MONKEY GRAVEYARD

BY REENA RAJ, Malaymail

A group of monkeys huddle in fear at a corner of the container, clinging to each other, trembling at the sight of humans.

FOR the past few nights, residents in Mont Kiara had been troubled by screams coming from a forested area near their condominium.

No one could figure out what it was until yesterday when one of the residents decided to check it out.

He found that the noises came from a high black metal container walled on all sides except one at the bottom where there were little bars. But it was the scene inside the container that shocked him.

THEY huddle in fear at the far corner of the metal container, trembling at the sight of humans.

Sprawled in front of them are carcasses, their rotting stench permeating the air.

This may sound like a scene from a gruesome horror film but in reality, this shocking scenario is set in the posh neighbourhood of Mont Kiara. A group of 18 monkeys are victims of a trap set within the compound of a condominium complex.

Residents of the condominium have been hearing screams the past few nights.

One of them, who wishes to be known as FJ, went to uncover the source of the noise yesterday. He found that the screams came from a black metal container, which he claimed to have seen 10 days ago.

The container, which was completely walled up, had but one opening with little bars at the bottom. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked to discover a group of monkeys huddled in the far corner.

A few other monkeys, including a baby, he claimed, were sprawled on the floor. “Five of them were dead — one appeared bloated.

There was a baby monkey lying still and gasping,” he claimed.

FJ claimed that upon seeing the monkeys in such a deplorable state, he placed bananas and bottles of water inside by pushing them through the bars at the bottom of the container.

Some of the monkeys, he claimed, took the food but only after he had moved away.

“I tried to unlock the container; there were several latches but they were secured,” claimed FJ, who then alerted the condominium’s security guards. When The Malay Mail visited the site yesterday, the guards were attempting to feed the monkeys.

Their efforts at unlocking the container were futile. When asked, the guards claimed that they had no knowledge of the container as the security company had started operations at the condominium on Friday.

The container has the Wildlife Department’s name and telephone number etched on the side. The container has a hole at the top for monkeys to fall in after being tempted by food inside. Upon entering the monkey trap, they are unable to climb out.

In the past, FJ claimed that the area had been plagued by monkeys rummaging through garbage bins, entering homes and causing damage.

“I understand the reason for such traps. If this really is the work of the Wildlife Department, then they must keep tabs on their operations.

“To my knowledge, it has been 10 days since the monkeys were trapped in the container and they haven’t eaten since then.

“It is cruel and inhumane treatment of animals,” he said. FJ claimed that the rotting carcasses have brought about an even bigger problem for the residents.

“Due to the decay, there are now rats and flies in the area, ” he claimed.

“I’d rather put up with the monkeys being a nuisance rather than have them die like this.”

Efforts to contact the Wildlife Department and the management of the condominium proved futile.

Klang Valley Streets: Tiger, tiger burning bright

2 December 2007

Only 500 tigers are estimated to be left in the wild in the entire world.

Mark Dec 16 on your calendar and join celebrity Tiger Ambassadors at Zoo Negara in a programme highlighting the conservation of the big cats.

DO you know that tigers are going to get a field day at Zoo Negara on Dec 16?

It’s because on that day, Mycat is doing something to highlight the plight of these mighty cats of the jungle. Mycat stands for the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers and Dec 16 is the day it is conducting the urban outreach component of its nationwide awareness campaign.

The Race Against Time is a project by Mycat in collaboration with Zoo Negara with the goal of empowering Malaysians to become conservation advocates.

While wildlife enforcement efforts are intensified, there is an urgent need to target consumers and potential consumers of tigers and tiger-based products.

The three specific objectives of the programme are to:

* Raise awareness and concern among the public on the critical status of tigers and urgent need for action.
* Empower the public, especially young people, to take a proactive role towards efforts to reduce the trade in tigers and tigers’ prey.
* Encourage youths to take up careers in wildlife conservation.

The event will be launched by Tiger Ambassadors Ning Baizura, Vince Chong, Yasin Yahaya, Susan Lankester, Rina Omar, Aishah Sinclair, Xandria Ooi, Chelsia Ng, Maple Loo and Corinne Adrienne, who will also launch a number of tools to help these noble beasts.

Number one is the Tiger Crime Hotline which serves to enhance enforcement of wildlife laws and enable the public to report illegal activities to the authorities for timely action. It will be a special 24-hour hotline to report anything perceived as a possible crime against tigers and tigers’ prey.

Secondly, the signature campaign is for the urgent amendment of the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972, the main legislation for wildlife in Malaysia.

The 35-year-old Act needs a major facelift to fight today’s crime against wildlife. The signatures collected at the end of the campaign will be sent to the relevant government body for attention.

Mycat is the alliance of governmental and non-governmental organisations committed to saving the Malayan tiger. Its vision is the survival of wild tiger populations in Peninsular Malaysia.

Current Mycat partners are the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, the Malaysian Nature Society, Traffic Southeast Asia, the Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF-Malaysia.

Rumour has it that there will also dazzling performances by Tiger Ambassadors Ning Baizura and Vince Chong on the day.

The Mycat Kids for Tigers 2008 calendar will be on sale during the event at RM10 each. The cover was produced using the creative artwork of the schoolchildren of SRJKC Kahang, Johor, during Mycats’ outreach programme there.

All proceeds from the calendar sale, as with all funds raised during the Race Against Time, will go towards Mycat’s campaign.

There will be Art Adventures (scheduled craft classes for kids) and Wild Encounters (scheduled behind-the-scenes zoo tour).

For more information, go to http://www.mns.org.my.

Know this...
* Tigers are endangered.
* Tigers are found only in Asia.
* Worldwide, just a century ago, there were 100,000 tigers.
* Today: There are less than 3,000 tigers.
* Three of nine tiger sub-species have gone extinct.
* Malaysia has one of the last remaining six, the Malayan tiger Panthera tigris jacksoni.
* In Malaysia: it is estimated there are only 500 tigers left.
Threats to tigers include:

Poaching

Almost every body part of the tiger is sought after for traditional medicines, “magic”, trophies, and exotic meat restaurants. In Malaysia, there are exotic meat restaurants which claim to serve tiger meat.

Depletion of prey species

People hunt important prey species such as deer and wild pig, affecting the amount of food available for tigers.

Habitat loss and fragmentation

For all kinds of development, forests are being cleared or reduced in size to small isolated pockets.

Human-tiger conflict

When people and tigers live too close too each other, conflict arises. Tigers may attack domestic livestock, or sometimes, accidentally attack people. When this happens, tigers have to be removed by the authorities, or are killed in retaliation by villagers.

What is needed from the public:

1. Greater concern and action to ensure the survival of the Malayan tiger.
2. People should take the following measures:
* Don’t patronise restaurants which claim to serve tiger meat.
* Don’t buy medicines which claim to be made from tiger parts.
* Don’t buy/eat deer or wild pig meat that has not been sourced legally.
* Report any suspected tiger crimes to the Tiger Crime Hotline.
* Sign the petition to urge the government to amend the Protection of Wildlife Act to ensure better protection for the tiger.

* Support Mycat and its campaign: Spread the message of “Tiger Parts Belong To Tigers” by buying T-shirts for RM25 each, and wearing them!

Police brutality against peaceful marginalised Malaysian Indians

When frustrated people realized that they have nothing to lose,
" fight back !"
then there will be the possibilities for change.


Pictures Link: Reuters.com

Hear the cry of the Sungai Pulai

90% of the letter has been published in The Star, 21 November 2007

Save Mangroves in Sungai Pulai

We are writing to express our shock and disappointment of a report on 13 November 2007 on “PTP gets green light for terminal project”. This means that 2,255 acres of pristine mangrove forest in Sungai Pulai, which can be approximated to 913 soccer fields - this will disappear permanently from the global map.

Clearly, no action was taken after the Johor Menteri Besar had ordered for a Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) to be carried out in August 2007. It thus seems that the developer and the government officials are taking environmental cause less seriously, despite the area’s unique biodiversity by having the largest seagrass bed and the densest seahorse population in the country, as well as dugong population.

Save Our Seahorses (SOS) has expressed strong disagreement with the project taking over extensive tracts of mangroves, which serve as a first buffer, will cause run-off and in turn smother seagrass communities and cloud out the water. Surely, there will be more adverse impacts to the environment when the proposed petrochemical and maritime industries start operating.

The Sungai Pulai mangrove area is crucial in preventing coastal erosion and providing protection from strong winds and waves to 11,000 people living in 38 villages. If the mangrove forest is gone, all these villages will be destroyed by strong winds or a tsunami.

For their livelihood, it used to be the home to at least 111 fish species and other inhabitants like prawns. For every 0.4ha of mangrove area destroyed, sea products will be reduced by 304kg. Destroying the mangrove area is equal to take away the livelihood of the fishermen.

Although the project proponent had recently declared that they will help to gazette Pulau Merambong and adopt seahorse and dugong, and made some donations to the local NGOs, we feel that if they are really concerned about the environment, they should first do the DEIA, and not pay lip service to boost their image in the sudden wake of the need to attract investors.

By the time Pulau Merambong Park is ready, most living things had probably perished amid the pollutants discharged by the petrochemical and heavy industries located upper stream.

Therefore, there is a need for decision makers to halt any green light for developers to destroy our mangroves. Our decision makers must make a strong stand and transcend above political influence. Just as a reminder, the environment is what we borrow from our future generations.

Thing Siew Shuen,
Secretary,
Save Our Seahorses (SOS) Action Committee

PTP gets green light for terminal project

I feel very disappointed and helpless,

once our wetland is gone, it is gone forever... ...

(Pic From left: Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman, PTP CEO Harun Johari, Long Hoo Hin and Dr Maketab Mohamed)

PTP gets green light for terminal project

By ZAZALI MUSA

GELANG PATAH: Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), which has received approval from the Department of Environment for its multi-billion ringgit petroleum terminal storage centre, will begin construction next year.

Chairman Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said the terminal, on a 2,200-acre site within the port vicinity, would take about 30 months to complete.

“The terminal will supply petroleum for vessels calling at the port and for our own usage,” Sidik told a press conference on Friday.

Development of the area surrounding the port, he said, complete with marine-related industries, would be crucial.

“The choice to build a second port in Johor at the mouth of Sungai Pulai was not by chance but by choice,” Sidik said, adding that there could not have been a more strategic location to develop a mega port capable of competing with the best in the region other than at the mouth of the river. The Sungai Pulai mouth, located at the southern tip of the peninsula, is at the confluence of international trade, which goes right into the world’s busiest strait, the Straits of Malacca.

Sidik said the success of PTP's project would not only bring revenue and value to Johor but would also contribute to the success of the Iskandar Development Region.

He said to date, PTP had managed to attract more than RM10bil in investments to Johor, specifically at the port and the surrounding areas.

Earlier, Sidik presented a RM60,000 cheque to Malaysian Nature Society Johor (MNSJ) chairman Assoc Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed.

The allocation will be used by MNSJ to collect and document data on the unique ecology of the Sungai Pulai estuary, including its flora, fauna and marine species.

Also present at the event were Johor state tourism and environment chairman Freddie Long Hoo Hin and PTP chief executive officer Harun Johari.

Batak Pos with me

Malaysia Tak Seindah yang Kita Bayangkan

Jakarta, Batak Pos

Pembangunan ekonomi serta kesejahteraan Malaysia ternyata tak seindah yang diduga. Selama ini, kita mengenal Negeri Jiran itu serba bagus dibanding Indonesia atau negara Asean lainnya. Tak aneh jika banyak tenaga kerja asing termasuk TKI yang ramai-ramai mengais “Ringgit” ke Malaysia. Namun sejak lengsernya Perdana menteri (PM) Mahathir Muhammad segalanya menjadi lain. “Pertumbuhan ekonomi melemah, jumlah rakyat miskin bertambah serta arus modal asing ke Malaysia tak sehebat dulu,” ungkap Aktivis Democratic Action Party (DAP) Malaysia Thing Siew Shuen kepada Batak Pos di Jakarta, Minggu (4/11).

Kinerja pemerintah Malaysia dibawab kepemimpinan PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, kata Thing jauh lebih buruk dibanding masa Mahathir Muhammad dulu. Kebebasan pers yang dulu cukup bagus, kini perlahan dikungkam. Dengan begitu, hak rakyat untuk mengetahui informasi menjadi terhambat.

“Jumlah rakyat miskin tinggi, laju inflasi tinggi serta arus penanaman modal asing jauh merosot. Akibatnya bisa ditebak, tingkat kesejahtreraan rakyat juga makin rendah. Sedang jumlah penduduk Malaysia hanya 27 juta jiwa, jauh dibawah Indonesia yang mencapai 220 juta jiwa lebih,” kata dia lagi.

Tingkat keamanan di Malaysia juga tak senyaman dulu. Kerusuhan dan percikan-percikan kecil muncul di berbagai wilayah Malaysia. Pelanggaran hukum juga sering terjadi di Malaysia. Terlepas apa penyebab semua itu, namun aku Thing, demikianlah kondisi Malaysia sekarang ini. “Kenyataan tersebut tak seindah yang disampaikan rezim yang berkuasa di Malaysia sekarang,” kata dia.

Tindak kekerasan terhadap pekerja asing termasuk TKI, menurut Thing bukan perkara asing di Malaysia. Tidak sedikit pekerja asal Indonesia disiksa bahkan para pekerja perempuannya diperkosa oleh oknum aparat keamanan Malaysia. Kasus penganiayaan wasit kareta asal Indonesia Donald Pieter Luther Kolopita tak lepas dari kritik Thing. Di Indoensia sendiri, kasus tersebut sempat memicu aksi demontrasi ribuan massa di depan kedubers Malaysia di Jl.HR.rasuna Said Jakarta Selatan.

Padahal, pemerintah Malaysia mengakui, kontribusi pekerja asing sangat besar pada perekonomian negeri itu. Pekerja asing yang mencari nafkah di Malaysia berasal dari berbagai negara, seperti Indonesia, Bangladesh, Filipina, dan negara lainnya. Jumlah pekerja asing di Malaysia diperkirakan antara 2,5 sampai 3 juta orang. Dari jumlah tersebut, hanya satu setengah juta bekerja dengan dokumen yang sah di negara yang jumlah total penduduknya adalah 24 juta orang.

Sejak dulu jumlah warga asing yang tinggi ini sangat penting bagi pembangungan ekonomi di Malaysia. Mereka merupakan pendorong pembangunan di negeri tersebut. Ketika Malaysia masih dijajah Inggris, jutaan warga Cina datang ke negara itu untuk membuka usaha dan bekerja di pertambangan timah. Warga Tamil dibawa untuk bekerja di perkebunan karet, sedangkan warga Punjabi dan Shikh bekerja sebagai petugas polisi dan pegawai kereta api. Saat itu, jumlah mereka sekira 45 persen dari keseluruhan warga negara Malaysia. Kini, pekerja dari Indonesia dan Filipina yang memenuhi pabrik-pabrik, projek pembangunan, dan perkebunan. "Sekira 11 persen pekerja adalah warga asing," ujar Shamsuddin Bardin, Direktur Federasi Pengusaha Malaysia.

Tingkat korupsi di Malaysia, papar Thing, juga tak kalah hebatnya. Laporan Transparancy International menyebutkan, tahun 2006 Malaysia menduduki perangkat ke 37. Sedang pada masa pemerintahan Mahathir peringkat Malaysia masih berada di angka 24. Kebebasan pers di Malaysia juga turun menjadi perangkat 122. “Artinya, rakyat Malaysia semakin dikekang tak peluang untuk mendapatkan informasi publik makin terbatas,” papar wanita asal Selangor Malaysia itu.

Saat ini, terjadi proses diskriminasi yang makin kuat di Malaysia, terutama di bidang ekonomi. Kebijakan pemerintah yang pro bumi putera (Melayu), tukas Thing, ternyata hanya untuk kepentingan segelintir orang tertentu di terutama anggota kerajaan di Malaysia. Sedang rakyat banyak, apalagi non Melayu makin menderita. Alih-alih dapat ikut menikmati hasil pembangunan yang ada, justru kesejahteraan mereka makin menurun. “Tingkat Gini atau kejurangan sosial di Malaysia adalah yang terburuk di Asean,” tukas dia serius.

Diakui Thing, pengaruh Bank Dunia atau lembaga perekonomian multilateral lainnya relatif kecil di Malaysia. Namun begitu, Malaysia masih tetap menjadi tujuan investasi modal kapitalis yang cukup besar. Saat ini, tercatat ada tiga negara pemasok modal Malaysia, masing-masing Amerika Serikat (AS), Eropa dan Jepang. “Tiga negara besar itulah yang paling dominan dalam investasi asing di Malaysia,” aku wanita energik itu.

Menurut Thing, inevasti asing di Malaysia tahun 2006 tercatat sebesar 4,62 miliar dolar AS. Jumlah itu setara dengan 17,09 miliar Ringgit Malaysia. Namun jika dibanding dengan realisasi investasi tahun 2004, yang mencapai 4,62 miliar dolar AS. “Ini kasus pertama sejak tahun 1990 Indoensia mulai mengambilalih posisi Malaysia dalam investasi asing. Jumlah investasi asing jauh dibawah Indoensia yang mencapai 5,26 miliar dolar As tahun 2006 silam,” tukas dia.

Data yang dihimpun Batak Pos menyebutkan, strategi pembangunan ekonomi yang sangat fokus selama dua dasawarsa terakhir, tidak diragukan lagi dampaknya terhadap kinerja ekonomi Malaysia seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh indikator-indikator sebagai berikut. Prestasi utama dari kepemimpinan Mahathir adalah stabilitas makro ekonomi. Inflasi turun dari sekira 10 persen pada tahun 1981 (saat Mahathir mulai memimpin Malaysia) menjadi hanya sekira 0,3 persen di tahun 1983.

Pertumbuhan ekonomi yang pesat dan stabil juga terjadi pada hampir sepanjang dekade 1990-an. Antara tahun 1992 dan 1997, Malaysia berhasil pertumbuhan ekonomi rata-rata sebesar 9 persen per tahun, dan pertumbuhan pendapatan per kapitanya merupakan salah satu yang tertinggi di Asia Pasifik. Walaupun kinerja ekonomi Malaysia tampak sempurna, pada tahun 1998 Malaysia terkena krisis ekonomi yang mengakibatkan perekonomiannya terkontraksi sebesar 7,4 persen. Walaupun demikian, ekonomi Malaysia telah berhasil kembali ke trend pertumbuhan pesatnya.

Selama ini, banyak orang melihat keberhasilan Malaysia Selain karena kebijakan ekonomi, pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia juga didukung oleh tersedianya tenaga kerja yang ahli dan terdidik, sebagai dampak dari kebijakan pendidikan dasar yang wajib dan gratis, serta dukungan kepada pendidikan tinggi. Pemerintah Malaysia memberikan ratusan ribu beasiswa kepada kaum Melayu untuk melanjutkan pendidikannya sampai ke perguruan tinggi, bagi yang mampu secara akademis.

Puluhan ribu beasiswa juga diberikan bagi kaum Melayu untuk melanjutkan ke perguruan tinggi di luar negeri. Sejak awal tahun 1990-an, "Visi 2020" Mahathir telah menjadi landasan pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia. "Visi 2020 Malaysia" menargetkan peningkatan GDP delapan kali lipat, dan pencapaian status negara maju pada tahu 2020. Kebijakan ini menetapkan swastanisasi sebagai kunci dari pembangunan ekonomi nasional, peran investasi asing untuk mendukung industrialisasi yang berkelanjutan, serta pembangunan bangsa secara menyeluruh dari aspek ekonomi, politik, sosial, spiritual, psikologis, dan budaya.*isk

StarBiz Interview MMC CEO Feizal Ali

StarBiz Interview MMC CEO Feizal Ali

Contributed by admin

Friday, 05 October 2007

MMC Corp Bhd group chief executive Feizal Ali tells StarBiz about the business proposition behind the RM16bil memorandum of understanding with Dubai World and how the project will create a new petrochemical and maritime industry in Johor.

How did this partnership come about and please brief us about the project?

In the course of doing business in the Middle East, we developed relationships with various infrastructure groups, including Dubai World. Being an infrastructure and utilities group, we recognized potential synergies that can be drawn between MMC and Dubai World.

Dubai World’s subsidiary, DP World, is one of the largest global port operators and another subsidiary, Nakheel, has practically transformed Dubai into one of the most vibrant cities in the region, through the creation of unique projects, such as The Palm Islands and The World.

Dubai World also has a very strong track record in the development of logistics parks.

When executives from Dubai World visited South Johor during the last three months, they became aware of the tremendous potential of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) and South Johor generally. They were very interested in our landbank of 2,255 acres at Tanjung Bin as well as the 500 acres next to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), which had been earmarked for industrial development, and we had discussions on the possibility of working together to jointly develop these lands.

Our discussions led to the recent signing of an MoU with Dubai World, and we are now working on developing a maritime centre masterplan for our land, that will comprise oil terminal activities, drydocks, shipyards, conventional cargo handling facilities, logistic parks and real estate development.

We view this project as being in line with the call of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman to develop the South Johor corridor.

This development will create a new petrochemical and maritime industry with an estimated gross development value of RM16bil, which we hope will become the next engine of growth for South Johor and at the same time complement IDR.

What is Dubai World’s role in this project?

We had developed our own masterplan for the development of this land. We recognised, however, that this is a greenfield project and working with a strong strategic partner would enable us to take this project to the next level.

In Dubai World, we found a company with proven project management experience, marketing strength and a global footprint that enable us to reach out to the international market.

Dubai World brings to the table a brand that has been very successful not only in Dubai but also in other parts of the world. We believe our partner brings strength and credibility to this project as well as the requisite expertise and experience to jointly develop this area to a level that is on par with other international endeavours.

From our perspective, the participation of a premier brand such as Dubai World reflects its trust in MMC’s ability to deliver world class projects and also underscores MMC’s position as an emerging global utilities and infrastructure group.

What equity stake will Dubai World take in this project?

We are in the midst of discussing our masterplan in detail with Dubai World. We will come to an agreement on the equity structure of this partnership once this masterplan has been agreed upon by both parties.

What do you think persuaded Dubai World to join MMC in this project?

Dubai World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem has said they see a bright future for this exciting multi-faceted development. He expressed the view that an integrated maritime centre will improve efficiency and Dubai World appeared very keen to capitalise on the opportunities within the region as well as in Malaysia’s vibrant and rapidly growing economy.

What is the timeline for the development?

Work on Tanjung Bin land will begin right after acceptance of the masterplan by both parties next year. We expect the project to be fully developed by 2012.

What is the value of the Tanjung Bin land?

The average offer that we have received, on an “as is where is” basis,is RM20 per sq ft on a 30-year lease. However, we do not wish to completely sell or lease all of the land in one go just to record one-off gains.

Instead, we want to plan this project well and maximise the use of the land by building supporting infrastructure and services to support the entire project, which will also allow us to generate recurring income.

In our initial study, the cost of developing the infrastructure and services required would be about RM2.5bil. This would include an industrial port, three oil jetties and supporting infrastructure. This proposal is, of course, subject to regulatory approvals from the

Federal and state governments. Naturally, the value of the land will increase with these supporting facilities in place.

Are there any environmental concerns?

The area earmarked for development is outside the area identified as a wetland sanctuary under RAMSAR.

Expert opinion confirms that the proposed development is balanced and will not damage the RAMSAR site. As part of our corporate social responsibility, we will ensure that the development will not, in any way, compromise the environment.

In developing the masterplan, particular attention will continue to be given to preserve the RAMSAR site. We will have very stringent requirements to ensure that all emissions will be in full compliance with all environmental requirements.

In fact, we are already in dialogue with the Malaysian Nature Society and other NGOs on how we can work together. Our plans will also take into consideration the overall environment including the views of experts, professionals and NGOs to ensure that the goal of a balanced development is achieved. We will also pay serious attention to the wishes of the state government.

A good example of a balanced development is PTP. We built this world-class port while successfully preserving the surrounding environment. PTP works closely with the Fisheries Department on dugong programs to preserve the species.

Together with NGOs such as the SOS committee, PTP is also involved in monitoring the sea grass bed, which is the habitat for seahorses. Our experience shows it is entirely possible to preserve the environment while building a world-class facility and that continues to be our objective as a responsible corporate citizen.

Congratulations!!! 恭喜恭喜！！！

In the latest worldwide press freedom index released by Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Malaysia scored two "worsts" – the sharpest plunge of 32 spots from 92 to 124 placing, which is also Malaysia's worst ranking in the RSF annual worldwide press freedom ranking since it was started in 2002.

无疆界记者组织（Reporters Without Borders）公布《2007年度全球新闻自由指数》，马来西亚创下两项“最糟"记录，即排名暴跌32位。除了从去年的第92名跌至第124名外，这也是有关指数自2002年首次出炉以来，我国历来最差的排名。

RSF Worldwide Press Freedom Index (Malaysia)

2002 - 110 (out of 139 countries)
2003 - 104 (166)
2004 - 122 (167)
2005 - 113 (167)
2006 - 92 (168)
2007 - 124 (169)