Students Involved In ISA Gathering Will Face Legal Action

BANGI, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Tertiary students will not be spared from legal action if they are found to be participating in gatherings to oppose or support the Internal Security Act (ISA), Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said Saturday.

"If there are students involved in the gatherings and they allow themselves to be victimised and used for other people's agenda, I will not protect them," he told reporters after opening the Asean Universities Build-and-Break Competition 2009 here.

He was asked whether there were students invovled in the gatherings planned in Kuala Lumpur today by two groups of non-governmental organisations -- the Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI), which opposed the ISA, and the Majlis Permuafakatan Ummah (Perwaris)together with the Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa), which wanted the act retained.

On another development, Mohamed Khaled said the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM), which was closed on July 21 following Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak, was reopened last Tuesday.

-- BERNAMA

Decision To Sack Him A Cowardly Act, Says Murugiah

BENTONG, May 17 (Bernama) -- Senator Datuk T. Murugiah today described the People's Progressive Party's (PPP) decision to sack him and six other party members as a cowardly act by party president, Datuk M. Kayveas.

For one, Murugiah said the decision made by the party's disciplinary board yesterday had denied the party members the right to decide on the party leadership.

"To me, I'm not expelled and still a PPP (supreme council) member. Yesterday's meeting was illegal. They (disciplinary board members) were not elected by the party, they are Kayveas' cronies.

"If he dares, ask him to call for an election. Don't be a coward. I dare him to face me," he told reporters after opening a seminar on small business, agro-business and franchise, here, today.

He also described his sacking as Kayveas' dictatorial act which had not only tarnished the party's image, but would also cause problems to Barisan Nasional (BN), which should not happen especially in the current political situation faced by BN.

Hence, Murugiah urged BN to temporarily suspend Kayveas from its Supreme Council meeting until the domestic issues in PPP had been resolved.

The two-hour meeting attended by 39 PPP disciplinary board members yesterday made the decision on the ground that Murugiah had used his Deputy Minister's office in the Prime Minister's Department to hold a press conference which tarnished the good name of the party and making defamatory remarks against the party, its Supreme Council and party leadership.

The board also said that Murugiah had threatened the party's lawyer and a supreme council member that he would use all his power to get PPP deregistered.

Murugiah said he would personally go to the Registrar of Society tomorrow to seek verification on the status of the party.

"The party's financial statement had never been tabled at the party's annual general assembly. There must be something wrong," he said.

On the allegation that he was involved in money politics, Murugiah said the allegation was baseless.

He said he was only a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of the Public Complaints Bureau, Public Service Commission and Education Commission and so did not have the money to give away nor the power to give projects to anyone.

Asked whether he was being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Murugiah said: "They (MACC) did come to my office recently, but only to check on a few documents, nothing else."

Meanwhile, Murugiah also said that he was contacted by an important individual in MIC inviting him to join the party.

"I thank MIC for seeing me as a potential leader," he said, adding that he had not decided on the matter.

-- BERNAMA

Meningitis: 46 Treated At Hospital Melaka

PUTRAJAYA, May 13 (Bernama) -- The number of trainees from the Road Transport Department (RTD) Academy in Melaka who are being treated at the Melaka Hospital following an epidemic suspected to be meningitis, rose to 46 today from 38 cases yesterday.

The Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican, said of the total, two cases were being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward and they were expected to be taken out of the ICU ward tomorrow while the remaining 44 cases were being treated at the Isolation Ward.

"The 44 cases placed in the Isolation Ward comprise 39 trainees, one trainer, a woman who had contacted one of the trainees, two trainee radiographer and a trainee nurse," he said in a statement, here, Wednesday.

In the incident on May 4, a trainee of the RTD Academy died while on the way to the Melaka Hospital while three were admitted to the ICU and the remaining 85 had to be quarantined due to the meningitis outbreak.

He said a medical team was still being placed fulltime at the academy to monitor a total of 81 trainees.

"All the trainees and their contacts who are being treated are said to be recuperating and as we have said earlier, preventive and control measures will be continued until all the cases have fully recovered," he said.

Mohd Ismail said the meningococcal meningitis infection was caused by the Neisseria meningitides bacteria which were only carried by humans and were not similar to the Nipah encephalitis or Influenza A (H1N1) infection.

-- BERNAMA