Najib: Government to hasten effort to make changes to pro-women legislation

The Star

By Loh Foon Fong and Yuen Meikeng
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Click on graphic for larger view.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pro-women legislation is to be given due attention and there will not be a repeat of waiting at least seven years for a Bill to be passed, as what happened with the Domestic Violence Act.

“I guarantee you, for something good, it will not take seven years,” Datuk Seri Najib Razak said at the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) golden jubilee celebrations here yesterday.

The Prime Minister assured that the Government would hasten effort to make changes to legislation, regulations, practices and thinking that obstructed the progress of women.

Najib, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, invited NCWO to come up with a working paper on advancing the cause of women.

NCWO president Tan Sri Prof Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin said the council would send an updated version of a working paper to Najib as soon as possible.

She stressed the need for changes for women to be made speedily.

NCWO had handed over a memorandum of the draft law on domestic violence in 1987 but it was only passed by Parliament in 1994 and implemented in 1996, she noted.

Dr Sharifah said laws, policies, structures and administrative processes needed to be reviewed and changed so that women would no longer face discrimination.

“There is still a lack of gender sensitivity in the public, private and political sectors,” she said.

Among other things, she said, NCWO had wanted a law on sexual harassment instead of just a code of conduct for institutions as well as judges to implement the minimum five years imprisonment for rapists.

A member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Yasmeen Shariff, said NCWO had also been pushing for a better family court with a full family support system with welfare assistance and counselling and mediation rooms.

NCWO deputy president Datuk R. Gurusamy said that children should be made aware of the law on statutory rape through education, so that they do not run foul of the law or be taken advantage of.

In her speech, Sharifah said there was also a need to narrow the income gap between men and women as 60% of the lowest income female earners earned below RM3,000 a month.

Najib agreed that this had to be looked into especially on how women could enhance their skills and value-add them in an organisation.

Ivy Josiah, the Women's Aid Organisation executive director, meanwhile recalled that lobbying for the Domestic Violence Act actually started in 1985.

“We have already highlighted all the issues in our previous reports to the Government. Now that the Prime Minister has given an undertaking on pro-women legislation, we can all get cracking,” she added.

Investigators trying to piece together what happened to William Yau

The Star

Reports by FARIK ZOLKEPLI, AUSTIN CAMOENS, SHAUN HO, WANI MUTHIAH, LOH FOON FONG, JO TIMBUONG, P.ARUNA, ISABELLE LAI, M.KUMAR and WONG PEK MEI
Photos by KAMARUL ARIFFIN, AZMAN GHANI, NORAFIFI EHSAN, AZHAR MAHFOF and LOW BOON TAT

SUBANG JAYA: Was William Yau Zhen Zhong abducted and killed or did he die after a tragic misadventure?

That's the question on the minds of investigators following the recovery of the six-year-old's decomposed body near Kampung Sungai Sireh.

Police are actively looking for clues into the case and re-examining all angles to find out how he died and how his body ended up near a jetty in Port Klang.

Among the theories are that his body floated about 30km down the Klang river from Kampung Bukit Lanchong (Please refer to map) after being thrown into it.

There is also speculation that the boy could have wandered off, fallen into a monsoon drain and ended up in the river.

However, there are no such uncovered drains where he was reported missing and the closest link to the river is about two kilometres away.

Although William's parents Yau Kok Kang, 32, and Goh Ying Ying, 26, identified his body based on the shorts and underpants he was wearing and scars on his head, police are still awaiting DNA test results, due to be released on Monday, to be 100% sure.

“Post-mortem results could not determine the cause of death because the remains were too badly decomposed,” Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli (pic) said.

“But we have established that he had been dead for about a week, based on the level of decomposition,” he said at the Subang Jaya police headquarters yesterday.

ACP Yahaya said there was no sign of external injuries except for some bite marks, believed to be inflicted by animals.

He said police had not ruled out foul play and were looking at the likelihood that the boy was dumped into the river.

“But it is still too early to conclude what happened to him,” he said. “We are going to interview the boy's older brother again and are appealing for witnesses who had seen him to come forward. In short, we are exploring all angles,” he added.

ACP Yahaya said police would comb the area where he disappeared in Putra Heights, the banks of the Klang river at Kampung Bukit Lanchong as well as the jetty.

Police have also recorded statements from the fishermen who discovered the body.

Grieving parents: Yau and Goh leaving the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang after identifying their son’s body.

 
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NGOs: No government shelter for the needy in Penang

The Star 

By LOH FOON FONG  

foonfong@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Penang are baffled as to why there isn’t even a single government shelter for the homeless and needy in the state even though there are a large number of homeless people there.

NGO volunteers said there were possibly only two free-of-charge stay-in shelters and several day centres set up and managed by NGOs that provide for the needy and homeless in Penang.

The volunteers claimed the Penang state government had promised to build a shelter for the homeless and needy when they came into power but nothing had materialised so far.

To make matters worse, added the volunteers, the Federal Government had also been slow in responding to their pleas for a government shelter.

The Temple of Fine Arts’ Klinik Derma Sivasanta coordinator P. Muru­giah said hundreds of homeless people could be found at places such as bus stops, five-foot ways, under bridges and on pedestrian crossings.

He added that half of the 70 or 80 needy patients treated by the clinic twice a week were homeless.
“The Government needs to build a shelter for the homeless and provide medical care for them,” he said.

Murugiah said the charity clinic collected and cremated 40 unclaimed bodies last year alone.

To a question as to why Penang seemed to have a high number of homeless people, Murugiah said it was because the state was densely populated with many senior citizens and some of them were neglected by their children.

A doctor in George Town, who declined to be named, said treating homeless patients was a futile effort as they would return to their terrible living conditions which aggravated their open wounds and other ailments.
“For the homeless, it is not enough just to treat their medical problems as their living conditions and environment need to be resolved as well,” he said.

The doctor narrated how a 45-year-old patient who first came with a wound in his toe, due to poorly controlled diabetes, had to have it (his toe) amputated after rats gnawed on the wound.

He said the patient’s condition continued to deteriorate after that.

“The last he came in, his leg below the knee had to be amputated,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to step in and provide funds while the Penang state government identified the right location for a live-in centre for the homeless and hardcore poor.

A volunteer who only wanted to be known as James said the homeless were made up of vagrants, the mentally ill, drug addicts and youths from other states who could not find jobs or were cheated of their salaries.

“Half of them are those aged 50 and above and illiterate,” said James, who volunteers for Kawan, a drop-in centre for the homeless and needy in Penang.

“There is a sizeable number of elderly people and the government needs to set up a shelter quickly.”

Police comb Putra Heights neighbourhood for missing boy William Yau

The Star

 Reports by FARIK ZOLKEPLI, R.S.N. MURALI, STEVEN DANIEL, SHAUN HO, LOH FOON FONG, ALLISON LAI, YUEN MEIKENG, LOSHANA K. SHAGAR and TASHNY SUKUMARAN; Pictures by AZHAR MAHFOF AND AZHAR ARIF

SUBANG JAYA: Police have intensified their search for missing boy William Yau Zhen Zhong by going door to door in the neighbourhood where he was last seen.

In their meeting with residents, they enquired if they saw anyone who resembled William and if any neighbour had behaved suspiciously over the past week.

“We can't rule out the possibility that William could be detained against his wishes in a location not far from where he went missing,” said Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli in a press conference yesterday.

On Jan 16 at about 8.30pm, William got out from the family car parked near the OnKing electrical store at Putra Heights.

That area has 45 shoplots that were mostly open at the time.

“It is a busy area and somebody must have seen William, who was dressed in a yellow-gold T-shirt.

“If anyone remembers anything about William, please help us,” ACP Yahaya pleaded.

The K-9 dog unit is expected to be brought to the scene where William was last seen in Putra Heights at about 9am today to intensify the search.

Police have intensified their search for William Yau Zhen Zhong by going house to house in neighbourhoods where the boy was last seen.

CID Director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said police had even tightened security at the country's checkpoints and borders.

Meanwhile, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said a child who looked like William had reportedly been spotted in Segambut Dalam two days after he went missing.

“MCA and Rela members have gone there to distribute posters of William,” said Chong, adding that Segambut Dalam was known for its huge settlement of foreigners.

However, there had yet to be any evidence that William was actually there, Chong told reporters here yesterday.

Those with information on William or his whereabouts can contact Sjn Goh Lai Than at 03-5631 9800 or 012-2197133 or William's father, Yau Kok Kang at 016-969 1616.

Missing boy did not enter electrical shop, says salesman

The Star

By LOH FOON FONG and JASON YU

foonfong@thestar.com.my

(Top two most viewed)

SUBANG JAYA: Recordings from a closed circuit television belonging to an electrical shop showed that William Yau Zhen Zhong did not enter the outlet where his mother was looking at washing machines.

Onking Chain Store (M) Sdn Bhd salesman Kelvin Beah said the mother Goh Ying Ying, 26, had come to the shop in Putra Heights on Wednesday and then left about 10 minutes later.

“She returned shortly after, crying and asking me whether I had seen her son. I said I had not,” he said, adding that he then helped her to scour the area for the boy.

“I was on a motorcycle with another supervisor and we searched the entire area for William but he was nowhere to be found,” he said.

Beah said that from their CCTV recording, there was no sign of William entering the store, which was only a few metres away from the parked car.

Separately, Goh and her husband Yau Kok Kang, 32, have not been to their motorcycle shop since their son's disappearence as they continued their daily search for him.

The mechanic who works at Yau's shop Lim Say Kim, 26, said he had been looking after the shop since.

“I am sad to hear of the incident because William is like a son to me. I see him every day in the shop.”

Asked if they had been harassed by anyone before the incident, Lim said “no”.

Goh said that besides searching for William, she and Yau had been visiting temples to pray for the safe return of their son.

Police scrutinising footage in hopes of finding clues to William’s disappearance

Reports by STEVEN DANIEL and EILEEN NG

SUBANG JAYA: Police are poring over CCTV footage recorded from several locations in and around the area where six-year-old William Yau Zhen Zhong went missing.

Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli said so far, there had been no CCTV footage of William although they had collected a recording from a restaurant near the electrical store where the boy was last seen.

“In that footage, the boy is not seen. But we will be taking a closer look at the footage in the hopes of finding an image of a small boy in a car or whatever, which can give us a lead to work on.

“Similarly, we will examine CCTV footage obtained from toll booths after 8.30pm on the day of his disappearance,” he said.

Admitting that this was a time-consuming process, ACP Yahaya said the police were however committed to this task as every minute counted in the search for William.

On Wednesday, William who is 110cm tall with an old scar mark on his right elbow was reported missing in Jalan Putra Mahkota, Putra Heights, near here after he came out of his family car to look for his parents.

Those with information on the missing boy can contact Sjn Goh Lai Than at 03-5631 9800 or 012-2197133 or William's father, Yau Kok Kang at 016-969 1616.

Don’t judge William’s parents, say cops

SUBANG JAYA: Police are urging the public not to be harsh on the parents of six-year-old William Yau Zhen Zhong, urging them not to judge them but to instead focus their full attention on finding the boy.

Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Ramli said police had recorded eight statements from various people including his parents, Yau Kok Kang, 32, and Goh Ying Ying, 26, neighbours, the couple's seven-year-old son and workers at the electrical store where he is believed to have been last seen.

“We strongly believe William is from a loving home, has good parents and rule out any possibility that the boy had been mistreated in any way,” he said.

“Our investigations revealed that he is a quiet and well-behaved boy while his elder brother is the exact opposite of him but there is no indication to suggest he was mistreated.

“Meanwhile, the scar he has on the left side of his forehead was from a fall he suffered a long time ago, not from any sort of physical abuse. In fact, I'm told the scar is barely visible now.

He also warned the public to stop misusing the contact numbers of William's parents as they could face criminal charges if they do.

ACP Yahaya Ramli said some of the calls made to William's parents were “insensitive and some, downright disgusting.”

This included a phone call demanding RM80,000 for William's release in two days' time.

The family has lodged a police report.

“I urge the public to please consider the heartache and torment the family is going through and to be considerate.

“If you see anyone who looks like William, please do not hesitate to call the numbers listed but do not misuse them,” he said.

ACP Yahaya Ramli warned that as part of the police task force set up to find William, the family must inform them of every SMS and call they receive and they would investigate any threatening or prank calls.

He added that police were also looking into a lead from a caller, who claimed to have seen a boy matching William's descriptions, wearing a yellow T-shirt and walking with two men at a mall a few days ago.

MCA service team hits the streets to help find boy

Getting the word ouf: Ng taking a picture of the poster of missing boy William as Chew holds it up.

PETALING JAYA: The 1Malaysia Petaling Jaya Service Team, launched last year by a group of MCA members, went down to the ground to distribute A4-sized posters of six-year-old William Yau Zhen Zhong, who has gone missing for almost a week.

Student Michelle Ng, who saw the group distributing the flyers on the child at the SS2 commercial area here, quickly whipped out her iPhone and took photographs of the poster.

She said she would pass it on to her family and friends via her Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as on her WhatsApp instant messaging application.

“I hope he is found safe and well soon,” said the 20-year-old, who felt sad the boy has been without his family for six days.

Students A. Joycee and K. Lilavathy expressed their worry over the boy's wellbeing, while postman Mohd Sanusi Mustapha said he would keep a lookout for William.

“I saw the news on TV. I cannot imagine the heartache and worry his parents are going through right now,” he said.

Fast food delivery rider Ridzuan Bohari, who has three young siblings, aged eight to 12, said he could relate to the distress of the missing boy's parents.

“I worry about my siblings' safety all the time. I hope William's parents will get good news soon,” he said.

The 1Malaysia PJ service team kicked off its search for William by handing out 500 posters of the missing boy, with his personal details, to shopkeepers, commercial outlet owners, the police and the public in the SS2 area.

Team member Chew Hoong Ling said they would continue their effort until William is found.

“We do a lot of social services and we will distribute more posters in the next few days,” she said.

Petaling Jaya Utara MCA division deputy chief Datuk C.K. Lim hoped William would return in time to celebrate the Chinese New Year with his parents.

“To those who may be detaining William, please release him. His parents are worried sick,” he pleaded.

Step in as recruiter, Govt told

The Star, Friday January 11, 2013

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Wanita Barisan Nasional has urged the Government to take over the role of maid recruiter for smoother operations and lower cost.

Its chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said it objected to the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies’ (Papa) suggestion for the cost to be fixed at RM6,700 per Indonesian maid.

“We want it managed government-to-government as this will contain cost,” she said at a press conference yesterday.

Shahrizat said the cost be fixed between RM3,000 and RM4,000.

Papa announced on Jan 4 that the Govern-ment had given it the green light to raise the recruitment fees for Indonesian domestic workers from the RM4,511 previously decided in the MoU between Indonesia and Malaysia in 2011.

Besides the new fee, employers would also have to pay an additional RM1,800, which could be deducted from the worker’s salary over the first six months of the contract.

Shahrizat said Wanita BN had been visiting families in households and the feedback received was that the fee was too high and would burden women and their families.

Asked if the fees should be capped instead of the Government taking over the recruitment, Shahrizat said it would be good to cap fees but they still thought that government-to-government dealing would be best.

The Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein said he agreed with Wanita Barisan as it could lead to lower cost and better efficiency.

Papa president Jeffrey Foo said the issue had been deliberated between the Government and Papa for some time and declined to comment on the deal.

Meteorological Department warns of strong winds and rise in sea levels at coastal areas

The Star, Sunday January 6, 2013

By LOH FOON FONG and QISHIN TARIQ

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The Meteorological Department warns that strong winds next week are expected to cause rough sea conditions and a rise in sea levels at coastal areas along the country.

It said strong north-easterly winds of up to 60kph were expected to cause waves as high as 4m off Pahang, east Johor, Sarawak (Rejang, Mukah, Bintulu and Miri), Labuan, Sabah (interior, West Coast and Kudat), Tioman and Reef South.

Strong north-easterly winds of 40-50kph would also cause waves as high as 3.5m off Kuching in Sarawak, Sandakan in Sabah, plus the Bunguran and Sulu islands.

The strong winds and rough seas are expected to continue until Jan 11.

The coastal areas of Pahang and east Johor will also be vulnerable to a rise in sea level, with the situation expected to continue until Monday, it said on its website yesterday.

It also warned of strong winds in excess of 60kph causing 5.5m-high waves off Kelantan, Terengganu, Samui, Condore, Reef North, Layang-Layang and Palawan.

In addition, the coastal areas of Kelantan and Terengganu will be vulnerable to a rise in sea level until Monday.

Meanwhile, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Hydrology and Water Resources Division director Datuk Hanapi Mohamad Noor has advised people living in flood-prone areas to adhere to directives from the authorities.

Warning that the rainy season has not ended, he said flooding could still happen this month and next.
He said most main rivers in the country were placed on the alert or warning levels.

He said states which faced potential flooding were Kelantan, Trengganu, Pahang and Johor.

National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudden Abdul Wahab has also advised people in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang to prepare for a second wave of flood as heavy rain had been forecast for three days from Monday.