily they drove on because they thought that Malaysia’s newly introduced biometric system — which has been in the news — would be ahead.

The women realised that they had proceeded without getting their passports stamped, and immediately did a U-turn.

By 2am, they were back at the checkpoint and explaining their mistake to the officers there. But they said the officers did not buy their story, although they pointed out that their Singapore passports would show that they had just entered Malaysia, the newspaper reported.

According to the news report, the two women were left on their own in a room for about two hours before they were taken to another meeting room at about 4am.

Chang said that at about noon last Thursday, an officer told them they would have to pay a fine of RM3,000 (S$1,200) each before they could be let off. Another officer had earlier said they could be fined up to RM10,000 and jailed for five years for illegally entering Malaysia.

The women said they signed a statement in Malay, and asked to be taken to an ATM. They waited for three hours but no one came for them, they told the newspaper.

At about 5pm, they were told that they would be transferred to the Pontian Remand Centre and held for up to 14 days.

At the remand centre, the women were handcuffed. They also had to remove their belongings before being patted down by a female officer.

“They asked us to strip, take off all our clothes and underwear, and then asked us to stand up and down while pulling our ears,” said Lim to the Straits Times.

After doing 10 squats, the women were told to put on their jeans and were given T-shirts. They were then locked in a cell three-quarters the size of a basketball court with 50 other women, mostly from Indonesia, China and the Philippines.

The women spent the night in the cell. At about 5pm the next day, they were told they would be released, and were driven in a six-seater van back to the immigration checkpoint at the Causeway where they received a warning letter.

Now back in Singapore, both women say they will never go back to Malaysia.

“I don’t think I will ever want to step into Malaysia any more. I am worried this thing will happen again,” said Lim.

RM1.8 million for FB page??!!

The five recipients of the tenders were
Naga DDB for the Asean market with a contract value of RM25 million a year,
SMASCOM & Designs Sdn Bhd for East and North Asia (RM25 million),
Sen Media Sdn Bhd for South Asia, West Asia and Africa (RM26 million),
M&C Saatchi Sdn Bhd for Europe, America, Oceania (RM21 million)
and

Impact Creations for domestic and events
(RM30 million).

-Ad agency alleges bribery in Malaysia tourism deal

“On my last check, there are 20,308 fans
on the ministry's Facebook page.
Comparably, the 'Visit Penang' Facebook page,

for which the Penang government did not spend a sen,

got over 100,000 fans.

Why spend RM1.8 million?”
-Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah) in Parliament

The Tourism Ministry came under fire again today, as MPs questioned why it had spent RM1.8 million to start and maintain its Facebook page - yet another on the list of controversial projects.


".....she said Impact Creations (M) Sdn Bhd,
which was a 100% bumiputra company,

was one of the five companies awarded with a contract".

-Ng: Contracts awarded in right mannerOn March 16, 2011, in Parliament

“Currently there are 2,013 'likes', and the page design is nothing extraordinary. It's only using the same template.
We don't even have to look at the Penang tourism page;
some of the MPs here are even more popular,”
-Khairy Jamaluddin (UMNO- Rembau)

"And these agencies were appointed based on their creative ideas, concepts and strategies which were based on the development in the markets and their trends within the three years."
-ADOI HIGHLIGHTS

A Google search on my part for Impact Creations (M) Sdn Bhd didn't generate any website for this winner of Tourism Malaysia contract- but a whole load of reports related to the controversy!!
The closest I came to anything related to this company was
this profile on Facebook with an enviable 2 likes
(Believe me- I couldn't have achieved that even if I tried!! ROTFLOL!!)


and another related to ICSB at Linked in, of a certain
Gaby(Gabrielle, I presume) Selima Linang
who is the "Corporate Communications Manager" at impact Creations
(after her first job as "Accounts Manager at "Rantau PR Sdn Bhd" for a year).


Mugabe & Omar Al-Bashir Now- Radko Mladic next in Langkawi?

“Instead of hosting people wanted by the ICC, Malaysia should reaffirm its commitment to justice.”
Still wanted by ICC for war crimes, al-Bashir starts new term
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the only sitting head of state indicted for war crimes, was sworn in on Thursday for a new term after a controversial victory in the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years.
By Nicolas Germain (video)
News Wires (text)

REUTERS - Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the only sitting head of state wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was sworn in on Thursday after his re-election in polls marred by boycotts.

Bashir, who rejects charges of ordering mass murder, rape and torture in war-torn western Darfur, will now preside over a January referendum on secession for Sudan’s semi-autonomous south, which many analysts believe will result in independence for the oil-producing region.

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Malaysia: Arrest Sudanese President wanted for war crimes


Tuesday, 14 June 2011 Super Admin
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

The Malaysian government should immediately withdraw its invitation to Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, and arrest him if he travels to Malaysia, Amnesty International said today.

The Malaysian government announced yesterday that President al-Bashir will participate in the Langkawi International Dialogue, an economic forum being held in Malaysia from 19 to 21 June 2011.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for al-Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

“Malaysia should not turn itself into a port of call for fugitives from international justice” said Donna Guest, Deputy Asia Pacific Director at Amnesty International. “The Malaysian government should bar Bashir from its territory, and arrest him if he turns up.”

Amnesty International welcomed Malaysia’s announcement on 21 March of its intention to become a state party to the Rome Statute and to recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. In his announcement, Malaysian Law Minister Nazri Aziz said, "This is a declaration that Malaysia rejects war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”

When the UN Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC in 2005, it urged all states to cooperate fully with the Court. Although Malaysia is not yet party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, it should arrest Omar al-Bashir should he arrive in Malaysia, Amnesty International said.

“Malaysia’s invitation to Omar al-Bashir flies in the face of its decision to join the ICC,” said Guest. “Instead of hosting people wanted by the ICC, Malaysia should reaffirm its commitment to justice.”