RM200 juta adalah elaun, bukan bonus untuk SPR - Shahidan

KUALA LUMPUR: Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim menafikan laporan media yang menyatakan Petugas Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya, SPR diberikan bonus RM200 juta pada Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) yang lalu.

Sebaliknya SPR memberikan elaun dan saguhati kepada 240 ribu petugas kerana membantu melicinkan proses PRU.

Penjelasan itu dibuat dalam jawapan bertulisnya di Dewan Rakyat pada Isnin.

"Bajet pilihan raya adalah RM400 juta, kemudian elaun petugas-petugas ini adalah pegawai kerajaan dan juga petugas lain yang bertugas adalah RM201 juta seperti mana yang telah disebutkan dalam pecahan (jawapan bertulis). Jadi tidak ada bonus kepada SPR" katanya di bangunan Parlimen hari ini.

Sebuah portal berita awal hari ini melaporkan para petugas SPR telah menerima wang bonus sebanyak RM200 juta.

ia juga menyebut petugas SPR diberikan sebanyak RM581 ribu untuk untuk elaun lebih masa, bayaran utiliti seperti sewaan pengangkutan, peralatan ICT dan lain-lain berjumlah RM98,465.

Kementerian Kewangan sebelum ini telah meluluskan peruntukan sebanyak RM400 juta kepada SPR untuk menjalankan PRU pada 5 Mei lalu.

Ia merupakan peningkatan sebanyak 100 peratus berbanding kos Pillihan Raya 2012 yang hanya berjumlah RM200 juta.


Sumber: Astro Awani 

Malaysia's Google, Dell, Microsoft websites hacked

KUALA LUMPUR: Several websites with the ‘.com.my’ and ‘.MY’ domains experienced technical issues when it was hacked this morning by a group known as TiGER-M@TE.

Several major websites that were affected include Google, Dell, Microsoft, MSN Malaysia, Bing, and Kaspersky.

The frontpage of the website was changed with the following text, “Hello Malaysia, you think you are more advanced than us? Respect our workers, we will respect you! Running it since 2007.”

This incident even caught the attention of netizens on Twitter:

We are experiencing some technical issues with our address
http://t.co/CJZcNuBelo. Please log on to
http://t.co/KWC2KlFYoa for our stories! — MSN MY Entertainment (@msnbuzz) July 1, 2013

@sainod the Dell website server is safe..it is not hacked. The Dell domain has been hijacked...via DNS. — K.Kugan (@scamboy) July 1, 2013

A few of the .MY websites such as http://t.co/BXWelGdHf6 ,http://t.co/vtFqvktboV have been poisoned & hacked.pic.twitter.com/5JU0JHfucc — Jhing Yee (@Fillet_O_Fish) July 1, 2013

.my sites are down when using google dns (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4). Go check out http://t.co/04XG8tTSH5 for some lulz — Yuli Chua (@tambourinehero) July 1, 2013

Last month, at least 41 government agencies’ website faced technical difficulties after it was hacked by an international group of hackes known as ‘Anonymous.’

In May, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s blog was allegedly hacked to give an impression that a 'sex video' purportedly involving her daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, was genuine.

In March, Google experienced a technical glitch after a search for “Sabah” showed a result in which the state was described as “illegitimate”. The incident happened during the Malaysia-Filipino standoff over Sabah’s sovereignty.

Meanwhile Google denied its website was hacked.


- Astro Awani 

Spectacular closing for 'Magic of the Night' boat parade

PUTRAJAYA: The 'Magic of The Night' boat parade closed in a spectacular show of lights and fireworks today after entertaining crowds of spectators for the past nine days.

It was the icing on the cake for Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) when its boat won the top prize with a 'Federal Government Administration Centre' concept in a stiff competition showcasing 13 other brilliant boats around the Presint 2 lake here.

The PPj boat was both the audience and special jury's favourite and featured a design of unique buildings and structures found in Putrajaya such as the Prime Minister's Department, Seri Wawasan Bridge and Tuanku Mizan Mosque.

Sabah and China came in second and third respectively.

Federal Territory Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor presented trophies and certificate to the winners.

Via Bernama - July 01, 2013

Floria Putrajaya 2013 tarik 800,000 pengunjung meskipun jerebu

PUTRAJAYA: Festival Bunga dan Taman Putrajaya (Floria Putrajaya) 2013, berjaya menarik 800,000 pengunjung selepas sembilan hari, biarpun berdepan masalah jerebu.

Presiden Perbadanan Putrajaya (PPj) Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat berkata selain sambutan orang ramai, penyertaan pereka bentuk dan penghias dari dalam dan luar negara, termasuk 23 pereka taman antarabangsa yang mewakili 18 negara dan 'World Flower Council' meletakkan Floria Putrajaya ke tahap global.

"Walaupun tidak menepati sasaran sejuta pengunjung, namun kami berpuas hati. Festival ini memberikan suatu nilai tambah kepada landskap pelancongan Putrajaya dengan menonjolkan kepelbagaian dan keunikan flora yang berwarna-warni yang terdapat di negara ini.

"Reka bentuk taman dan pemilihan bahan binaan taman juga didapati semakin maju dan moden tanpa meminggirkan ciri keaslian serta tradisi masyarakat Malaysia dan antarabangsa," katanya ketika berucap pada majlis penutup Floria 2013 yang disempurnakan Timbalan Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mohan hari Ahad.

Beliau berkata sebanyak 83 lot pameran taman bunga dan landskap pelbagai kategori dan reka bentuk berjaya memikat hati pengunjung.

Aseh berkata Floria Putrajaya juga berjaya mencatat empat inovasi utama iaitu 'The Longest Landscaped Vertical Wall' sepanjang 343 meter (dicatat dalam Malaysia Book of Records), Taman Diraja yang direka bentuk serta dibina berasaskan Istana Kota Tengah Alor Setar bercirikan Taman Inggeris dan Perancis, Taman Inovasi serta Taman Jamuan Teh.

"Komitmen persatuan bunga antarabangsa yang menjadi juri pertandingan dengan sendirinya mencatat satu rekod baharu bagi Floria.

"Begitu juga peningkatan bilangan penggubah bunga antarabangsa dari Singapura, China dan Taiwan juga telah menambah kepelbagaian jenis serta warna kepada Floria," katanya.

- BERNAMA

3,000 still missing in India's flood-hit north

DEHRADUN: Some 3,000 tourists and pilgrims remain missing in India's flood-ravaged north two weeks after the tragedy, but it is unclear how many of those have been killed, a top state official said Sunday.

About 1,000 people are confirmed dead after flash floods and landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains hit the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on June 15, officials have said.

Thousands of soldiers, backed by military helicopters, have wound down rescue efforts after evacuating more than 100,000 people stranded in the state, which was packed with tourists on pilgrimages to remote Hindu temples and shrines.

"As per information we have received, 3,000 people are still missing," state Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna told reporters in the state capital Dehradun.

Bahuguna announced that families will receive 500,000 rupees ($8,500) in compensation if their loved ones are still missing after the next 30 days.

Some of those initially reported missing may have returned home or continued with their travels but failed to notify local authorities, officials said. The exact death toll may never be known because some of the bodies may have been washed away or buried under tonnes of debris, Bahuguna told the Press Trust of India.

A state lawmaker said late Saturday the death toll could cross 10,000 but the figure was rejected as "guesswork" by Bahuguna.

A 200-strong team of specialists is scouring the worst-hit temple region of Kedarnath for bodies, which may still be trapped under debris or swept by landslides into deep ravines, officials said.

Rescue workers have recovered bodies in rivers hundreds of kilometres downstream from the flood zone, underscoring the difficulty of finding all those who perished.

Raging rivers swept away houses, buildings and even entire villages in the state, known as the "Land of the Gods" for its revered shrines.

Medical teams have been deployed to assess the risks to public health after warnings of an outbreak of disease due to contamination from hundreds of bodies found in rivers.

Media reported that state officials were warned in advance of heavy rains and possible landslides in the area.

- AFP

F1: Rosberg triumphs in British GP

SILVERSTONE: German driver Nico Rosberg won his second race in the last three Grand Prix when he triumphed in a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday.

Rosberg, who was 28 last Thursday, came home in his Mercedes just ahead of the Red Bull of Australian Mark Webber, who announced last week he would be leaving the sport at the end of the season, while Spain's two-time champion Fernando Alonso was third in a Ferrari.

British driver Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in a remarkable drive after his left rear tyre deflated early in the race and he re-entered the Grand Prix in last spot.

Alonso closed the gap in the overall standings on three-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel, who was leading when he was forced to retire on the 42nd lap.

Vettel has 132 points while Alonso has 111.

For Mercedes it was their first win in the race since Stirling Moss won at Aintree in 1955.

- AFP

Over 600 cases of dengue reported nationwide in first half of 2013

GEORGE TOWN: More than 600 cases of dengue fever were reported nationwide in the first six months of this year, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said the ministry would step up the enforcement of regulations and carry out more frequent inspections in housing areas to curb the outbreak.

"Most people are aware of the source of dengue but not many take the initiative to destroy the breeding grounds of aedes mosquitoes.

As such, we will monitor the housing areas and tell residents to clean up, failing which we will take action.

"Apart from the campaign, we feel that with enforcement, the people will take the dengue menace more seriously," he told reporters after opening the Penang Free School Carnival in Jalan Masjid Negeri, here, Sunday.

He said the areas which recorded the highest number of cases were Johor Baharu, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

In another development, he said the Health Ministry would study the legal approaches towards banning the sales of shisha and other alternative cigarettes.

He said the ministry had studied the harmful effects of taking such substances including e-cigarette, on health.

Recently, the Perlis Fatwa Committee declared selling and smoking shisha as haram as it is even more detrimental to health than cigarettes.

Consumers Association of Penang president SM Mohamed Idris in a statement recently urged the government to ban the use of shisha nationwide following the mushrooming of such premises providing the substance.

- Bernama