Parliament: Witness protection Bill almost ready
The Star (2/7/08): The Government has completed the first draft of the Witness Protection Bill, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said.
He added the Bill was supposed to be tabled during this Parliament session.
"However, there are many issues that needed to be settled first before the Bill is presented to the Cabinet for official approval and sent to the House.
"The Government stands by its commitment to ensure that this Bill will be tabled during this session," he told Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak).
Nazri said the Prime Minister had announced recently four measures to deter corruption and instil the people's confidence in the country's institutions and anti-corruption efforts.
"The third measure is that the Bill, which is being drafted now, will include comprehensive laws which will provide protection to both whistle-blowers and witnesses," he added.
Nazri told Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) that the Anti-Corruption Act could use the contents of poison-pen letters as a basis for investigations on wrong-doings.
"But the letters cannot be used in the courts as evidence," he added.
Youth associations must be re-registered
Youth associations already registered under the Societies Act 1966 must be re-registered under the newly-gazetted Youth Associations and Youth Development Act 2007.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said all youth associations, whether they were already established or newly-formed, have until December to register.
He also said the most significant requirement stated in the new Act was that the age of leaders of youth organisations should not exceed 40 years.
"As of July this year, the ministry had received 417 applications, of which 212 were approved while 29 were rejected because they were based in Sabah and Sarawak, which don't come under the purview of the Act.
"The Ministry expects to receive 1,500 applications by the end of the year," he told Datuk Ismail Muttalib (BN-Maran).
Ismail said the number of racial-based umbrella youth associations comprised six Malay associations followed by Chinese and Indian associations with four each.
Asked why there were quite a number of associations which had not registered themselves with the ministry, Ismail said many of the main stakeholders of the associations had yet to register because they were above 40 years old.
Ismail Sabri said a 12-month window has been given to the youth associations (from the date the new Act came into force in December last year) to register to give the older leaders time to hand over the leadership to younger ones during their annual general meetings.
Nga chided for asking too many questions
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia chided Nga Kor Ming (DAP-Taiping) for asking too many supplementary questions during Question Time.
In his original question, Nga had asked Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong whether there were 131 Chinese schools which were classified as unsafe.
Dr Wee gave a comprehensive reply on the ministry's efforts to rehabilitate Chinese and other national-type schools, while also denying the allegation that there were 131 Chinese schools classified as unsafe.
However, in his supplementary question, Nga took a few minutes to ask Dr Wee four questions, which raised the ire of backbenchers and brought the attention of Pandikar Amin.
"I've told all of you (MPs) many times not to make speeches and have debates during Question Time, and it's clear you are not listening to my advice," he added.
Pandikar Amin told Dr Wee to limit his reply to Nga's query on whether the widow of a teacher Chan Boon Heng, who fell to his death when the floor of a school in Kedah collapsed in 2005, had received compensation.
To this, Dr Wee said he would have to check the matter and submit a written reply to Nga to avoid any misunderstanding.
Earlier, Dr Wee said national-type schools which needed repairs must be confirmed first through an inspection process conducted by the Public Works Department before funds are allocated to carry out the repair works.
"We have checked the ministry's records and we found that there aren’t 131 Chinese schools that had been classified as dangerous.
"However, ministry officials will visit schools which need repairs to ensure that money is channelled to finance repair and rehabilitation work," he said.
Dr Wee also told Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu) that students of Chinese and Tamil schools which had low enrolment would be transferred to bigger schools.
Review salaries of Prison Dept officers
The Prisons Department has asked the Government to review the salaries and emoluments paid to department officers, Deputy Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said.
He added that civil servants had been given a pay rise on July 1 last year, in which Prison Department officers received an average raise between RM274.49 and RM829.73 each.
Chor said there is a slight difference between the pay scale of Prisons Department and police officers.
For example, the new basic pay scale of a prisons officer in the KX17 grade is RM827.94 compared to a police officer who receives RM1,100.
"The Ministry has asked the Public Service Department to make a review of the prisons officers salary and introduce incentives and allowances such as RM200 for control and prevention unit officers because their duties involved higher risks," he told Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok).
Chor added the ministry was seeking increased incentive allowances for officers taking care of prisoners with serious diseases and new housing for at least 80% of all officers.
He told Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) that there are now 37,446 prisoners in the country's prisons, which is 28% more than capacity.
Chor said the parole system, which was introduced recently, would help to settle the problem of overcrowding in the prisons.
Bank Islam, BSN given RM50m allocation for housing loans
Bank Islam Malaysia and Bank Simpanan Nasional have been given an allocation of RM50mil to provide loans to house buyers from the low-income group to buy low-cost houses, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Ong Ka Chuan said.
He added these buyers, who didn't have adequate qualifications to ask for ordinary housing loans, could submit their applications to the two banks to buy their houses.
Ong told Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) the Government was aware of the difficulties faced by the lower income group in buying low-cost houses.
Their problems could be solved by applying for the RM50mil loan facilities offered by the two banks, he added.
Ong also said that as of March 31, a total of 30,072 squatters have been moved to people's housing projects (projek perumahan rakyat) implemented by the ministry.
"The squatters are required to pay only RM124 in monthly rental.
"There is no risk of their houses being seized or auctioned due to non-payment of rental because they are only renting from the Government," he added.
Ong told Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Tenggara) that among the problems faced by the ministry in helping to overcome the squatter problem was the lack of census data on the number of squatters.
"We also need to study the right locations to build low-cost housing for them.
"Many of the squatters also want to stay near their workplaces," he added.
He added the Bill was supposed to be tabled during this Parliament session.
"However, there are many issues that needed to be settled first before the Bill is presented to the Cabinet for official approval and sent to the House.
"The Government stands by its commitment to ensure that this Bill will be tabled during this session," he told Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak).
Nazri said the Prime Minister had announced recently four measures to deter corruption and instil the people's confidence in the country's institutions and anti-corruption efforts.
"The third measure is that the Bill, which is being drafted now, will include comprehensive laws which will provide protection to both whistle-blowers and witnesses," he added.
Nazri told Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) that the Anti-Corruption Act could use the contents of poison-pen letters as a basis for investigations on wrong-doings.
"But the letters cannot be used in the courts as evidence," he added.
Youth associations must be re-registered
Youth associations already registered under the Societies Act 1966 must be re-registered under the newly-gazetted Youth Associations and Youth Development Act 2007.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said all youth associations, whether they were already established or newly-formed, have until December to register.
He also said the most significant requirement stated in the new Act was that the age of leaders of youth organisations should not exceed 40 years.
"As of July this year, the ministry had received 417 applications, of which 212 were approved while 29 were rejected because they were based in Sabah and Sarawak, which don't come under the purview of the Act.
"The Ministry expects to receive 1,500 applications by the end of the year," he told Datuk Ismail Muttalib (BN-Maran).
Ismail said the number of racial-based umbrella youth associations comprised six Malay associations followed by Chinese and Indian associations with four each.
Asked why there were quite a number of associations which had not registered themselves with the ministry, Ismail said many of the main stakeholders of the associations had yet to register because they were above 40 years old.
Ismail Sabri said a 12-month window has been given to the youth associations (from the date the new Act came into force in December last year) to register to give the older leaders time to hand over the leadership to younger ones during their annual general meetings.
Nga chided for asking too many questions
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia chided Nga Kor Ming (DAP-Taiping) for asking too many supplementary questions during Question Time.
In his original question, Nga had asked Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong whether there were 131 Chinese schools which were classified as unsafe.
Dr Wee gave a comprehensive reply on the ministry's efforts to rehabilitate Chinese and other national-type schools, while also denying the allegation that there were 131 Chinese schools classified as unsafe.
However, in his supplementary question, Nga took a few minutes to ask Dr Wee four questions, which raised the ire of backbenchers and brought the attention of Pandikar Amin.
"I've told all of you (MPs) many times not to make speeches and have debates during Question Time, and it's clear you are not listening to my advice," he added.
Pandikar Amin told Dr Wee to limit his reply to Nga's query on whether the widow of a teacher Chan Boon Heng, who fell to his death when the floor of a school in Kedah collapsed in 2005, had received compensation.
To this, Dr Wee said he would have to check the matter and submit a written reply to Nga to avoid any misunderstanding.
Earlier, Dr Wee said national-type schools which needed repairs must be confirmed first through an inspection process conducted by the Public Works Department before funds are allocated to carry out the repair works.
"We have checked the ministry's records and we found that there aren’t 131 Chinese schools that had been classified as dangerous.
"However, ministry officials will visit schools which need repairs to ensure that money is channelled to finance repair and rehabilitation work," he said.
Dr Wee also told Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu) that students of Chinese and Tamil schools which had low enrolment would be transferred to bigger schools.
Review salaries of Prison Dept officers
The Prisons Department has asked the Government to review the salaries and emoluments paid to department officers, Deputy Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said.
He added that civil servants had been given a pay rise on July 1 last year, in which Prison Department officers received an average raise between RM274.49 and RM829.73 each.
Chor said there is a slight difference between the pay scale of Prisons Department and police officers.
For example, the new basic pay scale of a prisons officer in the KX17 grade is RM827.94 compared to a police officer who receives RM1,100.
"The Ministry has asked the Public Service Department to make a review of the prisons officers salary and introduce incentives and allowances such as RM200 for control and prevention unit officers because their duties involved higher risks," he told Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok).
Chor added the ministry was seeking increased incentive allowances for officers taking care of prisoners with serious diseases and new housing for at least 80% of all officers.
He told Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) that there are now 37,446 prisoners in the country's prisons, which is 28% more than capacity.
Chor said the parole system, which was introduced recently, would help to settle the problem of overcrowding in the prisons.
Bank Islam, BSN given RM50m allocation for housing loans
Bank Islam Malaysia and Bank Simpanan Nasional have been given an allocation of RM50mil to provide loans to house buyers from the low-income group to buy low-cost houses, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Ong Ka Chuan said.
He added these buyers, who didn't have adequate qualifications to ask for ordinary housing loans, could submit their applications to the two banks to buy their houses.
Ong told Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) the Government was aware of the difficulties faced by the lower income group in buying low-cost houses.
Their problems could be solved by applying for the RM50mil loan facilities offered by the two banks, he added.
Ong also said that as of March 31, a total of 30,072 squatters have been moved to people's housing projects (projek perumahan rakyat) implemented by the ministry.
"The squatters are required to pay only RM124 in monthly rental.
"There is no risk of their houses being seized or auctioned due to non-payment of rental because they are only renting from the Government," he added.
Ong told Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Tenggara) that among the problems faced by the ministry in helping to overcome the squatter problem was the lack of census data on the number of squatters.
"We also need to study the right locations to build low-cost housing for them.
"Many of the squatters also want to stay near their workplaces," he added.
