Business Times

KUMPULAN Europlus Bhd said its unit has signed a contract with the Government to build and manage the West Coast Expressway for 33 years at a cost of RM3.02 billion.

The highway spans 215.8km and it will connect the North-South Expressway in Taiping, Perak, to Banting in Selangor, KEuro said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

The concession is under Konsortium LPB Sdn Bhd (KLPB), which is 60 per cent owned by KEuro, while the rest is equally shared between Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd and Perak Corp Bhd.

The highway will have 14 toll plazas and 16 interchanges. There will be six toll plazas and seven interchanges in Perak and eight toll plazas and nine interchanges in Selangor.

It will also have 10 rest and service areas and two lay-bys.

Under the deal, KLPB must be able to raise funds to build the Selangor portion by May 25 2008. Funds for the Perak highway must be raised by May 25 2010.

However, KEuro did not give a breakdown of how much the two portions would cost.

KLPB would start construction after it completes fundraising and work for the Selangor portion must be completed in three years.

Work for the Perak portion must be completed in four years after it raises money.

Lee Shi-Ian
New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: He was supposed to be a pirate’s nemesis but instead, he was caught on suspicion of recording the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

A 21-year-old police constable was nabbed by GSC cinema stewards in Berjaya Times Square yesterday. He is believed to have recorded about 30 minutes of the movie on his mobile phone.

The constable, attached to the Dang Wangi police station, had gone to watch the 5.40pm movie with a friend but was spotted behaving suspiciously by alert cinema stewards.

After he was detained, his friend allegedly called for help and a police sergeant arrived at the cinema.

The suspect, however, was handed over to enforcement officers from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and later taken to the city police headquarters.
He was released on bail pending further investigations. He is also expected to be hauled up before a disciplinary committee.

Stringent measures have been taken by cinemas and authorities to prevent the illegal recording of newly-released movies.

These include installing closed-circuit television cameras in all movie halls, and stewards wearing night vision goggles, similar to those used by military commandos.

City acting police chief SAC I Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin confirmed the incident.

Aaron Ngui
New Straits Times

GEORGE TOWN, THURS: Chan Chen Nee must have thought her life was at an end today. The 27-year-old accounts clerk was driving down the car park complex of her condominium when she lost control of her vehicle, which crashed through the wall and plunged six floors to the ground.

When firemen extricated her from the wreck of the Proton Iswara, which ended up on its roof, all she had was a broken left hand, cuts and bruises.

Chan was believed to have been on her way to work when the incident occurred at the Mutiara Heights apartment complex near the Jelutong expressway at 8.15am.

Passers-by who witnessed the incident rushed to her aid. They called the Fire and Rescue Services Department when they saw Chan pinned between her seat and the steering wheel.

Firemen from the Jalan Perak station, who arrived soon after, took only five minutes to free her.
Chan’s husband, who wanted to be identified only as Teh, said he was at work when a friend informed him that his wife was involved in an accident.

“I rushed home but an ambulance had already taken her to the hospital. I am not sure what exactly happened but am thankful that she did not suffer any serious injury,” the 29-year-old technician said.

The government announced pay rise for civil servants between 7.5% and 42%. Now, that is real high and the civil servants must be joyous with the announcement, which is widely seen as a sign that the General Election is very soon.

However, private sector employees have nothing to cheer about. Most companies are giving annual salary adjustment of below 5% while some companies practices an adjustment of about RM100 a year regardless of the basic salary. How can everyone cope with the ever increasing cost of living especially since the petrol price increase in March 2006?

The Star

The MPs who made the “bocor” remarks in Parliament made a formal public apology to all women after meeting Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil Friday morning.

Shahrizat said there is now “closure” with the open apology by Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof and Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokthar Radin.

She added that her Ministry accepts the apology with “grace”.

“It is up to them to personally and specifically apologise to (Batu Gajah MP) Fong Po Kuan,” she said.

“I would like to categorically state that sexism in any form, by words or action, by men or women, whether in Parliament made by elected representatives of both Government and Opposition or indeed anywhere else in this country, is not acceptable.

“I have in no uncertain terms communicated to the two MPs from Kinabatangan and Jasin the Ministry’s unflinching stand on this matter i.e. do not trifle with gender issues.

“They have offered their sincere apologies and expressed their remorse over what had happened as they said they never intended to offend anybody.

“As they have tendered their public apology to the women of Malaysia through this Ministry, we must have the grace to accept it with a serious reminder that this kind of episode must never happen again.”